INTERVIEW

"Can you see or hear anything right now that nobody else can see or hear?"

I glance quickly at the red devil gazing at me from over the psychiatrist's shoulder.

"No." She writes in her notebook.

"Have you had any thoughts of hurting yourself or others?"

"I've had thoughts about hurting myself, but I don't have a plan."

"And of others?"

"None." It was true. I shifted anxiously in my seat. The hard blue plastic chair was a little too small for me.

"Have you had difficulty taking pleasure in things you normally enjoy?"

"I've been writing in my notebook, and I think I've liked that." It was hard to tell. It was hard to remember what I'd done most days.

The psychiatrist adjusted her thick glasses, and turned the page in her notebook. "Have you had any dreams that mirrored an event that happened after you woke up within the last week?"

"No." I wasn't really lying. The new girl had cut herself in my dream. I saw her sharpening the handle of a toothbrush against the edge of a table in the day room this morning. I don't think anyone else noticed.

"Do you like my outfit today?" The red devil asked.

"It's very pretty." The psychiatrist must have wanted to look nice today.

"What's very pretty?" She asked.

"Your outfit. I like your top. Where'd you get it?"

"It was a gift."

"From your boyfriend John?"

Her mouth tightened. "Yes. Did you dream about that?"

I think so. "I don't know if I did".

"Okay, I think we can finish this session."

I leave her office.