Alistair

This is a take on the mad hatter from Alice in Wonderland-You are a young delinquent walking down the clinical blue corridors of Briarhurst Asylum. Your eyes glued to the sterile tiled checker floor. The smell of bleach in the air. Your hair bland in the florescent lightbulbs. Your black booted feet scuffle along, the hem of your pant legs sway side to side across the bottoms of your ankles, brushing the tops of your shoes. Two burly orderlies, walk on either side of you staring forward like blank faced robots, arms straight at their sides, no light shining from their eyes. Issued in standard white slacks, a white button-down shirt tucked in rather tightly at the waist, black belt and bowtie, they remind you of 50's soda shop waiters minus the hat. Approaching a tall sturdy thick silver metal door, the orderly on your left swipes his plastic badge through the electronic slot on the door. Small blinking lights switch from red to green as the door unlocks with a click. The orderly on your right pushes the door open a wide enough crack for your thin narrow body to slip through. You slowly and reluctantly walk into the room. The door closes behind you with a click of the lock. Taking in your surroundings, the mess hall is no bigger than a shoe box. A breath escapes you as you survey the number of patients in the room, not as many as you thought.