I wake up to someone's loud snoring. I try to cover my ears with the pillow but the annoying sound seems to be escalating. I dig my head deeper in the mattress but the sound is still there like a grain of sand under my feet while I parade in heaven.

I give up trying to be considerate and throw my pillow to the growling bear. She barely moves.

I get up to go shake her out of sleep but how am I supposed to find a human being in all this mess? Her bed looks like it has been hit by a tsunami – bedsheets everywhere, the pillow on the corner, and an untamed mass of brown locks covering everything. The one leg sticking over the bed is so pale that it blends in with the linens.

There's that single second where my mind realizes that this girl will probably be my roommate for the rest of my life so I should start our relationship on good terms. Then it's gone, leaving me with the wicked rest of my rationality.

I pull the covers off her with the intention to knock her over. The sight that befalls me puts a stop sign in my selfish endeavors. It's as if I've traveled to a third world country and am forced to acknowledge there are people out there with bigger, more real demons than me.

The pajamas appear to be clinging to mere bones. Her limbs, pale and thin, are a mystery to me as to how they're still intact. From where I'm standing, a leaf can break them.

I've seen too skinny to be healthy models but with some brown paint, this girl can pass for an African child in a UNICEF commercial trying to guilt people into sending their money to them.

"If I had a heart, I'd feel bad for her," Sarah remarks. "But I don't have one so just get it over with. I'm missing beauty sleep."

Without a second thought, I push her on the floor. Her body hitting the floor sounds like a butterfly in the wind.

"What the hell?" She shouts as she desperately tries to untangle herself from the bedsheets.

I calmly move to my side of the room and return to my sleeping position as if nothing happened.

That's when the crying rolls in. Starting with quiet sniffs, her tears are gradually promoted to loud sobbing.

The karma did not take its time on this one. I've been roomed with a freaking crier. A freaking crybaby. That's what I get for wishing to get rid of Daisy. At least she's been happy. Regardless of how gut-wrenching disgusting her joy had been, I'd prefer it to having to deal with tears. I can't even deal with my own tears.

"Can you stop crying for like one second?" I yell when I can no longer take it.

"I...I'm...so...I'm...sorry," she hiccups. "I didn't...I didn't...know you were...a...awake."

"Are you kidding me?" I throw the covers aside. "Even a deaf person wouldn't be able to sleep with you in the room."

She sniffs and attempts to wipe away the flood of tears. "I...I...didn't...mean it."

"Are you going to stop?"

"I'm...trying to." The hiccups stop for a second only to reboot at a higher force.

"I should have killed myself when I had the chance," I mumble as I move passed her.

I don't bother to panic when the cheeky remark comes in. "If only somebody has been here to tell you this every single day."

The sobbing mess is shaking in the corner of her bed when I open the door. The male nurse from yesterday is standing in front of the door.

"Hello there handsome," I smirk. "You just can't stay away from me, can you?"

I can tell he's retaining an eye-roll. "Breakfast started thirty minutes ago, I need both you and Suzanna to head to the dining lounge."

My eyebrows knit together. "Who the hell is Suzanna?"

"Your room..." his gaze stops over my shoulders. "What did you do to her?"

He pulls me aside to go to the girl balling her eyes out. "Suzanna, what happened?"

A rush of jealousy surges through me. The room blurs out, bringing in focus the two individuals – a red eyed girl on the bed and the man kneeling in front of her, comforting her. The feeling of being ignored and rejected returns as I hold back my own tears.

"Pathetic," Kenny spits at me. "You really convinced yourself that he cared about you."

"Haven't you learned anything? Have you forgotten about Brandon and your precious little daddy?"

Blood pounds in my ear. My nails dig in my palm.

"They don't care."

"Somebody better will always come along. Just get over it already."

The room focuses again and I hear my name being called. "Rachel, you can go. I got this."

I turn around and walk to the dining room.

I got myself carried away. It's fine. He's no one I care about, just a nurse I met less than twenty-four hours ago.

Ughh, they're right. I'm being pathetic.

I've barely grabbed on the rein of my emotions when I walk inside the dining lounge. It's just like I remember – nurses and nut cases crawling everywhere. Despite the spotless furniture and walls, this room screams messes.

A nutritionist hands me a plate once I reach the end of the line – nothing but greens.

"I don't want this," I hand it back to her. "I want normal human food."

The lady stares at me as if that one comment has already exhausted her patience for the day.

"I'm sorry, it's right there in your file that you're a vegetarian," she drawls.

"I'm not a vegetarian. I want meat and yogurt."

She sighs. "You're going to have to discuss this with your nurse and your parents, sweetie. Then they'll back at me so I can update your records." Her eyes shift to the next person in line.

"You didn't check anything," I cry. "You didn't even ask for my name."

"Rachel Jackson, you kind of made a name for yourself around here," she explains. "Nurse Hugo talked to me yesterday. You can't just change your mind every hour and expect everyone else to comply."

"I don't want this," I pout.

"Like I said, talk to your nurse and your parents. Unless a patient's eighteen, they cannot change things like that unsupervised."

I narrow my eyes, my hands moving to dump the plate on her head then Nurse Hugo walks in with the crybaby – Suzanna. She's like a moving stick, her legs bending every time she takes a step. I retract my hands.

Bad food is better than no food.

Now, the table choice. I feel like a high school freshman all over again. The wrong table choice may determine how people view me for the rest of my stay here. Unlike high school, it will last for more than four fleeting years.

A familiar brunette beckons me over. She sits in the middle of the room with two other girls who I saw in Dr. Harry's meeting.

"I heard a rumor that you were back," she greets.

I settle my plate down and take a seat. "I was missing you too much." I wink.

"Right," she says knowingly. "You did not at all returned to your old habits. No worries, I'm not judging," she quickly adds. "It's not like I can judge. I'm five times worse than you."

"I'm ten times worse," the blonde across from her says.

"No one asked you, Britney. This is not a contest."

"It's Maria," she corrects.

"Whatever," Hailey replies before returning to me. "I swear this girl is walking on thin ice. At least now, I have you to keep me from stabbing her."

Maria retreats further into her seat. The other girl squirms but keeps her head down.

"What the hell are you eating?" Hailey scrunches her nose at my food.

"It's my nurse's idea of punishment," I push the food back.

The corners of her lips lift with a half-smile wrapped up in a rebellious attitude as only Hailey can. "Nurse Hugo," she states.

"You know him?" My interest perks up. Perhaps she knows something that'll get him off my back.

"Yes, he was assigned to me when I first got here. He's a tough one."

"I can tell." I grab her yogurt.

She stops her eating to look at me. "Usually I punch people who touch my food but I feel bad for you."

I lean over to grab an apple but she swiftly pulls me back. "It's a onetime deal, missy. Don't make me tear your head off."

I laugh but the seriousness doesn't leave her face.

Both of the other girls look like they're ready to bolt. "For real?"

"I don't play with my food," she says before going back to her plate.

An uncomfortable silence settles in the table. Maria simultaneously plays with her food and her hair while the other girl's head stays down. I tighten my stomach and take a few bites of the salad. I wash it down with the green tea, hoping that it would take away the disgusting taste of broccoli in my mouth. I'm wrong, it's worse than the poor excuse of a meal.

I glance around. There are many familiar faces and many new ones.

"Where's Daisy?" I ask Hailey.

She burps. "Sorry," she wipes her mouth. "Her family moved away so they transferred her to another hospital."

"How sure are you about that?"

Her lips tighten, "I have my sources."

I return to my empty plate. Her gaze has not moved away from me.

"What else?" I ask reluctantly. I can tell there's more information about this she's dying to share.

"The nurses talk. They gossip like there's no tomorrow. Apparently Daisy was part of some rich family who got tired of San Francisco. They gave this hospital an incredible amount of funds. No wonder everyone around here let her do whatever she wanted."

"Do you know where they moved?" I pry without actually wanting to know more. I'm happy I'm no longer roomed with that girl.

"Don't know, don't care." She finishes her food before continuing. "Do you want to know where she is?"

"No," I utter quickly. "I wanted that girl gone but I think the stupid universe gave me someone worse this time around."

"Who?"

I nod towards the girl with a nurse talking to her. She has barely touch her food, simply staring at it as if she's afraid that the meal will attack her.

"Suzanna?" Hailey asks. "The anorexic chic?"

"Girl, do you know everyone in here?" I tease.

"Of course, I do. I've been here for years now and I'm condemned to spend my life here until I'm eighteen. There's not much fun here except to pry in everybody's life. It's nice to know I'm not the only messed up one in this world."

"I know the feeling," I agree. "My life is just piles of misery on top of each other."

"Oh please, Rachel. Your life has more perks than most of us," She muses. "There are worse lives out there. In fact, I've survived through worse."

She throws her plates on the floor and walks away without another word.