LAYLA

f i v e

" i don't know where we're going,
but i'd like to be by your s i d e. "
$$$$$$$$$

THIS book wasn't hers. She'd never seen it in her life.
The brown leathered journal rested in her hands as she contemplated calling her brother and telling him this wasn't hers.

"Layla, breakfast is at 8. If you don't want to come down then we'd be glad to send a plate upstairs. I'd suggest you come downstairs now, get it over and done with. What do you think?" A lady with a short brown bob appeared at her room door. She was to share this room with another one of the patients.

"I'll come down." Her hands shook as she threw the journal lazily onto her pile of clothes. She took a deep breath and followed the lady out the door.

"What's your name?" she asked head tilted. If she was going to spend a huge chunk of her foreseeable future here she best be more friendly.

"We'll introduce ourselves later. For now, just get some food in you. You've got a long day ahead of you." The lady showed her through a door into a silent room, with kids sat in orange suits, looking like fucking robots.

Just kidding. She couldn't hear herself think.

About 50 kids were sitting at tables, with the occasional banana just flying across the room. In the middle of the hall there was a buffet of sorts, with so much food. Looked like Christmas.

A bright and energetic voice next to her cut her gaping short.
"It's a bit much isn't it?" Long purple hair came into her view, "But it feels like home for most of us. This place is better than a lot of them. My last place shut us up in little jail cells and fed us in our rooms."

What the fuck is happening?

"Come and sit with me and Michael." The purple haired girl took off, leaving Layla to look at her weirdly. The girl paused, and realised Layla didn't follow.

"Oh! I'm Dalia. Come on!" she exclaimed, and pulled Layla by the sleeve. They sat at a table with 3 other lads. One of them gave her a banana, looking suspiciously like the same one that went flying across the room seconds ago.

"D, who's this?" A blonde boy wearing a Beatles t-shirt asked. Dalia clapped her hands and pointed at the guest.

"Everyone, this is Layla! Layla, this is everyone," she said, enthusiastically. "State your names and what your in here for the record. Layla you can do that afterwards."

The blond went first, "I'm Michael, 20. Drugs." He smiled momentarily, then got back to eating his bacon.

Sitting next to him was a brown-headed boy, who kept playing with his lip piercing, "Hi Layla, Nate," he held his hand out to shake. She took it. "In here for Kleptomania. I steal a lot of shit."

Should probably stay away from him, Layla thought to herself.

"I'm Raphael. 19, and in here for alcohol." He stared at her hard. He had nice blue eyes, the colour of the ocean when it was battling a storm. She opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm in here for alcohol. I'm just going to go back to the room." She stood up, her stomach uncomfortable at the sight of food. Dalia wrapped her hand around her wrist to stop her.

"You've got to stay. There's announcements." Layla looked at Dalia uneasily. A sharp bang resonated through the room and commanded the attention of 50 young adults.

"Hello," a bald man began, his thick voice oozing with authority. "We've a new friend in today, Layla. Give us a wave." Layla weakly waved. There were some sniggers. Dalia smiled supportively.

"I know how hard it can be," she whispered.

"Layla, can you please meet Nikki after breakfast." the man said, pointing to the bob lady from before. Nikki, she thought, will probably be my therapist.

"Lastly, there's going to be a couple of changes over the next couple of weeks. All minors are required to be in the schooling rooms. They're separated by grade. This is no longer optional." Groans erupted all over the room. Layla wiped the sweat from her brows.

Sweat?, she thought. It's not even hot.

She jumped when a warm hand got placed on her shoulder.

"Layla, darling, come with me." Nikki's concerned face caused her to comply with the demands, confusion on her face.

It's hot, she noticed. Was it this hot before?

"Layla I'm going to take you up to your room. Come on."

The trek to her room was long and confusing. One, it didn't help all the corridors looked the same. Two, she was uncomfortably hot and sweaty. Three, her vision kept going black. It felt like they had been walking for two days when Nikki finally stopped. She threw open the door and rushed to open the window.

"Layla, get on the bed, wrap that blanket around you. Can you hear me?" Layla nodded, as she concentrated on doing as she was told. She peeled her sweaty top off her, leaving her in her bra.

Sweat? I can't remember feeling sweaty.

"Layla, you have withdrawal symptoms. It's when you haven't been drinking for more than six hours. Your guardian never said how long you'd been drinking for? God, did you have any food for breakfast?" Nikki walked over to a button on the other side of the room.

"Who are your friends? Who did you sit with this morning?"

"Dalia." Fuck, her heart was racing. What was withdrawal?

"No, not Dalia." Nikki said, eyebrows furrowed. She punched down in the button and spoke, "Nate and Raphael could you please grab some food and come up to room 12. Dalia please stay at Michael's. Do not come back to your room under any circumstances."

"I feel sick." Layla said, as her stomach gurgled. Please stay down, please stay down, please stay down.

She hated feeling sick. Then again, everyone does, but her aversion to it started when, at the age of six, she watched her father overdosed on morphine, gurgling and shaking on the floor. The last she saw of her fathers blue eyes as it rolled to the back of his head and his body ceased moving. The image caused her to gag, tears mixing with the sweat rolling down her face.

"Hey, hey it's okay. It's okay to be sick, don't worry. Shhhhh." Nikki consoled as she reached under the bed and pulled out a sick bucket. Her gentle hand stroked Layla's head, causing Layla's crying to get worse, her heart racing as the panic took over.

She leant down and vomited into the bucket as Raphael and Nate stumbled into the room with a plate full of food.

A/N - so finally the actions getting started. what do you guys think will happen next?