Mente Sonum

Chapter 1

She walked through the front doors confidently, swiftly making her way to the front desk, which was protected by glass. The lobby seemed shut off from the rest of the building. They certainly had the place locked down tight. The secretary, Gertrude, peered up at her, taking in her red leather jacket and jeans.

"Let me guess, the new hire?" She nodded. The older white woman sighed, her eyes dragging over her form once more before rolling, "What's your name, Newbie?"

"Emma Swan," The blonde quirked a brow, "And I can tell from the way you're looking at me like I'm scum that I'm not dressed correctly."

"You ain't scum, Newbie, just unprepared. This is a psychiatric hospital, not a skate park," Emma felt her cheeks burn and lowered her eyes. The woman pursed her lips, "We have a pair of scrubs you could wear for today. Just remember to buy your own for tomorrow."

Even though she disliked the uppity woman already, she couldn't help but toss her a grateful nod as a clipboard was shoved into her hands. The secretary pointed to the paperwork, "Fill all this out while I go get the scrubs."

The older woman limped through the back door of her glass-encased room and vanished. Emma cursed under her breath at her first mistake. She hadn't even considered her attire, as she wasn't used to a uniform. Plus, she had been running late because of Henry, her son, who decided that he needed to beat the level on his game before they could leave the apartment.

She rubbed her temples as she swiveled to take a seat on the hard, plastic chair before removing the black pen from the clipboard and filling out the paperwork. Her hand was shaky and it left her signature looking crooked. She wasn't nervous per ser. It was more worry of screwing up.

She was used to being around the mentally ill. From a young age, in group-homes, Emma met kids who were considered "crazy". They usually went undiagnosed because of the lack of care in the foster system but she always felt a connection with them, with their struggles, as she suffered from depression and anxiety as a teen, especially when she got pregnant with Henry and was dumped by his deadbeat father. But her son and therapy helped her recover from her dramatic low. It had always been a dream of hers to help those battling their own minds but she had no education or experience.

When Emma was shot while chasing a target, she realized that bounty bunting was too dangerous of an occupation for a single mother. So she packed up her life in Boston and moved to Augusta, Maine, with her son, and began scouring the web for job openings in the field of her dreams.

She was then smacked with the hard reality that working at a psychiatric institution required a lot of education and knowledge, both of which she did not have. All she had was personal experience. But when she called Riverview Psychiatric Hospital, who had a strong connection with United Way, an organization that helped communities and the underprivileged, they immediately told her that they were looking for people to just hang out with the patients, playing games and listening to their stories. And when she heard that she would get paid pretty well for it, she jumped at that chance, feeling as if fate had finally given her a break.

So, her hand shook because this seemed like the universe giving her a break and she had already screwed up with the damn clothes.

"You don't need to beat yourself up, ya know," Emma jumped, looking at the secretary with wide eyes. The older woman chuckled and tossed the light blue scrubs, with a nametag already attatched, onto the seat next to Emma, "Everyone makes mistakes. Just don't make it again."

The blonde nodded jerkily, scooping up the scrubs and handing over the clipboard as she whispered, "Is there somewhere I can change?"

The secretary pointed toward a large blue door by the glass-enclosed room, "In there. Once you're done, head through those double doors. Nurse Severe will give you specific orders. Good luck, Newbie."