T4

“Is the doctor done talking to you?” Maggie asked as Tommy re-entered the jungle waiting room.

“I guess.”

“Fantastic, Dr. Marshall is a good man, I think you’ll like him.”

“He seemed okay, I guess.”

“You guess a lot don’t you Tommy?”

“Umm, guess so.” Tommy grinned a shy little smile. Maggie knew immediately that Tommy was a good kid; she’d been doing this long enough to know. “The doc said you’d take me to my room and stuff. And, like, tell me all the rules and stuff.”

“A guesser and a stuffer. Alright Tommy, follow me and I’ll show you around a bit. Let me know if we’re going too fast, or if you have any questions. Okay?”

Tommy stood and waited.

“Okay Tommy?”

“Um, yeah, okay.”

“I just want to make sure we’re on the same page here. You have a lot of questions going on in your head, and you’re better off asking me now.”

Maggie looked young, but Tommy had no idea how old she could be. She looked young enough to be one of the kids in the clinic, but she was obviously older.

She led him out of the waiting room and into a long sterile hall. “Okay, so the rules are pretty simple. We are going to do our best to respect you. That’s the motto of the entire staff; we are all about respecting other people. And we expect, we expect, the same from you, okay Tommy?”

“Okay.”

“Good, I’m going to hold you to that. But I think you’ll be just fine. Now one of the things about respect that needs to be understood, we are going to respect who you are, but you still need to follow the rules. We have a pretty tight schedule here, and we expect you to stick to it. Breakfast is at 7:30 in the cafeteria down here.” Maggie pointed down a hallway as they passed, without slowing down. “School starts at 9:30, which is probably a little later than you are used to. Don’t think that being in here means that you don’t have to study anymore. You have class until one, so it’s a shorter day but we pack a full education in there.”

Tommy shuffled behind her, wondering if he’d be able to find the cafeteria in the morning.

“You are responsible for keeping yourself and your room orderly. You are going to be working with Dr. Marshall, who like I said is a good man. He’s helped a lot of people Tommy, so I’d suggest you listen to him. He’s been a great friend to me over the years.”

Maggie stopped abruptly and turned around to face the kid. She looked at his face and detected only a slight amount of fear. She knew Tommy was scared, they all were. But he seemed to accept where he was, and was obviously adept at hiding his emotions.

“Have you ever lived in a dormitory, Tommy?”

“Umm, not really, no.”

“Always lived with your folks?”

“Yeah, where else would I live?”

“Oh we have students from all walks of life Tommy. Foster homes, some people just off the streets. Remember when I said that we’re all about respect here Tommy? People here have been through lots of things, and you need to try and understand where they are coming from. Okay, down this hall,” she pointed to the left, “this is where you are going to stay. This counter right here will always have someone available if you need anything. “

Tommy looked first at the nursing station, and then back at Maggie. He wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to do. He looked at her for instructions.

Maggie pulled up her sleeves and showed Tommy her wrists. She had scars on both arms, three vertical lines about 3 inches long from the palm of her hand up her wrists. Around the scars were tattoos of stitches.

“I got these scars from when I was having a rough time as a kid. Stuff happened and I didn’t know how to deal with it. Later on, when I was still too young to know better, I got these tattoos so that I’d always remember.”

Tommy didn’t know what to say, which was answer enough for Maggie.

“You don’t need to understand all of this Tommy, and I’m not showing these to make you nervous. But I want you to know about me so you are prepared for everyone else here. Everyone is here for a reason, and they are all different. Some people are in pretty bad shape and need help. If you try to accept and understand them it’ll help. If you judge them, or you judge me, you’ll be making a big mistake. This place can be overwhelming, just take it slow.” Maggie didn’t like giving speeches, but sometimes she just got going. Tommy wasn’t fighting back like some of the other kids, so she let loose. “And everyone here can get better, I know from experience.”

“It’s going to be hard being away from home with all of these new people. We understand that, and we are going to be sensitive to it. But I need you to do the best you can. Can you do that for me Tommy?”

“Okay.”

“You promise you’ll try?”

“Promise.”

“I’m going to hold you to your promise Tommy. Are you good for it?”

“That’s what promises are for.”

Maggie smiled, the kid had showed some spunk, albeit meekly. Gotta have at least a little heart to make it in here she thought, he at least showed he’s got some.  He's going to need that sense of humor.

“Good, this is your room.”

Tommy looked into the room like he was afraid to intrude on someone else. It had white walls and floors, with a small metal bed. It looked clean. It looked sterile. It was oddly intimidating.

“I know it doesn’t look like much, but you’ll be able to do some decorating later on. There is a shared bathroom down the hall, over there, to the left. Remember the counter back down the hall? We’re going to go back there to get you some sheets, and then I’ll introduce you to some of the staff.”

Tommy looked in the room again, trying to find some way to make it feel like home.

“Tommy?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s going to be alright. This can be a good place, even though it may not feel like it now.”

“Maggie?”

“Yes Tommy.”

“Did you stay here, when you got…” and he pointed to her wrists.

“No, but looking back I wish I had a place like this when I got these. You never know, maybe I wouldn’t have these scars now. You just never know.”

“Okay.”

Maggie looked at him straight in the eye, and Tommy didn’t flinch.

“C’mon, let’s get your stuff and get you all situated. Did they tell you that you get to wear a uniform?”