As Joan walks over to the table she notices a girl with shoulder length dark brown hair and blue eyes staring at her. She also, sees another girl with blue streaks in her hair and many holes in her face were tons of piercing most have been earlier today. Curiosity of Joan approaching made both girls become automatically hushed about their previous conversation and give Joan a glance up and down to make a quick assessment.
Joan-"Can I sit here?" pointing at an empty seat between the two girls.
The Girl with Blue streaks in her hair says- "And what if I say No?"
Joan-taken aback by the frankness of this girls answer says hesitantly "Well I guess I would sit here anyways, and hope you don't hurt me." "So I just arrived a few hours ago, my name is Joan, what are your names?"
The girl with shoulder length dark brown hair-"Joan, nice to a see an almost normal person the first day…My name is Judith and that is Virginia." "So what you in for Joan?"
Joan-"I have Lymn Disease and it was making me hallucinate, I'm here so my medications can be monitored correctly."
Judith-"That's a nice theory. However, no one is sent here for just a medical condition they have hospitals to treat such issues"
Joan-Taken aback by how upfront both these girls are just stared in shock.
Virginia-"Judith, leave the poor girl alone, I doubt she wants to share all the dirty details to her life right now. She doesn't even know us yet." "Yet….Hmmm interesting Lymn Disease what kind of stuff were you seeing? Was it like being high on Acid/LSD or Magic Mushrooms?"
Joan-not sure how to answer as she has never tried recreational drugs went with a quick example that could be interpreted as funny and scary all at the same time in hopes to get the girls to approve of her. "Well this one time… I was participating in an egg race about a week ago with my Vice Principle from High School, and all of a sudden he turned into the Devil while our legs were tied together. Immediately after the transformation of him into the Devil I fainted in front of the whole school."
Virginia-"HA HA, I like it-it reminds of this one time I was tripping on acid" "The Devil comes alive" as Virginia reaches her hand towards Joan's chest in a grabbing motion. Teasingly, she says, "The Devil will get your soul yet, Joan"
Judith- Laughing at Virginia's comment she says "I am sure Joan feels so much more comfortable with your more sinister approach to life-she is bound to want to be our friend now"
Virginia-"Yah you are right Judith, Joan seems as normal as we are going to get around here." "It's not like anyone else in this year's crowd seems as adequate for such a role."
At this comment the three of them look around the cafeteria, as though the reality of yah we are surrounded by crazy people hits them.
Judith-eyes the clock on the wall and turns to Joan and says, "Well you only have 5 minutes left to eat this disgusting dog shit of a meal…While you pretend to eat some of it-I'll point out some of the finer points of spending your summer here at mental acres." "If you ever can't stomach the food that table of obese fat asses will be happy to take it off your hands, as there meals are very closely monitored by the elite four counselors in the middle of this room, yet beware if you sit still to long in there presence they may attempt to eat you personally"
Virginia-Realizing it is time to make fun of others jumps in happily with "Oh my favorite girls are what I call the combo-cases…Sex Addicts, Druggies and maybe a hint of a juvenile background if they are truly hardcore. Those girls can teach you more about life than reality TV, and south park together."
Judith-"True that Virginia, remember when we were part of that crowd a few years ago."
Virginia-"HA HA oh yeah, the first summer we had together here, lets not get to sentimental and gushy yet I still think we belong in that crowd if you get my drift"
Judith-Pretending to clear her throat and says "Ok back to my stereotyping of the lunch room and those are the computer/ video game addicts." "Those almost normal but geeky looking girls in the corner can answer any video game question you may have at the moment -better I might add- than any store bought cheat guide." "Not that I care about video games but who knows maybe you do Joan."
Joan-after a chocking down a bit of her dinner says, "Wait, you girls have been here before?"
Judith-"My parents are psychologists, I feel I have been in therapy my whole fucken life, yet this particular camp me and Virginia are going on our third summer together." As Judith puts her hand over her heart.
Virginia-Joking and mocking says in a soap opera way, "Sad but true Judith, However I never get bored of your company, it is you and you alone that makes my summers complete."
Judith-"I know, it is because I'm Awesome like that."
Joan-"So does this mean I will have to come back next summer too?"
Judith-"Doubtful, unless you have a reckless rebellious side that normal psychology can't cure." "Joan, you are most likely on the one year plan like most clients."
Joan-Breathing a sigh of relief says "Well I'm happy to hear you are saying the same thing as my parents that I will get to go home in August."
Virginia-"Oh we all go home in August, but only your actions during the school year decide if you come back for another round." "It is all about life choices" "Man I hate getting that speech there is no way I'm going to repeat it now for you to hear Joan"
Judith-"True, but next year I vow not to come back." "Three strikes is all I'm giving then I'm out." "when it comes to attempts to change me at one stupid camp there is no way a fourth summer is going to help I doubt very much any good will even come from me going through this again this summer"
Virginia-"I feel I heard this speech last year?"
Judith-play hits Virginia and says "Shut Up"
Across the room a counselor says loudly- "JUDITH! You know the rules no physical contact what so ever leave Virginia Alone!"
Judith-meekly smiles and shrugs her shoulders as she looks at the accusing counselor across the room.
Virginia-"HA HA you got yelled at! I bet you want to hit me again now don't you?"
Judith-while rolling her eyes she says "Virginia you know I will get you back later."
Joan-"Wow, I'm impressed the counselors saw you hit Virginia"
Judith-"Yeap the counselors are like eagles-they watch for a moment of weakness and swoop in for a kill"
Virginia-"Yeah, Joan you may have worried about the Devil before coming out of people, However, just piss off the right counselor at the right time, and you will experience true hell"
Virginia -looking down by Joan's plate sees her daily schedule and asks, "May I look at your daily schedule?"
Joan-mimicking there first conversation says, "What if I say NO!"
Virginia-"Well then I would respectively violate your wishes and look anyone—honestly you don't mind do you?"
Joan-"well I haven't even looked at it yet, but sure go ahead, just tell me what I'm supposed to do after dinner.'
Judith-"Oh today's schedule isn't posted on there, it starts tomorrow, yet it will allow us to know if you are in either of our therapy groups." "I and Virginia got separated in an effort for us to both learn more about our poor life choices or some shit like that." "Whatever their reason for the separation it pisses me off completely, it will be the first time ever I will have to sit through one of this camps crappy circles without Virginia to keep me company."
Virginia-"Well Fuck, that is so not fair!" "You may be pissed Judith about not seeing me in circles but congratulations Judith you will be seeing Joan pretty much 24/7."
Joan-"What?"
Virginia-"Oh yah, Judith and Joan are both in the same therapy groups but to top it off you are also room mates" "It is like your parents have some secrete inside say in who you get as room mates, because honestly my room mates always suck, and yours well tend to be a little more on the normal side of crazy."
Judith-Looks Joan happily in the eyes and says, "Well Joan, nice to meet you room mate! I hope you don't mind if we don't share a bed though"
Joan-couldn't help but smile and feel relieved all at the same time at finding out Judith would be one of her new room mates, and says "Support!... This summer might not be nearly as bad as I first thought."
Joan picks up her schedule for the first time and looks at it to read.
Joan Girrardii Therapy Team Luna Bedroom B
Day 1
7:30 Morning Wake-Up
8:00 Flags
8:20 Breakfast
9:00 Sports-Kickball Game
10:30 Meet Therapist- Dr. Dan
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Arts and Crafts-Bring Journal for Drawing
2:00 Alone Time at Field bring Journal and Workbook to work on
4:00 Flags
4:30 Dinner
5:00 Showers
6:00 Night Group Circle
9:00 Lights Out Bed Time
Joan-just about to ask a million questions about her daily schedule to Judith and Virginia sees Camp Counselor Christy stand up and bring a mega-phone to her mouth.
Counselor Christy-"Alright Girls, time to clean up your dinner tray, and line up for showers in Alphabetical order by first name-A's in the front here by me" "Lets see if you girls can figure this out in under 5 minutes" "GO!"
Judith-Sarcastically says, "Oh Fun the Icebreakers and Team Initiatives already are into play."
Virginia-Laughingly she says "Totally, I just can't wait till they have us line up by number of guys we slept with-Virgins in the front by me, and Virginia in the back."
Joan-"You are joking Right?"
Virginia-Teasingly asks Joan "About what?" "Oh I guess you will have to wait and learn" "See you tomorrow at Breakfast Joan"
At which all the girls from the cafeteria put their food trays away and participate in the team initiative. At first some of the girls argue yet after a bit but soon figure out the task with relative ease. Once the group of about 20 girls was in line in Alphabetical order the group walked silently to a near by shower house.
Counselor Amy- "Alright Ladies as you are all new today and fairly clean, showers are optional" "However, starting tomorrow every night at this time all of you will be taking a shower. Clean clothes can be found here on this shelf organized to size and type. Whatever article you take clean most correlate to a dirty article of clothing being put in this bin." "Lastly, any girls not taking part in a shower need to go to their bedroom at this time, and may start their workbook or journal" "At 6:00pm please meet at your respected therapy group room for your very first Circle-that gives you little less than 1 hour"
Joan-Thought ah I think I will skip the shower tonight and goes off to her bedroom. Inside she first notices a rather cubby girl with bald spots in her blond long hair. When Joan looks down at the girl she realizes she has a chunk of her blond hair in the palm of her hand. Joan kind of grossed out at this girl doesn't know what to think but decides not to be rude, and says "Hi, I'm Joan! I believe I'm one of your new room mates. What is your name?"
Girl with Chunk of hair in her hand looks at Joan and says cautiously "I'm Darlene, and yeah this is my room, I took the bed closest to the window."
Joan-"Oh ok, Nice to meet you Darlene, by the way I meet our other room mate today her name is Judith, I could be wrong but I think me and her will share this bunk bed."
Darlene-"Ok, that is probable best; I have been known to snore pretty loudly." After that she leaves the room without another word or even glance at Joan.
Joan lays on the bottom bunk of her new bed and pulls out her workbook for the first time. Looking at it closely the front has her name written in black magic marker, and says Gentle Acres Workbook across the front. Joan opens the first page to realize it is a ton of personal questions with blanks next to each. As Joan flips to the last page she realizes the last question is labeled number 252 and says, List and Explain the Top 20 Things You Learned about Yourself This Summer. Joan flips back to the first page and the first question and thinks to her self oh goodie, I may not have God to give me a million questions with no real answers but this book seems just as annoying. Pulling out a Black Pen she was given with the note book she decides to get a head start on this workbook.
Assignment 1 Why Do You Feel You Were Sent To Gentle Acres?
Joan writes----I was bite by a tick, and the tick had Lyme disease, and now I have Lyme disease, and now I am here because my parents thought it would be wise.
Joan looks at her witty answer and thinks it is true, but I wonder if they expected a longer answer, as there are over 20 lines left for me to write more. Joan thinks well it is not like I'm as crazy as some people here, other people may need 20 lines to explain why they feel they were sent here but not me she thinks. Yet, Joan also remembers how Judith seemed skeptical about this simple answer and asked for further details. Judith even said other places could deal with Joan if the only thing wrong with her was she needed her medicine to be monitored. Joan now getting frustrated thinks ahh whatever I answered the question so ok I am moving on.
Assignment 2 What Do You Plan To Work On While Here?
Joan writes---Understanding what reality is in my life and what is a hallucination from the medicine I am on even a possible side effect from having Lyme disease.
Joan again looks at her answer and realizes there is another 20 lines left to write stuff in. As Joan was about to start Assignment 3 she sees Judith Walking into the bedroom.
Judith-freshly clean and hair still wet walks in and says, "It is true, Joan is my room mate, Virginia didn't lie."
Joan-"Yeah, and I meet our other room mate, Darlene, who has claimed the bed against the other wall." "I figured me and you could share this bed, what do you think?"
Judith-"I don't know, I might want to share with these Darlene Girl, I haven't met her yet"
Joan-Smiling and knowing Judith was joking about not wanting to share a bed with her says, "Well Judith I guess if you are not afraid of a loud snoring, chubby girl who pulls out her hair go for it, I'll keep this bed all to myself." As Joan pretends to cuddle with the bunk bed she is laying on looks Judith in the eyes.
Judith-Smiling Back at Joan looks Jokingly at the other bed like she is torn between what which bed to choose but simple says," Good Call on noticing the hair pulling" as Judith bends down to examine a few chunks both on the middle of their floor and on the covers of Darlene's Bed. "This girl sounds not only gross, but the typical crazy you find around here." "I think I will take you up on the offer of sharing this bed with you and as you already claimed the bottom-I'll take the top."
Judith then walks over to look to see what Joan is up to and notices the workbook on Joan's Pillow.
Judith-"Wow, trying to be an overachiever and working on the workbook already are you" "Just to let you know, that workbook is annoying as hell, and you will have so much time to work in it, the thing will drive you crazy."
Joan-"Really, I can believe that… the first 2 assignments already make me feel like I should have written more than what I did."
Joan-looks down on the next assignment and reads annoyingly out loud, "Assignment 3 List 20 things you are good at?" "Honestly, I can't think of one thing I'm really good at" "Now if the question was to say 20 things I tried but failed and embarrassed myself at while hallucinating I might have an appropriate answer to write down."
Judith-"HA HA, you are great at tons of things I'm sure. However to answer your other question if you look at Assignment number 20-I believe it is- you may be pleasantly surprised or really pissed off."
Joan-skeptically looked at Judith and then turned to assignment 20 and Read Out loud shocked "Assignment 20 List 20 things you regret, failed at, or would simply do different if you had the chance."
Judith-"Yeap, Same workbook as last year, to bad I burned my old one when I went home, could have saved me some carpel tunnel forming in my poor wrist."
Joan-"HA HA so do you have the same work book as me or do they have some other form of punishment for you."
Judith-"Oh this place has no new creativity. Of course I got the same book again." "However, if you want to make this summer more interesting for me we could fill out each others books" "You Game?"
Joan-"I'm not sure what is in the book, and you tend to have it memorized, kind of leads me to think you might have an advantage in learning something about me I don't care to share, However, give me a few days to decide"
Judith-"Whatever, I think the only reason they have those workbooks is to help people find out who they are, and to give the counselors some free time" "I bet you nobody even reads your answers fully, they just skim to see that you wrote something down in all the blanks and pick a few to question that relate to you and read those only."
Joan-"You probable are right about them not reading it. I remember in my high school writing class the teacher never read our writing journals." "My friend Grace proved it by writing the same rebellious statement on anarchy over and over again for a whole 5 page in the middle of her journal." Joan put the workbook under her pillow for now and turns to Judith and says, "Hey, Judith, so why are you here?"
Judith-Turning her head to the side and looking at Joan answers by saying "Well Joan, I don't always make the wisest of choices"
Joan-"Everyone makes bad choices now and then, what particularly have you done wrong?"
Judith-"Well Joan, it is only the first day, and we need to leave now to make it to our group therapy circle"
Joan-"Yeah you are right, but will you answer my question later?"
Judith-"Joan you are in my therapy circle you will know so many facts about me soon enough that filling out that workbook for me would be a joke, however right now I would rather not bring crap up from my past."
Joan-"Fair Enough"
Both Joan and Judith walk down the hall towards a room marked Luna Group Therapy Room. When walking in they see 7 chairs in a circle, and decide to take two next to each other facing the door, so they could watch other participants walk in and claim seats. As soon as they sit down in walks another depressed looking girl who walks in without making any eye contact and sits across from Joan. Next, walks a girl with short spiked hair, and a snug look or her face. Following the girl with short spiked hair is both the counselors who gave Joan the tour earlier today. Joan watches as Amy takes a seat directly next to her, and Christy, takes a sit directly opposite her between the spiked hair girl and the depressed looking girl. Last, a confident girl with beautiful blond hair walks in and claims the last seat besides Amy.
Christy-"Excellent, everyone is on time, and found the appropriate room."
Amy-"I think I have met each of you personally at one time during today but if you forgot my name it is Amy, and she is Christy." "We are in charge of your evening group therapy every night." "So lets start with a few simple rules." "First, only one person can speak at a time, if you would like to add something or speak next stick out one finger, if someone already has one finger out, then to symbolizes going after that you would stick out 2 fingers and so on this is the easiest way to maintain control of the circle and to show each other respect" "The next rule is, everything said in this circle is private, and should not be shared in letters home to parents, or shared with people when you leave this program." "Last, participation for all questions and discussions is volunteer, however your therapists will know from us if and how you participate in the circle"
Christy sticks out her index finger in the middle of the circle.
Amy-"Christy did I forget to say something or would you like to add something?"
Christy-"No you did a great job covering things Amy, However, I would like to add now, that circles can tend to get very deep at times. Sometimes people will share a lot of personal information about themselves, and by listening to each other, being respectful, and open, we can all get the most from this circle, and create a place where people are willing to share and work on their problems in life"
Christy-"With that said I think it would be appropriate to have our first circle be an introduction round, I would like to know your name, age, one thing you learned about yourself today, and if you could be any animal what would you be and why?
Christy-"I'll start…My name is Christy, I'm 26 years old, I learned today that I often Say Excellent when starting a sentence, if I am slightly nervous, and if I could be any animal I would be a Sea Turtle because I love to swim in the ocean, and I may move slow at times but I tend to finish Strong. I decide to pass the circle Left.
The Spiked Hair Girl says-"My name is Vickie, I'm 15 years old, I learned today that this place sucks and I'm stuck here all summer which sucks even more, and If I could be an animal I would be a Cockroach, so I could crawl out under the door and leave this place." "Oh Pass"
Judith-"My Name is Judith, I'm 16 years old, I learned today that although this place sucks big time-and hey Cockroach Vickie girl I would know better than you because this is my 3rd summer here. Yet, I learned today, that I have at least one cool room mate (giving Joan a smile and nod) and one psycho hair pulling room mate who I have yet to meet in person. Hmmm Animal oh I know (Sarcastically) I would be a Jumping Mouse willing to explore the world and to take the chances in life to better myself-just like the sappy story you plan to read to us later" "Ok Joan Your Turn"
Joan-"My name is Joan, I'm 16 years old, I learned today that my parents manipulated me from taking me directly from the hospital to this place without even a heads up-So Not Fair". "If I could be any animal I would be an Eagle it is my schools mascot, and I feel although I didn't make it as an Eaglette in cheerleading, I do like the idea of flying high above everyone else, and being an intelligent bird, and watch out Mouse Judith Cause I can totally spot when up in the sky and fly down and eat you up" (Ok Pass).
Amy-"My name is Amy, I'm 25 years old, I learned today just now that I have some girls in my group that are sarcastic, and like to kid around somewhat. Which is good at times but other times may bring disharmony to the circle. So ladies keep in mind what you say in circle is for more than just one person to hear but everyone to hear, oh and try to keep things positive." "Lastly, the animal I would choose to be is a Kangaroo, many people don't know that Kangaroos are physically unable to hop back wards and when they want to turn around in life they have to make a huge circle. I admire how this attribute keeps the Kangaroo hopping forward in life in a positive new direction at all times, Also they have a cool pouch." "Ok Pass"
The girl with beautiful Blond hair says, "Hi my name is Brie-Like the Cheese, I'm 15 years old, I learned today that the shampoo they give you here in the showers makes my hair smell bad, and this makes me sad and miss home more than anything. If I could be any animal I would be a Lion. Being a Lion or more appropriate a Lioness I would be the king of my kingdom, and exhibit a beautiful mane which wouldn't smell like this horrible shampoo." "Ok Pass"
The last girl with the depressed attitude looks at the ground and says, "Hmmm I'm Annette, ewhhhahhh oh I'm 16 years old. I learned today that if I try to kill myself while being here, the counselors won't leave my side and will stand within 5 feet of me all day long. Hmmmm yeah if I could be any animal I would be the Maggot, that way I could hang out on dead bodies all day long as a white colorless worm that feed off others decaying flesh for a living-what a perfect life." "Oh Pass"
Christy-"Well if you are the last person to speak instead of saying pass, you say Circle" "Sorry I forgot to cover that, but yes I agree with Amy we tend to have a little sarcasm floating in our group." "Yet, I'm happy to see everyone contribute some information and express their feelings of dislike." "There is nothing wrong with saying you dislike something as long as you are being honest, and I feel all of you were honest with your first round of circle and this honesty will help in other rounds." "Amy would like to lead the next round?"
Amy-"I would like to say I agree with Christy completely, but would also like to add I enjoyed the creativity you all shared with coming up with the animals you resemble" "For the next round though, I would like to ask you to share one positive attribute about yourself, and one thing you would like to improve in yourself." "I'll pass right to you Joan."
Joan-"Hmmm I can handle failure pretty well, and I'm willing to try hard at things in life, and take a stand for things when I disagree with them, and for the most part I like myself the way I am but I guess I could improve myself by finding something I enjoy and sticking with it longer than a few weeks. I would like to have something I'm good at and other people would look at me and be like…Joan is really good at Blank" "Oh pass"
Judith-"I can positively say I make my own decisions in life, and weather good or bad I learn better from those experiences than I ever do from therapy or counseling. One thing I need to work on better is listening to others and actually caring about what it is they are talking about I understand clearly that I have a problem with doing this and I should try to be more open to others." "Pass"
Vickie-"I'm pretty confident in life about most things, and tend to be very strong willed, and passionate about the things I believe in" "I need to work on not being so stubborn at times that could probable help me out from time to time." "Pass"
Christy-"Wow sounds like our group is pretty confident with themselves for the most part-which is really good." "I would just like to point out that over confidence is the other opposite of stubbornness so I can see why most of you pick corresponding strengths and weaknesses for yourself-Just something for you to consider" "Me personally, I have a strong passion for life, and I like to spread that to others." "One thing I need to work on is being more open to feedback from others in life." "Annette your turn"
Annette-"I am good at being depressed, and lonely, and hating life." "I want to work on pretending I was dead and my ability to sleep more" "Pass"
Brie-"I'm amazing at cheerleading, singing, dancing, and being up beat" "I should work on being less self involved and spend more time standing up for what I believe in as opposed to just doing what my friends think is cool." "Pass"
Amy-"I think I really like our group a lot" "I feel this will be a very fun summer together" "For myself I would like to say I'm good at maintaining a positive attitude, and often seek out appropriate challenges in life. "I do however need to work on being more focused at times and finishing all the projects I start before trying to start a new project." "Great… That is Circle" "I think we have time for one more round before bed, this round will be an open round and you can say whatever you want or nothing at all, just remember to be respectful to each other. I'll reverse it back to Brie to Start"
Brie-"I feel kind of awkward here at this camp, I'm not exactly sure what this place is all about my parents said this place would help me in life, but I am unsure what they meant by it. I kind of zoned out when they were talking to me about this camp maybe that was a bad idea. Oh well I just know most summers I have gone to specialty camps in like sports or theater this camp seems to focus on many subjects instead of just one. but I looked at my schedule today and think it is cool all the fun camp activities we will be participating in together." "I particularly think the climbing course, volleyball, Music, Dancing, and Pet Therapy will be a lot of fun, and help me when I go home and back to school this fall." "Yeah that's all for now Pass"
Annette-"You guys seem more real than my last therapy group, but if I was a maggot like I want to be I would still eat your flesh" "Pass"
Christy-"Pass"
Vickie-"I just want to go to bed" "Pass"
Judith-"Annette I think you would make an excellent Maggot, maybe if you get reincarnated you can make that a request to God" ----Annette for the first time looks up during the entire circle and gives Judith a glare of death and then puts her head back down.
Judith-"Yeah it has been an interesting day, If I had to vote I would say you are by far my favorite group I ever had here-so props to being number one in my book out of three summers" "Pass"
Joan-"I think everyone is unique and special here and I feel like we all have a lot of things in common" "It is kind of like that movie the Breakfast Club" "Yeah if you saw it I'm sure you could relate, if not, well when we finally leave in August you should go watch it cause it is a good movie." "Pass"
Amy-"Alright well that was an excellent first circle, and I look forward to more fun nights to come. However, now it is time for bed, and lights out will be in about 15 minutes.
