I apologize for taking so long to upload!

I realize that the chapters are short, boring, and aren't really realistic. That is because I've never been to a mental hospital in my life. Therefore it would be helpful if you readers would send feedback with suggestions and ideas to help make this story more realistic. Thank you for your support!

I don't own Ib.

My Problem: Chapter 5

Mapmaking

~Ib~

Ib was fully engrossed in her Advanced Japanese textbook when she heard a loud beep and a click. The electronic lock was placed, keeping her in whether she wanted it or not.

Ib set the book back and approached the door. She knew that the door wouldn't budge even if a grown man tried to bust it down, but she had an understanding on how locks worked. It was a gamble, but if she could find the panel that controlled her door, she could find a way to open it.

With her fingers, she searched the door and walls around for indentations, but she couldn't find the panel. She figured that there must be a room somewhere that controlled all the locks on the doors.

Ib went back to her studying, not at all disappointed by her fruitless efforts. Ib Jule knew to wait for opportunity.

As she started reading, she could hear pounding and crying coming from the room next door. Ib wasn't surprised since she wa mental hospital. What she didn't expect was to hear a familiar voice on the other side of the wall yell, "I wanna go home!" Ib momentarily wondered who it was before figuring it wasn't any of her business in the first place.

~Garry~

The schedule was very specific on what times meals would be served. Garry wasn't sure how he managed to get up at 7:30 without an alarm clock, but he was in time to eat before the cafeteria closed at 8.

All the warm food was gone, but Garry was able to take the last of the coffee. He sat down to eat and observed the cafeteria. Patients gathered around talking to each other about this and that. The doctors picked up their food and went back to their offices.

Garry quickly ate his breakfast and left the dirty dishes at the table for the staff to take care of. Since he wasn't to go to Dr. Blue's office for a long time, he went to the Commons.

The Commons were a series of rooms that had all sorts of entertainments. People who didn't have to see their doctors yet could be found there, milling about, playing card games, reading , talking, or watching T.V.

Garry entered a room that occupied only one girl who was working on something with a textbook in front of her. The girl looked up from her paper when she heard the door close. "Garry?" she said in surprise.

"Ib," Garry greeted the girl, "I wasn't expecting to see you here. How've you been?"

"…I'm fine." Ib answered quietly. She hastily closed her book, not noticing that the movement swept the sheet of paper to the floor. "I'd better not keep my doctor waiting. Bye."

"See ya-" Ib was out of the room before he could even finish. "She was in a hurry. Hmm, she dropped something."

Garry lifted the paper and examined it with curious eyes. Drawn on the paper was a series of rectangles with smaller squares inside. The squares were labeled with letters that meant nothing to him, and some of them had random stars near the sides.

The sound of the door opening behind him made Garry shriek in surprise. The person at the door giggled. Garry turned and saw a teenager with honey colored curls and sky blue eyes.

"You startled me!" Garry complained.

The girl's eyebrows rose skeptically. "Startled enough to scream like a little girl? You were totally scared."

"N-no I wasn't! How could you accuse that of a man?"

"You're a man?"

"…" Garry glared at the girl, but refrained from speaking. He knew that if he did he would regret his words later. Deciding to ignore the girl, he turned back to the paper.

The girl pouted at Garry's back and skipped further into the room, letting the door slam shut behind her. "My name's Mary. What's yours?"

"… Garry." The pyromaniac hoped she would just go away.

His hopes were dashed when he heard her giggle again. "Hey, our names rhyme! Mary and Garry. Garry and Mary, hehe!"

Garry focused on the paper in his hands rather than the irritating girl. If she got bored with him, maybe she would go away?

"What's this?" The paper was snatched out of Garry's hands.

"Hey," Garry cried in outrage, "Give it back!"

"No," Mary held an arm out between him and the paper while she examined it. "Are you making a map?"

"Huh?" Garry hadn't considered that it would be a map, but now that he thought about it, the rectangles were laid out like each floor of the mental hospital.

"You know, a picture of the rooms of a place. Here's the Common we're in now." Mary pointed to the square in the first rectangle where the Common was. A star was drawn on the back wall on the paper. "Do the stars mean treasure?"

"I don't know. Someone dropped this." Garry explained, looking up at the back wall. "Looks like it's just a painting."

"Painting!" Mary thrust the map back at Garry before running over to the painting at the back. It was an oil painting of warm color splotches. Mary stared hard at the painting without blinking and the colors blended together. "Wow!"

Garry ignored Mary's antics as he smoothed out the crumpled map. He noticed that the third rectangle was empty of squares and stars. He figured it was the men's floor, so Ib wouldn't be able to finish that part.

He folded the paper, tucked it into his coat pocket, and left the Common. He knew that he couldn't write in the letters, but the least he could do was fill in the squares for the third floor. Then he would return the map to Ib. With the plan in mind, he walked off to the elevator.

~Mary~

Mary barged into Dr. Yellow's office an hour before her appointment. The yellow-eyed doctor's head snapped up in surprise. "Oh Mary! You're quite early."

Mary giggled and nodded. Dr. Yellow stood up from behind the desk and smiled awkwardly. "I'll need a minute to prepare."

"Can I draw while I wait?" Mary asked.

"Of course! You know where the supplies are."

"Yay!" Mary skipped over to the bottom bin of the cupboard while Dr. Yellow scrambled to find the things she would need.

Finally prepared, Dr. Yellow kneeled down on the floor with her clipboard, a file, and a cardboard box next to Mary. "Are you ready? Are you comfortable?"

"Yeah,"

"So how was your day yesterday?"

"I didn't really like you at first, but you're really nice. And the people here are fun!"

"How so?"

"Well, a ninja played hide-and-seek with me, I met a girl named Ib, and I met a strange guy in the Commons who was easy to tease." Mary elaborated as she drew.

"Mm-hmm… Did you make any friends?"

"… Not yet…"

"So you are planning to make a friend." Dr. Yellow corrected herself. She scribbled something on the clipboard.

"Do you draw, Dr. Yellow?"

"Yes. Art is the best way to express emotions and memories without using words. I also create art when I'm stressed."

"I like art too! It's so pretty! I saw some of paintings in the Commons you mentioned."

"Which one did you like the most?"

Mary glanced up at the corner of the room in thought then smiled. "I liked Illusion." she decided.

Dr. Yellow returned the smile. "That's a good one. It is called Illusion because the painting is an optical illusion. There are two different images in it."

"Really?" Mary's eyes sparkled in excitement. "Can you give me a hint what they are?"

Dr. Yellow shook her head. "I'll let you go look for yourself in a minute if you come back at 1:00 for your next appointment."

"This was a quick appointment." Mary observed as she gathered the art tools and put them away.

"One of the doctors needs my assistance. If you want, I can make our next appointment long to make up the time."

Mary made a face at the doctor, causing Dr. Yellow to give a chuckle. "Help yourself to a candy on your way out Mary." she said.

Mary brightened. "Thanks Doctor!" she yelled around the bubblegum sucker in her mouth as she left.

Dr. Yellow picked up Mary's discarded drawing of a brunette with red eyes and placed it in Mary's folder. She tucked the folder under her arm on her way to the hallway. Normally, discussing the problems of patients was prohibited, but there were acceptations to the rule when it concerned the safety of others in the hospital. Dr. Red would want a head's up for her patient's safety if Mary was really planning to make her a "friend".

By the way, I do not approve of busting into any doctor's office an hour early. Mary is just really enthusiastic about art, candy, and games. You will see what is in the cardboard box later. J