I  was in the library after school trying to come up with an idea for my creative writing class, it was my least favorite class even though I did enjoy writing it was just the teacher was a real jerk and refused to give out A's which I  knew I deserved.
I came across the article about the old hospital and it made me stop and think. The article said that some developer wanted to tear it down and build a mall, as a female I instantly thought "Cool another mall" then as I sat there thinking, and reading some more that I really did care what happened to the old place.
"Miss T?" I   approached the library aide
"Yes Kenna" she never could get my name right
"Do you have any more information about the old psyche ward that was located just outside town?"
"Do you mean Gentry Hall?" she smiled as I made a face
"Yes although why they named it that I will never know. It sounds like the name for a College Dorm" she heard a male snort behind her and knew whoever it was he was trying not to laugh.
I turned around and saw Mitch Andrews. He was a senior and he was wanted by every single girl on campus. I   had talked to him once or twice because they had lockers near each other but it was nothing major.
"Oh hey Mitch" I wanted to sound cool but could not think of anything to say other than "Hey"
"They called it that because Phillip Gentry built it and named it after himself"
"But why call it Hall?" I really did not understand the reasoning behind it
"I guess it was better than calling it "Gentry Psyche ward" he laughed as I could not help but giggle
"So why the sudden interest in that old place?" he made the question sound casual but I could sense something behind the question
"I am really not sure, I was looking up something to use for this paper that I have due and I came across it" I sat there thinking trying to figure out why it bugged me so much
"The one about the developers?"
"Yes that is the one" I paused again then continued "I guess the reason I am so interested in it is that thousands of people were kept there and nobody seems interested in telling their side of it. I mean if you stop to think about it, the developers are only interested in tearing it down and building a mall, the historical society is only worried about it because it was one of the first solid buildings in the town in fact the hospital was the reason the town was even built. The plain and simple fact is the people are the forgotten ones, they are the ones who lived and died there. They were mistreated and abused and when they died they were forgotten or simply stuck in the ground with nobody to morn them" I did not realize how passionate I was about the topic until I stopped speaking and saw a look of shock on his face
"Oh sorry" I said as I   blushed as I realized I got kind of loud
"It is okay Kenzie" the aide told her with a smile
Mitch smiled at her "I know that not only were men and women kept there but kids as well. The conditions in which they were kept were deplorable and the doctors and nurses for the most part just did not care."
"It was bad."  I stopped talking for a minute to take the books that the aide had placed on the desk
"Come sit with me I have read about that place before and would love to talk to you about it" he led the way to a table that was away from everyone.
"So you said it was for paper?"
"Yes for my creative writing class the teacher wants us to write a fiction story and while I normally have no trouble coming up with an idea this time I just can't think of any so I thought I would roam around in here trying to come up with one."
"Why all the trouble this time?" he looked really interested
"Well the teacher refuses to give out A's and even though he has said that my work is A material he still refuses to give me an A and I am determined to make him give me one"
"Mr. Collins right?" he smiled at the look of shock on my face
"Yes how did you know? He said that he has only given one student A's and that student was not in this year"
"I know and it was bloody damn hard to get that man to crack"
"He gave YOU the A?"
"Yep last year and he hated it but I earned it and he could not deny that"
"Is this the big semester grade on "Yea 50% of the semester and its due after spring break” I sighed
"One way to ruin spring vacation right?"
"Yep" I really did not know what to say to him. My sister had told me that while he was hot he was rude and that I should just walk away if he tried to talk to me but I had a feeling that Kristen was interested in him and he did not give her the time of day.
They got talking and time passed. I suddenly looked up realizing that the library was empty and kind of dark as though the lights were being turned off for a reason. I  glanced down at my watch and realized  I  had missed that last late bus that would take me home, now my  only choice was to walk or call my  mom. Neither choice was inviting.
"Damn" I said as I stood up quickly
"What?"
"I missed the last late bus and now I either have to walk or call my mom and she will probably be mad that she has to stop making dinner" I  sighed picking up my purse looking for change
"I can drive you home no problem"
He led me to his car and I told him how to get there and it seemed that barely any time had gone when he was pulling into my driveway next to my dad's car.
I   expected him to wait for me   to get out then speed off but instead he got out of the car and then opened my door for me
"I will walk you to your door, after all it was half   my fault you are late" he stopped walking for   a minute "How do you get to school in the am?"
"Either the bus, my mom or walk why?"
"Well I can pick you up if you want that way you can avoid all options"
"Ok sounds good"
"I will check with your mom after all it is only proper"
As they approached the door I   could hear someone yelling and cursing and knew it was Kristen.
"You are about to meet my sister Kristen" I   smiled   as he   grimaced
"I take it you have met her before"
"Yes I have and she is not really happy with me"
"Yet you still talk to me?" she giggled
"Of course why would I not?" he smiled at her and   she felt her heart skip a beat.
Kristen stalked passed them and then my   mom came into view "Hey Mac I was about to call out the national guard for you. You said you were stopping by the library but I did not expect you to check this out" she looked Mitch over as though he was a new book or something
"I am sorry Ma'am it’s my fault we got to talking and lost track of time I am truly sorry" he shook her hand and I could tell that she was impressed
"That is okay it happens I am only glad she was with a true gentleman"
"Would you find it acceptable if I picked her up in the morning so you did not have to worry?"
"That would be fine." she smiled again and walked back down the hall
 I turned around and saw that he was close to the door which was still standing open and I grabbed pen and paper that was sitting on the small table near the hall and I quickly wrote something down.
"Here is my number in case you want to call in the morning"
"Good idea, here is mine and its   private line so you do not need to worry about bothering anyone"
"My number is my own phone as well so it’s okay if you call whenever. My room is at the back of the house so it does not disturb anyone else" I smiled as our hands brushed against each other.
"I will give you those books in the morning" he paused as though he wanted to say something else but then he just walked away.
My   sister came home soon after he left and was still in a foul mood so I decided that I was not hungry and went to my room to do some research on the hospital. Not really knowing what information Mitch had I   felt like doing something.
I  got some information off the internet, the buildings used to be connected by a central area where the patients would enter and guests would do the same that way there was less chance of losing anyone who was supposed to be there. The different wings would house  different types of patients such as the younger ones were kept in one area, the females and males were also kept apart then they had one area for those who committed crimes.
At first it was run by those who really cared then budget cuts caused cuts in staff and cuts in the care that the patients received.
After that the article I   was reading just went on to talk about the troubles that the place had after the budget cuts and it mentioned that one of the wings were burnt to ground after a bolt of lightning hit the building but only two people survived, the nurse and the orderly who were there, all the patients died   but nobody could figure out why they did not get out of their rooms.
 I   turned off her computer determined to try to find out why they were not able to escape and then I just sat there for a while just trying to figure out what happened. She was not sure how long she sat there but suddenly my phone rang scaring me half to death.
"Hello?" I knew I sounded out of breath but that was because I actually fell out of my chair when it rang.
"Mackenzie?" I heard a male voice say and for a minute I had no idea who was calling me
"Yes"
"Hey its Mitch, are you okay?"
"Oh yea I was sitting here thinking and the phone scared me and I well I kind of fell out of my chair” I laughed knowing how stupid that sounded
"I am sorry I did not mean to scare you" he sounded so upset that I   felt bad I said anything
"It's okay so what's up?"
"Oh I called because I was wondering what you were doing on Friday night?"
"I have nothing planned why?"  I was stunned it seemed like he was going to ask me out
"After I dropped you off I contacted the owners of Gentry hall and asked them if we could go and check out the site where the hospital was and they said that it was fine we could stay there as long as we liked so are you interested?"
"Hell ye I am"   I   nearly screamed
"Cool right after school we will head over there, as long as it is okay with your parents that is and I will be sure to feed you" he laughed
"Sounds good to me" I   could not help smiling
"Awesome I will see you in the morning" they talked for a few more minutes as it seemed like neither one of them wanted to hang up the phone.
The next morning I got up and was getting ready to go when my mom knocked on the door and asked me   if everything was okay and then she told me that she heard me talking in my sleep about the doors being locked and that I was not able to get out of the room and I was afraid that the nurse gave her friends too much medication and they were still asleep.
"Mom I do not recall anything like that" I was shocked since normally I recalled my dreams "Oh mom on Friday can I go out with Mitch?"
"Depends on where you are going and when?"
"After school and to the old Gentry hall and he did say that he would be sure to feed me" I laughed
"Sounds good to me” my mom smiled and we walked into the kitchen and to my dismay there sat Kristen with Mitch who looked very unhappy.
"Well look who I found outside our door about to knock" she smiled like a cat who just ate a canary
"Good Morning Mackenzie" he smiled at her over his coffee cup
"We call her Mac since she is such a dude" she smiled meanly
"That is not too nice Kristen" her mom looked at her sister and that shut her up fast
"Mitch, Mac was just telling me about Friday I think it’s great and as long as you feed her its fine" she smiled and grabbed a cup of coffee and left the room
"Yes you must feed her as she is a pig"
"On that note we should get going" he stood up and    started towards the door.
As we   got outside I looked at him and told him that if he was no longer interested in taking me to school it was okay. He told me   that he was not mad at me just the way Kristen treated me.
"She is not used to not getting what she wants and normally guys fall all over her and I am pretty much ignored so it’s not a big deal"
“But that makes no sense to me after all you are better looking than she is and a lot nicer too”
“Yea and I am a monkey’s uncle” she laughed thinking he was just being nice
“I am quite serious.” He looked upset as we drove the rest of the way to school and all I could think was “Damn I really put my foot into this one” I am just not used to guy being that way with me.  Kristen was skinny and blonde and all the things guys seemed to want. I was short and heavy and had mousy brown hair so most guys overlooked me and stared at her.
As we pulled into school and into a spot he turned off the car and got out without saying a word to me. As I got out of the car he handed me my backpack which we had put in the backseat and then he handed me a folded up note.
“Read this later okay?” he smiled at me and I nodded in agreement figuring it was a note telling me that while I was a nice person and all he was just not interested in me and was not going to pick me up on Friday.
My first period teacher was a bit late so I was able to open the note:
               Dear Mackenzie:
I am not used to doing this so I figured I would be better off writing you a letter in case you have the urge to laugh in my face.  I know we have not talked much but I am really interested in getting to know you better, you may have heard that I have not dated anyone since I moved here but that is only because there has only been one girl that I have been interested in and up until now I did not think I had a chance with her.
Before you go thinking that its Kristen it’s not!  You are the one I am interested in and have been interested in al freaking year and I have finally gotten the guts up to tell you. Even if you are not interested in me the same way I will still pick you up on Friday and maybe I can convince you that I am not all that bad. 
Just let me know
Mitch

 

I was stunned no guy had ever said anything to me like that and I am not sure how I was able to get through the rest period when all I could think of was “Oh my god he likes me” I did not get a chance to write him back.
I did not get to see him until lunch and as usual he was surrounded by girls and they were blocking my locker so I stood there for a little while until I could not take it anymore.
“Gee can ya move so I can get to my locker?”
“Oh look she wants to rush to lunch to feed her face”
“Well gee you not be more wrong I just want to put my stuff in my locker and find a guy to make out kind of like you and Bart yesterday”
“Well I am sure you could find someone to make out with in the looser hall” they all giggled like it was so funny
“Is that where you found your last boyfriend?” I asked her while I saw Mitch grinning from ear to ear
“Mitch can you believe how rude she is?” one of them gushed to him as he was trying so hard not to laugh
“Actually I think it’s funny” he said as they all stared at him
“Well” I said to my locker “handsome boy thinks I am funny”
“Yea he thinks you are funny looking” they walked away laughing
“Sorry did not mean to chase away your adoring fans” I smiled to let him know I was teasing
“It is fine with me been trying to get rid of them for a while” he looked down
“Oh I have not had a chance to reply and if I did I would say the feeling is mutual”
“So I have to pull out all the stops on Friday to impress you” he smiled as he reached out to take my hand
“I think you can impress me by simply being yourself” the late bell rang so we let go and I went to lunch and he went to his next class. I do not see him until the end of the day and by then I was full of nerves thinking that he may have changed his mind or else was just joking around with me so when I got to my locker I was stunned to see him standing there.
“Hey you” he said smiling as though he was happy to see me
“Hey yourself” I could not help but smile at him
“Well my lady can I drive you home?”
“If you call me your lady you can drive me anywhere” I could not believe that I said that
“Well that sounds like something we should discuss elsewhere” I glanced around and saw that many people were staring at us
“Good idea” and we left the building walking side by side
“Oh damn” I said as we pulled up to my house
“What’s up?”
“Kristen has her friends over and if I go into the house I will not be able to do anything but listen to them put me down and I am so not in the mood for that. Especially since my mom is not home” I sighed
“Then we will go to my house to talk.” He pulled away from the curb before anyone could see us.
When we got to his house he again opened the car door for me and led me to the front door, as he was about to open it he stopped.
“Listen there is something you should know about my family” he looked down “They are nuts, it’s my mom, brother, sister, dad and then there is Franklin”
“Franklin, is he a turtle?”
“Nope our family dog, he thinks he is one of the family and he must check everyone out as they enter he feels it’s his duty” he opened the door and this thing came flying out. I say thing because I was not sure what type of dog he was.
As the dog knocked me to the ground I was laughing my fool head off “I take it you are Franklin”  for some reason he did not look like a Franklin to me so I simply patted his head and said “from here on out you are Link” the dog simply woofed, licked my hand and wandered off.
“Ok he approves but why Link?” Mitch asked me
“Well since I am not sure what breed he is and when he had me on the ground and barked in my face his breath smelled like what I would think the missing link would smell like if he was found” Mitch started to laugh loudly
“Yo Mitch man keep it down I am talking to Brendon and you know how he is” a very handsome older guy came into my view and for some reason I was not attracted to him at all.
“Sorry Brad, Mackenzie just called the dog a nickname and I could not help laugh”
“Oh hey sorry I am Brad, Mitch’s older and more attractive brother” he looked me up and down
“Well I can see you are the older brother but more attractive...” I stopped and looked him over and then shook my head “Sorry can’t see the more attractive part”
“Man I do like her and what did she call the dog?”
“Link, as in missing link”
“Oh dude just what we call the dumb thing”
“You both know I really hate that name” an attractive older woman came from another room.
“Mom this is Mackenzie and she is the one who started it” Mitch laughed
“I am sorry but his breath is really rank”
“The dog or my son?” she arched an eyebrow at me and I knew she was teasing
“Well it was the dog who knocked me down not one of your sons so I guess I mean the dog”
“Give them time and they may”
“Bark in my face?” I giggled at the turn the conversation had taken
“She is dating Mitch mom so it is likely that both things will happen to her, now if she dated me” he gave me a look that I guess would turn most girls heads but I simply looked at him.
“Let’s see if I dated you then I would be stuck with second best and bad breath, no thanks I will pass” the look on his face was priceless
“Mom she turned me down” he looked at her as she simply stood there laughing.
“Would it be okay if I called my dad at work so he could let my mom know where I am? She was not home yet but I won’t call there in case Kristen is still there” I asked his mom
“Sure thing honey” she smiled as she gestured towards the phone on the desk “then why we will leave you two alone” she pushed his brother towards what I was guessing was the kitchen “Bradley here can help me with the dishes” I could hear him arguing with her and could not help but laugh.
“Hey dad” I said as he answered the phone
“What’s up Kenzie?” he was the only one in my family to call me that
“I am at Mitch’s house. Mom was not home and the queen bitch was there with her court so I stayed away. If mom calls can you let her know for me?”
“Sure thing honey are you eating dinner there?”
“Not sure but if I don’t then I will just grab something when I get home don’t worry I won’t be out too late I know tomorrow is a school night and I don’t have any homework” I giggled as he said “yes dear you know the whole routine don’t you?” and we hung up
“Wow your dad is really cool” Mitch looked impressed
“What do you mean?”
“Queen Bitch?”
“Yep my pet name for Kristen. He thinks it’s funny especially when she orders me around and I say “Yes your highness” he just cracks up
“That is cool. My dad is a bit strict but he is an okay guy” We went to