One of the groups of old women

Leanne decided that joining one of the groups might be more interesting. She was sure they had all kinds of stories about their lives they could tell her. Picking a group at random she took a seat next to them.

"Hi, I'm Leanne," she said with a friendly smile. The four old ladies suddenly became very quiet and seemed a little frosty at the sudden intrusion, causing Leanne to feel somewhat nervous at being outnumbered like this. However the young woman's pleasant manner soon helped the pensioners relax a little.

"You're very pretty, Leanne," declared the first old lady. "My husband would like you very much! I hope you don't try to steal him."

"Oh, don't worry." replied Leanne as she tried to stifle a giggle. "I'm sure he's perfectly happy with you. I'm probably a bit young for him anyway."

"He's got a big penis!" added a second resident, causing Leanne to become red with embarrassment.

"I'm sure he could teach you a few things with it too," continued a third. Leanne could sense her cheeks burning and was feeling very uncomfortable as she wondered if it was too late to change groups.

"Sooo..." she began, trying desperately to change the topic to something she was more at ease with. "What do you like to do for fun in here?" There were some nervous glances between the old women and Leanne was wondering what she'd said wrong.

"We're not really supposed to talk about," replied one of the old ladies after a long silence. No sooner had she spoke than one of her friends shot her a withering stare, causing the resident to hang her head in embarrassment.

"What she means is..." continued one of the others. "We do what we can to... look after ourselves in here. Maybe not everything seems 'normal' to you, but for us normal is something very different." Leanne was intrigued by this statement, however after the discomfiture that had followed her earlier attempts at conversation she wasn't sure if finding out more would be such a good idea. In any case, before anyone could say anything else they were interrupted.

"Good afternoon, ladies." Leanne looked up to see a young woman stood over the group. She was only a year or two older than Leanne with a cute and sweet appearance. Her attention turned to Leanne, giving her a quick glance over before greeting her with a warm smile. "Are you here to volunteer?"

"Yes." nodded Leanne enthusiastically, trying her friendly approach and hoping it would go down better than it had with the receptionist. "I just arrived."

"Hmm... Maybe today's not a good day," said the young woman thoughtfully, still giving Leanne the once over. "We can arrange another day for you to come and..."

"It's okay," replied Leanne swiftly. "I mean, I'm here now and everybody seems really lovely so far." She smiled at the young woman who surprisingly didn't return the gesture.

"We didn't tell her anything!" blurted out the old woman who had been admonished earlier, only to receive yet another harsh stare.

"I suppose today will be okay." The young woman quickly flicked though the clipboard of papers she holding. "Just make sure you visit lots of different residents. And don't stay too long with any of them. They get tired easily and may say some... strange things." The young woman glanced around the group of old women who all appeared to retreat back into themselves a little. "A lot of the residents are in their rooms now. All of the doors will be open, we don't lock them in case there's an emergency. If you need help just ask a member of staff. My name's Abbie. You can ask for me anywhere."

"Thanks, Abbie. I'm Leanne." With that brief introduction the young woman walked away leaving her alone with the group of old ladies once again. Leanne figured now was as good a time as any to leave the unnerving conversation so she made her excuses and rose to her feet. However before she could make her exit the first old lady grabbed her arm softly.

"If you want to come meet my husband, we're on the first floor. It's room 6." Leanne gave a polite smile and stepped away from the group. Free to explore.