Title: { damn REGRET.
][ DR ADMIN. - July 20, 2007 01:46 AM (GMT)
“You must be new here. I only ever get called to the office if there’s someone to show around. Come on then, there’s only fifteen minutes until lunch, and I can’t be late for the chess club meeting – I’m the President.”
The office was small, so it was to the relief of the people inside that the two boys left. There was plenty of room in the hallways, but it was a different story when class was finished. Most weren’t very wide, meaning that moving from one room to another could take up to fifteen minutes. The lucky people were those with rooms by the large open areas being used as seating and locker bays.
“Why are…”
“Why are there tiny corridors and large spaces?” the chess boy cut in. “Because this used to be a hospital, that’s why. North Dallas General. The sign is still out the front. They don’t want to get rid of it, thinking it makes the place special. The large spaces were waiting rooms in various parts of the hospital.”
The floor was certainly hospital-like. Made of shiny linoleum, it was the type which you would slip over on multiple times when it was wet. Hospitals tended to like that - well, it made more work for them.
“Why is it a school now?”
The chess boy smirked. He loved to tell the story, probably because he had made part of it up to make it more sensational. The people at the office knew that, it was why he was always called to show around the new kids. By the time he was done, they knew the place well – both historically and physically. He herded the new boy into one of the elevators and proceeded to tell the story.
“The hospital went well for many years. It made a fair amount of profit, had high success rates and saw plenty of people each day. Everyone in the nearby town knew they could count on it. If they were sick, they would be seen within an hour, usually within half an hour. If they were really sick, there were top-quality resources to be put to their use, and trained, friendly staff always willing to go the extra mile. All in all, it was a top hospital. Sure, there were deaths and occasional accidents, but what hospital doesn’t have any? No serious problems, though, and it ran highly efficiently.
Then the CEO died in mysterious circumstances. Realising he was late for a meeting, his secretary went to his office and found him lying on the ground, his cell phone in his hand. Dead. The coroner put it down to a heart attack, with some bewilderment. The man wasn’t quite fifty. He went to a gym regularly, ate well, and wasn’t on any medication. No one had been into the office, though, and there was nothing there to indicate it had been anything other than a heart attack. The case was closed, and control of the hospital passed to his son.
The son was not such a good manager as his father. He tended to alienate people, always wanting things done his way, never willing to compromise. Greedy as well, he raised consultation fees by thirty percent. Equipment was replaced less often, and staff were told to be more stingy about resources such as scans and drugs. He cared nothing about the well-being of the patients. The more he got, the more he wanted, and fees continued to rise. Patient numbers dropped, and so did staff numbers, finding their salaries cut. The hospital quickly lost its high-class reputation.
One day, the police turned up. They had received an anonymous tip that funds were being embezzled. After a lengthy investigation, they discovered millions of dollars in an account belonging to the new CEO. A house search turned up even more dodgy information – including print-offs about untraceable poisons. Needless to say, he ended up in prison. The hospital passed hands again, this time to someone more capable. The public still had no trust in the place, and the newest CEO did nothing to help it. Yes, he tried, but only enough so that he could say he had. Eventually, the place was shut down, as it made barely any money and there were even less patients.
It remained empty for a few years, until the council decided to do something about it. The area needed a new public school, the old one being horribly built and having multitudes of plumbing and other problems. Exam rooms and seminar rooms in the hospital were turned into class rooms, the equipment being sold off, beds replaced with desks. After sanitising, patient rooms were also converted into school offices, classrooms, etcetera. They kept the elevators working, although supposedly only for staff to use. Signs and stuff like that are still around, and the basement is full of old equipment and who knows what else. Now this five storey building is full of your typical school children. Nerds, like me, preps, jocks, outcasts, geeks, whatever else you want to call yourself.”
To clarify, most of us are typical school children. There are a few who…don’t quite fit the description. Most of them leave soon after revealing that fact – normally not of their own accord. There was Robby Maine, who shot his math teacher with a flare gun when he was yelled at for not doing his homework. He’s now in jail, obviously. He tried to plead insanity, claiming he felt someone else raise his hand and pull the trigger, but the jury didn’t buy it. Then there was Kathleen de Morat, who with the aid of her older brothers kept the rest of the tennis team locked in the gym overnight. No food, no drink, nothing. She was found the next afternoon at the cinema, having taken the day off school as a “Reward to herself”. Lots of stuff like that has happened. If you want to find out more, just read some old newspapers.
Little things happen too. We haven’t had an English teacher stay for longer than five months, and stuff is always getting stolen out of backpacks and lockers. Increasing security did nothing. The thief is named the poltergeist – you know, the type of ghost that can move things but also can stay invisible? The police are hopeless. In fact, the staff have stopped bothering to get help from them. The threat of being shut down didn’t help the decision. Oh well, you’ll get used to it. At least it makes life interesting.”
The new boy stared at his guide, unsure whether to believe him or not. The guy seemed serious enough, very matter-of-fact, but it was such an outrageous story. About to ask a question, he jumped out of his skin at the sound of a tinkling crash. A lot of glass had just broken, and nearby. He looked around frantically and saw that a whole set of windows down the hall had broken, appearing to have been smashed from inside. There was no-one and nothing around. “Uh…uh…”
The guide continued to walk down the corridor, not looking at the smashed windows or showing any sign of surprise.. “Oh, you don’t play any sports do you? Our teams always lose.”