Feliciano's eyes tiredly opened to the sight of a back door window that showed a moving highway that was only lit by the hazy orange street lights. He then noticed the semi dark interior of the ambulance and that he was completely strapped to a gurney with a blanket sung under the straps.

"Oh, you're up," said the lady looking up from her laptop. Feliciano did not even know that there was anyone else in here. The bright screen of the computer revealed that she had light brown hair tightly bound in a ponytail and that she looked about thirty-five.

"Whe-Where am I going?" Feliciano asked.

The lady resumed typing on her laptop, "Queenswood."

"Queenswood?"

"Yeah, it's a mental hospital."

Feliciano was dumbfounded, "Why didn't you guys just put me in jail?"

"Because when the police interviewed your friend they concluded that you were better suited for a mental hospital than in a jail cell. You should be happy, you got off easy."

"I should?"

The male driver commented from the front of the ambulance, "Yeah, they got good food!"

"Oh shut up and drive," the lady said jokingly, "Anyway, yeah mental hospitals aren't the straight jackets and plush rooms like you see in the movies. They're just places where troubled kids like you go to get help."

Feliciano smiled sadly at the lady and then asked, "Do you know if Ludwig is okay?"

The lady glanced up, "Your friend? I have no idea. His hand's in pretty bad shape though, you really did a number on it, kid."

Feliciano winced at the remark and thought out loud, "He probably hates me."

The woman took a deep sigh, "Kid I hate to break it to ya, but worrying isn't gonna make this any better than it is. If you need something to be anxious over, think about what kind of friends you'll make at Queenswood."

The driver called from the front, "We'll be there in a couple minutes!"

"Yeah, yeah," the lady sarcastically retorted.

As the ambulance slowly pulled up into the drop off area, Feliciano had gotten nervous. What kind of crazies am I going to meet, he wondered. The man and the woman pulled the gurney out from the back and cautiously onto the pavement.

"This would be a lot easier if they could just walk in," the man commented.

When they were pulling Feliciano up the slopes to the back entrance the lady said, "If you squish me into the door again, I'll kill you."

The guy chuckled from Feliciano's behind, "Hey kid, watch this." The man then began to push the gurney faster up the ramp.

"Oh no, you don't!" The woman said as she picked up speed as well. Feliciano smiled at how childish they were acting. When they finally reached the door the lady almost collided into it. "Ha, maybe next time."

"Oh, I so got you," the man said.

"Yeah, yeah, just keep telling yourself that. Now we just wait for them to buzz us in."

In the few minutes that the group waited to have the door unlocked, Feliciano's nerves began to settle. Then the buzzing noise sounded and the lady pushed open the door. They then pulled the gurney through the narrow corridor with mint coloured walls; Feliciano thought the colour was hideous. The ride ended when they stopped near a door and a large glass window that was to the left, it appeared to be a waiting room.

"Why did we stop?" Feliciano asked.

"We have to let the police officer look through your bag of clothes. Plus, we have to let you out of the gurney." The man replied.

"My….bag of clothes?"

"Yeah, they undressed you and put you in hospital clothes," she began, "You'll be changed into scrubs when you get to Mod D."

Feliciano was befuddled, "Mod D?"

"Module D, it's the floor where young adults and adolescences like you go."

"Aren't you guys going to let me out now?"

The man laughed, "Not until the policeman arrives."

"Great."

"Welcome to our lives, kid."

A moment of silence then filled the hallway. Feliciano let out a deep sigh and the woman who was still in front of the gurney slid down the wall and sat down on the jade carpeting. He hated when things had gotten quiet, "Do…Do you guys think I'm crazy?"

The man answered, "You? Well, you seem nice. It appears you just lost it."

Feliciano smiled cheerlessly, "Have you met any people worse off than me?"

The lady interjected, "One time we had this eighty year old woman think she was eight months pregnant. Remember her, Paul?"

The man at last had a name, "Yeah, she was a total nut job."

Feliciano's spirits had begun to lift, "The walls here are an ugly colour."

The woman remarked, "You think this is bad? One hospital had all pink walls. It was obnoxious."

Paul intervened, "I liked the pink one! They had cool magazines that were in Spanish!"

"Oh yeah, I remember that. Now they have stupid health magazines."

"Oh, I hate those! They always contain stupid ass articles like," Paul made a goofy voice, "'How to Clean Your Glasses'!"

Feliciano sniggered so much at the truth of that statement his giggles invaded his words, "Yeah…ha-ha….and like 'How to…ha-ha... Know if You Have a Tumor'!"

Paul expressed amusement, "See, the kid knows what we're talking 'bout!

Then through the window Feliciano saw the policeman approaching the waiting room door. He was a rotund black man with a mustache; frankly, he looked like a stuffed sausage in his uniform. Feliciano felt sorry for the buttons that had to hold his shirt together.

The officer's voice was husky and booming, "Well unfortunately fo' me, I didn't find any weapons in yo' clothing bag. It's a real shame because I really wanted to be on the news with them sayin' I caught me a killa'."

Feliciano smiled at how lighthearted this policeman was, "If I knew that, I would've come more prepared!"

Everyone laughed and then the man continued, "Your clothes are now upstairs getting washed and your friend Roderich has just admitted you since you're only seventeen."

Feliciano raised an eyebrow, "Roderich?" He had forgotten that he had stayed the night at Ludwig's house.

"Yep, he sure did. He seemed prissy to me, but whatever. Anyway, you guys can unstrap the boy now." He glanced at Feliciano, "It was nice meetin' ya, kid. Hope you get better soon" The policeman then went back into the waiting room and left.

The woman sprung up from her sitting position and began to lower the gurney, "All right, it's about time!" Paul then started unhooking Feliciano; each strap released with a click. When Feliciano was finally freed from the contraption, he set aside the blanket and hopped off. He also noticed the hospital clothes he was in.

"Now what do I do?" Feliciano asked.

"Wait in the waiting room," Paul said, "until someone escorts you to Mod D."

"Alright," he began to walk towards the door but suddenly halted and spun around, "Will I ever see you guys again?"

The woman sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Probably not. I know this ending is bittersweet for you, but most goodbyes are. Maybe someday we'll meet again, but hopefully not here." She let go of his shoulder and started to push the gurney away and Paul started to pull it.

"See ya on the flip side, kid!" Paul called from down the hallway.

"Oh, just shut up and pull." The woman lightheartedly retorted.

Feliciano smiled sadly as the two nicest people he had ever met faded out of sight. He then pushed the door open and sat in the closest seat; he let his head fall and then let out a light sigh. He then looked up at the 'Your Rights as a Mental Health Patient" poster that was in five different languages that was to his right. He attempted to read the Spanish but with little success. Unexpectedly, the door was opened by a woman with short black hair; his head snapped in her direction.

"Feliciano is it?" the woman asked in a soft voice.

"Um, yes," Feliciano stood up, "I'm him."

"It's very nice to meet you, I'm Janice and I'll be taking you up to Mod D."

"Uh, okay."

"Please follow me sir." He followed the woman through the narrow hallway towards a flight of stairs. They both climbed four flights before they walked forward towards the wooden door that had a paper sign that said, 'Mod D'. "Here we are!" the woman remarked as she unlocked and opened the door, "Mod D, it's one of my favorite floors." The door then opened to a wider hallway that had goldenrod coloured cinderblock walls; some of the paint was chipped in a few areas. Each side was aligned with doors to dormitory-like rooms containing two beds. Each room had a number in the four hundreds; Feliciano's room was four hundred two. Farther down the hallway there was a main desk and across from that a chair with a blood pressure machine next to it. Feliciano's bare feet walked slowly down the linoleum flooring. He peered upwards towards the bright, florescent lights staring down at him as he sauntered to the main desk. "Okay Feliciano, this is the main desk," the woman began, "and behind the desk is the middle day room. That's where everyone likes to hang out. To your right is the boy's side of the hallway and to the left is the girl's. You'll mostly be spending your time in the boy's day room. Now, would you please come into the middle day room?"

"Um, sure." It's not like I have a choice, Feliciano thought.

The middle day room had a huge window to the right of the door; inside there were two more large portrait windows, one on the left and right of the farthest wall. On the left wall was a black flat screen TV that looked almost unused. The walls were a pale jade color and contained a small whiteboard near the left portrait window. In the middle of the rather immense room was two fake granite tables pushed together to form one big table. Plastic chairs aligned the main table and the right wall near the doorway along with the wall near the whiteboard and window. To the far left was a smaller table with about four chairs surrounding it. The woman took a seat in a chair by the main table across Feliciano; he took the seat parallel to hers. She then gave him a work packet to fill out. The questions in the small packet asked if he had suicidal thoughts, what angered him, and other things of that nature. When he completed it, she asked to go to the blood pressure machine so she takes his first vitals. Feliciano soon found out after he sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair that vitals meant body temperature and blood pressure.

"Okay," the lady said while holding a thermometer to his mouth, "put this under your tongue." He followed accordingly even though the squeezing from the blood pressure machine made him cringe. She then told the nearby worker his temperature and blood pressure. Another worker then handed him blue hospital scrubs and thick socks with treads to change into as he was being released from the hurtful grip of the machine. Feliciano had then gotten up and turned to his right and entered the nearest bathroom. Once done changing, he looked down at his new attire: a light blue, oversized paper-like shirt, extra-large, paper-like royal blue trousers, and giant beige socks. The woman then showed him to his room which was only a few paces away. To the left of the doorway the number '402' was plastered in beige. She then gradually opened the door and Feliciano observed a sleeping body get drenched in the light from the corridor; the body squirmed a little. "I hope I didn't wake him," the lady said in a hushed voice, "Anyway, he's your roommate and your bed is the empty one on the right. Try to get some sleep okay? Breakfast is at seven," she left the room leaving the door ajar. Feliciano moseyed to his twin-sized bed and yanked the tucked covers up from under the mattress. He then crawled under the covers.

The room had pale yellow walls and one window between Feliciano's and his roommate's beds. There was also a wooden work desk between the two mattresses. His roommate oddly had an actual hospital bed while he had a normal one. The bed was quite uncomfortable and stiff for Feliciano. All he could think to do was to look up at the ceiling. The body in the other bed turned to face him, making Feliciano jump. The boy looked about his age and had short, weird dark blond hair that stuck up on the left side. His blue eyes looked violet in the darkened room. He grinned, "Well, I've always wanted a roommate."

"That's cool," Feliciano could not think of anything else to say.

"What's your name?"

"Feliciano, what's yours?"

"Matthias, but you can just call me Matt."

"Okay Matt, sorry about waking you up."

"Ah, it's alright," He glared towards the door and quickly left his bed, "For the love of God, that bitch didn't shut our door!" He slammed the door shut and darkness engulfed the room once again. He hastily walked back to his bed and lied back down.

Feliciano asked, "If you don't mind me asking, but why are you here?"

Matt smiled deviously, "Beat the shit out of my dad. You?"

He grimaced, "Shot my friend's hand off."

"DAMN! I wish I had the balls to do that! Holy shit, bro!"

"Yeah, I dunno why they just didn't throw me in jail."

"They didn't because they knew that you're too crazy for a jail cell."

"Heh, maybe. I just can't believe in the loony bin."

Matt sighed, "Well believe it, kid. You are gonna be here for a few days, after all."

"Great."

"Isn't it? I'm just glad I have somebody to talk to now." Feliciano pulled the edge of the curtain which revealed the dark indigo sky, the rest of the building, and a radio tower farther away. He stared at it momentarily and then let go of the curtain. "Hey Feliciano, how many times have you been in one of these places?"

"Um, this is my first time. How about you?"

He held up four fingers and said matter-of-factly, "Fourth."

"Wow, what are you diagnosed with?"

Matt put on an introspected expression, "Hmm….let's see," he began to count with his fingers, "Severe Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Just don't get me angry and I'll be cool, okay?"

"Okay, I won't piss you off."

He chuckled, "You're gonna be evaluated tomorrow. They'll just ask you a bunch of yes or no questions. Hey, do you have a wristband yet?"

Feliciano checked his arms, "No, they didn't give me one."

"Ah, they'll do it tomorrow."

"Is the food good here?"

"Of all the things you could be worried about, that's what you come up with? Heh, the food's okay I guess."

"Are the nurses mean here?"

"Some of them are bitches but most of them are nice."

"If you could sum up this place in one sentence, what would it be?"

Matt looked over towards Feliciano, "Welcome to hell."

"Is it that bad?"

"Nah not really, but it can sure feel like it sometimes."

"That's lovely."

"Tell me about it."

Feliciano sighed, "I guess we just wait for breakfast now."

"Yup."