Jasper's POV
The new girl was beautiful, deep black hair that fell just below her shoulders, large grey eyes, she was short but had a lovely, well-developed figure. I estimated she was around 15 or 16, my age. She was with a man I assumed was her father, he went with a nurse to do some paperwork and she sat on the sofa next to me. She pulled she legs up to her chest so she was in a ball and started rocking back and forth. I wondered what was wrong with her.
"Are you alright" I asked her.
She winced and looked up at me. Her eyes seemed to burn a hole right through me. She slowly shook her head and put it back on her knees.
"What's you name?"
She didn't say anything.
"My name is Jasper."
This time she looked up. "I'm Alice" she said, her voice barely audible. There was almost no emotion in it. "What are you in here for?"
I hesitated, not really sure if I wanted to tell a girl I just met my life story. She realized she shouldn't have asked that question and added "If you wanna say."
I gave a small smile. "Well I don't actually have a mental illness or anything, my parents abused me." I pulled up one of my sleeves so she could see my scars. All shapes and sizes, from burns, hits, cuts. You name it, I had a scar from it.
For a moment she just stared, then she said "Uh, I guess I'm sorry then. I, on the other hand do have a mental illness, and it sucks." She smiled.
I smiled too. I went to say something else but halfway through the first word I noticed she had gone out of focus, her eyes were moving rapidly back and forth as if she were dreaming. Seeing something the rest of us couldn't. She snapped out of it and looked away quickly, blushing.
"By any chance is this illness schizophrenia?" I asked. "My friend Edward" I gestured to the boy sitting in the recliner adjacent to our couch, "is schizophrenic".
"No" she said with more force than I thought she had in her. "Bi-polar."
I nodded, there were a least five other people at this clinic with bi-polar.
"Are you in that program where we all talk to each other and stuff?" I asked her, hoping the answer was yes. I really wanted to get to know her better, she seemed like deep down she was a nice person. Plus she was just so pretty I wanted to stare at her forever.
"Sadly" she sighed, "I do not want to talk about my problems with a bunch of random people."
I laughed. "They're not random after your first session. Besides, it really does help".
Her father came out then with Dr. Collins, one of the therapists. She was only 30 but she was one of the best at this clinic. "Alice, this is Dr. Collins and she's gonna be your therapist." They walked over.
"Hello, Alice" Dr. Collins said, extending her hand for a handshake. Alice didn't take it. "Well, should we go to my office now and get to know each other." She smiled.
Alice shrugged. "I suppose" and got up. They went down the hallway together and I was left alone with her father. There was an awkward silence for a few moments before he turned to look at a mural on the wall.
Edward stood up and sat down where Alice had just been. "Looks like someone has a crush" he smiled. It sometimes seemed as if he could read minds, but we all know its just the voices in his head.
"Haha" I said sarcastically but then I stopped to think. Maybe I was crushing on the new girl. . .