Hello, my internet acquaintances. This is the first chapter of It Isn't A Laughing Matter!
Ariel Maddison Stone belongs to Ariel Loves Kendall Schmidt.
Nicolette Claire Jane Rivera belongs to MissH2O.
Melanie Claire Drake belongs to Cloudy-TheNightMareQueen.
And Madeline Jayne Hale belongs to MaddyB3.
MELANIE
"So, Melanie, how are you feeling today?" my therapist, Dr. Q, asked me. "Any suicidal thoughts?"
"Yes," I replied bitterly. "I want to fucking die."
Dr. Q was silent as she scribbled words down on that pad of paper she always had during our meetings together.
"Okay, that's enough," Dr. Q told me. A nurse, Dennis, led me out of the meeting room and to my bedroom. I shared it with another girl, Madeline, who never spoke. It was really good, to be honest. I mean, she's not one of those annoying roommates who constantly talk to you.
Madeline barely even acknowledges my existence.
"Hey, Maddy, I'm going to the common room to watch some TV with the others. Want to come?" I asked, even though I knew that she'd be silent and shake her head. All she ever did was sit on her bed and rock back and forth in the fetal position.
"Hey, guys," I greeted as I walked into the common area. "What's on?"
"Jersey Shore," Nicolette told me. "Is Maddy coming to join us?"
"What do you think?" I replied as I sat down on the couch next to her.
"NO! WHAT DID I DO? I DON'T BELONG HERE!" a male voice screamed.
"New guy?" Nicolette asked.
"Sweet, the last new guy left this morning," Ariel said. She and Nicolette were roommates.
"James, fucking calm down," another male voice said.
"Language!" a third male voice scolded.
"Where are we going?" a fourth asked. His voice sounded so innocent, so sweet, that it was hard to believe he was sent to a freaking mental hospital.
"You'll be safe here," Abraham, the bulky Haitian man who led everyone here, said, shoving four boys into the common area.
They were all hot.
"I call dibs on the Latino," I said, smiling.
"I get Blondie," Ariel told me and Nicolette.
"Fine, I get…the tall one with shaggy hair," Nicolette replied.
"So who gets Raven-boy?" Ariel asked.
"Maddy," Nicolette replied. "Well, if she'd talk to him."
"Or anyone for that matter," Ariel added.
"Don't be vicious [bonus points if you know what show that's from]," I told them. "She is my roommate, after all."
"Girls!" Joe's voice rang out. I turned to look at him.
"Yes, Joe?" Ariel asked in a singsong voice.
"Meet James," he said, motioning to Nicolette's 'tall one with shaggy hair', "Kendall," he added, motioning to Ariel's 'Blondie', "Carlos," he said, motioning to my Latino, "and Logan," he finished, motioning to Raven-boy.
"Nice to meet you," Nicolette said, going immediately for James. They started talking about something random. I wasn't paying attention.
"Hey, I'm Ariel."
Ariel went directly for Kendall, who was talking with Logan.
"Well, I'm Melanie," I said, holding my hand out for Carlos. He shook it.
"It's really great to meet you," he told me.
I smiled. This could be something big.
MADELINE
I stood up off of my bed and walked out of the room I shared with Melanie.
"Well, I'm Melanie."
I saw Melanie talking to some random boy, I guess he was new, I mean, I've never seen him before.
One of the other three boys, this one with raven hair, looked at me and walked over.
"Hey, I'm Logan," he said. "It's nice to meet you."
I just looked at him.
"She doesn't talk, bro," Nicolette called to him. She was talking to some tall brunet. "That's why she's here."
I almost made a face at her, but didn't.
"Oh, well, cool," the Logan boy said. "If you ever want to talk, I'm here."
I nodded. He seemed cool.
Okay, that's the first chapter! Review, my internet acquaintances!