I get up a bit late since my club is canceled and it's laundry day. In the cafeteria, I grab some oatmeal, a diced apple, and a cup of coffee. The doctor recommended I drink it black, which doesn't bother me much. After I finish, it's time to get down to business. I head to the basement to find the laundry room.

"Can I help you?"

"Oh hi. I'm Betty, one of the residents. I wanted to volunteer to help with laundry today."

The young woman shakes my hand.

"Great! We really need it today. I'm Sarah, a resident as well. I think I've seen you around but you always look like you want to be left alone."

I awkwardly laugh and she pats my arm.

"It's okay. Most people are like that when they first get here. Glad to see you've finally adjusted! Anyway, your job. You can go around the female section and collect their laundry. Don't worry you don't have to touch their clothes with your bare hands or anything. We have latex-free gloves and a new apron for you. Okay?"

She begins to walk away when I stop her.

"Whoa wait. I've never done this before. I need more details."

She slaps her palm to her forehead.

"Right. My bad. Here's the cart. There are slots to separate the baskets. They're labeled by room. Do. Not. Mix them up. We'll all be in trouble if you do that. The baskets should be in the hall to the side of the doors. If some aren't there, make sure you knock on the door. Some of the oldest residents prefer to bring their laundry down by themselves but we have to check. After you're finished just bring them back down here. I might be busy or not here, so just leave the cart, and then you're free to do whatever. I'll come find you when they're finished so you can deliver the clean laundry back to the rooms."

"Will do. Thank you, Sarah."

I set off and after about half an hour I leave the dirty laundry in the basement. I go right to the store and swipe my card to get in. It's like a miniature Walmart. I wave at the cashier and go down the first aisle. After almost an hour of looking at everything they offer, I grab a plain black planner, some colored pens, and a few notebooks. It wasn't very expensive honestly. I saw a lot more things that I'd like since I won't get a paycheck until next Friday, I want to be careful. In my room, I sit down at my desk to begin setting up my planner.

Monday: Fitness club

Tuesday: Job 8am-6pm

Wednesday: Game club

Thursday: Job 8am-6pm, visitation, therapy

Friday: Cooking club, laundry day, payday

Saturday: Afternoon outings

Sunday: Job 8am-6pm, group therapy

I add in other details like phone numbers, addresses, and birthdays in their designated areas of the planner. I also fill out the information about me. I set my notebooks and new pens in a bottom drawer. I set my planner in one of the top drawers and pull out a piece of paper.

Dear Tom,

First I would like to say thank you for the money you left me. You didn't have to but again thank you so much. I honestly expected to never hear from you again, so I was surprised when the lady told me you'd be back. You were pretty pissed. I mean you didn't even say goodbye, you just walked out of the room. I'm really sorry for the way I acted. I can't say that it'll never happen again but I promise I'm working to be better. I was so upset over Damon's newest letter that I completely forgot about mentioning he's a lying sack of shit. It's nice to have another person I can write since I can't contact my parents and I'm too afraid to write Gunter. Betty"

After a bit of doodling on the cover of one of the notebooks, Sarah knocks on my door.

"Hey, Betty."

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"The laundry is done already?"

She laughs as we walk down the hall.

"Not yet no. I wanted to eat lunch together!"

"Oh. Sure I guess."

She claps her hands excitedly.

"Have you checked out the café already?"

"No, I actually just got a card yesterday."

"Oh, can we go? Please! It's so much quieter and we can get to know each other!"

I grit my teeth and force a smile.

"Of course Sarah."

We head into the café and it seems so much nicer than the cafeteria, not too overboard. I get a half sandwich and fries with a slice of chocolate cake and an iced green tea. Sarah grabs a salad and an orange. We sit down and she starts off the conversation.

"So Betty, tell me about yourself? How'd you end up here? How long do you got?"

I choke down my bite of food and wipe my mouth.

"Well, I have about a year."

She stares at me wide-eyed.

"Jesus! What did you do?!"

"I drove my car while drunk and crashed it. I almost killed my friend, he's paralyzed from the waist down."

"Holy shit dude. Damn, and I thought getting sent here because my brother found a needle and syringe in my room was bad. No offense though, it's just crazy."

I sip my iced green tea.

"Yeah. Well."

Sensing the tension, Sarah decides to switch topics.

"What'd you do before you got into trouble?"

"I was in a heavy metal band. Blood on the Sword."

She makes a face and I laugh.

"Yeah. For a long time, it was Ravenge. I started it with my best friends. I was the lead singer, Damon is bass, Gunther is lead guitar and Tom was drums. We did okay, but not as well as I liked. So I brought in Freddy. He became lead singer, I moved to drums and Tom moved to keyboard. Tom felt out of place in the band after a bit so he left. Freddy somehow convinced me to change the name. Gunther is the one I almost killed. We had a better following after Freddy joined the band, even with the stupid name we got a better following. Freddy kicked me out of the band once I got here. Now they're signed to a label and just looking for a drummer. I'm proud of them but at the same time, it really sucks that I'm not a part of it. Like really, really sucks."

"Wow, your life is insane. I've met plenty of celebrities before but you by far have the craziest life I've ever heard. Well. For a normal person. Definitely heard some crazier things from minor and major celebrities. But wow your life is wild."

I just nod and finish up eating.

"So what about you?"

"Well. I'm just your basic everyday addict. I was in my older brother's house after promising to stay clean for the countless time. He came into my room while I was out and found a syringe and needle and now I'm here. He told me if I didn't stay clean this time he would be done with me."

"What about your parents?"

"They gave up on me a long time ago. What about yours?"

I frown.

"Well, they've thought Satan has possessed me since I turned 18. When I got here all they did was blame Damon for turning their precious daughter into a monster. And Damon is my best friend. So I got a little angry and stabbed my dad in the hand with a pen in Damon's defense. They got a restraining order from me."

She nearly drops the last bite of her salad.

"That's insane! I mean kind of fair on your parents but your dad got what was coming to him. Was your family religious?"

I sigh as we stand up to throw away our trash.

"Very. I wasn't ever allowed to cut my hair. Long skirts, dresses, long sleeve shirts. If you saw me before I was 18, you'd never be able to recognize me."

We leave the café and head down to the laundry area.

"What changed?"

"I met Damon and realized how great it is to be your own person and set your own rules. I wanted to be free. Now there's nothing wrong with religion or being religious. I just couldn't have my own voice with my parents. I followed what my parents said, had to and if I didn't it was horrible. Damon's parents had a talk with my parents and tried to keep him away from me. Everyone was convinced that my friendship with Damon was the reason I had these new ideas and thoughts. But really I had them the entire time, I was just too scared and nervous to voice them out. The guys took me out for my 18th birthday and everything changed after that. I came home with short hair, rocker clothes, and a tattoo. My parents immediately kicked me out and blessed their house with their priest. You'd think I'm over exaggerating but I'm not."

"Wow, you'd have a great origin story if you were still in a band."

I shrug.

"Maybe I'll do solo stuff when I get out of here. But that's a while from now and by then I might have different goals."

We reach the basement and being filling our carts with the baskets full of clean laundry. One of the other workers comes up to us.

"Ladies. Which one of you is going to deliver the kitchen linen to them?"

Sarah looks at the ground and I internally sigh.

"I can do it."

"You are?"

"Betty Morris."

"Alright. Thank you, Betty. I'll let them know that you'll be up there with their towels."

I smile and begin pushing my cart with Sarah behind me.

"Thanks, Betty. I hate going into the kitchen past dinner. I owe you one!"

With that, she sets her cart in the direction of the men's dorms and rushes off. Knowing I have nothing to do tomorrow at all, I take my time delivering the clean laundry to the other residents. I drop my stuff off in my room and grab Tom's letter. I head into the cafeteria with the big load of dish towels and go towards the back where the kitchen is.

"Hello? It's Betty Morris with the laundry."

An Irish accent fills the kitchen.

"Thank you, dear. Just place it on the counter there."

"Okay. Have a good night ma'am."

I set the tub on one of the counters and leave the kitchen. Quickly I head to the front desk. The nurse is just packing up.

"Wait! Is it too later to give you this?"

She smiles.

"Take a breath, honey. I'll put it in the mail on my way out. It just won't be sent until tomorrow."

"That's fine. Thank you so much."