Psycho

5:friends

A/N: smoking isn't cool and it's bad for you. I don't smoke but I wanted to express Aurora's character more by her having that habit. (: enjoy the chapter!

Thursday, 2:31 PM, the day after I tried killing my brother.

There I was sitting in the backseat with messy hair and a duffel bag full of my clothes and other things that I needed for a month. My Mom is sitting in the drivers seat with a shameful sad look on her face. Keeping her eyes on the road and not saying a single word to me. We were heading to a mental hospital. Cedar Hills hospital. My mom is doing this as part of a punishment, but really, anything would be better than school.
••••••
I sat there in my hospital bed. The wall was a sorbet orange and the floor had plastic tiles with multi colored specs on them. The door opened to my room and a grumpy looking nurse walked in with a bucket.

"Hello. I'm Nurse Rebecca. I'll be one of the few Nurses that will be taking care of you. First things first, let's start out with the sharp bucket." She said setting down the dark red dull bucket. I stared at it and looked back up to her waiting for her to explain. "Any deodorant, makeup, lotion, you know all of that stuff...goes in here. You're not allowed to have it until ADL time." She said with a tasteless expression.

"Why??" I whined thinking of my liquid eyeliner.

"You can hurt yourself with it." She replied as if she's said the phrase a million times.

"Oh."

"Okay. Here's your schedule and rules." She handed me a piece of paper. I gripped it lightly and began to read it.

5am - wake up and take a shower but go back to bed afterwards
7am - wake up get early morning meds and do opening group
7:45am - breakfast
8:15am ADL's/sharps buckets
8:30am - goals group
9am - rec therapy
10am - phone time
10:45am - group therapy
11:45am - gym
12:15pm - lunch
1pm - ADL's
1:30pm - group therapy
2:30pm - resting
3:30pm - visitation (only on Wednesdays)
4:30pm - resting
4:45pm - lunch
5:15pm - ADL's
5:45pm - group therapy
7pm - snack
7:30pm - resting
8pm - phone time
9pm - closing group
9:30-40 - bedtime
•You're not allowed to give out any personal information

•no touching of other patients (this includes high fives and hugs)

•group talk will be others who have similar problems as you

•two phone calls a day (can only be a family call)

"Haha rules.." I thought to myself.

"Alright. Go through your bag and put all of the harmful items in here." She sat in the corner of my room. I opened up my bag. I took out my deodorant, makeup, my brush, and lotion. I dropped it in the bucket and it made a loud echoed noise. I searched in my bag some more to see my cigarettes and lighter. I looked at Nurse Rebecca. She wasn't paying any attention. I quickly hid the cigarettes under my clothes.

"Okay I'm done." I told the nurse.

"Alright." She got up and looked into the bucket. "Good. Now just to make sure, I have to look through your bag." She said grabbing my bag and searching through it. I gulped thinking of my items I hid. She had an annoyed face when she came across them. She pulled both of them out. "These aren't allowed here..." She scoffed and walked over to the trash bin.

"Hey! I payed money for that. And that's my favorite lighter!" I begged her.

"Fine.." She dropped them into the sharp bucket. I sighed.

"Thank you. I could never live without my cigarettes." I smiled, feeling some type of warmth towards her.

"You should really stop smoking kid, you say you could never live without them, but with them...you aren't living long." She looked down at her clipboard. She had a point. But I don't care. Smoking is bad for me but that's a reason why I do it. "Okay..tomorrow you will officially start your full day of activities, exercises, routines, etc..." She explained to me. "Right now it's resting time so you can take a nap or lay down for a little. I'll be back in 15 minutes to remind you it's lunch." She told me as she picked up the sharp bucket and left the room. I was relieved to finally be alone. I laid down in my bed and quickly dozed off.
•
"Aurora, Aurora!" Nurse Rebecca woke me.

"Ugh.." I groaned as I slowly got up.

"It's lunch time. Come on, I'll walk you to the cafeteria." She started down the narrow hallway. I followed her. I heard silent crying and bangs that echoed throughout the whole hospital. We approached the cafeteria. "About 45 minutes later you'll hear a small beep from the speakers which means lunch is over and it's ADL time. Walk back to your room.. either me or another nurse will bring you your bucket." She motioned me into the lunch room.

"Okay." I sighed as I walked Into the noisy room full of depressed and tired people. I looked over at the food and made a disgusted face. I didn't feel like eating. Maybe I'll make friends. I laughed to myself. Me...having friends? Not really a thing. A girl with black hair and olive colored skin walked up to me.

"Hi, I see you're new." She looked down at my hospital bracelet, having the date I was checked in.

"Yeah, I am." I shyly smiled.

"Want to come and sit with me and me friends?" She asked me while pointing to a table with a few other people.

"Sure." I followed her over.

"I never got your name..." She asked me as we sat down.

"I'm Aurora." I told her.

"Cool. I'm Marina. These are my friends." She pointed to three people who were observing me like I was from another planet.

"Hi." I said quickly then peered down.
There was a moment of silence.

"Sorry, my name is Hunter" an attractive boy with brown hair told me as he shook my hand.

"And I'm Lily." A girl with blonde hair and blue eyes chirped to me. "And this is Jill. She doesn't talk much." She said motioning to the girl next to her who had big droopy eyes.

"Hi." Jill said in the softest voice and gave me a small smile.

"Nice to meet you all. So what are you guys here for?" I asked them. They all frowned and I could tell I brought back some bad memories.
"Sorry-bad question?"

"Suicide attempt." Marina blurted out.

"Anxiety and panic attacks." Hunter shared.

"Threat to others and myself." Lily said. Jill looked around nervously.

"An eating disorder and I'm suicidal." Jill squeaked.

"And you?" Hunter asked me.

"Threat to others." I told them.

"Ah. I feel you." Lily said in an assuring voice. I gave them all a small smile. I've only known them for about 5 minutes but I actually felt positivity towards them. Like someone who I've known but I forgotten. They give me good vibes that I've never felt. Someone who I can count on and relate to.