For Zach, the rest of the day was rather uneventful. After all, there really wasn't much to do in his room - the hospital didn't even let him bring anything other than the bare necessities. At least one of the nurses brought him tea, though. She was a silver-lining in this hellhole. The sky was getting dark outside, but it'd only been an hour or two since he'd been here, and he was already bored out of his mind. Zach's time in the evening was mostly spent pacing back and forth, absentmindedly arranging anything that seemed out of place, here and there. If every day was going to be like this, he really didn't know how he was going to survive. To an average person, it might've seemed like an overreaction, but he was already contemplating injuring himself just to bring the nurses running. Zach didn't even care about the pain that it would cause him, and the unsightly scars that would surface in the weeks to follow. All he cared about was staying at the forefront of everybody's minds. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could hurt himself with in the room. The windows were covered with a heavy, iron grate, and the edges of the bedframe were dull. They even banned shoes with laces, for fear of the patients hanging themselves. Truth be told, though, all of this seemed utterly unnecessary. The last thing Zach wanted to do was kill himself, in fact, he was terrified of death. But in all seventeen years of his life, nothing he did got him more attention than self-harm did.

In the end, all that plotting Zach did was all for naught, as not long after, he felt the tendrils of dreamland creeping up on him. The thin mattress was in no way comfortable, but still, it wasn't too bad. One could fall asleep anywhere if they truly were tired. The stark, white walls of his room soon faded into a featureless black, as Zach fell into a deep slumber. And then, it was that dream again. He was in the middle of a field of crisp, green grass, and the spring breeze kissed his skin. In the distance, he could hear a waterfall. The chirping of birds grew louder and louder before the scene in front of him changed. A grand dining table seemed to appear out of nowhere, with a feast fit for a king laid out atop of it. All manner of pastries and confectionery were served on platters of silver and gold, and it was so vivid that Zach could smell the comforting scent of warm tea. Everything was as it should be, except this time, he wasn't alone. Usually, he was the only one at the table in these dreams, but now, he could see vague silhouettes sitting there, as well. The more he stared at them, trying to make out the blurry shapes, the vaguer they became. The amorphous figures chatted amongst themselves, laughing and joking. Zach should've felt left out, but really, it was the strangest thing, they almost made him feel at home. As he bit into a buttered muffin, he remembered wishing that his consciousness didn't return.

Unfortunately, it [i]did[/i] return, as always, and Zach found himself tangled up in thin, cotton sheets. Sitting up in bed, he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. The clock hanging above the door indicated that it was already noon. Huh, he didn't remember the nurses waking him up. Maybe they just forgot about him. At the thought, a dark look crossed his eyes, but it disappeared almost as quickly when his stomach growled. It wasn't surprising, seeing that he hadn't eaten since god knows how long ago. The thought of hospital food churned his stomach, but still, he needed something to eat. Getting up, he wandered over to the door, finding that it already unlocked. Zach heaved a sigh of relief at this, he really didn't know what he was gonna do if he was locked in.

"Cafeteria... Cafeteria..." Zach mumbled to himself once he was in the corridor, looking around for any directions. He saw a few signs here and there, pointing to his destination, but simply following them wouldn't be any fun, would it? Flagging down a passing nurse, he flashed her an endearingly lopsided grin before he told her just how grateful he'd be if she showed him the way to the cafeteria. After all, poor ol' him had only been here for a day, and he was just helpless when it came to directions. Needless to say, his efforts were more than just effective, and Zach soon found himself right where he wanted to be. Hearing his stomach growl once again, he made a beeline straight for the food. He was curious as to what was on the menu, a wave of relief washing through him when he saw that there wasn't any "mystery meat" or anything of that liking. In the end, Zach settled on a turkey sandwich and a cup of tea. The tea wasn't any surprise, of course, as he snatched it up as soon as he saw that it was an available choice. With his tray of food in arm, he looked around for a seat. For about five minutes, he pinballed all over the place, chirping a cheery greeting to anyone and everyone. Most of them seemed rather good-natured, although some were a little dazed, unresponsive, and even violent. But he didn't mind, as long as everyone knew who he was, Zach was satisfied.

After his round of 'good afternoon's, Zach's gaze finally fell on a table in the corner. Three people were seated there, and it was starting to get pretty packed, but they seemed like an interesting bunch. One of them even had blue hair! Looking to the left and right, he began to bob and weave his way through the crowd and towards the table. He almost lost his balance a few times, nearly spilling his tea on someone, but thankfully, Zach managed to get to the table without incident.

"Hello! Mind if I join you guys?" It was more of a rhetorical question, than anything. Because Zach had already made himself comfortable when he asked it. Scooching over slightly so he wasn't uncomfortably close to anyone, he swept an inspecting glance over his lunchtime companions. The blue-haired girl and blondie seemed about his age, but the little brunette seated between them was clearly younger. If he had to guess, she had got to be no older than thirteen. None of them seemed terribly talkative though, much to his chagrin. No matter, he didn't need them to talk. All he needed them to do was listen. Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, however, the smallest of the trio wandered off. Zach's brow furrowed, unclear as to what she was doing, as he watched her approach someone. This time, it wasn't blue hair... it was purple. Christ, maybe [i]he[/i] should dye his hair once he got out of here. Red seemed like a good colour.

Turning back to the remaining two, Zach noticed the numerous scars lining the blue-haired girl's forearm. "Oh, hey! I have those, too." he declared, way too cheerily for what he just said. He hiked up the sleeve of his woollen sweater, revealing the smooth, raised scars on his own forearm. It wasn't typically something to be proud of, he knew, but he really couldn't help it. It was just something he had to do.