Alice's Asylum

Chapter Four

I got up at seven for my first day at The Philadelphia General Mental Institute. I dressed in smart black trousers and a blue button up shirt. I wasn’t sure whether or not to wear a tie so I tucked it in the pocket of my trousers just in case. The second I saw anyone wearing a tie, I would put it on.

Mom was still in bed so I made my own lunch. I made chicken and sweet corn sandwiches and cut myself a slice of Mom’s homemade chocolate cake with a sprinkling of grapes. I cut myself a couple of slices of cheese before putting the lid on. I grabbed my car keys from the hook in the corridor and left the house.

I felt slightly nervous about my first day as I pulled out of the driveway. The second I was on the road, I tucked my lunch into the glove box. It would be cool there.

I passed a lot of cottages and bungalows just like Mom’s. There was a school and a doctor’s surgery and a post office. As I started to get further out of the village, I passed fewer landscapes. The houses thinned and trees were on either side of me. A mile or so later, I finally saw the asylum. It was way out of place from the public area and out of sight unless you just happened to be heading to this dead end way.

The asylum was made out of greyish concrete. It was huge and shaped like a castle mixed with a factory. It was surrounded by walls that were so high that it blocked most of the building from view. The walls were topped with barbed wire that looked like it would tear you apart if you tried to get over. The walls were too smooth though and it looked like there was only one entrance/exit.

I pulled up and stopped outside some sort of guard’s box. A yellow and black bar was stretched across to stop cars from passing without being seen to first. The guard inside his box looked at me through the window of the box. He gestured for me to roll down the window. I did so with a flick of a switch.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m starting work here today. Jasper Whitlock?” The guard looked down a clipboard.

“Yes you’re here on visitor. Do you have any additional passengers?”

“Just me and my sandwiches.” I flashed a grin at the guard but he didn’t smile back.

“We will have to search your car as you’re a first time visitor.” I glanced at my watch anxiously. I was expected for half seven which was in twenty minutes time.

“Will it take long?”

“The average search takes only five minutes. Just get out of your car for a minute please sir.” I got out of my car with a sigh and leant against the guard’s box next to the window. Four guards stepped under and over the bar from their positions on either side of the walls. They started to search my car while the guard inside the box lit a cigarette. By the time the cigarette had been finished, the guards had done with their search.

“All clear boss.” One of them said. They all looked the same with their dark blue and black uniforms.

“Sign here please?” The guard from inside the box said, showing a clipboard with a piece of paper with an arrow showing where to sign. He handed me a pen and I signed. He ripped the paper off the clipboard and put it in a transparent pouch which had a coloured material for it to go round your neck. He then handed it over to me through a gap in the window. I put it on as the guard produced another clipboard.

“Just sign there.” I took the pen and signed my name again. I then handed back the pen and got back in my car. The guard pressed a button for the bar to lift and I drove through.