Institutionalized

Kevin finally released Mikhail so he could eat (‘You’re too skinny, babe’), and proceeded to regale us with the story of how Jacob Byrd had been taken to solitary at his group therapy the night before.

“…And so then Dr. Nakamura moved on to Jacob and asked him about how he was coping with his situation, and he just goes ‘I don’t give a fuck. That stupid bitch can rot in hell.’ And Dr. N is all ‘Jacob, you need to deal with the anger that caused you to stab your girlfriend. Where is all this rage coming from?’ Y’know, being all calm and stuff. And Jacob just flipped out. He started throwing chairs and cussing people out, and then Dr. N called security and the next thing you know, the guy takes his pants off and runs screaming down the hallway!”

Mikhail rolled his eyes. Trinity looked at Kevin quizzically. Rachelle snickered a little bit.

“Why’d he take his pants off?” I asked.

Kevin raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, man. It was weird. I seriously wish that nutjob wasn’t in my group therapy. He’s frickin’ scary.” He lowered his voice and looked around to make sure we weren’t being watched. Once he was satisfied that he was in the clear, he continued. “He’s in here ‘cause he stabbed his girlfriend. He got off with a light sentence ‘cause he was tried as a juvenile and he plead insanity.”

My eyes widened. “That’s scary.”

Trinity nodded in agreement. “They should have tied him up in a dungeon and allowed rats and other vermin to eat him. That boy is a savage.”

“What’s really scary is that that’s a normal occurrence around here,” Rachelle added. “He’s been put in solitary about six times now.”

“Want to know what’s even scarier?” Kevin asked. “They think he’s getting better. That he’s almost ready to go out into society.”

Trinity dropped her toast in shock. “You can’t be serious,” she gasped. “He almost killed his girlfriend. He’s been to solitary six times, and the nurses had to tranquilize him twice.”

Kevin shook his head grimly. “Nope. They honestly think he’s improving. But what bothers me the most is—" he paused and pulled Mikhail close to him “—the fact that his room is so close to my love’s! I mean, look at him, Mikhail’s so rapeable and you know Byrd can’t get any action—I wouldn’t be able to bear it if he touched you!” He squeezed Mikhail tighter, despite his protests.

Kevin let go of Mikhail as quickly as he had grabbed him. “So, Lilly, have you been assigned a schedule yet?”

“Oh! Yes.” I pulled the folded papers out of the pocket of my jeans and scanned what I would be doing. First on the list was a private therapy session with Dr. Woodson, and then was a group therapy for patients who self-harmed. After that was lunch, a group therapy for depressed patients, ‘school’, dinner, and free time. After free time was lights-out. Not a half-bad schedule, if you ask me.

“Do you have Dr. Nakamura? She’s really cool. She’s been through it all before, so she really knows a lot and she actually listens when you talk to her.” Kevin’s face was shining and if he had a tail, it would have been wagging.

“No, I got Dr. Woodson.”

Kevin looked instantly crestfallen. Trinity wrinkled her nose. Mikhail scowled for the umpteenth time in twenty minutes.

“Well, that’s a shame,” Trinity sighed. Kevin nodded in agreement.

Rachelle frowned and made a ‘tut-tut’ noise. “Oh, come on now, he’s not so bad…”

“Rachelle, now isn’t the time to defend the guy,” Kevin snapped. “He’s horrible and you know it.”

“What’s so horrible about him?” I asked.

Kevin opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly silenced by Trinity’s hand covering his mouth.

“Well,” she began, “he really isn’t horrible, so to speak, as much as he is bad at his job. He really has no idea how to talk to us. He either addresses us as if we’re five years old or as if we’re adults.” She pointedly stuck her nose in the air. “I was one that he addressed as a five-year-old. After one session with him, I requested a switch.”

Rachelle glanced up from her eggs and looked quizzically at Trinity. “Why was he talking to you like that? Was it because of your schizophrenia?”

“No. Nicole Prince has a case of schizophrenia that’s rumored to be far worse than mine, but she is treated with the utmost respect.” Trinity sniffed. “All because she’s an absolute bore.”

“She’s not a bore,” Mikhail muttered. “She just doesn’t feel the need to cause a scene wherever she goes.”

Trinity threw her fork down. “I do not ‘cause a scene’, Mr. Voyabrev,” she cried in a shrill voice. “It’s called ‘having a personality’!”

They began to bicker and Kevin shook his head. “Trust me, Lilly—Woodson isn’t the kind of person you can talk to about your problems. It’s like talking to a brick wall. And if he acknowledges your presence at all, he’s really stiff and formal.”

Rachelle rolled her eyes. “Oh, come off it, Kevin! You had him for one group therapy session and then you switched out.” She turned to face me. “Don’t listen to Kevin. Woodson isn’t the best doctor here—not by a long shot—but he’s not a bad doctor. He’s just a little overwhelmed by being here. I have him for private therapy too, and he’s really helped me a lot.”

I nodded and Rachelle beamed at me. She cupped my shoulder with her hand.

“I like you,” she said. “This place was getting a little stale, but maybe you can make it more interesting.”