Maple Glen Mental Institution

Chapter Four: Wake-Up Call

A little while later, or who knows how long, I woke up. I was lying on that limp mattress again. Someone had taken off all the restraints and I was wearing a cotton flannel nightgown, and this time, it was pink. I sat up and saw that the door seemed different. It looked thicker. The window on it was small and had iron bars lining vertically across the window. The room was still padded, and there was a window with the same bars lining up in the same direction. It was bright outside, and it turned out that it was the first snow for this year. It was only October. 

There was a ticking cuckoo clock bolted to the wall above the metal door. As I got up from the bed, I heard metal touching metal. I looked at the sides of the bed. Leather restraints were attached to it. Two for the wrists and ankles, one for the torso, and there was leather headgear hanging high from my reach beside the door. Perfect. If my vision starts going fuzzy, I can tie restraints to my arms and legs. 

My suitcase was standing upright at a dark corner of my room. By the looks of it, I'm pretty sure I was on the 3rd floor. But not in isolation. I'm guessing I had a roommate for a chance, but then I went crazy, went to the first floor ward isolation room, and then I attacked my family, got restrained, sedated, and then sent to the third floor. I'll be here much longer than a few years.

Just hours before, I was sitting in the backseat of Mom's car, heading to the hospital, and now I'm in the hospital, stuck in the third floor, unexpectedly going crazy at the wrong times, and being sedated multiple times.

There was loud ringing again. Similar from the bells I heard from the first floor. I heard doors opening. Scuffling feet. Then, the door was automatically unlocked by the keypad like the one from earlier isolation. Nurse Jean must've been a first floor ward nurse, because this nurse was different. She wore lime green scrubs, held a straight-jacket, and her name tag read NURSE RANDALL. Randall seemed stricter, but when she spoke, I had proved myself wrong. 

"Alright, Amy. I need to you to get into this jacket and I'll lead you to the cafeteria." 

I guess it was lunch time. It was like high school, but for crazy people. Much more security, being restrained and all that mumbo jumbo. I let Randall bind my arms with the jacket. She was surprisingly gentle. I guess all nurses did this so the kids up here could heal or whatever we needed to do to be discharged. I went into the cafeteria and I saw a ton of kids in there.

 I could say there must've been a Youth Ward and an Adult Ward for each floor. Randall removed my jacket. I knew she had to supervise me if I go crazy again. I saw a needle and two small bottles of sedation medicine in Randall's pockets. Nice.

I ordered my lunch without using a speck of money. Randall ordered hers and said that she had to be with me at all times when I'm outside my room. So, when I sat down at an empty table, Randall sat next to me. It was kind of embarrassing, but I saw all of the other kids from the Youth Ward. 

They all had a supervisor. 

Now I understood why the nurses were so nice. Because we were kids and troubled kids don't deserve to have rude supervisors. I heard from books that third floor people don't get any dignity. Well, that was back then. Things are different now. As we ate our lunches in silence, I broke it. 

"Do we get visitors on this floor?" I asked quietly. Randall smiled at me. I think she really did want me to heal. 

"You do. But you'll have to leave if you start having... symptoms." 

I knew what she meant. She meant if my vision gets all messed up, I'll have to leave. I wouldn't be able to explain. I'd just leave. And possibly get sedation medicine.