The IV League [EDITING]

Chapter 1

The car came to a halt in front of the large white building. The girl unlocked the door and stepped out. She opened the boot of the car and picked up a grey duffel bag. She slung it over her shoulder. A man came over to her side and picked up a box. He shut the boot and put his arm around the girl. An older woman joined them and squeezed the girl's hand. The girl took a deep breath and walked through the glass doors.

River View Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre was like any other hospital. It was big, white, silent and full of people. Nurses in blue scrubs were running around and doctors in white coats were interacting with patients. The help desk was in the middle of the lobby. The trio approached the desk. The man behind the computer screen gave them a broad smile.

"Good morning. How may I help you?"

The older woman took a file out of the purse and handed it to the man. "My daughter is to be admitted. We were told that she would be given a room at the rehabilitation centre."

The man took the file and typed something on the computer. "May I please have her name and age?"

"Morgan Livingston. She's sixteen."

The man nodded. "Her room's ready. Sarah will take you there."

A young nurse stepped out from behind the desk. Her blonde hair was tied up in a loose ponytail. She had friendly blue eyes and rosy cheeks. She tapped her clipboard and smiled.

"You must be Morgan," she said, sticking her hand out. "I'm Nurse Miller, but you can call me Sarah."

The girl shook her hand. "Hi."

"Your room's on the other side, in the rehabilitation centre. It isn't too far from the hospital."

Morgan's father handed the box he was carrying to his wife. "I'll settle the payment and join you."

Sarah led them across the lobby and to the elevators. They got off on the fourth floor. They cut through the paediatric ward and crossed a small bridge-like structure to make it to the rehab centre. Sarah was talking to Mrs. Livingston about the history of the hospital and stuff, but Morgan zoned out. She kept thinking about how her life was going to be like for the next few months. She was annoyed at the fact that she would be spending her summer break at a hospital, but it was for her own good. Hopefully, she'd be better by the time junior year started.

Sarah took out her keys and unlocked the door to room 405. She then handed the extra key to Morgan. "Morgan, this is going to be your room. You can set it up whichever way you like." She turned to face her mother. "I'll leave alone for now. I'll be back in another hour with Morgan's schedule."

Just as she left, Morgan dropped her duffel bag onto the floor. Her mother put the box she was holding on the desk. She looked around. The room was reasonably big. The walls were a shade of pale green. A single bed was in the middle of the room, with a small nightstand next to it. A couch was pushed against the wall. There was a wardrobe in the corner of the room, and a desk to its right. The windows were on the left side of the room. Morgan looked out of the window. Her room overlooked a garden and a small pond.

"Well," said her mother, "this hospital has a lot of facilities, so you shouldn't get bored. And there are a lot of teenagers here, so you shouldn't have a problem making friends."

Morgan nodded and sat down. She wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone, let alone her mother. Her parents were the reason she was in the hospital in the first place. She was annoyed with them, and she was afraid that if she spoke, she'd end up yelling at them.

Her mother sat down next to her. "Sweetheart, you know we're doing this only to help you, right? We're doing this because we care about you."

Well, if you actually cared about me, you wouldn't have waited till the last minute, she thought, but didn't say anything. She just nodded again.