You adjust your cap, keeping it fixed on your head. You're really glad you don't have to wear a hair net for this job—they were really annoying. Hell, there technically wasn't even a uniform for this—still, you wore the company jacket and pants, tinted salmon-pink, with your nametag clipped on.
Your eyes dart to the clock, tracking the time. The break room clock ran two minutes fast—fucking Mike and his efficiency fetish again—but your shift was supposed to start five inutes ago. Another five and you'd have to go in and check on Earl. Not something you wanted to do, given what had happened last time, but it was company policy.
Thankfully, you don't have to. The door swings outward, and Earl staggers in, bow-legged and clearly exhausted. He collapses into a chair, breathing hard, wiping sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. One he didn't have before—the scrap of cloth was embroidered, too. Little crowns, a single fish on one of the corners. Likely he'd gotten it from one of his 'patients' as a token of appreciation—the girls didn't have much to do other than read or take up hobbies like that in here, after all.
"Fuck," he sighs, closing his eyes slowly. "Every time. I ain't gettin' any younger," he mutters to himself, adjusting his jacket. Nobody came into this ward at night, but you respected him for for going through the effort of keeping his uniform in order—despite the wrinkles still evident from his shift. "Ey, Pierce, you got a new girl tonight, y'know that?" Your eyes widen. No, you didn't know that.
"That's a headache and a half," you remark, caressing your temples. "Damn. The first night always takes forever." At least the orderlies would have told her everything. The last time this had happened, she had still been reading the contract by the time your shift came around.
"Nothin' to it," Earl tells you, flicking a coin between his fingers. No phones in the ward meant you and the others had to pick up hobbies, too—Earl's was close-up magic. He was still working on coin vanishing. Apparently it was tougher than it looked. "'Cept to do it," her tells you, finishing the well-worn phrase with a smile. "You better get out there 'fore the girls start gettin' antsy," he nods, gesturing at the door—on the opposite side of the break room.
"Yeah, yeah." You sigh, rising. Time to get to work. You pick your clipboard off of the table as you go, clicking a pen idly. Ah, shit, you forgot to put the spring back into it. Hold on a sec.
The floors of the halls are as ridiculously polished as always—even in the middle of the night, you could make out your teeth when you smiled, which was honestly downright creepy, but you weren't going to tell the janitors to be worse at their jobs. That would be rude. Also, the janitors were honestly a little freaky. You knew the quality of the patients you were treating, so it shouldn't have been any surprise that there was something a little inhuman about them, but… look. You preferred to keep the freaky shit on the other side of the door, thank you very much.
You sigh again, shaking your head. Your new girl was your first one up tonight—what luck. You roll your shoulder, trying to work out the kinks from sitting still for almost an hour, and approach the door. Fishing your lanyard out of your pocket, you grab the ID card and run it through the scanner. This was way better than the old PIN pads, but it was still annoying. The door clicks open. Okay. Time to put your game face on.
Being new, the girl hasn't had much time to personalize her room. It's still the same standard as the rest of the patients—a plain white cot, a few cabinets, and a desk with a factory-built computer on top. You still didn't know why part of their therapy involved streaming online at least three times a week, but you weren't asking questions anymore, after you got that bald spot.
"Hello," you nod to the woman, sitting on the edge of the cot. It looked like she'd franticallly gotten up upon hearing your approach, trying to remain calm. "My name is Pierce Highmann, and I'll be your relief specialist this evening." You give her a company-approved smile, fixing your gaze on her eyes. Heterochromia, huh? You'd seen weirder. "It's nice to meet you, miss…" You make a show of checking your clipboard. Icebreaking went easier if the other party introduced themselves>
"IRyS," she tells you, showing fangs as she smiled at you. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Highmann.' You chuckle, another company-approved noise.
"Please, Mr. Highmann is my father. Just call me Pierce." Being on a first name basis wasn't anywhere near as awkward as things were going to get tonight—you'd crossed this bridge a hundred times before. "Before we get started, are there any questions you'd like to ask?" You'd have to feel out her personality first and adjust from there—right now, you were still on 'helpful nurse', which was a bit too generic for your tastes.