Asylum

On meeting new people

After a while, someone knocked on my door.

“Jordan?” I heard my name called.

Oh boy, here we go.

I got up and opened the door, coming face to face with a tall woman in a long white coat- marking her as a doctor. She had dark blonde hair and gray eyes that raked over me, doing the usual first impression doctor assessment. Her features were sharp and unforgiving, but the doctor definitely could’ve been considered attractive.

“Hello Jordan, I’m Dr. Athena. I’m the head doctor and the den mother for this hallway.” She introduced herself, sticking a hand out.

I sort of looked at her hand, debating whether or not to accept this offer of pleasantries.

“Well, I’ll be the doctor assigned to you if anything goes wrong,” she continued, as if I hadn't just ignored her. “I’ll also be in charge of your prescriptions and your treatment.” She explained.

Prescriptions.

Treatment?

How exciting.

My eye twitched as the voices chattered. Even for as long as I’ve lived with them, I still don’t know what to call them. Are they people? Are they spirits?

Is it just me?

Athena seemed to watch me struggle, debating on how to respond.

“This hallway is pretty laid back, and as a new arrival, the schedule won’t be so strict on you. You probably noticed the other kids in the activity rooms?” She queried, waiting for me to respond.

This question I could answer.

I nodded.

“Eventually you’ll get to decide what activities you would like to participate in. Your reports from the other facilities show the treatments you’ve gone through- but I’ll probably start you on something different.” Athena assured me. She looked down at my stoic expression, unwilling to converse with the medical help.

I didn’t have the best relationship with the doctors at my other facilities.

I think she understood that.

There was no doubt in my mind that the reports had something about my other resistance to doctors.

“I hope you have a comfortable time here at Laurel Groves.” Dr. Athena directed towards me. I looked up again, meeting her eyes.

One nod was all it took to dismiss her.

She got the point, walking away and leaving me to my thoughts.

I went back and laid down again, waiting for the clock to strike six- dreading the idea of a bustling cafeteria.

Dinner came too quickly. I headed to the dining pavilion. As I entered, conversations died down, replaced by silent stares.

Go figure.

I gathered a tray of food and searched for a seat. As I passed a table with an empty seats someone would find a way to fill the seat, either with their bags or feet or hat or whatever.

Apparently no one liked new people.

Too bad I didn't like them either.

I finally found a table with everyone from my hall at it. Piper motioned me over. The rest of them- Jason, Percy, Annabeth, Leo, and Nico- didn't seem to have a problem with it, so I sat down.

"Hi." I said simply. I didn't want to be here. If I could be eating in my room, I would be.

"You're the new girl I met earlier!" Jason said, beaming at me with that flawless face. I looked up only to look back down. He wouldn't be smiling at me like that for long.

"So, you're here for schizophrenia?" Annabeth asked, sympathy in her intelligent grey eyes. I nodded.

"Why are you guys here?" I asked suddenly, the longest thing I might've said all day. "You look normal."

"I was anorexic," Piper said. She looked beautiful- if not slightly underweight.

"I was a cutter, and technically considered 'likely to commit suicide' or something like that," Jason said with a mouthful of spaghetti. I frowned.

Why? He was beautiful too. He had things to live for.

"I was beaten by my family. They were alcoholics, you see, so I'm prone to turn to those kinda things in a life crisis. Tried to commit suicide once or twice, too," Percy said.

Woah. I blinked a couple times. He said it like it was nothing. What is wrong with these people?

"I like fire," Leo, the Mexican kid, said. "They also say I have self worth problems. I say, whatever." He flipped his hand out like a prissy teenage girl.

Okay. This boy was quickly getting on my nerves.

"I've got slight anger issues..." Annabeth said, "And I have superiority or pride issues, too."

Hmm. I relate.

"Insomniac," Nico said. "Extreme depression. Likely to kill myself or cut or something. Target amongst bullies. So on and so forth. Leave me OUT of this conversation." He spoke in that same monotone, his eyes never leaving his plate.

I took this in quietly, glancing around the cafeteria to direct my attention elsewhere.

"How about her?" I asked, pointing across the room at a pretty Asian girl who was wearing ten tons of makeup. It was a choice at random- but clearly it was the wrong choice. Upon following my finger, everyone’s face went sour.

"Who's she? And why's she here?" I wondered. She couldn't possibly be anorexic, or have self worth problems. Her attitude said she owned the place.

"That's Drew Tanaka," Piper said bitterly. "She's a self-obsessed freak who's somewhat sadistic, and definitely a kleptomaniac. Her parents are rich, and since they didn't want her and knew she was klepto, they paid an exorbitant amount of money to get her in here permanently. She's been a jerk ever since."

"She seems nice..." I tried that social thing again.

"She's NOT," everyone at the table said at once, even the groggy Nico kid.

So much for trying.

"Okay..." I drawled, not liking this conversation at all. "How do I stay alive?" I asked, having been in other institutes.

There were always people you stayed away from.

Always things you never did.

Always places that were deserted at certain times of the day, so maybe I didn't have to talk to anyone, or listen to their taunts anymore or-

"Don't bond with Drew," Piper advised, snapping me out of it.

"Train hard," Percy said.

"Remember that I'm single!" Leo exclaimed, wiggling his eyebrows a few times. The others voiced my internal groans.

Oh my gosh.

Can you not.

"Steer clear of Mr. Zeus and Miss Hera," Annabeth warned. "They do NOT like us."

Well I figured as much.

"Make friends. It's less sufferable here if you have friends," Jason said. "I would know. I've been here for years." He smiled at me again, and I curled my lip in something that could be taken as a snarl or a smile.

Hope he doesn't mind my antisocial nature.

It doesn't matter if you're pretty.

I don't like you.

"Don't talk to me. Then you'll have a chance of living," said everyone's favorite ray of sunshine- Nico.

Don't talk to you?

Can I just not have anyone talk to me?