Chapter thirteen
When it was New Year's Eve in in the asylum, we were actually allowed to stay up rather than go to bed at 9:00. Everyone would gather around the small television and count down the seconds until the ball would drop. It was my favorite time of year. All the patients seemed genuinely happy, which brought a smile to my face as well. We'd get New Years hats, horns, noise makers of all kinds, and some snacks that actually didn't taste like shit. In that moment counting down from ten, it didn't feel like I was a victim of my own mind, it felt like I was normal, like I was at a New Year's Eve party with my close friends, and I loved it.
However, as soon as the clock struck 12:00 and thirty seconds, we were rushed to bed. All the glory came to a stop and we all went back to crazy patience in a mental hospital.
Everyone anticipated the new year and counted down the months, the days, the seconds until we could once again gather around the small television and eat pizza, soda, and chips.
I guess New Years was my favorite time of year, but it was sad. In 365 days, so much changes. New people enter and leave the hospital and the same faces grow older, grow more filled with forlorn than the last. New Years was a day to push aside everything and act normal for once, but change was always on the back of our mind, even if we didn't admit it.
This year, regardless that I was no longer in the asylum, New Year's Eve didn't feel too much different. Change was still running through my mind and this year, the change was more drastic than the former years. It was crazy to think about in such a short amount of time, 365 days, that a person could change so much, but seeing as how I was the one to change, it didn't seem that unrealistic that a person could change. I use to believe a person would always stay the same, but I was wrong. Someone can change, but their old self is still lingering somewhere in them. That doesn't mean the person is still their old self, just new and improved and changed for the better.
I changed for the better. I'm no longer a miserable person, I'm happy and now realize life is fucking beautiful.
It was 5:32 on New Year's Eve, and everyone was rushing around to get the last of the things they'd need for the night, including Alice and I.
"What do you even bring to a New Year's Eve party?" Alice asked, holding up a sparkly dress to her body.
I shrugged. "I don't know, beer?"
She threw the dress aside and held up anther one. "We're too young to buy beer."
"I'll see what I can do," I told her, looking through party dresses for her to try on.
The mall was packed. Usually I hate large crowds, but I didn't mind. I was here with Alice and that's all that mattered. It was like only her an do existed.
"What about this one?" I held up a short dress to her with slits in the side and a low neck line. I'd never want Alice to wear an inappropriate dress like this, but I thought it was funny.
She laughed and flipped me off.
I held up another dress that was pretty for Alice. It was a red dress, short to the mid thigh and simple enough that it wasn't too much.
She went to try it on and when she came out, it seemed to hug her in the right places.
She bought the dress and we rushed to the nearest liquor store, hoping to at least strangle one pack of beer.
I told Alice to wait in the car while I went inside. Most of the alcohol was picked over, seeing as if was a major drinking holiday, but I grabbed a pack of beer and approached the counter, placing it down and sliding over a ten dollar bill.
