Serena walked into the lobby and towards the main desk. Chills ran up her spine. She wasn't so sure she could do this. You wanted change, Serena. Well, ya got it. She told herself. A short frumpy woman with glasses perched on the tip of her nose sat behind the desk.
"Can I help you?" The woman asked without taking her eyes off the magazine she was flipping through.
"Um, I'm Serena DiMarco. I'm supposed to be checking in today." She bit her bottom lip after she stopped speaking. A nervous habit she adopted ever since she was 5 and didn't want to attend her first day of first grade.
The woman looked up from her magazine and smiled. "Ahh yes. We've been expecting you." She typed a few things into the computer and then stood. "Grab your bags and follow me."
Serena followed the woman into a small room. "I'm Peggy by the way. Take a seat over there." Serena nodded and did as she was told. Peggy picked up one of Serena's bags and unzipped it.
"Uhhh, do you mind?" Serena asked, slightly annoyed. Why was she going through her things?
"It's policy, sorry. I have to take everything that you could use to hurt yourself or anyone else." She said as she held up her razor. "Don't worry, you'll get it all back when you leave."
Serena nodded and Peggy continued on her mission removing scissors, an eyelash curler, and a nail filer. Serena didn't really understand how one could hurt themself with a nail filer but she decided to let it go.
Peggy went through her last bag and pulled out a bottle of pills. She shook her head. "Hmm, pain killers. Definitely can't have these."
"I hurt my back in a car accedent." Serena informed her.
Peggy shrugged. "You'll have to live with the pain. Sorry, hun."
After Peggy was done going through Serena's bags she followed her as Peggy showed her around. "The cafeteria is through there. Dinner is served at 5 but stops at 6:30. Make sure to be on time because they won't open it back up after that. Beyond that is a small living area and beyond that is a hallway that all the counseling rooms are located. I'll have all your meetings set up for tomorrow and you can meet with your counselor. I will let you know about that later. So you can just hang out today and get comfortable. Ok, let me show you to your room."
They headed up a flight of stairs and into a very long hallway with rooms on each side. "There is a payphone at the end of the hall. You can use it once a day but only for 10 minutes. We do have a phone by the front desk for emergencies only. Um, what else? Oh! No sexual contact with any of the other patience and of course no substance abuse of any kind. Those two things will get you kicked out of here faster then you came in."
Peggy stopped infront of a door towards the end of the hall. "Here is your room." She opened the door and Serena followed her in. The room was fairly small. It had two beds, a dresser and a bathroom off to the side. A young skinny blonde lay on her stomach on the bed closer to the window reading a romance novel. She looked up and smiled. "Hey Peggy. Fresh meat?"
Peggy laughed. "Yup. Brooke, this is Serena DiMarco. She's your new roommate for the next 28 days." The blonde stood and extended her hand out. "I'm Brooke Campbell. Nice to meet you. You don't snore do you? My last roommate did and I could never sleep."
Serena shook her head. Peggy clapped her hands togther. "Well, I'll leave you two ladies to get acquainted. Brooke, help her settle in." Brooke nodded and Peggy turned and left the room. Serena layed all her bags down on the bed closest to the door and sat down.
"So, what's your drug of choice?" Brooke asked as she sat indian style on her bed. Serena looked over at her. "Huh?"
Brooke giggled. "Well, this is rehab. What are ya in for?" Serena bit her lip. "I, uh, I drink." Brooke nodded and raised her right hand in the air. "Same here. Plus some other stuff but mostly alcohol." Her hand quickly ran through her short blonde hair.
Serena sighed and stood. "Anywhere to get cigarettes around here?" She asked.
"There's a tiny store down that path right by the lake." Brooke said, pointing out the window. "They sell cigarettes, chips, soda. A whole mess of stuff." "Cool. Ya wanna go take a walk with me?" Serena asked. Brooke smiled and stood. "Sure. Then I can introduce you to some other people."
Serena smiled although she wasn't all that up for meeting anyone. "Ok." She said as she picked up her purse and followed Brooke out the door.
Lyrics from "Turn off the light" by Nelly Furtado
