Jenalyn: From the Inside (#3) [Complete]

Chapter 3: Hayden

Sunday, 11:38 A.M. EST

"My name is Sarah!" a little girl says, sliding onto the bench in the small cafeteria beside me. I can only assume she's the 8-year-old suicidal girl that the nurse had mentioned earlier. It's crazy that she's even here, but I suppose mental health doesn't really pick and choose people by age."You're Hayden Gold, Harlee's sister! Whaddya doing in here?"

An older girl sitting across from us who's been very quiet up until now, drops her jaw open in surprise, saving me the trouble of having to do it.

"Sarah!" she exclaims loudly, almost in disbelief. "You can't just approach someone like that! Back away from the girl, and give her some breathing room! Damn!"

Sarah sighs, but scoots herself only a few inches away before turning to me again.
I can't do anything but laugh, and it comes out a little more nervously than I intend it to.

"I'm sorry about the little one," the older girl across from me says after a moment, probably picking up on my uncomfortable demeanor. "She gets excited when newbies come in. She's pretty invasive, but... I guess she's cute sometimes."

I turn to face the older girl, meeting her green eyes and round face with a smile despite my sudden social anxiety. "I don't mind." I lie, turning back to the little girl and offering the same kind smile.

I can tell it means a lot to her. She blushes, but a huge smile appears across her face.

A few other people- a girl and two guys who'd been engaged in their own small talk until now, are quick to jump into the conversation. It's almost as if they were all just waiting for me to say something.

"Oh, don't say that!" one of the boys chimes in with a laugh. "She'll attach herself to you like a leech if you give her any leeway!"

"-Especially considering her obsession with your sister!" the other girl chuckles as she slaps a glue stick onto a piece of construction paper. She must be the bulimic. As soon as she opens her mouth, I'm met with a grill that just looks like it's been through some shit.

I laugh in response to everyone.  I make sure to meet each of their eyes for only a second before attempting to just brush off the conversation by engaging myself in these dinky crafts laid out in front of me.

"I like Hayden too!" Sarah quickly snaps at the girl who'd mentioned Harlee. "She's really pretty, and she sings Harlee's songs even better than Harlee doea- no offense!"

I can't help but laugh again, more sincerely, at that one. I turn to face Sarah with a small wink before her blushed face adverts my gaze and focuses back on the girl sitting across from me.

"Oh God- you guys are all too much!" the green-eyed girl exclaims with a smile after a moment. "Why don't any of you introduce yourselves before jumping down the girl's throat, eh?"

The group all sigh as if they'd just been given a command by their mother. Green eyes obviously has some type of superiority over this ward... I guess that's good to know.

"I'm Sarah!" Sarah giggles beside me almost immediately. "I told her that already, Ren! You don't always have to be so bossy!"

Ren, the green-eyed girl sitting across from me, rolls her eyes but keeps a smile plastered across her face. She shoots Sarah a warning look before returning her focus to me with a smile.

"I'm Serenity. Ren if you have any sense that my stripper mother obviously didn't while choosing my name." she says with a snarky tone. "-and I'm not always bossy... only when these buffoons get out of hand." she quickly adds.

I can't help but raise and then furrow my eyebrows as I question who died, and left her in charge. It goes unnoticed though, because just moments after, the bulimic girl chimes in with an attitude. Ren's head immediately snaps toward her.

"I'm Ella." the bulimic girl says with a quickness, obviously putting more emphasis on the sentence following based on the change in her tone. She glares at me, but I can tell her words are meant to be aimed at Ren. "-and I'd feel like I could be bossy too if I was always flirting with the Ward Lead, whose in his late 20s and married, mind you."

Everyone grows uncomfortably quiet except for Ren, who clears her throat with frustration though she still smiles. "Ella..." she says with a tone that's meant to be condescending, though she disguises it with sweetness. "Why don't you go and ask for some quiet time? I'd hate to have you miss out on visitation because you're so clearly in a bad mood today."

Nobody says a word, but everyone's face  says what a million words couldn't. That was a threat, and Ren here obviously does have some kinda pull...

-on the Ward Lead's dick, apparently.

"I didn't even say it when anybody important was around," Ella says defensively after a few tense moments. "I'm not stupid, Ren. It was a joke."

Ren's face doesn't change. She keeps a very fake, but convincing smile spread across her lips though her eyes immediately ignite with anger.

"Oh! A joke like your calorie intake sheets for the past three weeks?" she suddenly asks, causing Ella's face to grow red. "I like jokes! I think I'll tell Evan about that one! I think he comes in later today to start looking at who's been doing well enough to consider outpatient! That'd be a great time to tell that joke! Wouldn't it?"

The tense silence left from her apparent threat lasts for only a few moments before it's broken by the sound of Ella's palms slamming against the table in frustration. She stands to her feet without another word, her face so red it looks as if it could explode!

Almost on queue, two nurses reenter the craft room just in time for her to stomp over to them and I guess ask for 'quiet time.'
Nobody left at the table dares to say a word, and I find myself too intrigued to even try.

Maybe this girl could teach me a thing or two about how to navigate one of these places...