Surfing with Eli

Chapter one

^^ Eli Evens^^

Luka:

The doors automatically opened for me to walk through as I listened to nothing from the earphones I wore, I did this because it made people less likely to approach me. 

Being in a hospital already made it unlikely to be approached, everyone was dealing with their own problems, but just in case I still wore them anyway.

You know how in books or movies the characters always mention how when they walk into a hospital the first thing they notice is the smell of antiseptic. As if that was the only thing that stood out to them was the smell, I happened to be a much more observant person.

The first thing I notice is the amount of people, who probably had no beliefs in god, pray and beg in the chapel. I notice the attempts at making the halls and rooms bright and cheerful when death took up residency inside the building every day.

That was the worst, walking by a room and hearing the sound of a flat-line. Or how there's always that one guy or girl arguing with the receptionist at the front desk, because they don't want to fill out forms. They want to see their wife, or boyfriend, or child who was in that terrible accident.

The things that I wished I could ignore however was a longer list. I didn't want to overhear a doctor telling a young couple that their baby didn't make it through the night. I didn't want to see a sixteen year old girl cry over her bald head, or that a little boy could no longer use his eyes or that a woman would never be able to have children. 

Or that he died on the operating table, because no matter how hard he fought, there just wasn't anything more they could have done to save him. No... the first thing I notice is not the smell of antiseptic at all, even though I wished it was.

I sauntered into my support group room less than enthused, and dropped into my chair. It wasn't really my chair, I didn't have my name on it or anything but it was the same one I had been sitting in since I starting being forced to come to the group. So I had pretty much stated claim over it.

I didn't belong in this group I didn't need support I was fine with my anger problems and I had a pretty good control over it if I did say so myself. This was all just a joke because my dad was a jackass.

When Peter, the group leader, came in through the door everyone made their way to a seat and sat down. Peter was supposed to help us deal with our mental illnesses and how to live life to the fullest as if we were perfectly fine, and boy was he spirited about it.

 "It is so great to see everyone here again today!" he called glancing at each teenager in the room. He was a firm believer in eye contact.

"Congratulations on beating another day!" he said beginning to pass out his "encouragement" stickers. Basically each one said something like "You did it!" and "Way to go!" in the shape of a star or a smiley face, you know things really original and insightful. Peter passed them out every single session. I swear I could fill a whole wall with them.

He gave me my sticker as he passed by my chair, today it said "Wow!" as I glared at it. Wow what? Wow I'm still coming to support group even though it's a waste of time? I sighed and stuck it to my cheek. Peter was still handing out stickers when a knock came at the door before it slowly opened and a new guy came in.

I had my arms folded behind my head as I sized him up in one glance. He was tossing his phone in his hand as he walked over to Peter, he was tall with messy blond hair and looked like a punk.

"Ah you must be Eli, they told me you would be coming in today. Just take a seat anywhere and after session I can give you a play by play on what you can do to help me out around here" Peter told him with a large smile on his face before handing him a sticker.