CHAPTER 1: Apples to Oranges

I walked in the doors of the wing and looked at everyone walking past me, I was restrained by a straitjacket. Gotta hand it to these institute doctors, they sure know how to put on a show. So I passed by the doors and am greeted by doctors and nurses who look like nothing is out of the ordinary, the patients look at me like I'm a freakin new classmate in their kindergarden class while others looked like we were back in high school with their judging little mugs on. I walked past them giving a fake smile to each of them, while processing in my head a plan. I was taken over to a little room with a cot in it, first words that came to mind: pathetic. But hey, better than my Mom's place right? My Mom, heh, she lived in this honest to god one roomed appartment. It had a little stove/oven and a mircowave. We used a cooler for a fridge and had a couch that folded out into a bed. When I was four we got our first and only TV set, black and white of course, but my Mom made a deal with the crazy cat lady that lived above us in the appartment building and we used her cable if we gave her cats baths once ever other week. Yeah doesn't sound like a bad deal right, you try bathing not only thirteen cats but the precious , I swear on my life that cat was satan himself re-encarnated and of course as soon as I turn five my Mom makes me wash the cats as a chore. Eh, I shiver just thinking about the memories, the blood mixing in the water and the soap getting in my scratches and cuts. The stinging...

Anyway this room was a hell of a lot better now concidering everything, I had a hole in the door with little bars covering it and it was a perfect view of the TV in the common area. There was a bared window next to the cot and I was told I could decorate the room to my liking if I behaved myself. Eh, ya never know I might just have to concider the whole 'behaving' thing. The guards then began unstrapping my straitjacket in the back, first the arms then the rest. I thought through the whole three minutes it took to undo my jacket, I thought about that magician. Hoodani or whatever, he got out of a straitjacket, what's the solution to it? It must be simple enough if he had to hang upside down to make it tricky, right? "Hmm..." I let out. The gaurd didn't care about my comment and took the jacket off of me. "There ya go McMurphy." "Thanks, and call me Angel 'kay?" I asked rubbing my arms in freedom while looking around my room. I looked to the door expecting them to close and lock it but they didn't, they kept walking. I shrugged and walked around the small space, the entire room was about the size of an actual hospital room. I turned to the door raising a brow at another teen girl looking at me from across the common area. She was small and had brown hair that was a little messy and in her face, she held one arm by the elbow and hunched over a little while leaning against the wall. She wore a white sweat shirt and light blue pajama pants, white socks and a white ribbon in her hair like a headband but it looked like it was about to fall off her head and around her neck. I moved my head a bit in a 'what?' way but she turned her head then looked at me again.

I shrugged, jeez I hope there arn't many lesbo-s here. I walked tward the door when I was cut off by a figure in the doorway, I stopped short with a rotten look on my face but I quickly fixed it to harmless curiosity. The woman infront of me was an older woman, not old but definatly in her fifties. She looked like 5'9, she wore a nurse's outfit you know the pants and shirt with a retro little nurse hat, she had a clip-board and a pencil she raised a brow at me then gave a fake smile. "Ah, Miss Angel McMurphy huh? Tell me dear what size are you?" I looked her up and down with a fake smile on myself "Small but I'd like large shirts if you guys have any." "Mh hm, Angel is it?" I gave a short nod that she didn't care about. "Listen here Angel, your obviously new-" "Ooh what was your first tip Sherlock?" I added with a dark grin, but she continued. "and you have no idea how it is we run this great hospital, you will be broken in soon enough Angel. Until then you'll be watched very closely, and between you and I." she stepped closer to me, I in return stepped closer to her showing my sureness. "I know your type, McMurphy. My aunt taught me all about your kind and I'll be damned if I let you poison the minds of any of my patients so you had better be on best behavior while here or I'll have you sent to a top security jail for the next four years."

I crossed my arms and raised my fist to my chin while glancing around the room. "Hm, ya think the rooms in a top security prison are better than here? Maybe more spacious?" I said mockingly. The woman's eyes filled with rage as she pointed a finger in my face "You think this is all a joke don't you, well we'll fix that you'll soon be broken in Angel, you'll soon be broken in..." She turned back to the door then glanced back at me with her fake smile back on. I gave a look back at her "Before I forget Angel, I'm Head Nurse Ratched." she nodded in a curtsie-ing way then continued with a grin on her lips. I walked up into my door way with a raised brow at her, I shook it off and looked around. I guess I was allowed in the common area so I walked on over to find that everyone in my wing were not only female but around my age, from eleven to eight-teen. "Great, it's like a girls boarding school on crack." I mumbled to myself, from behind me giggled another girl. "Your funny." she said standing next me not actually looking at me but strait ahead. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye with a confused look. Unsure if she was talking to me or not I replied. "Yeah, whats your name?" still not looking at me she answered "My..my name?" "...Yyy-eah" she then turned to me and I realized how bright and blue her eyes were, they made me open my eyes a bit more in amazment. "My name is Lydia. Lydia Turner but you can call me Lydia, Jenny is my best friend and he's sitting over there" she pointed to a chair with another girl in it reading a newspaper that was covering her face. "Jenny is funny too but not as funny as you!" Lydia was an odd girl. She was african american with dark dark skin, black hair that was frizzed out but pulled into two pigtails or should I say puff balls, and bright blue eyes. She wore a white shirt and light yellow pajama pants with white socks and white sneakers.

I glanced over at Jenny again who still had the newspaper covering her face, I turned back to Lydia. "Heh, thanks Lydia." I looked back at the big group of girls walking about some sitting reading or writting some drawing and others in groups playing board games. I walked over to one group playing Apples to Apples, they looked decent and seemed normal-ish. "Apples to Apples huh? Mind if I cut in and play too?" I asked pulling over a chair. One of the girls looked at me with a huge smile and nodded, another shook her head no, but one turned to me and actually spoke. "Sorry we're already half way through the game, unless you like most odds against you winning you'd best wait 'til the next." I raised a brow to the girl. "As a matter of fact, I do like most odds against me. Deal me in." I said sitting down with a smirk. The girl shrugged and gave me a couple of cards, she was abnormally normal looking. Her blonde hair pulled back out of her face by a green headband, a white shirt on with pastel grean pants and white flats on. She had brown eyes and an average look about her. Wonder what she's in here for? Another girl sitting there still with a large grin on looking around at nothings had black hair, a bit messy and was very small but quirkily happy. Another girl had brown hair braided that was messy and looked as if the scrunchy holding it in a braid was going to fall out any moment, she had glasses too and brown eyes, finally the last girl sitting at the table was the girl I saw earlier with brown hair and a white ribbon.

After about twenty minutes of the game I came to know all their names and a bit about them. The one with blonde hair and a green headband's name was Casey, she suffered from a few phobias such as clowns, bats, small spaces, aliens, spiders, monkeys, horses, birds, and Elvis to name a few. What can I say we drew cards it had those words on 'em and she flipped out. Then the one with black hair and a smile's name was Jessy, she had dillusions and a small case of bi-polar disorder. The one with the braid and glasses was Emily, Tommy, Jennifer, Joe, Timothy, and Dolores needless to say she has multi-personality disorder. Finally I learned that the one girl with brown hair and white ribbon's name was Betty. "Alright" said Jessy "this catigory, this catigory is, heh heh I'm really excited..." "Jessy would you say the freakin' catigory already?" asked Emily as Joe. "The catigory is Risky." Jessy said quickly finishing with a grin and a glance around at all of us. I looked down at my one card and knew it was a stupid one. Oranges. Seriously, but hey it's my last card either way I'm out so I threw it into the pile of cards. I looked over at Betty who was unsure of which of her three cards she would put down. Her hand moved above the second, then over the first, then third. "Betty!" snapped Emily as Jennifer, "Betty pick a card darling!" Betty glanced to Emily then at me then slammed down her third card. Jessy grinned at all of us then took all the cards and giggled. She turned over the first and read it out loud. "Bates Motel." she did this for the rest of the cards. "Chuppicabra, Oranges, and The Titanic." Jessy looked at all of us then pointed to Titanic "Who put this one down?" Casey squirmed about to raise her hand. "Jessy you can't ask who put which card down Darling. Is that the winning card?" asked Emily. "Yea- No no, I meant no. Um, Chuppicabra or Bates Motel, um...no Oranges!!" I sat up in surprise but not complete surprise.

"Oranges? That's my card." I let out a chuckle while taking my green card. "I won this one too." Emily threw her cards onto the table. "Remarkable! You just joined the game a few minutes ago and you have more green cards than any of us, you've gotta be cheating!" she glared at me. Casey squirmed and began brushing her fingers through her hair. "Maybe, maybe she is cheating. I dunno, can-can someone please flip over the Chuppicabra card. It's um it's the red one." she pointed to one of the many red cards before her. "Hey listen, if you guys wanna be sore loosers about it fine, but I'm gonna leave if your rude." I threatened. "No no, we arn't meaning to be rude. I mean we're happy you won, no wait did you cheat? Someone please turn over the card...." Casey said glancing from me to the ceiling to the card. I rolled my eyes with a shrug. "Fine Imma go to my room then." I walked over to one of the two mini hallways into my room and hopped up on my cot, closing my eyes gently. Jesus these people are messed up. My eyes flashed open as I heard a small cough. I turned and looked to my doorway were Betty was standing. For a second nothing happened. "Hello?" I asked. She blinked then ran off to the common area. I raised a brow in confusion and sat up. "Weirdo..." I muttered. I sat there for a minute looking out the window. Drops and drips of water fell from the clouds gently at first only a few. Then more came and more and more, finally it was actually raining out and the water hit my window. You see I played this weird game, since I was a child I liked to watch rain hit windows and see if I could find pictures in the drops. I layed back and rested my hands below my head with my elbows sticking out, as I watched the window. Before long I saw a duck, then eyes, then I found a heart. It was strangley a perfect heart, when one drop of rain slid down the window right in the center of it breaking the heart.

I gave a small smile at the irony and blinked slowly when I heard a knock on the opened door. I sat up and turned to the door "Jesus do you people ever leave anyone alone?" it was Lydia standing in the doorway now. "Hey Angel!" I rolled my eyes "Hello Lydia." I shuffled my legs to the side of the bed. "I brought you some things from Nurse Rachid." Lydia said with a smile while holding up her arms full of white cloth. I raised a brow. "What is it?" Lydia walked over and put the pile on my bed. She picked up one of the cloths. "There's an extra blanket" she picked up another "and a shirt." She picked up another "Oh and look there's some pants and socks too!" she finished each word with a smile. I rolled my eyes, swiped the shirt and held it up to myself. "Hm...white....not my color." I then looked at the orange jumpsuit I was currently wearing. "Eh, it's better than orange." I unzipped the jumpsuit and wrapped the arms around my hips like a jacket then slipped the shirt on. "What color are the pants?" I asked. Lydia held them up. "Orange!" I glared at the pants. "Ha ha, very funny Rachid. I can already tell we're gonna be best buds. Alright." I took the pants and slid off the jumpsuit and pulled on the pants, keeping my black sneakers on. "How do I look?" I asked Lydia. "Great! You look just like that guy with the stripey sweater and the nails from that one movie!" my wannabe smile dropped. "Freddy Krueger?" I asked. "Yeah him!" she gave a whole hearted smile following her exitement of learning the answer to her puzzling thought. "Thanks Lydia, but one thing. I'm not wearing a striped sweater or a razor glove." "Yeah I know!" she said still celebrating a bit. I rolled my eyes then perked up hearing a small jingle. "Huh? What's that?" I asked looking to the hallway.