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| "She was trapped inside of her own body at craft time at the psych ward" |
“AHH”, Betty screamed. What she was really thinking was “I’m not mental! I just can’t get the words out. I don’t belong in this psych ward!”
As Betty tried to express herself, she got more and more frustrated and began kicking her feet. These actions were definitely not helping her prove her case.
The caregiver and Betty proceeded, against Betty’s will, to craft time in the bleak and bare gymnasium, two halls down from Betty’s single square room. The psych ward was newer. It had been built in 2005, yet the floors remained unpolished day in and day out, and the drab atmosphere of the building made it seem fifty years old. The cinderblock walls of the gymnasium kept it cold, dingy and unventilated.
As Betty entered the room she saw that, like every 4pm craft time, large, scratched wooden tables were placed in a semi-circle facing the dusty stage at the front of the room. Faded blue flat mats were lying underneath the tables with footprints of the people sitting above in the chairs. Every other chair had a desperate, hopeless, and seemingly non-existent soul inhabiting an unkempt body. Three long florescent tube lights beamed down upon the group of people. The higher part of the gym walls had a row of five windows which let in a limited amount of sunlight. Even though the windows were so high up on the wall, they were barred with thick metal that had been painted white. Sadness lingered in the air here.
As Betty was guided past the three tall men who were guarding the two large wooden doors at the entrance, she saw that on every table in front of each individual was a row of an egg carton, two googly eyes and five brightly coloured pom poms. “This craft again?!”, Betty thought, “Who do they think we are? This is unbelievable. I mean, homemade caterpillars...”. But nothing came out but some jumbled noises and a few shrieks. One tall guard from the entrance came to assist Betty’s caregiver, and firmly took hold of Betty’s shoulders, trying to calm her down. “This is outrageous!”, Betty shrieked in her mind. She was trapped inside of her own body at craft time at the psych ward.
I really enjoyed your "Craft time at the Psych Ward"! You were so detailed as to how Betty was frustrated and angry! I feel bad for Betty, the poor girl! No wonder why she is in there, to everyone else she is just screaming and yelling but to herself she is completely normal, pretty good reason to be in that psych ward!
ReplyDeleteWow, your attention to all the detail made me feel like I was right there walking beside Betty. The words you used really put clear images in my mind of what you were describing. It was effortless for me to picture the setting since your writing did it for me. Thanks for a good read!
ReplyDeleteThis was really fun to read and its flowed nicely as you read along. Your description of the setting was great and you could really understand why Betty felt so frustrated. And the title also draws you in; very unique.
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ReplyDeleteI love how descriptive your writing is! I felt not only like I was in the psych ward, but I felt like I was also in Betty's body. Your description of her emotions was very compelling and I loved that you did the whole "show, don't tell" thing at the end with the caregiver.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you are going to get this but is this about Betty Penner died June 13, 2008. She was my grandma and I am trying to find surviving family. Please contact me if you are family.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you are going to get this but is this about Betty Penner died June 13, 2008. She was my grandma and I am trying to find surviving family. Please contact me if you are family.
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