“I’m not sure that’s going to work,” he said, scrupulously looking her over.

“What?” She asked the male stranger sitting in one of the white chairs next to her.

“Sitting in a meditative pose like that, with your legs crossed and your palm up.” He stated, in a very matter of fact tone, still assessing every last detail about her.

“Why not?” She asked, now shifting her gaze from the white wall in front of her to meet his eyes. You noticed me calmly sitting this way,” she said, impressed with herself that her plan had worked. She was, after all, aware that she was being observed.

“For starters,” he replied, “You had your hands folded in the praying position fifteen minutes ago. The doctors are going to think you’re one confused little girl, sitting in here praying, then being a yogi in your meditative pose.”

“You noticed that too?” She asked him, slightly smiling, happy she had someone to communicate with.

“You mean in between that woman over there, hitting her head against the glass window, and the old woman pissing her pants in the corner?” He asked. “Yeah, I noticed.”

“She has dementia,” she told him.

“How do you know?” He asked skeptically.

“I tried talking to her,” she said, still sitting in a meditative position. “My first tactic upon entering this room was to appear to be friendly, but my conversation with the elderly woman didn’t get very far, seeing as she told me her name three times in the span of three minutes. So, I did what any sensible girl in this unfortunate position would do and resorted to a prayerful position, but that didn’t seem to work either. So now, as you can see, I’m meditating.”

“Girl,” he said, smiling at her. “I ain’t just seen you over there praying and then turning into a damn yogi. I saw you walking around this damn room, cleaning up after everybody about an hour ago. Was that your cleaning lady stunt?”

“It’s rather messy in here,” she said, turning her attention away from him and looking forward again, toward the white wall in front of her, trying to resume her contemplative meditation. “And also, the police officer thanked me for it. He said he didn’t think I belonged in here, which will likely be the nicest thing anyone says to me in this room.”

“I’d stop cleaning if I were you,” he shared. “It doesn’t matter what you do in this room,” he told her. “They’re going to tell you that you have to go to the hospital, even if you are picking up after people.”

“How do you know?” She asked him, looking around the room, noticing the complete chaos around them. Of course, she wasn’t just referring to the empty cracker packages scattered on the floor but some of the people, as well.

“This is my second time here,” he said, looking around and taking inventory of the people around them. “Trust me. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“Why?” She asked, her tact thrown out the window as she looked the young man over, noticing that he was impeccably dressed and well-groomed, not to mention the most sane person in the room, aside from her.

“This is my second DUI,” he said. “The first time they brought me here for an evaluation, and they sent me to the hospital. This time, they did the same thing.”

She looked down at her palms, still facing upward, her thumbs and middle fingers touching. At first, she had been calm and still because she was certain the horror she was enduring in that room, with one woman repeatedly hitting her head against a glass window, one elderly woman publicly pissing her pants in the corner, and one woman bursting into random rants every twenty minutes, would soon end. Now, however, her stillness was the result of her paralyzing fear.

“Elizabeth,” she heard her name called and looked up to see a handsome doctor standing before her. “I’d like to speak with you. Can you follow me?” He asked.

“Of course,” she politely replied, and she stood to follow him out of chaotic room.

“See you on the inside,” the man said. “Oh,” he added, “if you don’t have drugs in your system, ask them to take a blood sample. You might want that documentation later.”

She looked at him, noticing his bloodshot eyes for the first time.

“Thanks,” she said, slowly walking behind the doctor, completely perplexed, her mind now reeling. All she could think about, walking down the hospital hall donning stark white walls, with floors covered in white tile, was how moments ago, she had felt in control, as zen like as possible, given the situation. Now, however, she felt like Alice, roaming around Wonderland, uncertain as to what was around the corner but grateful, knowing she had one person that would be waiting for her “on the inside.”