The man in the green nurses outfit handed me a white dress. I wanted a dress. He said that I also could've had a shirt, but I didn't want it. I still had to wear pants under my dress though. Even when I was sleeping. He then left the room to let me get dressed.
I liked the white dress much more than my orange clothes. They didn't fit very well.
He also told me that I could pick anything from the shelves that I wanted. But only one. The men at the front gate had looked scary. And I was pretty sure they'd come after me if I picked more than one. I finally picked a box of ribbons from the lowest shelf. But I wasn't sure if I'd done it right.
The box is only one thing. But the ribbons aren't.
I slowly opened the door and peeked out. The man spotted me and turned to me, a smile on his face.
"Are you done?" he asked.
"Can I have this?" I asked, showing him the box. "I like all of the colors. But there's more than one in the box."
The man takes the box and opens it. He looks inside for a few seconds then turns back to me.
"Well, this is a set. Have you heard that word before?" he asks.
I nod my head.
"Well, since a set is just one thing, it's fine to have," he says.
"Even if it has more stuff on the inside?" I ask.
"Yes," he says, smiling and handing me the box back. I look down at it and smile.
"Are you ready?" he asks. I nod. He leads me down the hall. It's got brownish walls and nice lights. It reminds me of the walls at my old school. Mixed with the walls at my old grandmas house.
"We have a library, small arcade, and a lounge for when you're awake. You can also go out to the yard or the cafeteria, but you must return to your room when the loud bell rings," the man says.
"I can go outside?" I ask, excited. I like going outside. Sometimes, is find cool bugs or plants.
But the outside was also a bit scary. That's where I saw those guys being mean to that girl. It wasn't very fun. But then it got better.
"Of course you can," he says. "Though I suggest you do it when it's nice outside. You don't want to bring mud in and make a mess would you?"
"I suppose not," I say. "I don't really like messes. But I promise I won't."
Those guys made a mess. I got very dirty.
"And," he says. "If you find any thing bad, then you should report it immediately to one of us guys in the green. Or one of the people in white coats. Don't use it though, or you'll get in trouble."
"What sort of bad things?" I ask.
"Stuff like weapons. Or maybe medicine that people aren't supposed to have. If you don't know what it is, you should probably mention it to us," he says.
"Weapons," I say. "Like knives? Or those big guns those guys at the gate had?"
I know how to use a knife. I got a little one that hid in a case for my birthday. I wasn't allowed to use it unless I had to though. Which I did.
"Things like that, yeah."
The hallway stops and then there's a big room. I can see the hall continue on the other side of the room. Tables are all everywhere. Some people are there. Some are going back towards the hall. There's a bunch of windows on the other side that look into two rooms. One has a big tv and pillows on the ground. The other one has a table in the middle with big game machines around the walls.
The big room has a hole in the middle of the wall with food on it. People walk in a line through it. They're holding trays.
It's like a nicer version of my old lunchroom.
"Here is the cafeteria," he says. "Those two rooms over there are the arcade and lounge. If you go down that hall, there's the door to the yard and the stairs. Upstairs are the showers, your rooms, and the library. On the third floor there's a small classroom and a room where you'll get to talk to the people in the white coats. The doctors."
"That's confusing, Mr.....I'm sorry, I forgot your name," I say.
"It's ok," he says. "My name is Bryan. And it may be confusing at first. But you'll get used to it."
"Do you live here Mr. Bryan? And what do you guys in the green nurses clothes do?"
"No, I don't live here. But I live nearby. And we are here to help you guys," he says. "See, there are also people in white, like you. We're here to be your friends."
"Friends," I say, sticking out my hand. He smiles at me, and shakes it.
That girl said that I'd helped her. But then the man with the briefcase made her say that I needed help. I had a man with a briefcase too.
"How old are you Mr. Bryan?" I asked.
"I'm almost twenty-two," he says.
"Wow! You sure are old. Almost...," I count on my fingers. "Ten years older than me."
"Well, you're pretty old yourself," he says, laughing.
"I am not," I say, crossing my arms. "I still don't know how multiply over eleven."
No one in my class could. Though there weren't many of us. There were other classes too, who were smarter than us though. Some of them were mean, but some were really nice.
"Ok ok," he says. "You like being young, don't you."
"Like Peter Pan," I say. He laughs.
"I'll let you go now," he says. "Lunch ends in thirty minutes. Make sure you get your food before then. When the loud bell rings at night, come find me or someone in green, and we'll take you to your room."
"And if I don't, then the men at the gate will come get me, right?" I ask.
"Hmm," he says. "I suppose they might. But don't worry, as long as you're good, you'll be fine."
"Ok," I say. "Bye Mr. Bryan."
"Goodbye, Miss Mandry," he says, waving goodbye. He heads down the other hall and I notice how hungry I am. I grab a tray and put my little box on it. Then I go through the line and grab some food. When there's no one at the end, I get confused.
"Excuse me, Miss," I say to a woman in green walking by.
"Yes dear," she says. She's taller than me, so she has to bend down to look at me.
"Don't I have to pay?" I ask. "Like at school?"
"Not here," she says. "You just get your food. And then make sure you throw away your trash."
"Oh ok," I say. Then I lean over and whisper, "Do I have to throw my tray away too?"
"No," she laughs. "After you've thrown your trash away, put your tray on one of those big metal carts. And if you need any help, ask one of us."
"Because you're here to help," I say. "Right?"
"That's right," she says, straightening back up. "Enjoy your lunch."
"Thank you!" I call as she leaves. I look at all of the tables and get nervous.
I don't know who to sit with. I always just sat with my class. We had our own seats.
"Hey!" I voice calls. Followed by a small giggle. "Wanna sit with me?"
I turn back towards the line to see a boy. He has a red jacket with a hood on over his white shirt. He smiles and walks over to me.
"Sure," I say. Smiling back. He laughs again and drums his fingers on his tray.
"Great," he say. "I love making new friends. I haven't seen you here before. My name is Edwyn."
"Hi, Edwyn," I say. "My name is Keiko."
