Chapter Eighty: Cry-Baby Petey Mchew

"Thanks to Nancy's newspaper minions, we are now rock-star psychology students at the University of Notre Dame." Robin explained, passing three folders out to Steve, Dustin, and Lucas.

"I'm now Ruth, Riley is now Diane..." Nancy continued.

"And I'm Rose."

"Ruth?" Steve asked skeptically, glancing up at Nancy. She shrugged.

"Nice GPA." Dustin told her.

"Thanks. So, we called Pennhurst Asylum, told them we'd like to speak with Victor Creel for a thesis we're all co-writing on paranoid schizophrenics-"

"To which they said no." Robin added.

"But, we landed a three o'clock with the director."

"Now, all we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk to Victor."

"Then maybe we can rid Max of this curse." Nancy finished, looking over at where she still sat at the desk.

"Yeah, uh, about that, we've been doing our Victor Creel homework and uh...we've ot some questions." Steve told them as they all handed the files back.

"Lots of questions." Lucas agreed.

"So do we. Hopefully, Victor has  the answers."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait a second, uh...Where's mine?" Steve asked, holding up one of the folders. Nancy shot him an apologetic look. I winced as he turned to look at me.

"Nance, I'm going to need a costume so...I'm raiding your closet." I said, jumping up and rushing towards the stairs.

"Yup, right behind you."

We both took off, with Steve not far behind us as we crashed into her bedroom.

"You two are out of your minds if you think I'm babysitting again." 

"Ok, first of all, they're not babies anymore," Nancy told him, "And Max is in real danger. She needs people around her."

"I know, buy why me? Why not, say, My fiancé, who's the only one who can really be with her if she goes under again?" He suggested. 

"Uh, hello? Police Chief father, practically born with interrogation skills?" I pointed out. "Plus, our resident Upside Down expert. I should hear Creel's testimony first hand, since I have the best chance at making something out off it."

"Oh my gosh, you have a Tom Cruise poster!" Robin exclaimed, suddenly coming into the room. "You have a Tom Cruise poster."

"That's...old." Nancy tried. I chuckled, sitting down on her bed and crossing my legs as she dug through her closet. Robin crouched down by her bedside table, looking at her cassette tapes. "Can you please not touch anything?"

"I can't do anything here, Nance. Maybe I can be helpful with the asylum director dude." Steve pressed.

"You're always helpful," I said, standing up and moving to stand in front of him, "I know, staying back with the kids isn't the most exciting thing but...you really are helping out a ton just by being with them. I should know, I was once a babysitter too, as you'll recall."

"Come on, Riley. I could like, I could turn on my charm."

"Not the kind of charm we need." Nancy told him.

"Ouch." He said, turning away from her.

"No, its just, I did a little digging last night, and it turns out this Dr. Hatch is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Harvard visiting scholar. Ok? This is a lifelong student of the world. If we're gonna win him over, we're gonna have to convince him that we are...too." She trailed off, watching as Robin opened her music box on her dresser. "That, like him we are true...academic scholars."

"Holy crap, there's a little ballerina in here." Robin said whispered excitedly. Steve looked at her.

"Academic scholar? She's giving you an academic scholar vibe? Yeah." He said, gesturing over to her.

"No, but...she will." Nancy held up a pink, ruffled blouse and a floral skirt and my jaw dropped.

"Oh, please tell me you're joking." Robin answered. I turned back to Steve, who shot me a look.

"Look, Steve," I stepped up in front of him, "What it comes down to is...you're hot, ok? You are beyond attractive, and some old guy academic is probably going to be insanely intimidated and suspicious of that, and he's probably going to try to establish dominance and prove he's smarter than you and all of that...we are banking on him buying our story for the sole reason that we, as women, are notoriously overlooked and underestimated." 

"Yeah...I guess that makes sense." He agreed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Not to mention, I will feel a lot better knowing you're here to watch Max because I'm scared for her, and I know for a fact, with first had experience, that you would never ever let anything happen to her." I threw in, wrapping my arms around his neck. He sighed, wrapping his around my waist.

"Ok...you win." I smiled, leaning in and kissing him briefly, when Nancy pulled another ensemble out of her closet and held it up for me to see. I pulled away from him, looking at it with wide eyes. He burst out laughing.

"You're gonna put...she's gonna wear that?" He asked, pointing at it. "You're gonna look like-"

"Don't," I held up a hand, "Don't you dare finish that sentence-"

"Business Barbie!" He laughed. I sighed, my head falling backwards before looking at Nancy, who shot me an innocent smile. 

"If we all happen to survive this time around," I said, stepping forward and taking the outfit from her, "We're going shopping, and getting you some new clothes because this is...concerning."

~~~

Nancy took care of our hair and makeup, seeing as Robin and I had no clue what an 'academic scholar' looks like. I stepped out of her room when she was done, dressed in my pink business suit.

I looked down at myself uncomfortably, only to find that Steve was waiting for me. He bit his lip, trying to suppress a laugh.

"Not a word, HAIRington. Not one, single word." I said, holding up a finger. He held his hands up, surveying my outfit. "Is this what you want? Am I your dream woman now?"

I did a slow turn, holding my arms out to my sides. He laughed.

"Oh, for sure. I want you to dress like this every day from now on. Especially the hair." I nodded and he smiled, shaking his head. "I must admit...babysitting doesn't seem so bad now."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." I shot back. "But seriously...please keep an eye on Max. I'm really worried about her, and I want to be able to save her, but I haven't been able to save the others so...Please just be careful."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, Barbie. Don't worry about it." I nodded.

"Alright then...let's get this over with."

~~~

Once we got to Pennhurst, the walk to the main entrance was an incredibly difficult one, seeing as Robin and I both had pretty minimal dress-shoes experience.

"I can't breathe in this thing, and I'm itchy. I'm itching all over." Robin complained as she stumbled between Nancy and I.

"Its not all about comfort, ok? We're academics." Nancy pointed out.

"Who evidently are coming straight from Easter Brunch. Also, this bra that you gave me is really pinching my boobs."

"Ok, could you just let me, or Riley do the talking? If that's even possible?"

"Its not only possible, its inevitable, because shortly I'll be dead from strangulation." Robin retorted, pulling her collar away from her throat.

~~~

Robin and I sat in chairs on the other side of Dr. Hatch's desk, and Nancy stood behind us as he went over our fake character folders.

"3.9 GPAS," He narrated, "All three of you. Impressive."

"And this is a recommendation from Professor Brantley." Nancy said, handing a piece of paper to him across the desk.

"Yeah, I know Larry. Quite well actually." He said, glancing at it over his glasses. The three of us shared a nervous look. "Eh, you know what they say. 'Those who can't do, teach'."

He took his glasses off, and the three of us giggled politely in response.

"That's actually what brings us here today," I said, seeing a potential angle, "I mean, as fascinating as Professor Brantley's courses are, we can only learn so much in a classroom."

"Mm. And I'm sympathetic to your struggle, truly," He said, "But there is a protocol to visiting a patient like Victor. You have to put in a request, and then undergo a screening process, at which point, the board will make a decision." He pushed our folders back over to us. "I can see you're disappointed, but I'm more than happy to give you a tour of the facility. Perhaps you can even speak to some patients in our low-security wing."

"And we'd...we would love that," Nancy said, glancing between us, "Its just that um...our thesis is due next month."

"And you're out of time," He finished for her, "Whose fault is that?"

I raised my eyebrows.

"Ours, absolutely, and I do apologize-"

"Don't apologize, Ruth. Screw that." Robin suddenly spoke up, causing us both to look at her with wide eyes. "The fact of the matter is, we did put in a request months ago and were denied. And then we reapplied and were denied again, and coming here was our last-ditch effort to save our thesis, and I really, I can't breathe in this thing." She gave Nancy a side-eye, pulling her blouse away from her throat.

"Well, Rose, maybe you'd like to go outside and get some air." Nancy warned.

"Maybe I should, Ruth."

"Mhm."

"Because I'm starting to think this whole thing is a colossal mistake," She said, standing up, "I'm breaking out in a rash, my boobs hurt, and I'll tell you the truth, Anthony. May I call you Anthony? These aren't actually my clothes. I borrowed them because I wanted you to take us seriously, because nobody takes girls seriously in this field, they just don't! We don't look the part or whatever, but can I tell you a story?"

Nancy and I shared a confused look.

"1978, I was at summer camp. And my counselor Drew told me and everyone in Cabin C the true story of the Victor Creel Massacre. And little Petey McHew, you guys know Petey, right Ruth? Diane?"

"Sure do, yes." I agreed.

"Of-Of course."

"Yeah, little Petey McHew started sobbing right there on the spot, full-on hyperventilating, and  all of the other campers, they couldn't sleep for weeks, and I couldn't either, but not 'cause I was scared, but because I was obsessed with the question, 'What would drive a human being to commit such unimaginable acts?'. Other kids wanted to be astronauts, Basketball players, rockstars, But I wanted to be you. I wanted to be you, so forgive me if I'll now try anything in my power, including wearing this ridiculous outfit, if I might get to speak to the man that ignited my passion and learn a little bit more about how his twisted, but let's face it, totally fascinating mind works. So yes, we don't have the official paperwork, but don't tell me that little cry-baby Petey McHew wouldn't have gotten an audience with Victor in a matter of moments if he'd asked politely because you and I both know that he would."

Robin and I shared a look before looking at Dr. Hatch, who seemed to be hanging on to Robin's every word.

"So...ten minutes with Victor. That's all I ask."

~~~

"I'll be back in 30." Dr. Hatch reported to his receptionist as he led us out of his office. Robin, Nancy, and I all glanced at each other, before Robin discreetly turned her hands palm-up at her sides. Nancy and I both quietly high-fived her as we followed Dr. Hatch towards Victor Creel's cell.

"Told you she was awesome." I whispered to Nancy.

"Yeah, yeah." She agreed, smiling at Robin.