Alive: The Ghost of Cambria - Book One

Chapter One

"Are you going to make me take medicine? Will that make it stop?" asked the anxious girl.

Kristen Cole sat in her office across from Mona, a nineteen-year-old college student assigned to the doctor for psychological appraisal. The girl's parents had admitted her into Sharp Memorial Hospital after they'd been called in a panic by their daughter's dorm-mate, Jessica, at San Diego State University.

Mona had attended a house party last night. Attending had been her dorm-mate's idea—a simple plan to lift the girl's spirits. Having been depressed for weeks after breaking up with her boyfriend, living with Mona had become insufferable. At the party, the two girls spent hours playing games and drinking with dozens of friends and peers. Losing track of her roommate at some point, Jessica searched the house and eventually came across Mona sitting in a dark, unoccupied bedroom. When Jessica flicked a switch to light the room, she realized Mona was alone and talking to a photograph of a man she didn't know in a frame on the bed's side-table. When Jessica spoke to the girl, Mona carried on with the bizarre conversation as if she couldn't hear her friend calling her name. Even when Jessica vigorously shook Mona, the girl continued with her delusional discussion.

"From all you've told me, I don't think that will be necessary," Kristen answered gently, hoping that her warm smile would place the girl at ease.

"My mom said you'd give me pills to make me feel better," the girl replied, almost as if instructing Kristen to give them to her. "She says I'm over-stressed with school and all."

"Do you think that's what happened to you?" Kristen asked.

Mona didn't answer the question. Tears threatened to return, and she looked away from the psychologist.

Kristen didn't push the girl for an answer.

"Mom says I should ask for Xanax," said Mona, a color of impatience and desperation in her voice.

"I don't prescribe medication," Kristen clarified, "and I wouldn't suggest your physician allow you to have it. Xanax is not a solution for you. At best, it would be a Band-Aid, but it would come at too high a high price."

The mood-stabilizer Mona asked for had become alarmingly prevalent over the past decade. Nearly an epidemic, physicians prescribed Xanax if a patient so much as experienced a bad day. It had become unfortunately rare for a physician to bother with a remedial psychological evaluation to determine if the drug was at all warranted.

Kristen dropped her eyes to review again the PHQ-9 test processed by the nurse when Mona was first administered to the hospital. There was no indication the girl suffered from anything worth risking a psychotropic medication over. She had not attempted suicide nor even contemplated it. Mona's depression had been going on for less than a month. She hadn't used recreational substances to cope, short of the juvenile blending of Jell-O with cheap alcohol, known as 'Scooby-Snacks,' she was served at the party. The closest indicator present was that Mona had recently experienced a breakup with her boyfriend.

"What's the name of the guy you broke up with?" asked Kristen.

"Josh," the girl answered hesitantly.

"And how long had you been seeing Josh?"

"We were together since the end of Freshman year," the girl responded vaguely, "but we've known each other since high school."

"Did you date him when you were in high school?" the psychologist asked.

"A little bit," she answered after a pause. "Not exclusively until this past April," Mona added.

"So, you dated officially for four months, but you'd had a crush on Josh for years. Is that a fair statement?" asked Kristen.

"Yes," Mona acknowledged, her eyes searching the wall for anything to stare at, avoiding the psychologist's face.