Efflorescence

Chapter five 

Surprisingly, I didn't cry. As overwhelmed and stunned I was with this whole situation, I managed to hold myself together. I would say Mr. Wade guided me, but he more or less pushed and dragged me, where he wanted me go. I started to have suspicions that he was in charge of more than he let me know. We came to a corner enclosed with a thick blue curtain. Behind it was a large nurse sitting in a rolling chair with a pen and clipboard. "You're going to have to take off your clothes," she informed me as I stepped in. "Why?" I asked uncomfortably. "I'm supposed to check you for any bruises, cuts, and/or scars. Mandatory procedure," she answered bluntly. "Um," I said taking off my shirt. Her eyes were immediately glued to my mutilated body. She marked on her paper for a long time. Then, she took my shoelaces, clothes with strings, and anything else she thought I might be able to harm myself with. I finally had someone bring me to my new unit.

Chapter six 

There were two supervisors in the room that I entered. An older lady with a long black skirt on greeted me at the door. An African American guy who couldn't have been older than 20 was right behind her, both of whom had forced-looking smiles on their faces. I noticed that there were no people in the area, so I stole a glance at the large clock. It read 11:24 P.M., and I assumed that we had a bedtime here as we did at the old ISB. The lady showed me what there was to see of the unit: a long hallway which contained multiple rooms and two bathrooms - one for girls and one for boys. There was also a long curved desk where the doctor worked, and my eyes caught the word "histrionic" and "panic attacks" on a white forum. The doctor glared at me, taking his eyes away from the computer screen displaying surveillance cameras of each room. I made a mental note to myself to always change in the bathrooms where there - thank God - were no cameras.

Chapter seven 

The lady left me to my room. Technically, it wasn't my room; I had to share with some blonde chick that was asleep in the bed next to mine. There wasn't one ounce of color in the entire room, everything was white. Not that there was much in there to be colorful anyway. The room contained two small beds with two, also small, tables in the middle that was split into three drawers. My parents didn't pack much for me anyway: just a couple t-shirts, a pair of jeans, and a pair of pajama pants (Which the lady behind the curtain cut the strings off of). It took me a second before I realized I was staring out of the huge window, parallel with the heavy door. I crawled into the bed next to it and covered my entire body with the blanket. I heard muttering and I was sure it was my voices before I uncovered my face to see a wide eyed girl staring at me. "Um... hi?" I was wondering what her problem was.

Chapter eight 

"Why are you here?" she snapped. "The same reason everyone else is?" I said rubbing my temples. "I'm here for a different reason than everyone else. I am not a freak. I'm better than all of you. It was them! They told me so! It must be true!" She practically spat. It was way too late at night for all this. She can't possibly honestly think that hearing "them" (which I guessed was her voices) is normal, can she? If I didn't know better, I'd think she was shallow and self-centered. Then I remembered what I saw on the doctor's desk. I knew Histrionic people crave attention, for whatever reason, so I decided she can have it from everyone besides me. I just needed her to shut up. "Okaaaay," I said rolling over on my side to face the window. I don't know how long she babbled before her voice was replaced by hissing. In a way, seeing Killer was soothing, as much as she terrified me, it was still good to know one thing would never change.

Chapter nine  

I was woken up by one of the two nurses. She was short and had thick brown hair that came down to her shoulders. It reminded me of a rats nest. She didn't shake me, and even though she spoke in a low whisper, her voice still pierced my ears and sent chills down my spine. I pretended not to hear her until I could feel her coming closer. "My name is Mrs. Kimberly, it's time to get up," she said in a high pitched voice. Didn't they know not to startle me by now? I jumped out of bed in a swift movement and watched as the nurse backed away. I told her to save her breath on all of the "Good morning sunshine" bullshit. She told me to sit on the bench and get ready to have my vital signs taken.