Call her fickle or depressed. Whatever. Since they didn't treat her sincerely, why should she bother responding?
"Stacey? Stacey. Come on. Let's get started. Stacey? Are you alright? Are you tired already?"
"Stacey, all these people came all this way for you. They came to visit you."
Trying to guilt trip her? Trying to force her to cooperate any way they could? Humph. They could keep trying.
"Stacey, you won't get better without therapy. The outcomes are poorer. You need to cooperate."
"Stacey, we're talking to you. Don't be rude. Look at us when we're speaking. This apathy is very unbecoming of you."
Stacey couldn't tell who was talking to her anymore. All the people had become blurred and all their voices sounded the same. They were just mocking her and trying to make her do what they wanted.
She clapped her hands to her ears and shook her head, trying to block and shake their voices away. She fought against the hands trying to pull her hands from her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Something is wrong. Stacey wouldn't normally act like this."
"What's wrong? Didn't Big Boss say she was fine at breakfast?"
"Call the nurse. Maybe she's uncomfortable or something?"
"I'm sure the nurses positioned her in the wheelchair properly. She's never behaved like this before."
All the noise was getting to her head. She wanted them to get out. To leave her alone. She didn't need all these judgemental eyes who thought they knew what she wanted better than she did and didn't care whether she agreed before. They were all liars. Just because she had never lost her temper before didn't mean that she didn't have one.
"Stacey, what's wrong?"
Oh listen to that concern. How sincere. It was just dripping with fakery.
"We can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong."
Oh, so now they wanted to hear her speak. Now they wanted her opinion.
Stacey could feel the pressure building from her abdomen up through her chest and neck to her head with a burst of heat.
"Get out! Leave me alone!" she exploded. "Go away! You're all fakes!"
All that came out of her mouth was shouted, garbled noise. Eyes opened or turned in her direction in surprise. People stiffened as they realised that she was angry. Their heads tilted to one side while they tried to figure out what she was so upset about.
"Calm down. Slow down, Stacey. We can't understand what you're saying like this."
Stacey didn't care. Her inability to clearly articulate anything at this moment only caused her temper to rise even further while she scolded all the people in the room, telling them exactly what she thought of them and their fake concern. They wanted to know what was wrong? She was telling them. Unfortunately they couldn't understand what she was saying, let alone herself.
Tears dripped off her chin and streamed down her cheeks. Her nose ran, clogging up her airways and making it hard for her to breathe. She wiped it all off on her sleeves and the backs of her hands, not caring how much like a child she must look. She didn't care what they thought of her anymore. They didn't. Why should she?
People came near to try and touch her and comfort her but she slapped or thrust their pretend concern away. She didn't want them. Didn't want to hear them. Didn't want to see them. She just wanted them gone.
Stacey shoved one person away with one hand and the wheeled lap table with the other. She heard the crash and splash of water.
Why wouldn't they just leave her alone? Why couldn't they understand? Why did she have to keep being attacked by problem after problem after problem? What was there for her to live for anymore?
She was never going home anyway. She'd never see her parents again. There was no escape.
Right now, it didn't matter if she called people names or scolded them. It didn't matter if she spoke her mind or not because they couldn't understand her anyway. And so, Stacey felt free to let all her emotions out.
The people made more noise and kept trying to hold her or touch her.
She didn't want to be held. She didn't want to be touched. She just wanted people to leave her alone.
Pointing at the door didn't help. People guessed almost everything but what she was trying to tell them as if they were enjoying ridiculing her in this way. As if it was a game. They smiled and laughed.
It wasn't funny. She wasn't joking around.
If they wouldn't get out, she'd chase them out. To cries of alarm, Stacey threw herself out of her wheelchair. She expected to hit the ground hard and feel the jarring pain. Unexpectedly, there was a blur of the Huo Guard uniform that filled her vision and slid beneath her. An 'oof' was heard from beneath her.
Arms wrapped around her to protect her body and head from touching the floor. Feeling restricted, Stacey hammered her fists at the chest on the floor under her and tried to break loose. She could see and feel people beginning to crowd around her again. They were hemming her in like a wild animal.
Her anger and frustration grew into a scream.
That seemed to frighten people. A doctor and nurses hurried into the room to see what was wrong, but Stacey just continued her scream. The same long, high pitched note to tell the world what she thought of it.
All the extra people were ushered out of the room and the person on the ground beneath her seemed to bark instructions. His chest rumbled.
Finally, finally, silence fell.