"If mental illness could be seen on a sufferer, maybe society wouldn't just say, "Just get over it.""
{Lonely Lotus}

//

"OKAY, HERE'S THE deal. You talk to the Nurse up front and distract her while I go and get the key." JJ instructed.

"But, how are we going to get out of our rooms? They're locked, remember?" I asked, knowing how the Nurses always lock the door before they leave our rooms.

"It's Friday, Lex. You know every Friday, they leave our doors unlocked. It's called 'Fun Friday.' Today, I prefer to call it 'Freedom Friday' because we're about to be free!" JJ exclaimed, making me giggle. He was being extremely silly and happy today, which is unusual.

JJ is in The Mental House because of depression. He tried to take his life away, but his parents caught him just in time. He's done a lot of progress since he's been here. At least, that's what Dr. Shetland told me.

"Well then, what should I distract her about?"

"You're the smart one, not me. I'm sure you can come up with a good excuse, Lex." JJ assured me, and I took a deep breath while nodding my head.

JJ hid while I walked to the front desk where the Nurse was. I saw the key laying right beside her. She glanced up when she saw me and gave me an emotionless look. "What do you need?"

What should I tell her?

"Umm, the toilets in the bathroom are messed up."

She rolled her eyes and groaned while standing up. On the way to the bathroom she mumbled something about stupid teenagers, but I couldn't quite make it out. She went in there, and then came back out while shooting me a glare.

"There's nothing wrong with the toilets. You just wanted me to get up and do something, you psycho!" She snapped, making me flinch.

[me at the Nurse with a couple of not so nice words]

"I thought they weren't working... I'm sorry." I apoligized.

She continued walking and I felt sad. I'm not a psycho, am I?

We went back up to the front desk and JJ was hiding behind the staircase. I went over to him and he high-fived me while holding up the key. "Good job, Lex!"

"JJ, am I psycho?" I questioned with a frown on my face.

He knitted his eyebrows in confusion. "Who the hell told you that?"

"That Nurse."

He rolled his eyes. "She's just an old and cranky little bit-"

"Please don't cuss again." I interrupted him.

He started laughing and ruffled my hair. "Don't listen to her, Lex. Really, us crazy ones are the normal people. Everyone else just doesn't understand us."

"Nobody is normal." I mumbled as we continued walking behind the staircase. There was an exit door and JJ placed the key into the lock, turning it. It opened and I looked at JJ excitedly.

He slid the key across the floor and we made a run for it. We ran so fast and didn't look back. That was probably the most thrilling thing I've ever done. We came to a stop at a place called the DX. I had my hands on my knees and took deep breaths.

"JJ, I- I can't b-breathe. I- I need my inhaler."

He carried me and ran inside the DX. He sat me down in the middle of the floor and two young workers that looked about our age came over to us. "Is she okay?" One with chocolate all over his mouth asked.

JJ nodded. "She's just having another one of her panic attacks."

He went through my backpack and handed me my inhaler. I kept taking fast and short breaths and put the inhaler to my mouth. I let it do its magic, and finally calmed down. "JJ, my heart is beating so fast."

He chuckled. "Well, it should be. We ran for about thirty minutes straight."

"Do y'all need any water? Food?" A guy asked. He had bright blue eyes and a nice smile. How come I can't smile like that?

"Actually, we are pretty hungry and definitely thirsty." JJ laughed, "thanks."

He shook his head. "No problem. My name is Soda, and this here is Steve."

JJ shook their hands. "Nice to meet you two. I'm JJ, and this here is my friend, Lexie."

Soda and Steve gave me a warm smile and I gave one back. "Hey."

"Aww she's adorable." Steve cooed, making JJ laugh. "Yeah, she's an innocent one."

"I'll take her to get some snacks." Soda spoke, reaching out his hand for me to grab. I put my hand in his and it felt weird. Why does it feel weird when I touch his hand?

He led me to the back room and there were tons of snacks. "Lexie, what do you like to eat?" Soda questioned as we trailed along the line of chips and other snacks.

"I'll just get some chips." I replied in a surprisingly calm voice, like I didn't just escape from a mental asylum.

Once I grabbed the bag of chips I wanted, Soda led me to this table. "So, Lexie, what brings you here? I haven't seen you around, Tulsa."

Oh no.

"Y-you can't tell anyone. Promise." My voice started shaking and he looked at me worriedly.

"Are you alright? Was someone hurting you?"

"I'm not crazy, okay? My dad, along with someone else, killed my mom. I- I don't want to talk about it. But, I have a disorder called Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder. I think about things too much, I like to make lists, I hate the color red, I get upset easily, those kinds of things. My dad told people at The Mental House that I was crazy, and they believed him. So, I got sent there. I met JJ along the way. He was in there for depression. Everyone at the House is mean and rude to me. The kids are too. JJ and I just escaped from there." When I finished, Soda was looking at me, wide-eyed.

When he didn't answer, I started getting upset. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

A sympathetic look washed over his face and he repeatedly shook his head. "No, no, no. You're not crazy, Lexie. You just had a bad life. We all do. If you're crazy, then that means everyone is nuts."

I chuckled a little bit. "You're funny, Soda."

He smiled. "You know, you remind me of someone I know."

I cocked my head to the side. "Who?"

Before he could answer, a figure walked in through the door. It was.. my eyes went huge and I gasped. "That's the girl in my nightmares!"

When the girl saw me, she looked like she saw a ghost. "How the hell are you out of that psycho place?"

Soda furrowed his eyebrows. "You know her, Sandy?"

Sandy chuckled, "Of course. Why wouldn't I? She's my half-sister."

//

me

AHAHHA CLIFFHANGER!

thatso80s this was the plot twist I was talking about lmao!