Sienna's POV:
Today is the day we officially start our project. Yay. Our plan for day one is quite simple, actually. It's currently 4:30 pm, and we planned to meet at the mental institution at 5:00pm, give or take 5 minutes.
I search around my room for the materials I will be needing for this project. Other than some ear plugs to block out the sound of Timmy's voice, I grab a spiral notebook and 2 pens before heading out to my car. I check my phone and see that the time now reads "4:45pm," so I will get there right on time.
Since it's day one, we only decided to visit four patients, one for each group member, before moving forward. We entered the building and made our way to what seemed to be the front desk. We explained what we were doing there before the owner assigned each of us a worker in case something happened. We made sure to remember the names of the patients in contrast to remembering the names of the workers.
There was one worker, though, whose name I did catch up on. Casey. Oh how I've wished to never be reminded of that name again.
For my first year and a half of high school, I went to a school called Davenport Prep, a school that isn't the one I currently attend. In the middle of my freshman year, I was walking down the hallway, heading to my next class, and I accidentally bumped into this kid I've never seen before. We asked one another if we were okay, and proceeded to exchange names. When he told me his name was Casey Tuntor, I felt a tinge of surprise. No offense to the other students, but they all had basic names. So hearing a unique name such as Casey's was definitely something new for me. Now, when I hear the name Casey, all I feel is a rush of disgust.
We got together two weeks after we met. We went everywhere together, did everything together. To the outside world, we looked like the perfect couple. The couple that everybody envied. The couple that was featured in every highschool cliche movie. The couple that waited for one another after class just to talk for as much as they could before moving to their next one. But we weren't that couple. We weren't even close.
During winter break of sophomore year, Casey and his family went on a vacation trip to their cabin up in Lake Michigan. They decided to fly first class as his family rarely went on vacation. When he arrived, I immediately asked him to send pictures so I could see the view. He didn't, but that's beside the point.
Two weeks later and he was on his way home.
He never made it home.
One of the plane's engines caught on fire, and the plane crashed. They never actually found Casey's body, but he was presumed dead since everyone else was.
When I found out about the crash, I was expecting to cry. Everyone was expecting me to cry. They took pity on me, the poor girl who lost her perfect boyfriend to a tragic accident. I didn't cry, though. I didn't even shed a tear. In some fucked up way, I sort of felt relieved. I wasn't anticipating a future with Casey nor did I want one.
My family and friends were especially bewildered by my reaction, because they didn't know. And I suppose that's not their fault. If anything, it's mine. I just couldn't say anything to anyone. There were many rumors and theories spreading across the school regarding my reaction, but the one I heard the most was that "she's just in denial." If I'm being honest, I actually was in denial for some time. I felt trapped in the relationship we had poorly built. In most relationships, you're supposed to feel as if you can't even breathe until you're with that one special person. Like your whole world actually depends on them. For me, it was the exact opposite. The only time I could catch a breath, the only time I felt as if I was above the surface, was when I was as far away from Casey as possible. I didn't want to remember him after the crash, so I did my best to forget about him.
Anyways, for day one, Aiden visited and studied the behavior of a girl named Sophia, Timmy visited a girl named Alise, Maddie visited a girl named Lexi, and I visited a girl named Luna.
We all jotted down notes about our patients, and came together at the end to discuss what we observed.
Aiden explains how his patient, Sophia, put herself into the mental hospital in hopes of getting rid of her strange and repetitive dreams. In every dream, Sophia would visit the crystal shop, planning to purchase a black obsidian to match her wardrobe. While inside, this same girl would walk up to her. According to Sophia, this girl goes by the name of Lily Rose Depp. And every time, the girl would say this exact sentence word for word, "Buy me an emerald, bitch." When Aiden asked Sophia why she thinks the girl is asking this of her, Sophia responded with, "Lily's birthday is in May. May's birthstone is an emerald. You seriously didn't know that? Are you dense?" Aiden is obviously annoyed while replaying this memory, implying that somewhere along the way Sophia managed to damage his ego. I'll have to visit Sophia one of these days to applaud her for that.
Timmy next explains his experience with his patient, Alise. Alise was put into the mental institution because of what she claims she's been seeing things. Her sister, Kate, was very concerned for Alise's well-being when she walked into her room and saw her having a full-on conversation with absolutely nobody. When Kate confronted her about this, Alise told her that she was talking to Matthew Gray Gubler, and that he was responding. Kate just nodded while continuing to stare at Alise. She backed out of Alise's room very slowly, and when she finally exited, she sprinted over to their parents to report this situation. Alise's parents didn't even hesitate when they picked up the phone and called the mental institution.
When Timmy finally finishes talking, Maddie talks about her experience with her patient, Lexi. Unfortunately, Lexi has been struggling with a very serious addiction for some time now. It's affected not only herself, but everyone around her as well. Lexi doesn't understand that there's something very wrong with her, but it definitely doesn't go unnoticed by others. Maddie thinks that it has now become an involuntary action, because it seems as if Lexi isn't lying when she says she doesn't realize her extreme problem. Everyone's support goes out to Lexi as she is very much addicted to sending-pictures-of-harry-styles-in-the-groupchat. Maddie has all of us sign a card for Lexi in order to show that we are and always will be with her while she deals with her addiction!
Finally, I talk about my patient, Luna, although there's not much to talk about. I recall asking the girl what she was in for and her not answering me. I say how I then asked my assigned worker for help, and how he simply answered with, "She's just borderline insane." After he said this, I took another glance at Luna, then silently nodded to myself, realizing that the worker was most definitely correct.
When we finally finish sharing our notes and putting together the first part of our project, we all drive home individually, somewhat happy over the fact that we at least have three days until we have to meet together and do this all over again.
