The days pass uneventfully, and Friday arrives. Andrew wakes up and gets out of bed, with a smile on his face.
[The day is finally here! I'll be allowed to go to Clifftell, and Periwinkle too, though I'd like someone to join me. I wonder what has changed.]
He takes a shower, dresses up, and brushes his teeth. He doesn't use gel anymore, and just lets his hair, which has curled a bit over the last weeks, fall onto his shoulders.
[I prefer this over the style I used in school. Hopefully someone still recognizes me.]
He chuckles at that thought. Joyful and almost skipping, he exits his room and heads to the cafeteria. He looks inside, but to his surprise, no one is present.
[It's about nine, they should be here. Maybe they were early and already left?]
He continues down the hallway and heads for the recreational area. The doors are closed and the windows in the doors are blocked off with sheets. He holds his hand on the doorknob, but hesitates to open it.
[Could it be a surprise party? That's way too wishful thinking. Maybe there's just construction going on, but I would've been told if that were the case. Really? A surprise party? A party for me getting expelled? Maybe it's someone else's birthday, that's possible.]
He opens the door. Stretched over the far side of the room, and attached to both walls, hangs a large banner.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR EXPULSION
[So it really is…]
He looks around the room. A round table is settled on the right side of the room, where the couches are. All the couches are circled around the table, and on the table are packaged boxes: presents. Andrew is in complete awe. Mike, Chris, Joe and Wilhelm are all there, together with Helen and Robert. A few other nurses and doctors are looking into the recreational area from the administrator office on the left. Everyone is smiling, from big smiles to just slight grins.
"Come over here, Andrew!" Helen exclaims.
Andrew walks over and sits down at the only empty chair left. The chair is quite soft, and he slowly sinks into it.
[I wish I had a chair like this in my room.]
"Congratulations, Andrew!" They all say unanimously. Andrew is startled by the sudden exclaim of all his friends, but he quickly laughs it off.
"You didn't… really have to do this." Andrew says, while holding his hand on the back of his head. "Just saying I was expelled would've…"
"No, I don't think so." Helen interrupts. Andrew looks at her.
"I never realised the impact it had, when I left Mike." She continues. "So, we decided to throw you a party, to make your stay here a fun time to remember."
"But… what if I want to stay here?" Andrew replies.
"I'll get back to you on that later." Helen says. "You can start if you want, Robert and I will get some drinks and muffins." She says. Helen and Robert get up and walk to the staff room.
[Why does it feel like they're in such a hurry? There should be no reason to hurry, or I'm unaware of something. Probably the latter.]
Mike leans in and grabs two presents from the stack.
"Here, Andrew." Mike says. "The four of us got you two presents, because I don't expect you to be a presents person."
"Well, you're right about that, and thank you, all of you." Andrew replies, as he takes the two presents from Mike's hands.
[There's four presents in total. One of which is really small, maybe a notebook. The other one, I'm not sure, I can't link it to anything I know, except just a rectangular box. From these, one of them is most likely a book, and I'm not sure about the other again. I'll open the book first.]
He carefully opens the present, only unsticking the adhesive tape and not ripping any of the paper. It is indeed a book, but there's no title or front page, just the author's name.
He flips it over, but the backside is empty too. The cover is a plain beige colour.
"You might be confused, but it's an intriguing book." Mike explains. "I read through the first chapters a little, and thought you would like it."
The others nod to agree with Mike.
"So, what's it about?" Andrew asks.
[I actually have no idea what to expect.]
"If I were to tell you now, it'll ruin it. It's something you have to find out yourself, and I thought you'd like something thought-provoking." Mike says.
"Well, thank you all so much." Andrew replies. "I'll definitely give it a read once I find the time for it."
[It's quite thick too, so finding that time will be difficult. Let's open the second one. It looks like a book too, but it's got a weird bump on top.]
He starts opening the second present. Helen and Robert return with drinks and muffins, and they hand them out to everyone. Andrew opens it from the top, and it reveals a small pen.
[Oh, I think I already know.]
He opens it further, and it reveals a notebook, with a pen and extra ink attached on the back of it. The notebook cover is light blue, and a dark blue string can be used to bookmark a page. He briefly skims through it. And then places it back on the table, next to the other book.
"While it's another book-related present, we still thought this would fit you." Chris starts. "You can write whatever happens in there, which is also a good way to relieve some stress when you need to."
"Thank you, and I'll most likely use it for that." Andrew replies.
"Once it's full, be sure to send it here!" Wilhelm suddenly adds. "We'd like to read all the stories you're gonna make in your life."
"Only if you want to, of course." Chris says.
"But, only if you want to." Wilhelm adds to his own sentence.
"It's fine." Andrew laughs. "I might actually do that, if I ever return."
[Or ever even leave, that is.]
"Well, onto our presents." Helen says. "They're both more like utensils than actual presents, but I think you can appreciate it."
[Why is she in such a hurry? Is it almost lunch time? No, it's a quarter past ten, so it can't be.]
"I'll start with this one." Andrew picks up the small package from the table, and opens it.
"It's a card, of some sorts?" Andrew sounds confused.
"It's your own Forb card!" Helen responds excitedly. "So you'll be able to go around cities throughout England, at least for a year."
"Well, thank you, I appreciate it."
Robert briefly excuses himself, and leaves the cafeteria, without it bothering anyone.
[But when would I use it? I don't plan on travelling through all of England anytime soon. Maybe if I go back to school I could use it, but I don't know when that'll be.]
Andrew places the card on the table, next to the other presents.
"Well, time for the final one!" Helen exclaims.
Andrew doesn't reach out for the present. Mike notices and sighs.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" He asks.
Helen hesitates before answering.
"You being a bit suspicious about it, Helen, so I expected this." Mike says. "Let's just say it's your fifth present, Andrew. But it happens at a specific time, and Helen wants to be on time."
Andrew nods, and reaches out for the last, or second to last present.
[Something for a specific time? What does he mean? And, given everyone's lack of response, I'm the only one unaware. Robert left just now, could that have something to do with it? He left towards my room, so I'd say he's setting something up in there. I didn't really pay attention when I woke up, so maybe something has already changed, and I just didn't notice.]
He's done unwrapping the present, revealing a white case with a see-through plastic sheet on top. The screen of a phone is visible through the plastic.
"It's one of the 'retro' designs they had, but Mike and Chris didn't even recognize it." Helen explains. "I hope it's close to what you had, and that you can get the hang of it easily."
"Thank you… so much." Andrew responds.
[What else do I respond? It sounds so bland when I say it.]
"My pleasure." Helen says. "There's a note on the underside, with my phone number on it."
Andrew turns the box around, and the top of the case almost falls off, but he catches it in time. He opens it up and tries turning on the phone. He looks around the room.
[I need an outlet. The first time I need one, now that I think about it.]
He finds and outlet close to the table, and plugs the charger in. He finds the charger hole and plugs the phone in, after which it turns on.
[Luckily it isn't one of those wireless ones. The earbuds seem to be wireless, but I probably won't use them anyway.]
"Sorry for being so quiet, I don't have anything to say." Andrew tells them.
"It's fine." Helen says. She gets a message on her phone. "I'll be right back." She gets up and exits the recreational area, the same way Robert exited. Andrew follows her with his eyes. He looks in that direction for a while, before Joe taps him on the shoulder.
Andrew turns around, and Joe points at his new phone.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Let's get it set up." Andrew says.
Everyone curiously watches as Andrew is personalizing the phone. Right before he is done, they hear the opening sequence of the exit gate of the Garden.
[Someone is entering there? I thought there was a different entrance for visitors. Or another patient just took a walk, but I didn't notice anyone leave.]
He can't see who it is through the thick glass, so he continues on his phone. He finishes setting it up, and adds Helen's number, just as she comes rushing back out the hallway.
"None of us have phones." Chris says. "So if you need us, you can call Helen."
The doorbell rings. Helen speeds towards the door. Robert enters the recreational area with a cart with cases and boxes on it. He plants it near the wall.
[Wait, isn't that my box? With all my stuff? I got the letters in my pocket, but everything else was in my room. So could it be that I'm leaving? I don't remember hearing about that, but with that secret fifth present, it makes sense.]
Andrew stands up and slowly walks towards the exit. Helen can be heard talking to someone, and she opens the door between her and Andrew. Andrew stops. Helen walks past him, and she guides an older woman into the room. The woman has curling chestnut hair, with greying parts on both sides. She wears rectangular glasses, large earrings with small crystals in them, and she carries a handbag. Small wrinkles are visible. A dark green dress covers her black pantyhose from the knee and upwards. Even through all of this, Andrew still recognizes her.
"It's been such a long time, Andrew." She says. The tone of her voice is still the same.
"Melissa."
He looks at her, blankly. Her expression makes it seem like she is forcing herself to smile. Robert passes Melissa with the cart, and goes outside.
"Let us go after him." Helen says. Melissa immediately exits after that, and everyone else follows behind.
[Am I really… going home? Do I want to? I wasn't even able to say goodbye to my room.]
Robert loads all the boxes in a small truck. There aren't a lot of them, but they are too much to carry for a single person. The small truck is from a moving company.
"You should have everything else on you, and here." Helen passes him the presents, in a bag.
"Sorry everything had to be so rushed, but we weren't able to arrange it later. I also didn't expect you to wake up so late today." Helen adds.
[So now it's my fault. I just wanted to give my goodbyes to my room, at least a little longer than this. I don't like this. I don't like anything this unexpected.]
"You didn't tell him?" Melissa says.
"No, I wanted it to be-"
"He doesn't like surprises." Melissa interrupts Helen. "But I guess it has already happened, so it doesn't matter anymore."
Helen is startled, as she doesn't get interrupted often. She turns towards Andrew.
"Well, we had a lot of fun together. I don't know what else to say, sorry."
[We're parting so suddenly. I have to accept it, but this… I didn't expect to leave today.]
"It's fine." Andrew says.
"You say that a lot." Helen replies. She leans in and they give each other a hug. Helen sheds a tear, and Andrew wipes it off her cheek.
"Be sure to visit use someday." Helen says. "With your friends and family too."
"I will." Andrew nods and says compliantly.
He gives strong handshakes to Mike, Chris and Wilhelm, and Joe gives him a hug.
"See you all soon." Andrew says.
[All of this is going way too fast, but I guess it is my fault. If I'd woken up earlier… I would've been able to give proper goodbyes. I will keep them in my heart, all their kindness, stories, fun games. All the time spent together.]
Andrew walks out of the Garden, together with Melissa. He waves back at Helen, Mike, Chris, Joe and Wilhelm, and they all wave back.
[Good luck with your next patient, Helen.]
The gate starts creaking, and another tear falls down Helen's face. A tear of regret.
Regret for such an apathetic send off.