I am sorry for the wait. I want to promise that it will never happen again, but it probably will. Thank you for your patience and support as always. Please review any comments, ideas, or complaints.
Ib is owned by Kouri. Wraith is owned by Dark Denizen.
My Problem: Chapter 7
Circle of Trust
~Garry~
The sun had long disappeared over the horizon and left a chill in the air around the hospital. Darkness clung to places where the light had touched only hours ago. Heavy clouds rolled across the sky, blanketing the stars. Clouds like those promised a gloomy rain.
Garry moped at his spot at the edge of the bed. He felt numb with cold despite the cotton wrapped around his shoulders. As shivers wracked his body, he stared out the window expectantly. He blamed the weather outside for his current condition. It couldn't be because he hadn't burnt anything in days. That would be ridiculous.
The harder he tried to sleep, the more it evaded him. So he sat in his dark room after being locked in. He found waiting for the sunrise to be boring, yet satisfied. The pinkish red clouds looked like burning embers in the sky at times.
With a sigh, Garry fell backwards into the bed with the blanket still wrapped around him tightly like a cocoon. With nothing else to do, he reflected on his behavior the previous day. He was aware that he was behaving badly at his appointment with Dr. Blue. To be honest, Garry felt like he had been in a weird mood ever since he came to Lylia Mental Hospital. It was like he was constantly on edge, making him seem anxious.
The entire facility had an odd feel to it. The twisting hallways littered with paintings that made no sense were hard to navigate, especially for a newcomer like Garry. He imagined it would be downright spooky to walk around on the first floor at night. He imagined himself wandering in the dark hallways and shuddered. Even with Ib's map, he didn't believe he had the courage to venture alone.
~Ib~
At 10:00 sharp, Ib found herself standing outside meeting room 12-A with a neatly folded note in her hand. She had found that note outside her door when she went to breakfast earlier. It had a brief message about a group meeting with her "substitute doctor" at the specific time and place she was at presently.
The silent thief knocked lightly on the door and entered at the sound of a cheerful greeting. The meeting room she stepped into was bright green with paintings of bugs hanging on the walls. A round table was being pushed to the far wall by Garry and the boy from yesterday while a woman who looked similar to Dr. Red moved the chairs out of the way.
The yellow eyed woman smiled at Ib and approached her while the males continued to struggle with the table. "You must be Ib. I'm Dr. Yellow Hall, but you may call me Dr. Yellow." The doctor shook Ib's hand firmly.
Ib tilted her head and nodded, careful to keep her face void of any emotions. The doctor gave a nervous smile before gesturing to the chairs. "Would you help me with these chairs, please?" she asked awkwardly.
Ib shrugged her shoulders, making Dr. Yellow's smile waver a little. The doctor turned and showed the thief to position the chairs in a circle.
"Is this okay?" Garry called to the doctor. Dr. Yellow glanced at the table they had pushed against the wall.
"Yes, it'll do. Come take a seat in the Circle of Trust."
The patients wrinkled their noses in distaste at the lamely chosen name, but none objected as they parked their rears on the spiny chairs. Dr. Yellow opened her mouth to start the group appointment when Mary burst through the door with a loud boom. Garry yelped in surprise and Dr. Yellow nearly fell out of her chair at the unexpected entry. Ib and the boy were not so easy to startle, so they simply looked on in amusement.
Dr. Yellow cleared her throat and adjusted herself on the chair. "Ah Mary! We were waiting for you. Come and sit so we can get started."
Mary beamed at the doctor. "Okay!" she sang as she skipped to an empty seat between the boy with magenta eyes and Ib. The red eyed girl stiffened when the blonde softly bumped her on the shoulder. "Hey, why aren't you wearing your cute skirt today?" she asked, pointing to the jeans Ib had worn as a substitute.
Ib glared in the general direction of the boy who made her spill pudding on her skirt, but didn't answer Mary.
The boy tilted his head so his black hair with purple highlights covered his eyes in a guilty manner. "I'm sorry I bumped into you, okay? I can help you wash it if you want."
"It's already been handled." Ib answered coolly. After the incident, she had wiped most of the pudding off and soaked the skirt in her sink all night. Even though she did everything she could to save it, she didn't think it would ever be the same.
"It seems you all know each other more or less." Dr. Yellow observed, "But because I only know Mary, I'd like you all to tell me your names. Let's start with you." The doctor pointed to Garry.
"I'm Garry Baker."
Dr. Yellow gave the young man a pleased smile. "That introduction was perfect! It's your turn Miss..?"
"Ib Jule,"
"Wonderful! Now-"
"Oh, oh me next! Me next!" Mary enthusiastically spun on the spiny chair with her hand raised as though she was in a classroom.
Dr. Yellow nodded at the excited blonde, "Alright then."
"I'm Mary Guertena."
Ib perked at the familiar name and stared at Mary curiously. The blonde was ignorant to the newfound attention.
Dr. Yellow turned to the last patient in the group. "And last but not least…"
"Wraith Tenacious." the raven haired boy claimed with a relaxed smile.
"As I told you as you all came in, I'm Dr. Yellow. Dr. Purple was going to join us, but it seems she caught a virus." the yellow-eyed doctor explained, "Now that we know each other's names, let's play a game."
Dr. Yellow passed around scrapes of paper and pencils to the patients. "What you are going to do is write three things about yourself that no one knows. Then fold the paper and put it in this bowl. Someone will pick a paper, read it aloud, and guess who wrote it. If it isn't right, the person who was guessed incorrectly guesses next."
Ib stared skeptically at the paper scrap she was given. It was obviously a ploy to get the patients to exploit their secrets in an attempt to fix their problems. She scribbled trivial things that could apply to any teen and threw it in the bowl the doctor had placed in the center of their circle.
Once everyone's scrap was in the bowl, Dr. Yellow mixed up the papers and pulled out one to demonstrate how to play the game. "I don't like salty foods. Watching the sunrise is calming to me. I can't stand watching horror movies." she read aloud. The doctor glanced around the circle with a look of concentration on her face. "I'm going to guess Garry tor this one."
"Yep, that one's mine."
"Okay, now it's your turn to pick someone's paper then."
The lavender haired man lifted a scrap with neat script. "I enjoy art. I wanted to be a florist when I was young. I can't live without sweets." Garry pointedly stared at Mary. "This had to have been written by an unnaturally happy person. I think it's Mary's."
"Wrong, wrong!~" Mary sang while she continued to spin in her chair. "It's Dr. Yellow's."
Dr. Yellow directed a frown at Garry. "Happiness isn't unnatural. Aren't you happy ever?"
Garry fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat at the unwanted attention. "Sometimes. I'm just not happy all the time."
Dr. Yellow nodded in agreement. "Then you appreciate those few times that you are happy, right? Most people are like that. Since you guessed right, why don't you go Mary?"
The blonde girl scooted her chair forward and snatched the first paper scrap she touched. "I think bugs are gross. I like to read. I like cute things." Mary smiled brightly, "I like cute things too. Did Ib write it?"
Ib silently nodded in response to the question. She didn't seem to care that Mary was staring at her with admiration as she read the next paper. "I am 17 years old even though I appear to be younger. I like to listen to music. I once fell off a roof, but didn't get injured." Ib raised an eyebrow at Wraith. "You fell off a roof?"
The raven haired boy smiled at her. "The story isn't really interesting. Just lost my balance putting up Christmas lights. Mary's is last, right?"
"Yes. Would you please read it aloud?"
"Sure, why not?" Wraith agreed while unfolding the last scrap, "My favorite color is blue. I make my own clothes. My father is an artist."
Dr. Yellow flashed her patient a smile, "So the dress you are wearing is handmade? That's an impressive talent."
Mary glanced down at her green dress and rubbed her fingers against the fabric covering her knees. "Thanks. I do my best."
Dr. Yellow took the bowl to the table and returned with two envelopes. "We are a bit ahead of schedule, which I'm not complaining about. But here's the deal: for group sessions we are required to have group discussions. After our discussion, I have a fun game planned, then we can leave."
The doctor grinned at the patients as they exchanged uneasy glances. Most doctors spent the entire group sessions focused on discussions, but Yellow didn't want her patients to die of boredom. She hoped they were having as much fun as she was.
Ib on the other hand, felt nothing but wariness and suspicious for the doctor. She had nothing against interacting with others, but this discussion time could easily turn into an interrogation.
Noticing the awkward silence, Dr. Yellow's happy smile turned stern. "The sooner we get done with the group discussion, the sooner we can get to the game." She waved the two envelopes invitingly at the group.
"Ooh, what's the game? Is it tag?" Mary asked, bouncing in her seat.
"You'll find out after the group discussion is over."
"A surprise! I love surprises!"
"Good surprises." Garry amended Mary, "I'll bet you wouldn't like it if someone startled you."
Mary giggled, "That reminds me of yesterday. He screamed like a girl when I opened the door." She informed everyone in the room.
Garry turned scarlet in embarrassment as Wraith and Mary chuckled at his expense. Ib patted Garry on the knee sympathetically in an attempt to lift his spirits.
The red-eyed girl cleared her throat before suggesting, "Why don't we discuss the topic of art?"
Dr. Yellow glanced at Ib with a knowing gleam in her eye. The doctor was aware that Ib was the famed Red Rose art thief, so she was astounded that the constantly calculating girl was willing to offer such a personal topic. She made a note of the contribution and continued to observe the group.
"Art is boring." Wraith aimed an apologetic smile at Dr. Yellow. "I don't mean to offend those who think it's great, but all you can do is stare at it. It doesn't change and isn't entertaining."
Mary gasped dramatically, "No, you are wrong! Art is really cool. The world would be totally bland without art!"
Wraith shrugged indifferently, "That may be so, but I still find it uninteresting." Having offered his opinion on the subject, he didn't plan to say any more as was evident in his posture. The fierce determination in Mary's eyes, however, promised the argument about art was not over.
Garry cleared his throat, interrupting the one-sided staring contest. "I'm not so great at creating art but I appreciate it when I have time."
Mary beamed at him with approval. "There's a lot of good artwork here to appreciate. We should look at them together sometime." She glanced over at Ib. "You can come too if you like art, Ib."
Mary awaited for Ib to answer. Knowing the doctor was also listening for what she would say, the thief simply replied, "Art is nice."
"See, everyone here likes art except you, Wrath."
"It's Wraith." the boy rolled his eyes at her mistake. "We've discussed. Can we move on now?"
Dr. Yellow considered the question. "I suppose we can if everyone agrees that the discussion is over. Raise your hand if you want to move on."
The vote was unanimous. Everyone wanted to see what kind of game the doctor wanted them to play.