After family visits wrapped up for the unit, a crucial part of regimen was therapy as reflection. Or as it had been labelled "the aftermath of the great depression".
Admittedly the girls were very dramatic but when your problems were reduced to diet culture and your home, it was the end of the world. If you delve into the human brain and how structure differs from the amygdala to the prefrontal cortex, its fairly simple to understand this concept. Unless your a revolutionary neuroscientist, nobody can disprove the basic facts. But Ava would love to gain that knowledge one day...

After order was disrupted by family, those with a strongly strained relationship or had any sort of empathy were expected to feel crushed. Facing the reality of how your poor decisions have affected others is never easy, especially in such a tense atmosphere where you could almost cut the hostility with a blade. This is where therapy comes in, functioning as a miraculous act to cure the soaring wave of depression. With an advanced CBT programme implemented, there was a clear emphasis on behavioral manipulation which Ava had noticed straight away with her educated eye. Whilst she may need it, the process sucks when you feel like a wrongly constructed toy. Mechanically, replacing the cogs may help the toy to function but can it transform sentient beings?

https://youtu.be/QpL8P8cEXxA

Like malfunctioning animatronics, the girls were taken to their therapy slots. They may as well have been trapped in the Five Nights at Freddy universe in those moments seeing as fake smiles were painfully painted on as soon as their name was called. It was showtime, time to create a good impression and prove your ready to leave the unit. When words are trusted in patients who learned to live a lifestyle of manipulative lies, the application of cognitive psychology is straight up lubricious. 

Despite their shared dislike of the regimen, the girls had no other choice. They were here for causing disequilibrium in their narratives so the help of a specialist was needed to safely resume their stories, it was still an opportunity to avoid the wrath of the looming Grim Reaper. In light of this, it was Lucy's time slot in the next hour and she had actually grown to enjoy the therapy as rest-bite away from her room.
It's easy to be overshadowed with loneliness when your confined to the same 4 bland walls for the majority of your day, even with a companions constant touch. Besides, who doesn't need space?

Groggily, Lucy walked down to her session. It was still early, only 10am, and without her daily espresso she felt like a zombie. Admittedly the narrow walls of the unit didn't help the atmosphere, you could almost swear the building structure was inspired by those low budget zombie horror flicks.

Leaning onto a faded desk with their elbows protected by their sheer white shirt subtly stained with crimson red wine that wouldn't wash out, Lauren, the resident CBT therapist awaited her. With her bleach blond hair molded into a firm high ponytail that could have been inspired by Ariana Grande, her shirt was loosely tucked into her skin- tight pencil skirt. With her professional smile almost stitched to her face by now, Lauren greeted an apprehensive Lucy by the door whilst gesturing for her to take a seat opposite her as usual.

The normal routine ensued which included invalidating any thoughts motivated by Ana through debating and reading her personal journal. Whilst there was a promise of confidentiality with this, there had been several breaches across the unit before which either resulted in parents having more ' urgent and disappointed' meetings or privileges like having friends stripped from them. I won't bore you with the details as i'm sure given the dark context of this clinical love story you can take an educated guess.

Digressing back to Lucy's narrative, she was willing to talk. Although everyone had learnt to censor themselves to a certain extent, Lucy wasn't afraid to discuss her rocky relationship with her parents. When she had felt like she was drowning in their hatred, Lauren was always there in their appointments to tame the tidal wave. Besides, why did it matter if the staff knew how crappy her mother was it's not like she was productive enough at her role to even answer a phone call about Lucy. 

As the session was coming to an end, Lauren held her hand for a moment.

"You don't need religion, you need to look after yourself. Talk to your room-mate and get ready for tomorrow's trip, you'll be alright", she softly spoke.

* Once Lucy, Ava and Charlie were all finished with their sessions and a long lunchtime, it was time to start planning their upcoming trip to the theatre. After months of begging the nicer members of staff for an arts trip, It was finally happening. The Rocky Horror Picture Show would be playing live tomorrow afternoon and providing the girls finished all their food to  a good standard, they could go. This was also the first time that Charlie would be joining them so naturally, the girls were hyped. Yes Martha would be there, but theatre and Tim Curry in one? Now that was worth it, at least for the cultured folk of society or as labelled the theatre kids*

Reflecting on their outing, Ava and Lucy lay together in their room with longing stares. Despite Lucy's insecurities with her own sexuality, she couldn't hide the fact that she enjoyed Ava's company. She was irresistible now almost like the temptation of a child's favorite sweets was shoved in-front of them but inches out of reach on the highest shelf in the room. With a childlike spark in her eyes, Lucy tickled her gently then lent over to kiss her.

Happily, Ava puckered her lips out and took in the pleasant feeling washing over her like a tidal wave.  Both of them grinning like Cheshire cats, they forcefully pushed themselves away onto their own beds to avoid getting caught by the omnipresent shadow of Martha. Acting pre-occupied with Netflix, they settled down and invested time into a new series as they laid back until dinner.  In what felt like a blink, nearly half hour had flown by with Martha announcing community.
Following the same regimen but sticking firmly together like the trio were glued together, they discussed their outfits and feelings for the next day's adventure. Lucy and Charlie were Rocky Horror virgins and only Ava really knew the plot because of her old friend group from college.  They had been theatre kids, investing time into their aspirational acting careers rather than practicing maths in such a disciplined way. This interest had taught Ava valuable lessons about the immersive world of Tim curry through his hypnotic- like music that she was fixated on and his diverse character. Ecstatic for the others to experience this firsthand, she had to force herself to be quiet and avoid spoilers. Spoiling the major plot kind of ruins the fun after all for such innocent eyes, all they knew was the classic 'Time Warp'.

Biting their lips, they walked over for dinner with a forced smile when they saw Martha. It was a simpler meal, sausage and mash, but the thought of the saturated butter melting gave all the girls chills. Motivated to be the 'golden girls' for tomorrow they forced it down then retreated back to their rooms. With the day dawning, there was hope. There was a slight buzz of excitement and nerves around the unit, Ava especially was brimming with anticipation. You dont get much fresh air in this hostile clinical environment, nevermind trust and the ability to explore the outside world. Only Ava and Lucy would have to be extra careful, if anyone caught them acting like a couple they would be separated as soon as they returned to the unit and torn apart by institutional rules.

With Ava keeping a mental note to act oblivious to the messages encoded in Sweet Transvetite, she tried to convince herself that gay panic couldn't visibly happen. Once this was established, she reached for Lucy's hand which was dangling lightly out of her bed and kissed her palm before turning over herself and trying to sleep. This wasn't the time to rebell against the rules, they were given permission to give that a go when morning came around. With no timings, flexible meals and free choice, it was also a test. Survival of the fittest, those whom want to be discharged will need to prove it...

Whilst it may be possible to mask symptoms, there was no point because you'll just get caught further down the line. Getting caught red-handed assisting Ana would impose punishment far worse than the unit if the typical measures weren't a deterrent. In public, the girls just wanted to be seen as normal people. Not objects or barbie girls, just decent people. The adventure was Charlie's first shot to prove her progress too, would she follow through with her promises?