Drunk or Sober

Dates Without the Damsel in Distress

FRIDAY 4/9
HARLEIGH'S POV

"Hey, Har, wake up." Wyatt whispered as Rosie slowly pulled at my covers.

"What time is it?" I muttered, tugging my sheets back.

"Late enough. Get up." Rosie giggled.

"Tell Ms. Kat I'm sick."

"Would you like some medicine then?"

"Ms. Kat?" I rubbed my eyes and sat up.

She took a seat at the edge of my bed and smiled. "You guys better hurry down for breakfast before everything's all gone." Rosie and Wyatt nodded while Ms. Kat watered the pink carnations from Ryder on the table and then left.

"You guys- just go without me. I'll meet up."

"You better." Wyatt tried to sound serious. "You've only been here two weeks and you still haven't gotten used to Morning Group."

"We'll save you a seat!" Rosie chanted as she waved goodbye and grabbed Isaac's hand.

Morning Group was the most difficult thing to get used to.

It wasn't so much the earliness of it that was a problem, more though the lack of privacy.

Ms. Kat posed different questions and lectures each morning and each night, expecting all of us to voluntarily share our thoughts and feelings. And they couldn't just be plain and simple answers either; the point was to open up and let free of your emotions, not that any of the topics proposed were easy or simple in the first place.

All it was to me was a test to see how vulnerable we could get. They stripped us back a further layer with each session, asking vague questions about daily life to "Describe a time you and your parents disagreed" or "If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be and why?"

At first I thought the whole idea was silly, but it did happen to help most kids. Ms. Kat suggested I try more, kind of like I did when we had to talk about where we saw ourselves in the future.

Besides Morning Group, life on the fourth floor was for the most part, calm, except for whenever Wyatt begged we go to the band room. Rosie always fought with him and suggested we go paint with in the other room like everyone else.

After some time, something felt strangely comforting about waking up in a hospital bed over my real one. There's probably something wrong with me for saying that.

It wasn't just the bed here either, it was the routine too. Everything was so easy.

I mean, I wasn't stressing like I normally did, and I didn't care how I looked anyway. In a way I guess you could say I wish I felt like this more often.

I went to the bathroom across from my room and stared at myself in the mirror. I splashed water on my face and traced my skin with my fingers.

My time here has showed me I'm my own worst critic.

Nobody hates me more than I hate myself; at least that's what Rosie told me when we were sitting in her room talking about how things used to be. She also told me not to worry about it though, because now I know nobody can beat me down as much as I beat down myself.

Wyatt gave me really good advice too.

"The biggest disappointment in your life will never come from a family member, a friend, or someone you love; but yourself." He said, and at first I didn't understand it until Ryder visited me later and I told him the same thing.

I don't know when I'm going back to school, but part of me hopes it isn't any time soon.

I took a final look at myself again and hurried into the elevator and to the cafeteria.