``Waking Up In Vegas; Kirsten

[Sarah Richards]

Imagine a Place Where Dreams Lead the Way
Where All the Colours Fade the Grey

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The bright sunlight entering the small white painted room Sarah sat, flicking her black pen between her fingers while constantly hitting the small booklets in front of her with it, creating small black specks on the left side of the half empty booklet full of empty paper. She was glad that she was given a chance to work as a counsellor at Michigan State, she knew she wasn't particularly experienced at this kind of job because she had only left university after studying biology and psychology a few months ago. She thought she would take forever to find a related job but was more then happy when she found that an older counsellor had retired and that there was an open job vacancy, she went for it straight away and found that she was given the job, she couldn't have been more happy. She finds some inmates hard to deal with at times but she knows that she will get used to it and being the soft and gentle soul she is knows that she will have become tougher with some of the more stubborn inmates, the ones that think they're all attitude but really all the need is a hug.

Standing up quickly and pushing her chair back from her desk she walked over to the tall file cabinet, filled with inmates files that she would aim to help out. She had yet to look through all of the files so she only knew a select few of the inmates she would be helping. The last one she looked through was only roughly ten minutes ago because she knew that they were her next inmate to help out, Kirsten Barker. Sarah thought she was just a misunderstood young woman like most inmates. She did realise that most of them had issues and illness that would have to be treated and helped through but she knew that some just reflected authority and just wanted attention, she would love to understand why they feel like this. She is probably one of the most enthusiastic counsellors about Psychology at Michigan.

Sarah was looking forward to meeting up with Kirsten, she wanted to really get to know her like she did with most of her inmates, she liked to be their friend rather than appear as a counsellor, she knew that if she was too or over authorative then some inmates would be reluctant to talk to her and she would hate for an inmate to feel like they can't say anything to her, she promises to keep everything confidential. Looking over at the clock she noticed that kirsten was later but she wasn't that bothered, most inmates were late because they were often being persuaded to go by other members of staff. Kirsten sounded like an interesting inmate to her so she was happy to wait until she came.

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STATUS // finished
TAGS // Kirsten
WORDS // 477
LYRICS // violet skies, in this moment
CREDIT // this superfantastical template was made by ZOESTOLEYOURCAT of caution !

[Kirsten Elle Barker]

When Kirsten woke up this morning, she realized she had been in this place far longer than she wished to. She spent the morning grabbing food at the cafeteria - if it could really be called food - and going on the slow computer in the cell she shared with a couple of other girls who she really hadn't talked to. She had been to upset to. When the guard had come to get her and take her to her first day of counciling, she had objected whole heartedly.
"Leave me the hell alone!" Those were the first words to leave her mouth. She wasn't in the mood for what they called "counciling" and what Kirsten called "torture." So she had stolen a freaking car. So what? People don't go to phsychiatric hospitals for that kind of stupid stuff. She certainly did not need counciling.
At first, the guard and nurse had tried to calmly convince her to come with her, but Kirsten's stubborn nature wouldn't budge her. She wasn't going. Then the nurse signaled for the guard to use force. Her grabbed her wrist and started pulling on her arm. Kirsten resisted with all of her might, but the guard seemed to be made of stone. In the end, she kicked him in his soft spot. The man went down immediately.
Kirsten ran like her life depended on it, and to her it did. She didn't want to be stuck here at all. She started looking for the exit, but she didn't get very far. Several guards saw her and caught her. Five guards carried her all the way to the door to counciling and set her down. She looked at the door blankly. There was no way she was opening it. The nurse glared at her before opening it herself. But if they thought she was just going to waltz in they were rong there.
Finally, she was pushed in and the door was locked and closed behind her. She glared at the door for a moment before looking at the lady in the room. As usual, the first thing Kirsten looked out was outfit, but there wasn't much. It was just the same nurse uniform they all wore, but she was pretty. Not that that mattered much.
"If you think I'm going to talk about my problems, you're totally rong," Kirsten announced. She plopped down on one of the chairs in front of the desk. Might as well make herself comftorable. "If you really want to know about me, then I'll tell you this. I absolutely hate authority, and I don't belong here. Well, that's two things, but I think you get the point, hmm?"
Kirsten twirled a piece of her white blond hair with her finger and unleashed the full power of her eyes on this so called councillor. This session wasn't going to go so easy if she could help it.

[Sarah Richards]

Imagine a Place Where Dreams Lead the Way
Where All the Colours Fade the Grey

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Bringing Kisten's file to her desk she sat down and began to flick through it again. Sarah thought she wasn't exactly the most traumatic of inmates, she didn't have any illness or anything of the sort, just a bad attitude. Sometimes Sarah wondered why they sent people like her to Michigan State, they really just needed a week in a jail cell to scare them straight, not to come to an institution for troubled teenagers with mental illness' and problems but if they wanted her to sort them out then she would have to because it was a part of her job so she wouldn't argue with the standards. Most people think she's a soft touch because of her sweet appearance and she can be a soft touch when she wants to but when it comes to inmates who think they are so big and think that they bigger than they are she won't really stand for any of it. She loves to help inmates that actually have problems but inmates that just have a bad attitude she won't stand for. She will try to be a firm with them as any other inmate but she would try to do it subtlety.

As she continued to read Kirsten's file she became more perplexed, she didn't see why this girl wasn't just set to prison for a while but maybe because she was underage they had sent her here instead, it might scare her straight about being in an asylum like place but it also may convince her that she got off lightly, there's nothing mentally wrong with her yet there are others who actually need help because of their illness', maybe she will think herself lucky and straighten up. Hearing people outside her office, she looked up and closed Kirsten's file over, wondering what was going on. The last thing she wanted to do was get up and check it out though, she didn't want to become involved in anything that she didn't need to be and she had enough to do and look over, she knew she would be busy over the next couple of weeks, just until she settles in and gets used to everything and everybody.

Hearing her door open she realised it must be Kirsten coming to see her, she wasn't particularly the most psychological of patients to work her way around but she would try her best with her, if it works first time or not. Unsure of what to make of Kirsten when she entered the room and watching her walk over to sit in front of her, her attitude radiated from her and Sarah felt a little sympathetic towards her. There was really no reason why she would have such an attitude, Sarah couldn't understand kids with an attitude problems most of the time but she would get to the bottom of it. "Who said that you have problems?" Sarah asked quickly, not all inmates came to counselling to talk about problems. Some just came because they wanted somebody to talk to. "Nobody has "problems" Sarah continued "It's just that some people are special" she mused. "Kirsten right? tell me anything you want, I don't judge, so go on. Tell me anything you want. Anything annoying you besides the obvious? made any friends yet?" Sarah thought she would through a couple of questions out to see if Kirsten would start talking about something, anything would be good.

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STATUS // finished
TAGS // Kirsten
WORDS // 582
LYRICS // violet skies, in this moment
CREDIT // this superfantastical template was made by ZOESTOLEYOURCAT of caution !

[Kirsten Elle Barker]

Kirsten looked at her skeptically. She smirked thinking it very funny that the lady thought she was going to actually talk her feelings out.
"Special? I'm not special," she spat. "And anyways lady, why do you care? If I rant about random stuff, what is that going to do for you?" Kirsten asked, mockingly. She leaned forward and put her elbows on the desk and her chin in her hands. "Let's face it. You don't care about me. You don't even know me. There is no reason for me to be here and you know, I'd rather be in prison than in this room with you. Apparently, the judge and my parents thought that I should be here. I don't really think you want to be my," she laughed once, "councilor. So, how about I leave now and get out of your hair and you get out of mine?"
Kirsten was still smiling as she finished but she was a big ball of hurt inside. She knew adults well and this was usually their emotions. S little girl who was only a bother to them and annoyed the hell out of them. It was the same emotions her parents had for her. She didn't want this. Right now, she wanted to scream, to cry, to hit something. She wanted to run and ger out of this damn place. Seeing a councilor was just stupid. She wasn't psycho. She was a little depressed but only because they had forced her here and because of her parents. But why should she tell this 'councilor?' It wasn't any of her business. All authority should just butt out of other's problems. Go get their own.
She sighed and looked at - What was her name? On her name tag it said councilor Richards - expectantly. She would give an answer wouldn't she? Kirsten was interested to hear it.

OCC: sorry its short

[Sarah Richards]

Imagine a Place Where Dreams Lead the Way
Where All the Colours Fade the Grey

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Sarah really wanted to know what made Kirsten tick, why she thought the way she did and why she felt that she had to put on an attitude in front of others. She knows that an attitude is only a person's way of expressing themselves in a territorial manner, it's just a hypothetical construct that represents a person's like or dislike for something in an aggressive way. Attitudes are subject to experiences and from reading Kirsten's file she could understand why she had an attitude on her if she had to make herself independent from a young age and from what she did and try to defend herself and others. It was only natural to try to get herself out of a place like this but Sarah knew she would try her hardest to get through to her, as a counsellor or a friend. Sarah doesn't like much that the inmates think of her as somebody with authority, she isn't much older than half of the inmates here and she likes to try to talk to them as a friend, make friends with them. That way it's easier to talk to each other.

Sarah didn't know really where to begin, it was more a guess on how to help the inmates. They were all different and with different problems and it wasn't something she could look up in a textbook and get the answer for, she would just have to try to reach out to her and hope for the best and she knew that first impressions weren't all they were said to be. She didn't want Kirsten to say anything she didn't want to, she was willing to talk about anything, anything at all and it wouldn't bother her. It would to nice to just chat with her, get to know her before she tries to analyse her before writing up reports, it can be dehumanising to just analyse a person without knowing them, without knowing the reasons behind the analysis. Sarah claims she often thinks too much and thinks to skeptically about things, that's just the way she works.

She felt a little surprised at Kirsten's outburst, she didn't expect her to do or say anything if she was going to be so stubborn about coming here. "Right. Okay, okay. So you're not special? you don't like people to think highly of you? you'd rather them think they can walk over you? you don't seem like a pushover to me, Kirsten" Sarah knew the way to deal with inmates like her was to twist their words and get through to them with attempted reverse psychology but it didn't always work or it ended up in them going into a mood because they knew she was right in a way that they wouldn't admit, she would make them face reality. "and I didn't say I didn't care, but if you don't want me to care then I won't. Is that what you want.... for nobody to ever care about you because there are and will be plenty of people who care about you. Oh and im sure you'd rather be in prison, it is rather depressing in here, huh?" she asked with a small smirk. Sarah was yet to talk to an inmate that had yet to say the opposite. "If you really don't want to be here then why did you come? you walked in here yourself so there must be a part of you that just wants to talk" Sarah was trying to get through to her but she didn't know if it was working though. "So tell me anyway, what kind of things do you like? music...tv... sports? Sarah asked as she put her pen down on the desk and sat up, matching Kirsten's position on the table by placing her chin in her hands and her elbows on the desk.

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STATUS // finished
TAGS // Kirsten
WORDS // 654
LYRICS // violet skies, in this moment
CREDIT // this superfantastical template was made by ZOESTOLEYOURCAT of caution !

[Kirsten Elle Barker]

Kirsten was thoroughly annoyed. Why did these people think they were helping her? All they did was make her angry. She didn't want to talk about anything with this lady. She leaned back into her chair and glared at the councilor. She wanted to scream, leave me alone! She had no intention of making friends with authority no matter how much they tried. What was the point? They all hated her in the end. She had a trust issue with people and she wasn't about to believe someone cared after all this time. No, she didn't have that luxury of being blind to someone's true nature. Everyone hated, no matter what they said. They just used at thick facade to hide it all. That was the way people were, especially adults. They used their disguises to trick children and manipulate them. Kirsten knew. This was how life went, especially hers. She wasn't about to fall into an adult's trap a second time. She wouldn't believe Ms. Richards no matter how much she insisted she was here to help. That wasn't possible.
Kirsten was pissed when this know-it-all councilor kept giving her all of these smart ass answers. She didn't understand at all. Why was she trying to drive Kirsten into a corner? She didn't need that. Was this what they called trying to help? It really wasn't working. She shook her head absentmindedly. The counsilors were the ones that needed help.

"Right. Okay, okay. So you're not special? you don't like people to think highly of you? you'd rather them think they can walk over you? you don't seem like a pushover to me, Kirsten"

Kirsten laughed a sweet short laugh. "Ms. Richards, 'special' isn't thinking highly of a person at all. My parents called me 'special' all the time and they never meant it in a good way," she retorted quietly, tapping her fingers randomly on the desk.

"and I didn't say I didn't care, but if you don't want me to care then I won't. Is that what you want.... for nobody to ever care about you because there are and will be plenty of people who care about you. Oh and im sure you'd rather be in prison, it is rather depressing in here, huh?"

"You didn't have to say anything. I already knew. I can read people up, down, frontwards and backwards. You're just like everyone else. It's not that I don't want people to care and it's not that I want them to care. It's just that nobody does and nobody will. That's just how it goes in this life." Kirsten's eyes narrowed at Ms. Richard's remark about prison but said nothing. She did agree with that comment whole heartedly but she wasn't going to tell the counsilor that. Why should she?

"If you really don't want to be here then why did you come? you walked in here yourself so there must be a part of you that just wants to talk"

Kirsten frowned. "You think I came here willingly. Does police arrest mean anything to you? I was forced to come here by a judge and my parents. I tried to run as soon as I got here but this damned place is crawling with guards and I got caught. I don't want to talk to you or anybody else. I don't need a councilor!" She stopped tapping on the desk and crossed her arms stubbornly,

"So tell me anyway, what kind of things do you like? music...tv... sports?"

"I don't want to answer that and I don't feel obliged to so I'm not. I can tell you one thing I don't like though. And that's this place." Kirsten looked at the wall to the right, an angry expression on her face. She was still striking while angry, but angry wasn't a fun time for her. This councelling was supposed to help but it only made her angry. She sighed once. What a long day.

[Sarah Richards]

Imagine a Place Where Dreams Lead the Way
Where All the Colours Fade the Grey

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Sarah couldn't understand why Kirsten was being so stubborn, if she started to talk and it could be about anything then she would get out of this place faster than she knew but the longer she refused to say anything then she would stay here longer like some of the inmates, some have been here for months on end when they could have been released earlier. She didn't like that the inmates always thought if her as authority, as a counsellor. She couldn't understand why they wouldn't talk to her. She knew that if she wasn't a counsellor then they would probably love to talk to her but the fact that she has to analyse their words probably makes them reluctant to talk because nobody wants to be treated as a name or a number, she knows that the inmates want to be treated like a person and not just something to analyse. Even she knew that wasn't fair.

She would always try to stay ahead of her inmates that she was assigned to, never would she let them get the better of her no matter how hard they tried. She might look like a soft touch but Sarah will not stand for these type of inmates but there was something that told her that this wasn't Kirsten's fault that she had this type of attitude so she would try to go easy on her and empathise with her. She would try to get to Kirsten's level and talk to her in that way, she found that if you talked to an inmate at their level rather than trying to seem better than them then maybe they would talk because they thought you were thinking what they were. She used to be a teenager too so she knows what this is all like, how you can feel like the world is out to get you and that you feel like everybody is watching and judging you. She just wishes that the inmates would see through the fact that she was a member of staff and think of her as a person that could get them out of here faster than normal. The more reports she wrote on them and marked their progress as getting better then they would be considered to leave the institution but she could never share that information as it would elevate the reason to talk to them.

Wishing that Kirsten would even smile or something, be happy for a change. Every time she had seen her around the institution she had always looked like she did just now as she sat in front of her. "First of all Kirsten, call me Sarah. I hate all the Miss Richards stuff.....and about your parents, don't think that. They might seem like the don't "like" you at times but that's only because of your behaviour, but deep down they do love you Kirsten. They have to, they're your parents and nothing will change that, okay?" Sarah knew that Kirsten knew that her parents still loved her, every child know their parents love them just that they can seem a little angry if you don't behave in a way that they think is acceptable. "You can read people any way, huh?" Sarah asked, smiling across to Kirsten "Go on then, what am I thinking right now then?" she asked, trying to play smart. "and people do care, Kirsten. You're just too stubborn to accept it. You know that people want to care... you don't let them in because you're scared you'll get hurt by it or that you'll hurt them, right? I know how it feels and you can't say I don't because I do, okay?" Sarah just wanted to get through to Kirsten but she was finding it a little difficult but she would try her tough love approach, she didn't know how it would work out. "You still cam Kirsten, if you had fought security off enough you would've ended in isolation, so obviously you would've rather be here. Might as well make the time worth while" she muttered casually, sitting back up in her chair. "Nobody said you needed a counsellor, honey. Listen, the quicker you say stuff to me the quicker you might get outta here but don't tell anybody I told you that"

All she was trying to do was get to know Kirsten, find what makes her tick and how to get to her level but this was annoying her. The other inmates she had spoken too were only happy to chat to her, sometimes. She got it out of them eventually. "of course you don't have to answer it but i'd like to know what kinda things you like, you never know. I might like the same things. I know you don't like it here and neither do the others, you're not alone Kirsten. Have you talked to any other kids about this? you might find they feel the same way as you and maybe you could let them help you through it? Talk to somebody that's been here a while, you might find yourself lucky"

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STATUS // finished
TAGS // Kirsten
WORDS // 870
LYRICS // violet skies, in this moment
CREDIT // this superfantastical template was made by ZOESTOLEYOURCAT of caution !

[Kirsten Elle Barker]

Kirsten knew Sarah was trying her best to get through to her but she wasn't allowing it. She was too upset. She didn't think that she had an attitude. She was just being her natural self. It was how she was. She didn't believe talking to this psycho lady would get her any nearer to getting out of Michigan State. It didn't seem likely. She would find another way out of this crazy house and already had a few ideas so Sarah’s warning didn’t really fulfill its intended purpose. This councilor was trying to lure her into talking by giving her sassy remarks that only made Kirsten think that Sarah was even more annoying than she first thought. She sighed at the end of Sarah’s big speech. The woman talked quite a lot. Kirsten was getting tired of her voice. She looked around the room like she wasn’t interested at all.
Oddly enough, Sarah thought that by just talking about something Kirsten liked might make her more comfortable which was totally wrong because Kirsten liked things that most girls didn’t like. She was more of a tomboy and finding something in common with her was hard work. She knew it as she had been separated from most girls in her school although she was still popular as the brave girl. Most girls kept their distance and she was considered one of the boys. Her friend count was small but her popularity was different. People found it hard to relate to Kirsten so she gave up on having many friends. If Sarah thought she could get close to Kirsten or make her open her heart, then she was wrong. This fact was only emphasized by her obvious trust issue with everyone she met. Everyone hated her and no one cared.

"First of all Kirsten, call me Sarah. I hate all the Miss Richards stuff.....and about your parents, don't think that. They might seem like they don't "like" you at times but that's only because of your behavior, but deep down they do love you Kirsten. They have to, they're your parents and nothing will change that, okay?"

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It didn’t matter what she called her councilor. “I agree that they’re my parents, and sadly I can not change that no matter how much I want to. But they do hate me Sarah. She smirked as she added her name at the end.

"Go on then, what am I thinking right now then?"

Kirsten’s smirk turned into a glare. “That I am one troublesome patient who should just open up already. I’m afraid that I won’t that easily, though. You haven’t made me trust you. I’m only thoroughly annoyed.” Her glare intensified, her ghostly blue eyes making it even odder.

"And people do care, Kirsten. You're just too stubborn to accept it. You know that people want to care... you don't let them in because you're scared you'll get hurt by it or that you'll hurt them, right? I know how it feels and you can't say I don't because I do, okay?"

Kirsten shook her head lightly. “Call it stubbornness or whatever I know people don’t care about me and I’m not scared I’ll get hurt. I won’t be hurt because I’m already expecting it Sarah. You have no right to tell me what I can and can’t say. You have no idea what I am feeling because you are not me. Have you ever been locked up in a crazy house? I think not.”

"You still can Kirsten, if you had fought security off enough you would've ended in isolation, so obviously you would've rather be here. Might as well make the time worth while."

“You are so wrong it’s not even funny,” Kirsten answered, her eyes narrowed. “I would rather be in my cell than either place but since that wasn’t an option I am stuck here. I don’t want to make my time here “worth while,” thank you very much.”

"Nobody said you needed a counselor, honey. Listen, the quicker you say stuff to me the quicker you might get out of here but don't tell anybody I told you that."

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“You’re right, I don’t need one,” she agreed, grinning for the first time since entering the room. “But I’m not going to have some girl talk with you ‘honey.’”

"Of course you don't have to answer it but I'd like to know what kinda things you like, you never know. I might like the same things. I know you don't like it here and neither do the others, you're not alone Kirsten. Have you talked to any other kids about this? You might find they feel the same way as you and maybe you could let them help you through it? Talk to somebody that's been here a while. You might find yourself lucky."

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Her grin turned back into the old glare. “Or we might not like the same things. I don’t intend to find out. Yes, I am alone because even if I talk to them, they’ll hate me the same way everyone else does. I appreciate your advice, but I don’t need it.”

Words: 864
Notes: Wow, that's waaay longer than I thought it would be! XD