249

Ever since the Gotham freeze incident, the city's temperature started to drop. Not long after summer passed, the temperature plummeted significantly, until yesterday night, drizzle turned into hail. The next morning, Shiller who arrived at Arkham Hospital for work, placed his umbrella at the entrance of his office and then sighed.

When Mrs. Miller entered the room with a kettle, she looked back at the umbrella leaning against the door. As she placed the kettle on Shiller's table, she asked, "Dr. Rodriguez, why are you still using that broken umbrella?"

As Shiller took the kettle and poured himself some water, he shrugged, "It wasn't too broken before, I had someone add extra support to the frame. It was still usable. Who knew that these days, it's not rain but hail that's falling in Gotham, so..."

His gaze moved past Mrs. Miller to his umbrella. Clearly, a rib had already broken. The dent was obvious even without it being opened.

Mrs. Miller used to be a head nurse, who was re-employed by the hospital after her retirement. Now she is Arkham Mental Hospital's Head Steward. She is a somewhat skinny old woman, but still full of energy.

She tightened the shawl on her shoulders and said, "The weather has been getting weirder recently. Today it's hailing, tomorrow it might start snowing. I'll have someone light the fireplace later."

"Oh, madam, you do love to exaggerate, it's still a long way to go," Shiller said, taking a sip of hot water.

Then he flipped out his schedule and asked Mrs. Miller, "Who's my first patient this morning? Do any of them need bedside consultation?"

"I don't think so." Mrs. Miller shook her head. She picked up a notebook from the side and read from it. "This morning, Mr. Oswald Cobblepot has a follow-up appointment, which should take about two hours. Then there are Anthony and Miss Scott from the third floor. They both have follow-up appointments as well, that's two hours in total. So, I'll come to collect case records and files at noon..."

Mrs. Miller closed the notebook with a 'snap' and asked, "The afternoon is your private time. Your two friends have already booked an appointment. Do you need any help with this?"

"No, thank you. Oh, wait, I have another friend coming over tonight, but he called my private phone..."

Mrs. Miller returned the notebook back to the bookshelf on her table, and said somewhat helplessly, "Dr. Schiller, you have to understand that normally, mental hospitals do not allow entry to people without an appointment. And appointments need to be made by calling the hospital a day in advance. If they contact you via your private phone, it has to be at least two days in advance..."

"Yes, I understand, Mrs. Miller, but my friend is a bit special. If I don't allow him in, he might go and steal a camera from a TV station."

"Ok, we can make an exception this time, but next time please remind him to call the hospital to make an appointment. Otherwise, the hospital won't be able to take responsibility for any issues that might arise, Dr. Schiller. This is for your own good."

"Alright, thank you."

Hot water poured into the cup, the slight hiss echoed in the room and thin white steam rose from the mug. Shiller took a sip of the hot water and as he put down the cup, he stared at Cobblepot's face through the steam in front of him.

He was much better than before, although his face was still thin and his eyes were sunken, he looked tidier and healthier than before with arranged hair and a ruddier face; his lips were no longer chapped.

As Shiller browsed his medical record he mentioned, "Though I've told you many times, I still have to emphasize that your current living environment is very detrimental to your recovery. If possible, you should really find a new place."

"Leaving aside the poor light and air conditions, sanitation alone is already a major problem."

Shiller put down the medical record again and asked Cobblepot, "How's your mother?"

"She's fine."

"What is it? You seem to have something to say?"

Shiller saw Cobblepot looking hesitant across the table, so he placed the case record onto the table, and aligned it against the edge with other files on the table, and placed them to one side.

He put his arm on the table and said, "The regular consultation is over, but we still have 20 minutes left. This is free consultation time, so you can say whatever you want."

"Professor Fries suggested that I... go to high school." Cobblepot's hands were also on the table, his fingers intertwined tightly, he said, "That's absurd, isn't it? How could I possibly go to high school?"

"Why do you find it absurd? Why do you think you can't go to high school?"

"I..." Cobblepot hesitated for a moment, appearing to not know how to express his emotions, so Shiller said for him, "Because this is not common in Gotham, right?"

"Almost everyone around you doesn't go to school. Let alone high school, they probably dropped out of school even before finishing primary school. You did the same."

"Perhaps, in your life plan, there never was a route of orderly studying and then going to university…"

Cobblepot nodded, he still looked very tense, his Adam's apple continuously bobbing. He said, "This won't work, I can't go to school. I don't have tuition fees, and my mother needs someone to take care of her."