pills and I took his advice. Not sure why I decided to take the advice of a guy who once phoned into a daytime TV show to accuse the host of killing his hamster, but all I can say in my defence is that it felt right. You could say that I live my life via instincts. If there’s a bad vibe, I get the hell out of there. That’s why staying in this hospital is so weird. I’d usually run a mile without looking back.
Lacey stops ignoring me and we begin our ‘banter’ again, which usually entails her babbling on and calling me a ‘quiet one’ or telling me I’m giving her earache. “There she is, off again. Bloody motor mouth.”
“Lace, you talk enough for both of us,” I say with a laugh.
“Well, at least you’ve cheered up. I thought we’d lost you for a bit, there. Kept expecting to find you hanging from the ceiling with the bedding around your neck…” her voice changes. It goes quiet as she trails off.
“Did that happen?” I ask.
She nods.
Poor Lace. Her ramblings and her energy hide so much.
Group therapy does seem to get better if you join in. Without that foggy veil, it’s very different. Mo encourages me with little glances and smiles. They don’t go unnoticed by Lacey. Yasmeen gives me the stink-eye every now and then.
“You know what we should do?” Lacey says at breakfast one day. “We should go up into the ceiling again.”
Anka jumps up and down in her seat. “Voddy voddy voddy, oi oi oi.”
“Shhh, Granger will hear you!” Helen gives her a shove. “When do you want to do it?”
“Tonight,” Lacey says. She turns to me and explains. “There’s a cavity in the ceiling where they plug in the electrics. You can crawl through to the empty ward on level seven. We’ve got a stash up there—booze.”
“How do you get up there?” I ask.
“Well, one of the ceiling tiles is loose in our room. We climb on my bed and wiggle it loose. Easy.”
“But how does everyone get into our room? Won’t someone notice? Granger?”
“Granger doesn’t work nights. Fridays is Betty. She’s about seventy and falls asleep every time. She literally sleeps ‘til the morning, unless someone wakes her,” Yasmeen says.
“Yeah and there’s only temping nurses on tonight. They sit around watching telly while Betty sleeps. Granger hates Betty. It’s right funny when they work together,” Lacey says.
“How do you know all this?” I ask, impressed.
Lacey taps the side of her nose. “Oh you know, little of this , little of that.”
“You’re a clever girl, Lace.”
Chapter Eight
When my parents visit in the afternoon, Dad grins the entire time. “You seem so much better, Mares. I’m proud of you.”
They stay for the entire hour of visiting time and I even manage not to upset Mum, which is pretty impressive. She gives me a desperate hug on the way out. It’s probably a bad thing that the reason I’m in a good mood is because later that night I plan to sneak into the ceiling for a boozing session with my new loony-friends.
We agree to meet in our room at exactly midnight. I love it, because midnight is such a magical time. It’s zero. It’s the beginning of things. I once said that to someone at school and she said I was a bit mental. Maybe I am.
Lacey sticks her head out of the door and peeks around at the communal area. It’s ten to midnight. “I can see the hatch. I think Betty’s asleep against the glass. Yup, and I can hear the TV. I reckon we’ll pull it off.”
“How many times have you done this?” I ask.
“Oh, like three times.”
“Ever been caught?”
“Nope.”
Mo sneaks in first, bang on time. “I had to make sure I didn’t wake Frankie.”
“You share a room with Frankie? That’s crap,” I say.
“ They moved him in a few days ago,” he says. “Apparently he’s been doing better recently and they wanted him to have some independence. It’s not so bad. He sleeps through, sometimes. It’s kinda like having a new-born baby to take
Lacey stops ignoring me and we begin our ‘banter’ again, which usually entails her babbling on and calling me a ‘quiet one’ or telling me I’m giving her earache. “There she is, off again. Bloody motor mouth.”
“Lace, you talk enough for both of us,” I say with a laugh.
“Well, at least you’ve cheered up. I thought we’d lost you for a bit, there. Kept expecting to find you hanging from the ceiling with the bedding around your neck…” her voice changes. It goes quiet as she trails off.
“Did that happen?” I ask.
She nods.
Poor Lace. Her ramblings and her energy hide so much.
Group therapy does seem to get better if you join in. Without that foggy veil, it’s very different. Mo encourages me with little glances and smiles. They don’t go unnoticed by Lacey. Yasmeen gives me the stink-eye every now and then.
“You know what we should do?” Lacey says at breakfast one day. “We should go up into the ceiling again.”
Anka jumps up and down in her seat. “Voddy voddy voddy, oi oi oi.”
“Shhh, Granger will hear you!” Helen gives her a shove. “When do you want to do it?”
“Tonight,” Lacey says. She turns to me and explains. “There’s a cavity in the ceiling where they plug in the electrics. You can crawl through to the empty ward on level seven. We’ve got a stash up there—booze.”
“How do you get up there?” I ask.
“Well, one of the ceiling tiles is loose in our room. We climb on my bed and wiggle it loose. Easy.”
“But how does everyone get into our room? Won’t someone notice? Granger?”
“Granger doesn’t work nights. Fridays is Betty. She’s about seventy and falls asleep every time. She literally sleeps ‘til the morning, unless someone wakes her,” Yasmeen says.
“Yeah and there’s only temping nurses on tonight. They sit around watching telly while Betty sleeps. Granger hates Betty. It’s right funny when they work together,” Lacey says.
“How do you know all this?” I ask, impressed.
Lacey taps the side of her nose. “Oh you know, little of this , little of that.”
“You’re a clever girl, Lace.”
Chapter Eight
When my parents visit in the afternoon, Dad grins the entire time. “You seem so much better, Mares. I’m proud of you.”
They stay for the entire hour of visiting time and I even manage not to upset Mum, which is pretty impressive. She gives me a desperate hug on the way out. It’s probably a bad thing that the reason I’m in a good mood is because later that night I plan to sneak into the ceiling for a boozing session with my new loony-friends.
We agree to meet in our room at exactly midnight. I love it, because midnight is such a magical time. It’s zero. It’s the beginning of things. I once said that to someone at school and she said I was a bit mental. Maybe I am.
Lacey sticks her head out of the door and peeks around at the communal area. It’s ten to midnight. “I can see the hatch. I think Betty’s asleep against the glass. Yup, and I can hear the TV. I reckon we’ll pull it off.”
“How many times have you done this?” I ask.
“Oh, like three times.”
“Ever been caught?”
“Nope.”
Mo sneaks in first, bang on time. “I had to make sure I didn’t wake Frankie.”
“You share a room with Frankie? That’s crap,” I say.
“ They moved him in a few days ago,” he says. “Apparently he’s been doing better recently and they wanted him to have some independence. It’s not so bad. He sleeps through, sometimes. It’s kinda like having a new-born baby to take
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