The Problem is Me [EDITED)

Chapter 1

September, 2014

Until I was reading through the hospital leaflet absent-mindedly, I didn't know that we were buckled in for an hour of group therapy a day. I can hardly complain, to be honest. Counselling is obviously expected when you're in a loony bin, like me. Though if I had my way, I'd just lock all the cry babies in one of the traps from Saw and see how much they want to kill themselves then. That'd give them something to cry over.

The thing that irritates me the most is that it's an hour of my time that I could spend doing something more important. However I've learnt that it's easier to just smack on a fake smile, speak only when spoken to and to watch the clock until the sixty minutes come to an end. The outcome of being known as the weird kid who stares at the wall will be better than an extended stay because I don't know when to shut my damn mouth.

"I know you're sick of this, and trust me, I even annoy myself by asking these questions ten times a day. But is there anything in your possession that we should know about before we do a check?" The nurse I was currently sat opposite had a fake smile plastered on her face which met mine in a battle of disguise. My grin is usually set on my face, rarely falling. Sometimes, my smile isn't completely fake, I do find many aspects of my life amusing.

"No ma'am," I sighed. Without even replying, she opened my bag and emptied the contents. I didn't have much to my name really, seeing as all that fell onto the table were clothes.

She paused and turned back around to face me, raising one eyebrow she said- "Does that smile of yours ever falter?" I just shook my head, widening my smirk and averted my gaze to the draw which was labelled 'confiscated' in messy handwriting done with presumably a board marker. I wondered how many pencil sharpener razor blades were in there from the kids who thought that their pocket was a good enough hiding place.

"Well...It seems like you're okay to go in now, Pete here will guide the way," The nurse said, a hint of flirtation in her voice which would have been cute if he didn't look completely repulsed at her attempts at flirting.

'Pete' buzzed open the door and waited for me to gather my stuff, I grabbed my black backpack and strolled swiftly into the main area.

The common room was the same as every single other one I'd been to, white and smelled of antiseptic. I'm not saying antiseptic is a bad smell, it's just so pristine that it's not even normal. I spotted a group of about four boys around my age sat at a round table playing what I presumed to be poker. They all seemed to be of a slightly smaller build than me, none of them could have been older than seventeen.

At the sound of the main door slamming shut, the laughter came to a halt and the four boys turned to the source sharply. I kept my calm cool and continued to look over to them; the tension in the air grew thick as the boy I'd averted my eyes to lowered his head to the table slightly as I raised an eyebrow at him. I smirked, satisfied at their reaction and followed Pete into the hallway.

"This is your room, kid." He grinned, pushing the door open to reveal a light blue room. It was nothing special, really. But at least it wasn't so white that looking at your bed sheets for too long almost triggered a mental breakdown.

I nodded thanks to him and dropped my bag onto one of the two beds; both beds had yellow sheets on them. The quilts were fluffy, so that had to be a bonus.

"You'll be sharing a room with a Mr Evan Tate; he's the blonde haired kid out there. Lunch is at 3 and group starts at 1, don't be late." Pete winked before twirling out the door and shoving it shut.

I scoffed and threw my various pairs of jeans and shirts into the wardrobe next to the bed; it wasn't like I would be here for long anyway. Flopping down onto the bed, I remembered just how uncomfortable the beds were when they hadn't been slept in for god knows how long. Kind of like concrete, but with a couple of pillows.