The Girl in the Ward
… Heh heh… I'm BACK! AND GUESS WHAT? Mikuo was high the entire first chapter! XD
Okay, so not TECHNICALLY, but... his prescription just needed to be lowered.
What is he taking exactly? Well, have you heard that the stuff in bananas makes you feel happy? Well, it was basically that. Yep. Can't remember the exact name, but that's what it was. I like bananas… Len does too. Ish yummy. :D
Also, this story is now going to be told in PRESENT TIME! YAY! Normally, I do it in past-tense, but you won't BELIEVE how much it was erking me to write the last chapter that way! I guess my writing style is changing… huh.
Chapter 2 – Living just a Little Longer than Planned
Hmm... My arms feel heavy. Kind of as if I entered in some weight lifting contest... they hurt.
I hear a few beeps, and wonder where they're coming from, when suddenly, the memories come rushing back.
The blood...
I bolt upright into a sitting position. Sure enough, I'm in a hospital room, but not the town one. This one has newer equipment, a rather comfy bed, and no grandparents waiting to see me wake up.
The only person I find is a doctor with short brown hair and glasses.
"Ah, you're awake." he says.
He looks Asian, but he does have American features too. He looks about in his early twenties.
Quite a handsome young man, if I liked older guys. Which I don't.
"My name is Dr. Kiyoteru." he says with in a calm yet inviting way. His smile is dazzling, his teeth perfectly whitened. Well, he seems normal, at least.
"I understand where you're coming from." he says, sitting himself down at the foot of my bed. "I can't even imagine how hard it must be for you."
Okay, I've decided I like this guy.
"You know, I have at least one kid in here every day." he said. "It'd be a big favor to only see you here to keep me company, not to add to the list of people to save, though."
I look away, suddenly ashamed with myself. He just has this effect on people, I guess.
He shakes his head. "Here, you must be thirsty." he hands me a glass of water.
I didn't realize how parched I really was until the tall glass is empty.
Kiyoteru raises a brow. "Would you like some more?"
"Y-Yes... please..." my voice croaks. The doctor laughs and refills my glass.
After the third one, I'm finally quenched.
"So, yesterday was your first day, correct?"
I nod.
"Hmm... Funny. Normally it's the second day people end up here. What was it that threw you?"
I swallow. "Crazy people..."
Kiyoteru laughs. "You poor thing! I heard you're sharing a room with Mikuo! I'm not surprised you broke down this fast!"
What I'd normally be insulted by coming from anyone else makes me actually laugh.
"Ah, but you can't really blame him... the amount of drugs they give him to keep his mind off things is unending! The poor guy's guilt is unhealthy for him- even more than his drugs are."
He seems to be so pure. I wonder why he chose to work here, of all places?
"Also, hopefully you're not too horrified to know that I'll also be doubling as your counselor." he says.
"My therapist?" I ask, my voice still hoarse.
He winces. "I find that sounds too negative, but yes. I hope you don't mind too much."
I shake my head no. "Not at all." I say.
He grins. "Good!"
We talk for a while more until Gumi comes. She asks if I'm able to return to my dorm, and Kiyoteru answers I'm good as new. Oh, how I wish...
But I don't want to leave.
I've finally found at least one normal person here, and already, I'm being pulled away.
It's only once I'm at the door to my dorm do I realize something's missing.
"My bow! (1)" I exclaim. "My hairclips!" I turn on the guard. "Where are they?" I ask in a dark tone.
I see a small smile on the guard's face, and immediately want to smack it right off. "They've been taken away for security reasons." he answers, opening the door.
"No! You can't take them!" I screech. "They're the only thing I have from my father!"
"I'll see what I can do." the guard says, before closing the door on me.
But I know he won't bother.
And Len does too.
"You should've thought of that before you nearly scratched yourself to death." I hear from the top bunk.
"Will I get them back?" I ask, my voice lowered one octave.
Len shrugged. "I'll see what I can do."
I grit my teeth at him. The way he mocks me like this seems somehow colder than Mikuo's blunt comments.
I sit on my single bed and stare at the new bandages on my arms, listening to Mikuo's slow, steady breathing coming from the bottom bunk.
"No matter how many times you try to break yourself, they're always going to fix you back up again." I stare at the new silver colored band around my wrist. It's the same one I see everyone wearing.
"I wasn't going to."
"I was only saying."
I sigh, and finally look up at him. He has his head propped up on his hand, and is watching me curiously with those blue eyes.
"Mikuo asked where you were." He says. "He gets kind of... easily attached to people. It's part of his condition."
"He watched Miku get carried off like it was no big deal." I point out.
"He was also stuffed with drugs then."
I sigh in defeat, and he takes this as a sign to continue his story. "They actually had to sedate him." he says. "He started crying."
The guilt I feel for upsetting someone I don't even know bothers me. "Why are you telling me this?"
"So you don't do it again." he says. He's completely serious now. "Seeing you dying there on the floor... it's not really the prettiest scene. It doesn't bring back good memories either, s-" He catches himself, but it's too late. I already heard.
"Were you an... an attacker?" I ask.
His face contorts in a mask of pain. "It wasn't me."
I wait for further explanation, some dark story, but nothing else is said. Obviously, he doesn't want to talk about it.
"What about Mikuo?" I ask next.
There's a long pause. "Yes, he was, but... he had reasons, I guess you could say." Len finally says.
"Will you tell me what happened?" I ask, already knowing the answer he'll give me.
"No. If he wants to tell you, he will." Len says. "You might want to get dressed now." he adds before I can ask another question. "We'll be going down to breakfast soon."
I pout a little as I grab my clothes.
Yes, there is a specific uniform for this place. Only on Fridays are we allowed to wear real clothes.
But unfortunately, today is Wednesday. So the uniform it is.
There are several different versions, though. Not that I really care. I take a random one off the rack, and walk to the bathroom.
There's a white tee-shirt, with a gray sweater to go on top. Then there's a school-girl styled pleated skirt, with long gray leggings.
Maybe I should've chosen the navy blue one, or the maroon red. Grays don't suit me very well.
I walk out, and find that Mikuo's awake. "Morning." he simply says. No sarcastic comments. No excited chatter. Just a normal greeting from a seemingly normal person.
"Hi." I reply.
My view of him has changed knowing he had an emotional breakdown because of me. Because of something I did to myself.
And one look at Len's face proves that he knows this too.
Miku is back for breakfast.
Lucky for me, a guard was passing by when I knocked, so he was able to escort me to the cafeteria alone, without having to wait for Len and Mikuo.
She looks back to normal, but I can't help but pity her. Her precious virginity, stolen from her by vicious, evil souls. I hope they rot in hell.
She's cutting up her leek and cheese omelet with her fork, mincing it into bites small enough for a tiny mouse. And she only stares at it, as if the answer to all her problems is staring back.
Kaito tries to get her to eat, but she still refuses. Eventually, he gives up.
"I heard about what happened." Kaito tells me.
Luka slowly shakes her head. "I didn't think we were that scary, really."
Gakupo, Mikuo, and Len aren't here yet, so it's just us four.
Kaito studies my face. "Was your life really that bad?"
I nod. "I was doomed from the day I was born." I say quietly. I mentally punch myself for sounding so ridiculous; this isn't some lamely scripted TV show! (2)
"What, were you cursed?" Luka asks, ignoring her bowl of Lucky Charms.
"In a sense..." I say.
A tense atmosphere settles between us. "Well?" Kaito asks, breaking the silence. "You can't just say things like that and not tell us the whole story!"
I shake my head. "I-I'm sorry, but I just don't-"
"Kaito!" a girl about 17 years old sits beside our blue-haired companion.
She has a short brown bob with chocolate brown eyes, decorated with specks of red. Her breasts are hard to miss with their size, and she smiles seductively at him.
"I've missed you～!" she purrs. "I haven't seen you since yesterday."
"Yes, Meiko, I know." Kaito says. His voice is cold and harsh, but Meiko doesn't seem to get a hint.
And still, she sits right beside him, so his left side is completely pressed to her right.
"I was dreaming about you all night! I don't know what I'd do if you decided to leave me!" she coos.
I arch a brow. She's his girlfriend, huh? I thought he had his eyes on Miku, and by his tone of voice, he doesn't seem to appreciate her company.
"That's great, Meiko." he says sarcastically, but she either ignores this fact, or doesn't notice.
"Who's this?" she asks, finally noticing me, and the disgust in her voice seems to imply that I'm a contagious disease. Even Luka looks irritated now.
"That's Rin." Kaito says dully. "She's new."
Meiko eyes me suspiciously. "She's cute."
Somehow this feels more like an insult than a compliment.
"Kaito..." Miku lightly yanks at his arm.
Meiko glares at her. "Don't touch him, you ugly turd."
I'm about to snap something back at her myself, but Miku beats me to it. "Meiko..." her face scrunches in defiance. "Go. Go away."
Slap!
Miku's head snaps to the other side, and a red mark is already appearing on her left cheek.
Kaito suddenly lunges at Meiko, pinning her arms to the floor as they fall. I quickly remember the button on my wristband and press it.
The next seconds pass by quickly.
While Luka is hugging Miku in her arms, attempting to calm her before she goes hysteric, Meiko is wriggling under Kaito's grip.
"Ooh... I see you like it rough! I can go rough!" she says mischievously.
But before Meiko has a chance to 'go rough', the doors swing open, and a group of guards and doctors burst in. Two doctors and 5 guards, to be exact.
It happens just like the night before- the first doctor injects a needle into a still wriggling Meiko while the second one plunges his into Kaito's veins.
No matter how much I protest, I know it's no use, that it doesn't matter if he was only defending Miku; He caused a scene. He's mentally unstable. He'll be taken away too.
The guards pick up both their unconscious bodies and carry them off.
Meanwhile, the second doctor coaxes Miku into swallowing a pill. Almost immediately after she takes it, her trembling recedes, and she stops crying.
But Luka and I are still by her side.
After a few moments, Luka explains.
"Meiko has some sort of strange obsession with people. She's quite possessive, and can't not have a crush or a boyfriend slash girlfriend. Apparently, she's here for murdering the girl dating a boy she liked. The boy commit suicide, but she came here."
I know my mouth is open, but I can't help it.
One single thought echoes through my brain: What just happened… it could have been worse. Much, much worse, from what I just heard.
We eat the rest of our breakfast in silence. The guys never get here. Either they went to visit Kaito, or something happened to them too. Hopefully, the first suggestion is the correct one.
Gumi has a schedule printed out for me.
8:00 - 8:30 am; wake up/prepare for day
8:30 - 9:15 am; breakfast at cafeteria; room 6
9:15 - 9:30 am; prepare for class/arrive to class
9:30 -12:45 pm; educational system (see separate school schedule)
12:45 -1:30 pm; lunch at cafeteria, room 6
1:30 - 2:30 pm; separate therapy (Gumi's scribbled down an extra note that says: therapy session on your own with licensed therapist!)
2:30 - 3:00 pm; interactive therapy (Gumi's written another note: meet with Len in your dorm room!)
3:00 - 5:00 pm; creative/artistic therapy
5:00 - 6:00 pm; return to dorm/free time
6:00 - 6:45 pm; dinner at cafeteria, room 6
6:45 - 8:00 pm; free time
8:00 - 9:00 pm; return to dorm
9:00 pm - 6:00 am; lights out
'Each person must fit in 30 minutes of physical activity everyday!' is scribbled in on the bottom.
So that's it. Huh. People must take an awfully long time getting their things ready for class; I mean, 15 minutes? Come on!
But still, it gives me time to actually find the room.
The school schedule is stapled to the daily schedule sheet.
There are different classes everyday except for Sunday. On Sunday, we get to sleep in until 9, and instead of school, we have mass for an hour. Then for an hour and fifteen minutes, we have an extra free period. The rest of the day, though, is the same as usual.
Getting back to classes... since there is only around 3 hours of school each day, the classes rotate around. For today, Wednesday, my first class is math, my second, science, and my third, language studies. That's all.
When I finally get to math, in room 15, I'm surprised to see a girl who looks about 9 (2) sitting at one of the front most desks. Maybe I'm in the wrong class?
But no, there are others my age scattered around. Perhaps she's only very gifted.
I sit at a seat and wait for class to start. Eventually, it does. As my new teacher drones on about mathematic blah, I watch the clock as the seconds slowly drain away.
Thankfully, it doesn't take long for it to end. Science goes by just as quick, and I now find myself exiting room 12, language studies.
Next on my schedule is separate therapy.
I walk over to the medical wing. Luckily, I remember where Kiyoteru's office is. I knock on the door and open it.
On the hospital bed lays Kaito. I forgot they took him away this morning.
"Hi..." I wave to him awkwardly. He waves back too, forcing his eyes to stay open.
"Do you know where Dr. Kiyoteru is?" I ask.
"Kiyo-san said he had to tell Gumi something." Kaito says. His voice is a little hoarse.
"Oh, okay..." I say. We sit awkwardly for a moment.
"At breakfast, before Meiko" he wrinkles his nose, "got there, you were going to say something. Something about your life before this place. Care to continue?"
I stutter. "N-No thanks, I-I mean like, isn't that stuff, like, you know, personal? I-I mean, I just don't feel comfortable sharing, and I probably sound like a real bitch right now, so-"
"How about we do tradesies?" Kaito interrupts me. "You tell me what you did, I'll tell you what I did."
I ponder on this for a moment. He knows I'm itching to know what my other optional friends here did... but it doesn't seem too fair a deal to me.
"Tell you what; I'll tell you my life if you tell me what either Len or Mikuo did." I answer.
"Sorry, no can do." he says. "If they want to tell you, they'll tell you. I'm not one to stir up drama."
"Oh, come on, please?" I beg.
"No, I'm sorry, Rin. The only secrets I'll tell are my own."
"But Kaito!"
He opens his mouth to speak, but the door opens.
"Ah, Rin, you're here already!" Kiyoteru exclaims. "I hope you didn't have to wait too long."
I have a strong urge to roll my eyes at him.
For I had a chance to learn a new secret. And if there's one thing I learned coming here, it's that the more you know, the more powerful you become.
"Nope, I just got here." I say with a cheerful (and fake) smile.
"Oh, good!" Kiyoteru smiles, and I just can't stay annoyed. "Right this way, then!"
He holds the door open for me, as he glances curiously at Kaito. But Kaito just sits unmoving, staring at the white wall in front of him.
Kiyoteru directs me into a smaller, more private room. There are no windows, just two love seats (4) facing each other, and a wooden desk in one corner.
Doctor Kiyoteru sits in one love seat, and I sit in the other.
There are no windows in this room, or any visible cameras. No one to see or hear anything I do.
I should feel relieved, but I can't help but feel claustrophobic.
Kiyoteru spends about a minute or 2 just watching me, studying me, as if all my secrets and personal reasons were written all over my body.
"Rin... I..." he trails off, seeming uncertain. I wonder if this is his first real session? "I want you to tell me exactly what happened, leading to the day you got here. Everything."
I am a little reluctant to do so, but I think he senses this. He sighs, and goes to a small fridge I didn't see before beside the desk. He pulls out two cokes, opens one for himself, and hands me the other.
"Technically, I'm not supposed to give you this, but it's better than a beer." he shrugs. "You'll be close to the legal drinking age soon anyway, so a few years of waiting won't hurt. I think you might want something to wash the words down with though, huh?"
That's surprising. He's very different from the norm, but it's refreshing. The way he acts like an old friend, but he's not trying too hard in that creepy old-person way.
"Thanks." I say, and open it. I take a long gulp, and feel the bubbles tickle my throat as I swallow. Almost immediately, I feel some energy seeping back into me.
"It's no problem, but let's not make this a habit." he says with a grin. "I wouldn't want to get fired!"
I smile with him.
"But really." he says in a serious tone. Back to business, huh? "I want to help you get better, and to do that, I want you to tell me everything, even the stuff that isn't important. Anything you can remember."
I hesitate, then take a deep breath, as I fade back into the world of memories.
"Oh, Rinny!" Warm arms embraced my small form.
"See this chair in your room?" Auntie Haku asked. "Your mom and I used to pretend that was a car! We used to travel all over the world on that couch!"
"Really?" My 5-year-old self asked. "How? It's just a couch!"
Aunt Haku giggled. "We used our imagination, Rinny!"
The little blonde girl laughed, and ran over to straddle said couch, as her father watched from the shadows.
Dell Honne made a mistake. He knew that. He always knew that, and he was still aware of this at that day.
And yet, he still couldn't seem to grasp the fact that this girl was he and Lily Kagene's daughter. The result of one night on that exact couch. The one night his senses took over. No, he didn't rape her- she's wanted it as much as he, or so he liked to think -but it was this child that brought Lily to the brink of insanity.
How could the daughter of such a sinful mother turn out to be so pure? And how could this man, Dell Honne, ever delude himself into thinking he loved that sinful woman? Thankfully, the child resembled her mother in every way; he saw none of himself in her.
But hopefully, this young innocent girl would end up like neither of her parents.
Unfortunately, she did.
"Auntie Haku?" the girl called.
"What is it, Rinny-baby?" the man's sister cooed, smiling.
Haku hated him for leaving the girl, but Dell couldn't help it; it frightened him to even look at her, knowing it was also his. So, like every man does at least once in his life, he ran away from it all.
"Auntie Haku, where's my momma?" said-child asked.
Haku's expression turned sad. "Your momma was a great woman, but she... she had a problem that she kept a secret, and it got bigger and bigger until she couldn't take it anymore. So she had to go somewhere."
The little girl struggled to make sense of it. "Heaven?"
Haku laughed. "No, somewhere special, for people like her. But I know, Rin, that no matter where she is, she's somehow thinking of you."
5-year-old Rin frowned. "Grand-maman (5) told me she forgot about me."
Haku gazed at her sadly. "Somewhere deep inside, she remembers you, I'm sure of it."
"... I don't think so, Auntie. If she did, she'd let me know. So I don't think so..."
"I remember, I started to paint when I was 6 or 7. The first thing I painted was the tree beside the main path across my house. Aunt Haku was so proud of me, she had it framed. A few weeks later, when she went to visit mom, she came back looking pale.
"I asked her what was wrong, and she showed me a painting. My mom painted it, and even though it was a lot better done, you could tell it was the same tree. Thing is, she never saw my picture; it was only a weird coincidence."
Kiyoteru seems to find this interesting, as he takes another sip of coca-cola.
"I think I finally realized what was going on when Aunt Haku brought me to the park. All the parents grabbed their kids, whispering 'devil's child', and left.
"It was the same in middle school. You see, I was home-schooled my whole life, until..." I trail off.
"Until what?" Kiyoteru presses.
"Well... Aunt Haku used to teach me, but when I was 11, she died in a car accident..."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." He doesn't go on about how much that must've hurt, etc., but simply deduces I don't want to talk about it much. To which I appreciate.
"A few weeks later was my birthday. Dad came to visit for the first time in years. He got me a cheap bow and hairclips for my birthday, but it's the only thing I ever got from him."
"That was the stuff you showed up with on your first day..." Kiyoteru says thoughtfully.
I nod.
"I reckon they took it for security reasons?" he asks.
"So they say..." I nod again.
He sighs. "I'll see what I can do to get them back." Kiyoteru says.
And unlike the guard, I believe this man will genuinely try to do so, just for me.
"How?"
Surprisingly, he blushes. "I-I have my ways!"
I smirk. "Should I ask?"
"No, thank you."
I laugh, and so does he. "I think that's enough of your past for now; why not go for some easier questions, like... what's your favorite school subject?"
I smile. "Art."
Kiyoteru pauses for a moment, rubbing his chin in curiosity. "Huh." he says. "Just like Mikuo."
I must've tensed at the name, because he raises a brow. "Who would you say is your favorite of the people here?"
I don't have to think for long. "You, Kiyoteru."
A half-smile appears on his face. "Just Kiyo-san is fine." he says. "And although I'm flattered, I meant from the actual patients here."
"Oh, in that case... Miku? Maybe Luka?"
"Luka, huh? It seems she's getting better then, if you think so."
"Why?" I ask. "Did she go completely crazy?"
Kiyo-san shrugged with a small smile. "Not my business to share."
I sigh, but leave it as is.
"Is there anyone you find you dislike?" he asks next.
"Meiko (6), definitely. And Len, I think."
Kiyo-san raises a brow. "The quiet mysterious Len, but not the annoying Mikuo?"
I don't answer, which he takes as confirmation.
"Alright then... why? I understand Meiko, but what has Len done?"
"First off, he saved my life."
Kiyoteru only shrugs this off.
"Then, he just... annoys me, okay? He's just so frustrating with his smart ass comments all the time!"
Kiyo-san looks baffled. "Len Kagamine... the calm, quiet Len Kagamine... a smart ass? Huh." he shrugs. "I would've never guessed."
"I'm surprised." I say, raising my hands. "I would've thought he acted like this to everyone."
Kiyo-san arched a brow curiously. "Just to you, huh?" he asks, obviously amused. "Isn't that interesting?"
I cross my arms and pout, when he suddenly stands to his feet. "Time's up now! I'll get a guard to escort you back to your dorm." he winks.
I wave goodbye as a tall strong man follows me to the last dorm.
He scans his card, and the door opens.
And I am pushed into my room. Alone… except for Len.
The door shuts closed behind me, and I awkwardly sit on my bed. Len's on the bottom bunk across from me, reading a book.
"So, um... how was your, uh... your therapy?" I ask nervously.
He looks up with an annoyed frown. "Fine, thanks." He looks back down at his book and continues his reading.
So very heart-warming.
"My therapist is Kiyo-san... He's uh, really nice, and... um... is yours... nice?"
He looks up again and scowls. "I'm reading, Rin! If you really want to talk, wait 'til Mikuo gets back."
I feel my anger bubble.
I jump at him pinning the arm with the wristband under my leg, so he can't get to it. With my hands, I wrestle out the book from his grip.
"H-Hey!" he complains, swiping his free hand around, but to no success.
"I don't care if you don't want to, but my grandparents didn't pay for this for nothing, so I might as well do something!"
That was a lie; I just have stubbornness issues and a bad temper.
Len stares out me intently before rolling his eyes and sighing. "Fine. What do you want to know, apart from the reason I'm here?"
"What's your favorite color?" I ask, finally releasing him.
He lifts a brow. "Orange. Sunset orange. Why-"
"Mine's either golden yellow, or dark blue. I can't decide." I say. "What about your birthday?"
He stares at me in disbelief, like he didn't think I was actually serious. "March 16th. (7)"
"Huh, the day before Saint. Patty's day!" I point out. "Mine's December 27th."
"Huh. My sister was born on December 27th..." he trails off.
"You have a sister?" I'm curious to find out about someone he obviously cares about.
"... Favorite animal?" he changes the subject.
"What's her name?"
He glares at me, and repeats his words. "Favorite animal?"
"Was she younger or older?"
"I don't want to talk about it!" he yells out. I'm taken aback; I haven't yet seen him lose his cool.
"... Can't you at least tell me her name?" I plead. Why am I so insistent? Who knows. Stubbornness issues again, I think.
He sighs. "... Lenka."
"Len and Lenka..." I nod approvingly. "Cute." He squirms uncomfortably.
"Deer." I say next.
"What?"
"My favorite animal- deer." I say.
I nearly gasp at the look in his eyes. Immense relief and gratitude; silent thanks. Something I never thought I'd see in those dark eyes.
But... there was definitely something else in that look too. I didn't care enough to study it better. Why not? It was then that I made the shocking realization; I was staring into two pools of dark blue- my favorite color.
"Favorite fruit?" I ask.
For the rest of the session, I avoided his eyes.
Creative therapy is next on my list of things to do.
I walk over to Gumi's office, in room 1; she wanted to talk to me about it. Plus, I don't have a clue on which room to go to for this creative therapy thing.
"Rin!" she greets me with a happy grin. "How are things? Are you settling in alright?"
I notice her grin doesn't reach her eyes. But why would it? Even an idiot should be able to imagine the difficulties of a job like this.
"Yes, fine thanks."
I wonder how she manages to keep upright through it all. Surely, if it were me, I would've crumbled already from the pressure.
How many kids live here? At least 80, I'm sure. How does she feel knowing some may never get out? Does it make her feel guilty just to look at them? ... Am I one of them?
"Alright, so let's get straight to the point." she says. "For creative therapy, there are 4 different categories; painting, music, writing, and martial arts."
I can't imagine what would convince such a young woman to stay here- maybe she truly believes she can help the kids heal? Unless...
The door suddenly opens. It's Kiyo-san. "Megumi, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find Mew Hagatte, would you?"
"Um..." thinks Gumi. "I believe she's in room 21 for martial arts right now."
Kiyo-san grins. "Great! Thanks."
He turns to leave, but Gumi calls out to him. "Hiyama, wait I-!" Suddenly, her eyes flicker to me, and her hopeful expression deflates "Never mind..."
Kiyo-san raises a brow, but doesn't say anything. He closes the door as Gumi stares after him.
Unless... it's rather SOMEONE who keeps her here.
I smile to myself as she goes on explaining.
"For about 2 hours, you will be in one of those 4 classrooms, setting your mind at peace by indulging into something creative!"
I nod. I already know my answer...
"So, which class would you like to-"
"Paint!" Gumi looks surprised at my fast response. My cheeks flush. "Please..."
Gumi smiles sweetly. "Good! From now on, your class for creative therapy will be in room 18!"
I smile slightly (VERY slightly), and rush off to my new class.
I speed-walk through the still-blank hallways (followed by a guard, of course) to room 18. Inside, about 20 people sit in front of ready easels.
The teacher looks up at me briefly, but quickly resumes her lesson.
"Change of plans- we have another new friend here, so we'll just do free-style today. Meanwhile, our new friend here can take a seat off in the back row."
All eyes focus on me. I blush and feel like shrinking down in size. I've never been good with being the center of attention.
I spot Mikuo in the very last seat in the left corner, and set up my things beside him. I'd rather sit beside a familiar face than a complete stranger.
On my other side is a girl around my age with magenta pink hair in nice corkscrew curls, tied up into two small pigtails on each side of her head.
Her skin is quite pale, although that is kind of expected from a Vancouver citizen. Her eyes are a reddish-pinkish color, though, which makes me slightly nervous.
"Hi!" she says, struggling to sound joyful. "My name's Teto."
I'm a little surprised at her sudden introduction, and a little confused about her obvious hesitance. It must be part of her therapy, I decide.
I hold my hand out to her. "Rin." I introduce myself.
She smiles slightly. "Nice to meet you. You have very nice... um..."
"Eyes." Mikuo helps out from my other side.
I can't help but wonder if he meant it, or just used it as the obvious example.
"Uh, yeah." Teto says. "Nice eyes."
I snort out a laugh. "You don't have to try so hard around me. It's not exactly convincing..."
Her face falls. "Really? Dang it..."
"That's not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe you... just need to be yourself, I guess."
"No good." Teto replies. "Apparently my real self 'appears' insensitive and rude. (8)"
"I think whoever said was even more insensitive and rude!"
She nods enthusiastically. "Glad you agree!"
And so, for the next 2 hours, I learn about Teto's life.
Her parents owned a bakery, so she absolutely loves bread. She has an older brother named Ted, and was bullied a lot for being poor and ugly.
She smiled when I told her I thought she was anything but ugly.
She was sent here to try and gain control over her often suicide attempts.
"I've been saved 19 times." she'd said.
The whole time, Mikuo said nothing, too engrossed in his painting to care about us.
And so, finally, our time was up.
I painted a deer- my favorite animal. It stared at whoever was gazing upon its painting, standing in the very middle of the road. I thought it was very good, but Prima-sensei told me the deer's face looked too human. I pouted a little, but it's not like she asked me to redo the whole thing.
Teto just had a bunch of random splotches of color on her canvas, or so it seemed. Upon further inspection, I realized it was a tree.
The different colors melded into each other in such a way, the shading seemed perfect. The leaves, although of all sorts of different colors, were spread so perfectly, it reminded me of a peacock's feathers.
Funny how it took me a while to realize it, when now, it seems so obvious.
"Wow, that's amazing!" I breathed. "Really unique!"
Teto shrugged. "I guess so... I like yours better though."
I smiled. "Thanks!" Then, I looked over at Mikuo's painting.
It was about 80% done, and looked... interesting, although it felt depressing to look at... sad...
On the canvas stood a girl. Her dark eyes were emotionless as they stared at me. Her straight black hair was short, and framed her face evenly, and she looked normal enough.
It might have been something with the eyes that told me; they way they seemed glassy, as if she weren't really looking through them. When you look closely, you can see the reflection in her eyes of someone with teal-colored hair; Mikuo.
But despite this, it was the mouth that gave it away- the way it was slightly hung open on one side, drool gathering in the corners.
I gasped. "W-Who's that?"
Mikuo just stared sadly at the painting. It was someone from his past. Definitely.
Teto looked over, and gasped. "Wow!" She tapped my shoulder excitedly. "Rin, it kind of looks like you!"
"What?" I pulled away from her.
"Yeah! Like, you know, if her hair were blond, the eyes were blue, and maybe if her skin was a little paler, she'd look almost exactly like you!"
Mikuo raised a brow. "... I do see a little resemblance."
"N-No, I don't see it!" I object.
Because this girl has a mental problem.
No, not just a disorder like us, but an actual problem in her brain development. Down syndrome? No, she seems better than that... Autism? No, still too normal looking.
But no matter what it is she has, I know she wasn't perfectly made. I also know that Mikuo cared for her in some way.
"I-Is that your... your sister?" I ask nervously.
He slowly shakes his head, not taking his eyes off the girl's. "I'm an only child. So is she."
I nervously glanced at the girl again.
People tended to be a lot more overprotective of the handicapped children; I've never had any good experiences with them.
"What was her name?"
"..." He hesitated. "Is, not was. Her name is Haine-Lin."
"Pretty..." I murmur.
Teto watches with interest. "Hmm... Well, I guess we should be going, since class is over. Bye, Rin!"
"Bye!" I say, as she exits the class.
I take one last look at Mikuo - he's still staring at the picture - and leave.
I've only made it a few hallways when I run right into Kaito.
Like, literally. We both fall over, and my butt hits the ground rather painfully.
I wince a little, and Gakupo's hand lifts out to offer help. I grasp it with both of mine, and he pulls me up.
"Thanks..." I mumble, dusting myself off.
"Hey, no problem!" Gakupo grins.
Kaito stands up and frowns. "You didn't help me up..."
Gakupo rolls his eyes, and ignores him. "What are you doing for free time, Rin?"
"Um... I was just going to find something to do at the dorm, I think."
"Oh." Kaito says. "We were going to go outside to the field; you know, for the 30 minutes we need every day?"
"Would you like to come with us?" Gakupo finishes for him, ignoring Kaito's playful glare.
I hesitate. "I don't really like sports..."
Kaito leans down and whispers in my ear. "You know, they won't appreciate you sulking around. That's not exactly proof of stable mental facilities."
I jerk away. "I wasn't going to sulk!"
"It would probably seem like you were." Kaito shrugs. I hate to admit it... but he has a point.
I sigh. "Fine... I'll go."
They both grin. "Great!"
.o0o.
5 minutes later, I'm running after a black and white ball.
Or, more specifically, hopping and wheezing while trying to get the ball well Kaito and Gakupo expertly pass it around the field.
I'm so exhausted, I even fall to the ground. "Ugh..."
The guys run over laughing.
"Maybe soccer's just not your sport?" Gakupo suggests.
"Meh..."
You know, I'm surprised Kaito hasn't at all mentioned our conversation this morning. I guess there are times to be serious, and times to just relax and have fun.
As if this is any fun.
"Hey, maybe we can try basketball?" Kaito suggests. "She might be kind of short, but you never know!"
About 50 minutes later, I still can't jump over this stupid skipping rope more than twice at a time.
"Damn it!" I yell in frustration, as the red plastic rope gets caught on my left foot again.
The guys are just laughing their stupid asses off in a corner.
"You'd think that she'd be able to do at least average at the easiest sport ever, but..." Kaito manages, between laughs.
I glare at him.
So far, we've tried soccer, basketball, baseball, Frisbee, lacrosse, volleyball, and skipping rope.
I think I may have gotten a concussion along the way, too; I got hit in the head by basketballs, lacrosse sticks (my own one, actually...), volleyballs, and whipped by the %&*#!$ skipping rope.
And of course, these two seem to find this hilarious. Great.
"Oh well... it's about time we get ready for dinner, anyway." Gakupo says.
I huff, and stomp inside. The two guys follow, snickering along the way.
"What do all of you guys do for the 30 minutes of activity?" I ask.
For dinner today is Chinese lemon chicken and fried rice covered with red sweet n' sour sauce. Yum～.
"I do volleyball." Luka says. "And occasionally some lacrosse, when I feel like it."
"I play ball-hockey." Kaito grins.
"I don't really have anything specific." Gakupo says. "I mostly just do what I feel like playing. Although I do like batting."
Of course, don't you worry, the bats are plastic. Only the ones nearly completely stable get to use real bats- if they don't have a criminal record involving a bat.
So Gakupo's allowed.
"What about Miku?" I ask.
She's been tracing patterns in her napkin, but she suddenly looks up. "Soccer." she says, and goes back to her tracing.
"She used to be a soccer star at her school." Mikuo says. "Here, she doesn't have to do anything physical until her emotions are under more control."
Miku, a soccer star. Timid little Miku... broken into little pieces... it's hard to picture it.
"I play soccer too." Mikuo says. "But Len... Len pretty much ignores that rule most of the time. He just stays in the private piano room the whole time."
"..." It's funny how quiet Len becomes around Mikuo. "Sometimes I swim."
"When someone else says they're going." Mikuo objects. "You just tag along."
Len shrugs in indifference.
"Piano, huh?" I ask. "I do art for creative therapy."
"Miku and Len both do music." Gakupo says. "I'm in martial arts, and so is Luka."
"I'm all alone in writing..." Kaito says in a mock-longing voice.
"And you already know where I am." Mikuo says.
I nod. "In art, with me."
We converse for a while more, until it's time to return to our dorms.
Since I'm not really planning to go out again, I change into my pajamas, and climb into bed with my sketchpad.
I start sketching the lines of a face, then the nose, eyes, moth, hair, until I start nodding off to sleep.
It may still be early, but I'm exhausted.
The last thing I remember before falling unconscious is Haine-Lin's face staring at me from my sketching paper.
Day 2 of my life in the mental ward, complete. Status: currently all in one piece.
Hopefully things will stay this way.
OH MY FREAKING GOD THIS WAS SO WAY TOO LONG!
Hahaha! When I was planning this chapter, I wanted to try and put in a whole day. However, I thought it was going to be about 4000, maybe 5000 words. But now… 8000 freaking words? HOLY BALUGAS! Please don't expect any more to be this long… -_-"
So… uh… hi! Already, I'm going to ask you to vote for your favorite of Rin's roomies… Mikuo, or Len?
Question of the chapter: Who should the main pairing be? Mikuo or Len?
I NEED YOU PEOPLE TO ANSWER!
'Kay, thanks! Please review!
(1) TEE HEE, RIN IS ACTING LIKE KATNISS! Gotta love the Hunger Games~! ;)
(2) Nope, not a terribly scripted TV show; just a terribly scripted fanfiction. XD
(3) It's Yuki Kaai, if you were wondering.
(4) Don't get any creepy ideas…
(5) Grand-maman = Grandma, in French. Since this is in British Columbia, Canada, Rin does speak some French.
(6) XD My computer tried to correct the word Meiko by changing it to Mexico! LOL!
(7) In non-cest stories, I always make Len's birthday in March. I don't know why… he just seems like a March baby!
(8) That's what my teacher told me… )':