Tap, tap, tap. The repeated noise shattered the darkness of her memories jerking her to the present. Her eyes fluttered before rolling over to settle on the pen persistently rattling against the desk. It was bright pink with a spring and feathers on top that reminded one of a kindergartner back when they were excited about school. Her gaze slowly flowed up the pen to the long elegant bright pink nailed hand covered in a neat, prim black blazer and finally to the woman tapping. She had mouse brown hair in a tight bun and was giving her an impatient glare over the rim of her glasses.  "Rene, I have been trying to get your attention for the past 10 minutes," the woman primed.

"Sorry, Miss Rachel," Rene muttered while stifling a yawn.

Miss Rachel let out an exasperated sigh before shoving her pen's feathers in Rene's face. "Do you see that on the wall?" Rene rolled her eyes not needing to look to know the woman pointed at her, proudly framed in gold, diplomas. Despite those diplomas proving she was a doctor in psychiatry, she insisted they call her Miss Rachel because it made her 'more approachable'. "That says that I am a doctor that can professionally help you. However in order for me to do that, you need to get your act together Rene. You and I have been meeting for 5 years now and still you refuse to open up to me. How do you expect to rejoin society after you turn twenty-one?" Miss Rachel sniped out.

"I don't." Rene leaned forward and sighed, "Look you and I both know that after this asylum I will just be heading to another one for crazy adults."

Miss Rachel tutted and began to rebut, "Rene this is not an asylum..."

Rene continued plowing her way through determined to finish. "What would you prefer then, loony bin, mental hospital, nuthouse or maybe my new favorite cuckoo's nest?" Rene inquired with a sneer before leaning back to teeter in her chair with her hands behind her head, "Call it whatever you want doesn't change what it is."

Miss Rachel grounded her teeth together while white-knuckling her pen until with a sharp crack it snapped. Through gritted teeth she managed to mutter, "That's enough for today Rene. Please send in the next person."

Rene got up with a sly smirk plastered on her face silently goading Miss Rachel as she sauntered out the door, right into the next head case.

Rene lashed out. "What the Hell is wrong with you!"

"Sorry," the boy laughed, "Just so excited to be shrinked for the first time you know."

Rene raised an eyebrow at him. He had dark brown eyes that bordered on black as they intensely gazed down at her. He had cropped, spiky red hair and well-toned muscles pressed against his black t-shirt, Rene fought off a creeping blush before her emotional wall slammed back into place.

"Whatever," Rene muttered shoving her way past him.

She dared not glance back as she felt the presence of the required security creep up behind and overshadow her. She quickly walked out of the room into the dark hall full of flickering lights and endless doors like a nightmare from the Twilight Zone. People pressed against the door windows, screaming, pounding, desperate in an attempt to escape, to be free. The hall went black in an instant as power surged towards one room and the muffled gargling yell of a youth haunted the building. She froze, five years, five years and the screams still got to her. "Keep moving." The guard dug his bat into her back.

She gulped before dragging her feet through the large double doors where she became bombarded with sound and light. Rene winced against the light as she grabbed a plastic tray and joined the shuffling line for dinner. The cafeteria, a pool of crazies crammed together for forced interaction. Rene couldn't help but smirk at that, maybe Miss Rachel was right, the asylum is really like a school. The asylum had the typical high school patterns, horrible tasting food that made you want to barf, cliques established to "put people in their place", and of course the imposing force of authority everywhere you look. Ok, that's an exaggeration, but one gets the general idea.

Rene let the slop of food plop onto her tray before she dragged her feet over to an empty table. Her tray fell with a clatter from her hands onto the table as she let herself drop into the seat. The echoing of two more trays falling vibrated through the room. Rene glanced up too see a mop top boy and pink haired girl grinning at her. "So, how was the therapy?" the girl asked.

"Got her to snap her pen," Rene replied slyly before directing her bright green eyes onto the boy. "I believe that puts me ahead, Danny."

"Whatever," Danny huffed. "I made her way madder during my last secession." He continued making wild hand gestures to reinforce his words, "I was this close to making her yell."

The girl rolled her eyes before leaning on her elbows and playing with her food. "You know I really don't understand your guys' stupid contest." She muttered.

Danny barked out a laugh, "That's just cause you aren't good at making Miss Rachel mad, Cassie, and will never win." He leaned over and ruffled her pink hair like a little kid.

Cassie snorted and shoved him away angrily. Rene couldn't help grinning at the only two people who made the asylum bearable. "Pill time," a voice growled.

As one, the three turned with hands out for their medication. The pills landed in Rene's hand like lead pellets. She counted the pills slowly and carefully, when anger clouded her face. "Hey, wait there is 10 pills here. I'm only on 7," Rene turned a heated glare on the guards standing by the table.

"New prescription came in a couple minutes ago. Still feel good about making Miss Rachel mad?" the man smirked at her haughtily. "Now hurry up and pop'um we got many other crazies to give their special little gifts too."

Rene felt heat rage through her body as a blush crept up her face. She forced the pills into her mouth and chugged water. Opening her mouth she showed them the emptiness and glancing at her friends she saw them copying the action. "Happy?" through her teeth gritted so tightly they were threatening to snap.

The guard just laughed before gesturing with his head to move his partners along. Rene put on a fake smile and watched them go. At which point she leaned over and spat all 10 pills from under her tongue into the slop. Rene then proceeded to bury them in the food. "Wow, 10 pills," Danny commented between spitting his out as well.

"Yep, gotta be a new record," Rene rolled her eyes.

"You know once Kristy hears she is gonna be extremely pissed," Cassie replied while she chugged more water to swallow her pills.

Rene rolled her eyes, "Let her be."

Kristy was the rich and popular girl who ran the asylum with a flick of her wrist and lived off the high her multiple pills gave her. Unlike Rene who hated the feeling taking the pills gave her, the total detachment and numbness that consumed her whenever the medication would take hold. That's why she is extremely glad she met Danny. Danny was a diagnosed Schizophrenic whom believed he could live life normally without pills, like that guy in Beautiful Mind.  He taught her how to hide her pills under her tongue so the guards would not be able to see them. When she first meet Danny, she often wondered if she should tell the people in charge about him, but who was she to judge when she didn't take hers either. Then again some people really were helped with proper medication, like Cassie. But she also knew it and didn't provoke anyone enough to get large dosages to make her dull to the world. Cassie took her pills regularly to handle her bi-polar disorder.  

"Excuse me. The word around the cafe is you have been given an increase in pills. More pills than me, is that true?" a snobby female voice snipped.

Rene rolled her eyes toward the skinny strawberry blond. One hand on her popped out hip implied a feeling of supremacy over others. Never before had Rene know anyone so crazy, sassy, and deserving of the word witch (spelled slightly differently if you follow). The name that sent shivers into the hearts of all the nut jobs that inhabited this place, Kristy, with her cold calculating blue eyes and perfect tan. No one messed with this freaky, chick. Well except maybe one person.

"Hmmm?" Rene lazily replied while twisting the long ponytail of her blonde hair.

"Cut the act, I know you upped your pill intake. And no one around here pops more than me, ever." Kristy glared smashing her hands down onto the table.

Rene sighed; she really didn't understand the desire to consume the most pills. Maybe it was just another way for Kristy to feel like she was in charge of the asylum or forget the fact that she was here, either way it was getting on Rene's nerves. And being a legally crazy person she had few to spare. "Kristy if you really want more pills go cry to your daddy, I'm sure he'll be happy to get more to fix your unfortunate problem. Wait I forgot there isn't a cure for you." Rene answered with sweet venom. 

Kristy's mouth dropped open to form a perfect 'o', a moment of sweet victory before the flashing lights and cold pressed against her cheek that followed. "Kristy hit her!" Cassie shrieked.

"Rene started it. She provoked me!" Kristy yelled.

The guards descended like locusts upon the teenagers. Rene was roughly forced to her feet causing the room to spin. "That's enough of that. Everyone, get back to eating," the guard, who grabbed, her shouted.

Rene felt herself being dragged out of the cafeteria with the protests of Danny and Cassie and Kristy's self-satisfied smile fading away. She silently cursed herself for being such an idiot and letting Kristy get to her, again. The asylum overlooked a lot of things, especially when it came to Kristy, but picking a fight was not one of them, particularly with Kristy. Not that Kristy ever got in trouble; no she merely got her wish and was assigned an extra dosage for her traumatic encounter. The unfortunate receiver of her rage was sent to solitary confinement, affectionately known as the pit. A small five by five foot room made of solid cement, the pit was known to shove more than one poor soul to the point of no return. That point reached following a horrible decent into madness when oneself becomes unrecognizable to not only the outside world, but also to themself. Even the strongest of minds grows weary without light or sound for hours on end, and Rene was not as close to sanity as she hoped. It was only a matter of time before the pit took what little had survived after years in the asylum. "Sweet dreams," the guard cackled as he shoved her face first into the pit.

The cold cement bit into her cheek and hands as she tried to catch herself. "Hey, you forgot to put the mint on my pillow and my pillow for that matter," Rene screeched at the retreating figure before, with a final reverberating clang of the door shutting and the lock sliding into, place her night in the pit began.