�Mr. Kirkpatrick! It�s time to wake up!� He stood up and opened the door. �Oh good! You�re awake. Breakfast is being served and as soon as you�re done you have your first appointment with our resident psychologist.�
�Umm, ok.�
�Oh, don�t be worried. All our patients have at least one appointment to see if medication is needed.�
�Alright. I�ll be down soon.�
�I�m down there every week,� Kyle said of the psychologist at breakfast.
�Yeah. I�m down there more than most. On my parent�s request, naturally,� Kandi said.
�This is like your initiation. After this you�re officially part of the loony bunch,� Margaret said.
�Are any of you all on medication?� Chris asked.
�Every single one of us, with the exception of Kandi. I don�t think they make one for rage,� David said.
�Damn straight. It�s human nature. They can�t stop human nature!�
�Hey Chris.�
Chris looked up to see JC smiling.
�I thought I told you I didn�t want to talk to you.�
�Well, I know, but� Could we go somewhere private?�
�Anything you have to say to me will be in front of my new friends.�
�You tell him!� Margaret said.
�Ok, fine. So, this was my idea.�
�What a big surprise,� Chris said turning back to his food.
�And I�m sorry. I just thought it would be the best thing for you. I mean, you were trying to drown yourself in the rain.�
�Wow, that�s something I�ve never thought of,� Kyle said getting out a piece of paper and writing something down.
�Chris, I would really like to speak with you in private.�
�Well, too bad. I have a psychologist appointment that I need to be going to.� He stood up and leaned close to JC�s ear. �Do me a favor and never come here again,� he said before walking away.
That night he, Kandi, David, Margaret, and Kyle all sat in David�s room smoking weed.
�So, what did they give you?� David asked taking a long puff.
�Zoloft.�
�How many milligrams?�
�Twenty-five I think.�
�That seems to be their favorite number. I�m on twenty-five of Prozac. Makes me think happy thoughts. I like it,� Margaret said.
�I hope Zoloft does the same.�
�I love happy pills,� Kyle said dazedly.
�I love marijuana. And doctors who give their patients marijuana. And the patients who get marijuana and then give it to their friends. I love you David,� Kandi said.
�No prob Bob. I love you too man.�
�Who was that guy that came to see you today?� Kyle asked.
�One of the ones that had me committed. Damn bastard.�
�You�ll thank him once you get out of here. You�ll have some life altering epiphany and all that shit. Or something to that effect,� Margaret said.
�You never did tell us why you�re in here,� David said.
�Yes I did, they thought-�
�No no no. Why are you a danger to yourself?�
�Oh. Well, I was dating this girl and recently, after three years I might add, things got really serious. We were living together and everything was great� Until she broke up with me. I suppose that�s why I�m here; because I loved someone and had my heart ripped out.�
�Well that just sucks the cock.�
�Kandi!� Margaret said.
�It does!�
Chris laughed. �Thanks for being supportive and making me truly laugh for the first time in lord knows how long.�
�That�s what we�re here for buddy,� David said giving him a pat on the back. �That and this wonderful marijuana.�
�I�ll cheer to that!� Kandi said holding her joint in the air. Everyone else did the same.
�I love you,� she whispered into Chris� ear.
�I love you too. Now, let�s have sex,� he said tackling her onto the bed. She began giggling uncontrollably as he kissed every inch of her body. She ran her fingers through his hair and he sighed as a happiness like he�d never felt filled his heart. He began chanting �I love you� over and over again.
�I love you too, honey. And I�m never letting you go.�
Chris woke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. He wiped at his now tear-filled eyes and sat up. This very thing was the cause of his sleepless nights. The dreams kept coming back to haunt him, and they were obviously taking their toll. He got up to look in the mirror and saw the bags under his eyes had enlarged since he had arrived a week earlier. Everyone had said that he would begin to sleep better. How wrong they had been. He was more relaxed, however, and now that he was on medication he didn�t think about her as much. This still couldn�t stop the dreams, if dreams we what you would call them. He crawled back into bed after getting a glass of water and closed his eyes in an attempt to fall asleep. Soon sunlight filled his room and Chris was still awake, thinking about her.
The cafeteria seemed more empty than usual as he walked to his table for breakfast. He took a seat and immediately dug into his cereal.
�So, where is everyone?� he asked with Frosted Flakes falling out of his mouth.
�Oh, that�s attractive,� Margaret said. �It�s the first of the month. A lot of the patients are shipped out, or, you know, sent to another institution.�
�I want to go home, but no, my family says I�m not fully recuperated yet. Damn shit-heads,� David said bitterly.
�You can�t leave! Where will we get our drugs?� Kandi asked.
�It�s just marijuana. It�s not like I�m giving you cocaine.�
�But still, you can�t leave yet!�
�Obviously I�m not. You don�t have to worry just yet.�
�So, what�s up with you?� Chris asked pointing his spoon at Kyle.
�Oh, he took a vow of silence. The psychologist said he should talk more. Speak more about his feelings and whatnot. So, as a stand of protest, he�s not talking. He hates that psychologist,� Kandi said.
Kyle held up his middle finger in the direction of the psychologist�s office. Chris laughed and shook his head.
�Never a dull moment here, huh?�
�Just wait. It�ll get better. Any day now we should get an interesting new patient. We�re due for a nut, aren�t we?� Kandi asked Margaret.
�Yeah, it�s been a few months. Kyle was the last one, actually. You should have seen it; he came in screaming and cursing more than anyone I�d ever seen. He was saying words I�ve never even heard before. A great sight,� Margaret said.
After they had all finished eating they walked out of the cafeteria and as they passed the front entrance a group of people approached practically carrying a young woman. The automatic door opened and her screams could be heard.
�I am not going into this fucking place! Put me the fuck down you bastards! I swear to God I�ll cut every single one of your heads off! Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! Put me down! Fuck you, you god-damned pussy bastards! You all will burn and rot in the hell that you justly deserve for putting me in this place!�
Her leg went flying and kicked one of her carriers in the face. He dropped her and put his hands over his bloody nose and she went running. She only got about two yards away before the rest of the group caught up with her. She was once again picked up and restrained until the institution�s guards came and took her away.
�I told you we�d get a nut soon,� Kandi whispered as they walked away.
The screams from the new patient could be heard for the next three hours. Chris lay in his bed smiling as her screams died down. Slowly he got up and walked to the door where she was staying. He knocked and rustling could be heard from inside the room.
�What?!� she screamed.
�Uh, I�m one of your fellow patients and I�ve come to welcome you.�
The door slowly opened to reveal a red-eyed woman who seemed very different from what he saw before; she was actually quite beautiful.
�Come to see the new psycho?�
�No. I�m new myself; only been here a week. So I know what you�re going through.�
She smiled and opened the door the rest of the way.
�Do you, uh, want to come in or something?�
�Sure.�
He walked in to see the room practically in pieces. The blankets were scattered around the room and the drawers from the desk and dresser were all over the floor.
�Oh, uh, sorry about this. I�ve had a rough day.�
�No need to apologize. I was forced to come here as well. You�ll like it here, so don�t worry. As a matter of fact, do you want to come with me?�
�To where?�
�A friend�s room. See, he has medical marijuana that he lets us share.�
�I�m in,� she said opening the door and walking out.
As they were walking to David�s room he decided to spark up innocent conversation.
�So, what�s your name?�
�Crystal.�
�Well, hi Crystal. I�m Chris.�
She smiled and didn�t say anything else. The smoke was pouring out of the cracks in David�s door.
�Holy shit,� she said dumbfounded.
He smiled and knocked three times. The door opened and David seemed shocked at the girl who stood next to Chris.
�Well, you brought the new girl. Come in come in!�
She walked cautiously inside and jumped when the door closed behind her. Chris watched her carefully as she took a seat next to someone she thought would be kind: Kandi. Kandi smiled warmly, something that was most likely for show. After only a week Chris knew how protective Kandi was of her group. No new female would be welcomed easily. He could see her calculating everything about Crystal just by the look in her eyes. He gave her a look of warning and she just smiled innocently.
�So, why are you here?� David asked.
�I�d rather not talk about it,� she said quietly.
�Ok, that�s fine.�
The rest of the night passed by rather quickly. Introductions were made and Crystal remained quiet. Fear still remained in her tear-stained eyes. He couldn�t figure out why, but he wanted to take her in his arms and tell her that everything would be ok. He wanted to kiss her fears away. A thought passed his mind that he was finally getting over his love. This upset him more and he spent the rest of the night in his room crying.
Crystal caught up with Chris as he walked downstairs for breakfast.
�Chris! Wait up!� she yelled.
He looked up from the ground he was staring at and smiled as he watched her run to him. Straining for breath, she put her hands on her knees and took deep breaths. He stopped and watched.
�Thanks for� waiting for me. I just didn�t want to go down there alone,� she said.
�No problem. I remember how terrifying my first meal here was. Ooh, I don�t even want to think about it,� he said shivering.
She smiled. �So, is it really ok here?�
�With the friends I�ve got its great. You�ll be fine, don�t worry."
�Thanks for not, you know, not talking to me because you thought I was a psycho. I did make quite an entrance.�
He laughed. �It was entertaining, but we know how it can be. Margaret is actually the only one who admitted herself. The rest of us were forced here just like you.�
�Good, now I don�t feel so weird.�
�Chris, would you come to the psychologist�s office with me?� Dr. Lauren asked him after he had finished breakfast.
�Am I in trouble?�
�No, not at all.�
�Well, ok then. I�ll see you guys later.�
After awkwardly walking down the hallway without even a glance form Dr. Lauren the door to the psychologist�s opened to reveal the ones who betrayed him and put him into this place. He stopped dead in his tracks and tried to turn around and walk away.
�This is part of the healing process. Now, take a seat,� she said forcing him back into the room.
Angrily he did as he was told and didn�t look any of them in the eye. He crossed his arms and slumped down into his seat like a three year old. The psychologist opened his notebook and Dr. Lauren left the room.
�Ok, Mr. Kirkpatrick-�
�Listen, I don�t want to be here. These guys said they were my friends and then they stabbed me in the back. There�s nothing more to it. Can I go now?�
�Chris, you know that�s not what we did,� Justin said.
�I said don�t talk to me.�
�Oh come on, that was a week ago.�
�And my command still stands. So shut up.�
�Mr. Kirkpatrick, we�re not going to get anywhere with that kind of attitude.�
�Get where?! There�s nowhere to go!�
�They say that they put you in here because you had become suicidal from a recent break-up. That seems like something that only caring friends would do.�
�I could have dealt by myself. Or they could have at least told me what they were going to do to me.�
�You wouldn�t have gone if we would have told you,� JC said.
�But at least you would have been truthful like real friends are.�
�I�m sorry it came to this, but I didn�t want you to get hurt,� Justin said.
�Why would you care about what happened to me?�
�What is that supposed to mean? I�m your best friend.�
�Like hell you are. You�ve been off doing your own thing for months now. You haven�t so much as called. I bet you didn�t even know that we moved in together.�
�Well��
�Exactly. You know it�s true. So don�t you dare try to call yourself my best friend ever again.�
�You�re being harsh. He hasn�t had time for anything with his new career,� Lance said.
�Right. So, he has time for countless shows on MTV that have absolutely nothing to do with his career in any way whatsoever, those new people he hangs out with, but he doesn�t have enough time to talk to the one he calls his best friend? And why are you taking his side? Because of him and his new career Nsync has completely gone down the shitter.�
�That�s not his fault. It was bound to happen eventually.�
He snorted. �This is ignorant. I�m going to end up hating them more than I did when I walked in. I think it would be wise for me to leave while we�re ahead,� Chris said to the psychologist.
�You need this for the healing process to begin.�
�You keep saying that, but I don�t know why. They don�t have anything to do with why I�m so god-damned depressed. It�s my ex�s fault. So, if you want to get her in here, go ahead, but in the meanwhile let me do some healing with my new friends who actually understand what I�m going through.�
He stood up and left the room without any objections from anyone.