Red Band Society

"Alexander," my mother placed a hand on my thigh gently, "this is for your own good. We need you to get better, y'know? Dad and I can't have you hurting yourself like this." I didn't even look into her eyes as she spoke to me. I didn't believe that what I was doing wrong; in fact, I believed what I was doing was helping me out a bit. I wanted to look good for the people, at school, who saw me. I didn't want them seeing some fat ass. I didn't want to be made fun of for being fat or over-weight -- I wanted to be looked at and admired for how skinny I was.

You may be wondering what I'm rambling on about. Well, let me explain. You see, I am in a car right now with my mother, Isobel, in front of Baltimore Hospital for Youths. This hospital, or prison, is for youths who are ill. Me, when I look at myself and what I do, I don't see myself as ill. But, mom and dad swear I am, and you know when you're a child that you can't fight your parents. My, apparent, illness is anorexia. I don't eat at all. I may eat a bite of an apple here and there, but I will not eat. I refuse. When I look in the mirror, I see a fat, disgusting piece of shit who deserves to be pained and ignored. So, my way of coping and trying to fix my appearance is not eating. I have been six months into it, but now, my progress will be ruined because of this hell hole.

Anyway, my mother continued to look at me with a sympathetic look along with her hand on my thigh. She spoke once more, "Alexander, please -- don't ignore me or hate me. I'm doing this to get you help. You won't be here long... I promise. I know it's hard leaving us for a while, but once you come back, you'll be healthy and never have to leave us again!" Her trying to cheer me up wasn't working because I continued to stare the dashboard blankly. I guess mom realized her attempts failed, and she removed her hand from my thigh and let out a long, heavy sigh. "Your, um, bags are in the trunk, Alex. Do you need help going in there and signing in?" For the first time in the morning, I spoke up.

"No. I can do it myself." I removed myself from the vehicle, with a slam of the door, and headed over to the trunk where my belongings rested. The hospital didn't allow you to bring much: a few pairs of clothes, a few pictures or knickknacks, a pair of shoes, and a bed setting. No video games, TV, cellphone -- nothing electronic. I could already tell this stay will be a living hell. I dragged my bag out of the trunk and was about to make my way into the hospital when I heard mom call out,

"Alexander!" I let out a huff before turning around. Me turning around was enough of a response. "I love you, Alex. I'll visit you as much as I can, okay?" I sighed, giving her a short nod. I was going to miss her and dad greatly, and I really did hope I'd see them soon. Yeah, I hated them a bit inside for throwing me into this hell hole, but they were my parents, and I loved them massively.

"I love you, uh, too, mom." I called out. She smiled before rolling up the window and driving off. I watched as mom's car disappeared into the mob of cars on the highway, and soon, she was gone completely. Honestly, it brought tears to my eyes, but there was nothing I could do. There was no turning back.With a quick swift on my heel, I walked through the automatic doors of the hospital.

I was immediately hit in the fact with ice cold air and the aroma of bleach and Pine Sol. The hospital was as big as a palace, and nurses and doctors were walking around, nonchalantly. You sure these kids were sick because usually doctors and nurses don't walk around happily when sick kids are in there presence?

I walked up to the front desk to be faced with an elderly woman with a beehive hair do and glasses as thick as concrete. She gave me a warm smile with her yellow dentures. "Good morning, young man. How may I help you?" Was that a serious question, like? I set my bag down before replying.

"I'm here to check myself in."

"And, what's your name?"

"Alexander William Gaskarth."

"Age?"

"18."

"Diagnosis?" All these questions, Jesus fucking Christ. I didn't know my diagnosis, but then, I realized she meant why I was here. I didn't think that anorexia would be considered a diagnosis, but who was I to question and/or judge?

"I, um, have anorexia?" She nodded at my reply. She typed it all up into her computer system, and she smiled when, I assume, my profile came up.

"Ah, Alexander! You have been assigned to Nurse Taylor Jardine, and you're in room 435A. I'll call Nurse Taylor down to pick you up and show you to your room. While you wait, you can have a seat right over in the waiting area." She pointed over to an area where there were lounge chairs and coffee tables with fishes floating around in them. Pretty fancy, I must say. I picked up my bag and traversed over to a chair in the fair back of the waiting area.

I decided that, while I was waiting, I would examine the hospital to the best of my ability. I saw long hallways, hundreds of rooms, dozens of doctors and nurses, and the whole place was a large window. As I looked around, I noticed some patients, or what I assumed were patients, strolling around. One kid was in a wheel chair, and he was walking with her a girl who only had one arm. Another patient walked around with a see-and-eye dog which was a fluffy golden retriever. Most of the kids, or patients, looked really and seriously ill compared to me. I felt like I really shouldn't even be here because I am wasting space for a kid who is maybe terminally ill or have a far worse condition.

Cutting me from my thoughts was a female walking up to me. She had pink scrubs, and she had long, brunette locks and a smile that went from ear to ear. She was holding a sandy envelope that most likely had my information inside of it. "Hello!" she greeted happily. "You must be Alexander! You go by Alex, or?" I perked up, and my shyness instantly began to kick in. I may sound like an ass in my thoughts, but God, I was the shyest person outside of my head.

"I go by, um, Alex. I really don't like Alexander." I explained.

"That's just fine, Alex! Follow me, and I'll take you to your room." I got up and followed Nurse Taylor down the long lobby to an elevator. Inside, there were button for floors up to floor 23. Damn, this was a huge as hospital. She pushed the button that would take us up to floor 6. As we headed up the floors, Nurse Taylor spoke to me a bit more. "So, if the lady at the front desk, Beatrice, didn't tell you, my name is Nurse Taylor, but please, call me Nurse Tay or Tay. No one calls me Taylor unless you're part of my family or my boss." she chuckled. I let out a soft giggle at her statement.

We got up to the sixth floor in about two minutes, and upon exiting the elevator, I noticed a sign that read the title of the wing we were on. It read: EATING DISORDER WING A. Seeing it kind of eased my feeling a little bit. Maybe there was space for me and illness, and I wasn't taking up rooms for children with greater needs than me. Nurse Tay and walked down the hall to where my room was, and my room was at the end of the hall at the right. She unlocked the door and revealed my room to me. Inside was a large bed, windows, a desk, a TV, and a bookshelf full of books. Wow, maybe that's why they didn't want electronics brought -- they had them already provided to you. There was an Apple laptop on the desk and a flat screen TV in the room; it was heaven.

"So, here is your room. You can set up the room to your liking. Since you're in the eating disorder wing, here's how meals work. A doctor will not be in the room while you eat; however, if you do try to throw away, hide, or not eat your food, then we will have to assign an Aid to be in the room while you eat. Meals are at nine, 12, and 6 everyday, and on Fridays, we do serve sundaes for dessert. Our meals aren't like school meals, trust me. We serve home cooked meals that are hot and delicious. You are allowed to walk around freely to other wings to make friends, of course. We don't keep you stuck in here like a prison cell, y'know? But, we do require that you're in your rooms by midnight to get a good night sleep, so you can wake up for your breakfast meal." I nodded at each explanation she gave. I was starting to like the sound of this place; however, none of this would be like home. "Is there anything else you'd like to know?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No, I think I am, um, good, for now." I stated. Nurse Tay nodded with a grin.

"Alright. Well, your lunch will be served in about an hour, so you have time to set up your room or even nap. Our meal today is pizza, french fries, and milk of your choice. Just let me know before lunch is served what milk you prefer, okay?" I nodded and set my bag at the side of my bed. "Well, I'll see you later, Alex." With that, Nurse Tay left the room. I was now left alone to do what I pleased until lunch. I could go explore, but I was too tired, to be honest. Therefore, I laid myself down on the bed to take a nap. The bed felt like clouds, and I moaned out at the sensation. It made my back feel so much since it was aching from my raking nerves.

As I laid there, I thought about what my stay would be like over these passed few weeks. I would be without my mom, my dad, and all my friends. It would suck; I knew it would, but I guess I had to get through this. If I did, I would get to go home and be with my family and friends again. As I got stuck in my thoughts, I slipped into a comforting, deep slumber.

Notes

hey guys. I write with Jagk a lot, so if you read our stories, you know who I am. If not, I'm Krys :)

This is my new story, and I will update as soon as I can.

Hope you guys comment, vote, and subscribe <3 :)

xoxo krys