“Hello, little blind girl!”

The cheery voice startled Abby out of her daze.  She closed her eyes, previously unaware that anyone else was in the room.

“Hello?”  The voice asked again.  It was a boy’s voice, and sounded fairly young.

“Leave it off.”  A second voice said, gravelly and weak.

“She’s blind.  Do you think she’s mute or deaf too?”  The cheery voice asked.

“Maybe she just doesn’t want to talk to you.”  The tired voice snapped.

“Why not?”  The cheery voice sounded like an imbecile.  Abby chose to stay quiet.  She’d been in the hospital for only two days now, and her mood had soured considerably.

Not that she was ever in a good mood.  Hardly.

“Being locked up in a psych ward probably doesn’t make a person very chatty.  Except for you, of course.”  The tired voice said bitterly.

“We aren’t in a psych ward!”  Abby protested.

“I told you she could speak!”  The cheery voice said triumphantly, clearly not understanding the apprehension in Abby’s voice.

“How would you know, little blind girl?”  The weak voice croaked in response to Abby’s exclamation.

“I’m here to get my eyes looked at.”  Abby said quietly, her sudden bout of boldness now passed.

“Who looks at blind eyes?”  The voice said hoarsely, a little amused.

“Poetry.”  The cheery voice said.

“Isn’t it?”

“Beautiful.”

“Ought to write it down.”

“Have a pen an paper, blind girl?”  The cheery voice asked.

“She’s blind, you idiot.”

“Sorry.”

“What does the room look like?”  Abby asked, swallowing hard.

“Like the waiting room of a psych ward.”  Was the blunt reply.  “White walls.  No windows.  No carpet.”

“Doesn’t make it a psych ward.”  Abby insisted nervously.

“Its the chairs.”  The tired voice said.  “No screws.  No nails.  No parts you could disassemble.  Psych ward chairs.”

Abby shifted a little in her plastic seat, unconvinced but increasingly unnerved.

“Plus, if this idiot is here, its definitely a psych ward.”  The tired voice said.

“That was unneeded.”  The cheery voice replied.  “You are a very rude person.”

“Says the guy who asked a blind girl for a pen and paper.”

“I didn’t do that on purpose!”  The voice sounded hurt.  “I didn’t do it on purpose, little blind girl.  I didn’t mean to be rude!”

Abby didn’t care that he sounded truly remorseful.  She was in too foul a mood.  “Then you might stop calling me ‘blind girl.’”  She said bitterly.

“Is that rude too?”

“Yes, imbecile.”  The tired voice said.

“But you said it!”

“I was being rude on purpose.  I’m English, I can do that.”

The two men continued to bicker, and Abby began to count away the seconds as she waited for something to happen.  After a few minutes, she could hear the sound of a door opening.

“Miss Abigail?  Doctor Lauren will see you now.”

“Thank goodness.”  Abby gasped.  She stood, felt the nurse’s hand take hers, and followed the woman from the room.  “I’m glad to be free of those two idiots.”  She whispered to the nurse.

“Oh, was it Tony bothering you? Tony?” The nurse said in a reproachful tone.

“He started it.”  The cheery voice accused.

“He’s a liar.  You know that.”  The tired voice sighed.

“Tony.”  The nurse said again.

“Sorry.”  The cheery voice apologized.

“Victor?”

“Sorry.”  The tired voice sighed.

Shutting the door, the nurse shook her head.  “I have never seen multiple personalities bicker quite as much as those two.”