Chapter 3: The Roommate
I have a new roommate. Her name is Sandra Leon and she’s only eighteen. She talks all the time; I think I know just about everything there is to know about her. I, on the other hand, keep quiet. Sandra knows my name, my age, and that I hate being here. She makes me wonder if I look as horrible as she does. No, I couldn’t possibly. Sure I don’t have nice cloths to wear because I have to wear the clothes they give me and I don’t bother with make-up or anything, but would you really bother if you never saw anyone? Sandra looks so tired and run down, like her life is over. I guess in a way it is. Where do you go after being locked away in a place like this? What do you do? Who do you turn to? I beginning to think I’ll never get out of here. Do I even care?
Too bad Sandra doesn’t act the way she looks. I don’t understand why she’s even here. She’s so perky and happy. I don’t think she’s even sick. I don’t get it.
“Here.” She’s standing right next to my bed holding out her sketch book to me. I eye her warily but take the offering anyway. How did she…..where did… It’s Dan. It’s a sketch of my big brother Dan. Oh I guess I forgot to tell you Sandra is an artist. She draws in her sketch pad all the time and always shows me the finished product. I’m not quite sure why she shows me; maybe she thinks it’ll help me open up to her. Anyway I’m staring at this amazing sketch of me and Dan she just drew. I keep this picture under my pillow. She must have gone snooping through my stuff. Bitch. I’d yell at her but I can’t take my eyes from the picture. It’s Dan and me when we were kids. I’m sitting on the front porch of his old house holding out my arm to him as he examines my injured elbow. I remember that day just like it was yesterday.
“I dare you to take your bike and ride off that ramp over there.” Bobby Macloud dared. My eyes followed his extended finger to where he was pointing. A few feet away was an old, beat-up looking bike ramp. It looks like it used to be red but most of the paint has either been chipped away or just faded. There is a rather large gravel pit located at the end of the ramp where I would have to try to land. This could end up quite painful, “I double dog dare you.” But, how can you back down from a double dog dare?
“Mack, don’t do it.” Dan warns standing protectively in front of me. “Bobby is just being a jerk.”
With a look of pure seriousness I respond. “D, he double dogged me.”
“I don’t care. I am your brother and I will not let you kill yourself just because he double dogged you.”
I sighed annoyed and rolled my eyes at him. “You are not my dad. I can do what I want. Besides I’m not gonna kill myself.”
“Whatever. Just don’t come crying to me when you get hurt.”
“Don’t worry I won’t!”
Of course I did exactly what I said I wouldn’t. I went crying to him to make me feel better and of course he did. I had launched myself off the ramp and just as I landed the wheels of the bike slipped on the gravel and I flew off over the handle bars. Man did that hurt! I scrapped up my elbows and knees and chin and almost cried. Luckily I was able to keep my tears at bay until Dan had me safely back at his house. I of course got the “I told you so” speech from him. He always was the levelheaded one and he loved to rub that into my face after I did something stupid. Anyway, back to this sketch.
“Where the hell did you get this?”
“I found the picture on the floor next to your bed.” Right, I’m sure it just magically jumped on to the floor, and then into her hands. “You were holding onto it one night while you were sleeping and dropped it. I found it and figured it meant a lot to you so I made you an early birthday gift.”
Oh. I guess that was kind of nice. She reaches out to me and I drop the sketch pad and push her away. She smiles a sickeningly sweet smile and rips the picture off the tablet and sets it on the bed next to me.
“Even though I’m curious, I won’t ask who he is.”
“Good cause I wouldn’t tell you if you did.”
“You will.” I really don’t like this girl. She acts like she knows me; she knows nothing about me. I glare at her but she just keeps on smiling and staring. “In time you’ll tell me all about him. I’m sure of it.” With that said she turns back to her sketches.
How creepy? I feel like I’m in some kind of horror movie or something and Sandra is going to try to kill me in my sleep. She’ll wait until I’m sound asleep before lurking over to my bed and smothering me with a pillow and all the while she’ll be wearing that same nauseating smile. I shiver. I just gave myself the willies.
“Meal time! Are you ladies hungry?” Kate, one of the nurses asks as she wheels the food tray into our room. Bethany isn’t too awful bad. She’s definitely my favorite. To bad the food she serves us everyday sucks. Ugh, I think they served us a baked shoe yesterday. What little I do eat I don’t know what it is. I think they’re secretly trying to poison us so they can use this building for something else. Maybe they would turn it into a gym or bowling alley. Who knows?
“What’s on the menu today?” Kate asks cheerily. I think she actually likes the food. Freak.
Kate peeks under the tray lid. “I think it’s supposed to be beef tips, mash potatoes, and mixed vegetables.” Sandra makes some annoying comment about how good that sounds and Kate hands out the food.
I remove the lid from mine and almost throw-up just from the stench. Yuck! It looks like a bunch of brown mush. I am most definitely not eating this shit. I replace the lid and push it away with a curl of my lip.
“Now Mackenzie, you have got to eat. You’re all skin and bones as it is.” You want me to eat, get me some decent food. “Come on girl.”
“You want me to eat, go get me some McDonalds.”
“Girl you know I’m not allowed to bring you food from the outside.” From the ‘outside’ there we go again with the horror movie stuff. I’m not in the mood to fight with her today. I wish she would just leave and take this fowl smelling food with her. “How has she been?”
“Okay. Still won’t really talk to me.” Sandra whines. “I gave her the picture and…”
Now they’re talking about me like I’m not even in the room. God, I hate this f**king place! I’m sick of being babied and talked about by other people and going to therapy and being forced to visit with my mother. They’re still talking about me. I take back what I said about liking Kate! Right now I can’t stand her! Sandra is just staring at me with that stupid smile as she continues to run her mouth about me. Not being able to control myself I pick up my food and chuck it at her. She gasps and that f**king smile wipes off her face. Now I smile at her.
I hate my new roommate.
TBC.....(Please Review!!!)
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