Autumn POV.
I sat down in my usual chair, waiting upon the others. Our break outside was over and I now sat waiting for our routine "confession circle" to begin. The small activities we were forced to attend held no creativity, giving me no release from my constant state of boredom. Their strategy of using group classes to help treat people had proven useless throughout the years.
Forcing inmates to go in a circle and talk about themselves, in my opinion, held no significance for improvement. Jane, a recognized patient, was placed beside me. Her eyes wandering about the room as small whispers of incoherent words left her mouth.
I moved my gaze to my other side, where Julian had recently took up occupancy. His hands twitched in his lap as he eagerly examined every other person in the room. His eyes held the darkest shade of black, mimicking the essence of death. I sunk in my seat, avoiding any possible eye contact.
Being in such a confined room around so many inmates always caused my anxiety levels to raise. I always felt my brain struggling with my inner conscious, struggling to remain sane. It's like my brain feels victimized by the amount of crazy around it, almost like peer pressure to let go of my sanity. These thoughts were often easier to drown out when our instructor entered the room.
"Hello everyone" She chirped in a cheerful tone, a white dress taking over her body, the usual uniform. My companions spared a glance at her as she approached, taking her own chair and placing herself beside two patients.
After a momentary inspection of her; they continued with their useless doings, keeping mostly to themselves. The employee's eyes scanned the well made circle, her eyes brushing passed mine. They held a distinct brown colour, matching her tangled hair that was kept in a bun.
She ran her finger over the clip board present on her lap.
"I'm Lily, your assistant today" Her words were strong, surprising me due to her tiny figure. She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat, most likely because of the lack of interest the inmates were showing. She seemed to think to herself before speaking again.
"How about we start here" She suggests, turning to face a patient at her side who couldn't look more zoned out. His messy hair poked out in odd places, revealing patches of bald spots. His hard eyes were connected to the floor, his eyelids nearly touching.
"Sir?" Lily asked, scared to reach out her hand and touch him. I would be too if I didn't know the people that were held here. A guard removed himself from the wall, walking over to the patient and gripping his shoulders.
The patient was at full attention immediately, fighting against the guards hold. The guard returned one of his hands to his side, still allowing the other to occupy the patients shoulder. I watched in amusement as the patient turned his head slowly and began growling at the other hand that was still touching him.
Once the guard reluctantly removed his hand, the patient twisted his head to assess the situation, stopping once he reached Lily's eyes.
"Hmm?" He hummed; as if only now receiving her request for him to speak first.
"Could you please speak first?" Lily replied, using a gentle tone of voice. The man nodded before standing from his seat. His solid face turned goofy as he began to giggle to himself, moving his hands awkwardly by his sides.
"What's your name?" Lily asked, her stare placed directly on him. My eyes were flickering constantly around the room, checking if any other patients really cared about their encounter. So far, nearly all eyes were directed any where other than Lily.
"Finn" The patients face became stale again, no emotion shown prominent; his eyes dancing along the room.
"And why are you here Finn?" Lily claimed to ask, her words causing a loud holler to escape Finn's mouth. His laugh emitted through the entirety of the room as he clutched his stomach and bent over. He breathed in a tight breath, the question still amusing him.
