The Asylum (Editing in Progress)

VII

Once we were all settled in our circle of hard plastic chairs, David spoke up in his cloying tone, "Alright everyone, I trust that you have all gotten to socialize during breakfast?" He looks around and everyone nods. Esther was sitting a few seats to my left, in plain view, fiddling with one of her bracelets.
"Let's get to know each other a little! We'll start with you, Charlie, and we'll go around. Charlie straightened up in her chair, and with a smile, tells us that she enjoys singing. We went around the circle; John cracked a joke, Skai said she liked to read Anime, Patrick said he liked to draw, and Frank (for now) said he liked the Mets.
When it came to me, I didn't know what to say, so I blurted out my name and that I like music. Esther was after me, she said her name and told us she liked to live. When asked to clarify, she said,

"Like travelling, seeing the world, taking risks. Doing things out of your comfort zone. I don't want to exist, I want to live. I want to have memories. I would rather say 'why did I do that' than say 'why didn't I do that.' I'm young. I still have a whole life ahead of me. I'm going to live it."

-----

After our group meeting, I went over to Charlie, who was reading a novel, perched in a large padded chair, making her appear even smaller, to ask her what had been on my mind all night. She saw me sauntering towards her and dog-eared her page, setting her book on the arm of the chair. She jumped up and squealed, "Ollie!!!" before crushing me in a powerful hug you'd never expect to get from such a small girl. I smiled at the name only she called me and returned the hug.
"Hey, Charlie." I chuckled. When she released me from the hug, she stepped back and looked up at me. "What's up?" She said with her bubbly spirit I admired most about her. She was always positive, always looking for the best in everything.
"I actually wanted to ask you something." I said, kind of meekly, rubbing the back of my neck. I must have let on what I was thinking, because Charlie piped, "Yeah, she thinks you're cute." She said with a sly smile that cracked into a giggle.
"How'd you--" I began, but was cut off.
"No time. She's walking over here now. She told me she wanted to talk to you." Turning towards the chair and grabbing her book, she patted my arm and told me, "Be yourself." And she walked away. I turned around to look for her, but was surprised when I found Esther.
"Jumpy, eh?" She said with a confident smile. "A little." I mumble. She looked me up and down for a moment.
"Shy guy, aren't ya?" She inquired, standing in front of me, tilting her head a little to look up at me. She had her hand on her hip, her other one extended towards me. I took it and shook it. "I guess so." I look at her crystal blue eyes, and now that I'm up close, I can see that they're more of a sea green. The pretty color you'd see in the waters of the Gulf. The freckles on her cheeks and nose a perfect light brown to contrast with the blue. She had a heart shaped face, framed by her dirty blonde hair with lighter streaks all through it. Her beautiful blue eyes under a trimmed, thick pair of eyebrows. Her nose had a bump towards the top of it, making it appear crooked. She had a plump bottom lip, resembling a resting pout. Her cheekbones were sharp, her jawline soft and angular at the same time.
I had to have been staring at her for a while, but she didn't seem to notice or care, because she went on talking.
"I know you didn't say what you wanted to earlier." I looked down at my shoes and tried to avoid her gaze. "You just answer like you think they want you to and go back to your seclusion. That's not going to fly with me. Speak your mind." I looked up at her. She was right. I didn't say what I wanted to earlier at the table. "How'd you know?" I said, a faint smile playing across my lips unwillingly, making them turn up a little towards the corners to resemble a smirk.
"'Cause I do." After a moment, she said, "You're cute. I'd like to get to know you a little more. And when I say that, I mean I want your honest answers." She turned on her heel to walk away, but looked back over her shoulder at me.
"Your answers will stay between us."

And then she was gone.