Like many of the children, Mariah loved attention. She craved it, sought it in any way she could. If the focus wasn't on her, she did whatever it took to seize the spotlight, from screaming to belching to crying.
Once, she complained of a headache and begged for a bag of ice for her forehead. When the staff ignored her, she began screaming, "I need a bag of ice! I'm about to faint because of the pain!" Instead of a bag of ice, however, she earned a trip to the calming room, an area where out-of-control kids were placed until they usually did one of the following: 1) calmed down, 2) escalated until they became violent and had to be physically restrained on the floor, or 3) escalated until they were placed into the electromagnetically locked "seclusion room" until they calmed down.
Mariah wept and complained uneventfully until she calmed down.
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Another time, Mariah complained of being possessed by a demon. So, a couple of the staff took her to her room and left her there alone. A loud commotion soon emanated from her room, so I went to check on her. I found her thrashing about on her bed and screaming wildly; when she paused for a moment and saw me, she escalated her undulations and shrieks. I simply stood in her doorway and watched the performance.
Gradually, other kids gathered around me to observe the show too. It went on for a couple of minutes until Mariah wore herself out. She stopped and then looked up at us, evidently caught off guard that such a big crowd had gathered to witness her dramatic display. I started clapping, and the rest of the audience joined in to give Mariah a rigorous standing ovation. Her face turned ruddy and she smiled sheepishly, and for the rest of the day her behavior was rather good.
***
Mariah never again was possessed by a demon during her time on the RTU. Who knew that social humiliation was so effective at exorcising demons?
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© 2007 David Lee Cummings
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