Teres stared gloomily down at her phone as she sat in the back of the taxi as it whizzed along in the hot California sun, countless condos and high end apartments flying by as people milled up and down the streets and went about their day to day businesses - however she paid them no attention. She had her head buried in her hands now, dark mahogany hair spilling through her fingers as she kept her eyes tightly shut and applied pressure to her temples. Her head felt like it was splitting open and throbbing fiercely as she grimaced and endured the pain, opening and closing her eyes as she grasped at her head with her hands again in frustration. She had been wracked with headaches since she had started her medication and found it quite difficult to focus now, finding it took more than quite a bit of effort and concentration to do so. Despite this her mind was fixed solely on their destination, on the specialised care facility Ebott House and wondering what she was going to expect or endure there. She glanced at the slightly crumpled letter that sat atop her bag beside her on the back seat of the taxi, the ‘welcome’ letter that had told her what to bring and what not to bring had thus far been her only connection to the place, despite her many frantic and fruitless internet searches. 

She let her mind wander thinking about what the house would be like, what the staff would be like and of course, what the other residents would be like. ‘A safe and caring environment built specifically to help young people get back to a healthy place’ – that was what the letter had told her along with her schedule and what to expect. A small handout that had also come with the letter which confirmed a huge list of rules and guidelines, many of which would have she thought seemed obvious, but evidently not to everyone or so she assumed if they had to send them out to each ‘visitor’. Glancing at the list again she made a metal note to avoid causing any trouble, after all if they were used to dealing with kids who needed a ‘No drugs, alcohol or other unapproved substances’ rule to be reiterated along with a ‘strict three strike’ rule she was sure that she’d be the least troublesome patient to stay there by far, a thought that slightly worried her. The rest of the trip she spent moodily brooding over the unfairness of the whole situation, how ludicrous that it was that she supposedly had Dissociative identity disorder, one or more distinct alternate personalities residing within her, and the fact she was going to be forced to take countless drugs that would do who knew what to her system and treated like some kind of troublemaker. 

A few hours later the taxi driver grunted something as he pulled up in front of their destination, Teres eyes going to the building she would be calling home for the next two months. Her first thought was that it actually looked like quite a nice little building, some old looking Victorian thing with large windows and a wraparound porch and at least two if not more floors. With hardly a murmur of thanks she paid the driver once he’d lugged her suitcase from the trunk to the sidewalk for her and she stood gazing up at the building as he sped away. 

Moments later a woman emerged from the house, a somewhat large woman with long frizzy brown hair and a somewhat stern if not motherly face – her eyes fixed on Teres with an appraising gaze as she approached. With an internal sigh Teres smiled as happily as she could manage, though it was difficult as her head was still pounding and her hands now felt sweaty and clammy. Introductions were made swiftly and the woman showed her around Ebott House, pausing briefly to point out each area and add a bit of explanation about the rules or other things she would need to know, a few comments about the current housemates who she explained were on a day trip so she could settle in and meet them tomorrow. It was much of a blur, her head swimming - all in all her first impression of the place were much better than she thought they would be, the woman who had showed her around was one of the several maids that stayed there during the week and she had seemed nice enough. Before she knew it she had been shown each room and had been told the rules. Twice. She found herself sat up in the room that was now hers, or rather the room that she now had to share with the two other girls she had been told were currently staying at Ebott house. She kept throwing cautionary glances across the room at their possessions, hoping somehow she could gain some knowledge of what they would be like, resisting the brief urge to touch anything, instead she decided to unpack her own things and get better acquainted with her new surroundings and read through the small amount of literature she had been given to further reinforce the rules and her responsibilities whilst at the facility. 

Before she knew it she was slumped across the bed with her legs hanging off one side unceremoniously and her dark mahogany hair sprawled out as she softly began to snore, snoozing as the last rays of the evening sun were coming through the window and warming her.