I tapped my feet anxiously as my mom discussed things with a doctor. A boy on the couch across from me, probably getting signed in too, stared at me intensely. I narrowed my eyes at him and picked at the scab on my knee.
"Hey, don't do that," he whispered.
"What?"
"Pick at scabs. Scabs are like natural band-aids," he muttered as if I was dumb for not knowing. I pursed my lips and leaned back into the faux leather cushion. My fingers still remained on the remnants of the small cut. I couldn't help but stare at his eyes, they were blue and inviting.
"I'm Luke," he said as he rested his chin on his palms.
"Jordie Perch. Nice to meet you," I replied.
He looked around suspiciously before leaning forward to whisper to me, "What're you in for?"
"Drugs. What about you?"
"Anorexia."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" he hissed, speaking a bit louder when he said, "I'm sorry for you."
Another teen boy, maybe a few years older than Luke, sat down on Luke's couch.
"I'm sorry for the both of you. The druggie and the stick."
"I'm not a druggie," I objected angrily. Sure, I did drugs, but calling someone a druggie was extremely rude. Luke was quiet.
"No one's going to ask me any questions? I thought we were getting to know each other. Hi, I'm Ashton, I'm an alcoholic."
I rolled my eyes and stood up to go talk to my mom. Her short bob bounced as she nodded her head in response to something the doctor said. Neither of them said anything to me, so I just stood there, my sweater paws patting against my thighs to a quiet song playing over the speakers.
"Are you Jordan?" someone asked, and I turned my head to see a boy in a lilac Malibu Meadows sweatshirt. His skin was tan and his hair was jet black. I nodded and shuffled over to him.
"Here's your room key," he said, pulling a bright pink key out of his sweatshirt pocket.
"Thanks. Where is my room?" I asked, glancing back at my colorful Romero Britto luggage.
"I can show it to you now," he said and smiled. I grabbed my things and followed him down the hall and to a magenta door.
"This is the girls common room," he stated before turning the knob, "Your room is down that hall, and the key matches the door." I looked up to see a slender hallway with 5 colorful doors on each side on the other side of the common room.
I smiled and thanked him; quickly proceeding to the bright pink door. After unlocking the door, I stood in the doorway staring at the disgustingly bland room. The walls were a stark white and the floors were dark and carpeted.
"Sir!" I yelled, trying to flag down the boy. He turned and walked over to me.
"Can we, like, decorate or something? You can't expect me to live in this. I'll go nuts," I rambled, flailing my hands to make my point clear.
"Yeah," he laughed.
"Good."
"You can earn trip passes, and on Sundays you get to go out to the plaza to see a movie or go shopping. By the way, my name is Calum."
"Thanks, Cal," I joked. He laughed again and then left, leaving me alone in my plain little dorm. There were two twin beds with just enough space to walk between them and even less between the wall, so I pushed my bed of choice up against the cinder blocks. A knock on the door made me jump and I turned to see my mom holding a large bed set.
