Earnest Ben cont.

Ben was having a good day. There were no unusual visions today and everything that he heard seemed to be something that everyone else heard, too. They gave him fewer pills than usual today. His least favorite, the pink one that tasted like earthworms, had not been given to him. Deep in his heart, where he kept all his secrets, Ben was relieved.

He never told anyone--not even himself--that he disliked the pink pill. Ben would never be so rude. He did admit to himself that taking the pink pill was a less than enjoyable experience. Ben didn't know whether to be ashamed of his relief so he sat and studied his shoes.

A new one came to see Ben. He thought she was new at first, but remembered seeing her in different parts of the building. She was an old one, then, but new to here. Ben tried to classify her properly but could not.

She was shorter than Ben and had fine white skin. Her hair was nearly as black as her thick-framed glasses. Her mouth was pink and her eyes were brown and both of them looked sad. Ben thought that it was awful for a pretty lady to be sad and told her so. She smiled, looked even prettier, but it was a sad smile.

The lady said to call her Lucy, not nurse or ma'am or anything else. Just Lucy. She asked Ben how he was doing, how she felt, how long he had been here and a great many other questions. Ben told Lucy that he was doing quite well, that he must be since he wasn't as sad as her. Then he asked why she asked so many questions that everyone else already asked.

Lucy told Ben that she was just looking out for him, that she had his best interests in mind and that she hoped he didn't mind all the questions. Ben shook his head and smiled like a saint.