CHAPTER 9

THE COUNSELLOR LOOKED NICE.

Her office was quaint too. Small, comfy. A plush gray carpet had been lain over the wooden floor, and against one wall was a small aquarium, filled with fish. On the walls, cute little paintings and a rather colorful calendar that’d been themed to match the seasons. Her desk was wide, made of mahogany—elegant looking, ornately designed. On the desk, a jar filled with pens and pencils; a notepad, left open; a nameplate that read Rebecca Goldham; and a pretty small rotating snowglobe.

There were two chairs on either end of the desk. In one, Ms. Goldham was sat, hands together, a welcoming smile on her face. In the other chair, Dang was asked to sit and rather politely too.

As he sat, he couldn’t help but feel a slight pressure settle onto him. Ms. Goldham seemed to notice this since she smiled even wider then and leaned in over the desk, her hands still intertwined. “It’s okay,” she said softly, her light blue eyes gleaming in a way that made her look almost angelic. The fact that the sunlight was dancing smoothly across her light blond hair only made her look even more otherworldly. “There’s no need to be tense. All I want is to talk, but only about the things you want to talk about. Is that okay?”

“So if I didn’t want to talk, I could just get up and leave right now?” Dang asked, raising one eyebrow over the other.

Goldham’s smile remained. “Yes,” she answered. “Although, I would be a little disappointed. I do like conversation, particularly with students like yourself.”

Dang’s eyebrows creased then. “What do you mean by that?” he queried, feeling a twitch in his left palm. “What do you mean by students like myself?”

“You have excellent grades,” Goldham said, pulling open a drawer on her desk then and producing a brown envelope that had Dang’s name written on it. “Consistent grades, and you perform well in co-curricular, also a track record of community service. You seem to be doing everything and doing it all just fine. If you ask me, that’s incredible. There’s not many your age who can show that sort of work ethic, or discipline.”

“It’s nothing special,” Dang replied. “Some stuff’s easier for me than it is for others. I suppose you could say I was born luckier.”

“So luck,” Goldham said, leaning back in her chair. “That’s your explanation? That everything you’ve done’s only been because of luck?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Well, what would you like to say then?” Goldham enquired, that welcoming, reassuring expression still on her face.

Dang opened his mouth to speak then paused, thinking for a moment. After a few seconds, the corners of his lips twitched, and then he smiled. Slowly, he leaned back in his chair. “You’re good,” he said.

Goldham smiled. “Thank you. But let’s focus on you, why don’t we?”

“What’s there to know about me that’s not already in that envelope?” Dang asked, gesturing to the envelope she’d brought out. “You know my grades, track record, all of it, right? What else could you want out of me?”

“A couple months ago, there were events that transpired, I suppose you could describe them as frightening, traumatic…more than anyone your age should ever have to live through. Do you still think about what happened?”

Dang’s eyes twitched then. “What?” he asked.

“Do you still think about what happened?” Goldham repeated. “During the attack on our world?”

“Something like that’s something most people would think about for quite some time, wouldn’t you say?” Dang asked. “I mean, it’s not every week that a hole’s ripped in the sky and a relentless army pours through to destroy your city, your home, everything in it. So yeah, I suppose I still do think about it, I think about what went wrong, and things that could have gone even worse, people I could have lost. But it doesn’t keep me up at night or anything. I suppose I just think about how lucky I was to have come out of it unscathed.”

“You’re a big fan of luck, aren’t you?” Goldham queried.

“Everyone needs a bit of it.” Dang shrugged. Then he leaned forward then. “Anyways, will that be all? Can I go now?”

“You seem in s hurry to leave,” Goldham spoke. “Is there perhaps something you’re trying to avoid speaking about?”

Dang snorted then. “Ms. Goldham, I’m a teenage highschooler…there’s a million things I’d like to avoid talking about and that you’d probably like to avoid knowing about. You’ve been a teenager once too so I’m sure you’ve an idea what I’m talking about. Do you really want to keep pushing? Do you want to see what’s inside the black box?”

Goldham nodded then. “Very well,” she said. “Thank you for coming in. You may go now.”

Dang nodded back at her and rose to his feet, and as he made his way out of her office, it was with a wide, toothed grin on his face.

***

Daniel went in to see the counsellor with a lollipop in his mouth, licking it rather loudly. When he took his seat, he grinned at her, revealing his tongue which had been stained purple with his lollipop. “Hey,” he greeted and then in a gravelly, unnatural tone, he added: “How you doing?”

“I’m doing great, Daniel Parker,” Goldham said. “How’re you doing?”

“Great,” Daniel replied, sticking the lollipop back into his mouth and getting comfy in his seat. “You’ve got a pretty nice office, you know. Snowglobe’s a nice touch, really accentuates your desk. And the aquarium? Nice.”

“You like aquariums?”

“Who doesn’t?” Daniel laughed. “Went to this seaworld thing a few years back and boy was it magnificent…maybe someday, you and I could go see it together.”

Goldham’s eyes went a little wide then. “Are you asking me out?”

“A few years in advance, yes.” Daniel nodded.

“That’s charming,” Goldham responded. “It’s also inappropriate.”

“Sweetest things in life are, hon,” Daniel responded, effecting the gravelly tone yet again. Then he leaned in over the desk, hands together and smiled. “Anyways, I hear you’d like to get to know me better, hon…so why don’t you ask whatever questions you have?”

“Very well,” Goldham said. “I’ve actually got just the one question: Do you always use attempts at humor or exaggerations of your playfulness as a mechanism to deflect all forms of discomfort, or any attempts at real connection?”

Daniel’s face went blank then, his smile vanishing at once. He leaned back in his seat, adjusting uncomfortably. He gulped. “Uhm, can I go now?”

***

Daedalus greeted Goldham stiffly as he went in and immediately took his seat, moving it closer to the desk.

“Daedalus,” Goldham said, greeting him with a gentle nod. “How are you doing today?”

“Fine.”

“And how do you feel about being in here?”

“Fine,” Daedalus said again, shrugging this time.

“I’d like to talk to you about a few things, is that alright?”

Daedalus shrugged again. “Sure.”

“You’re a boy of few words, aren’t you?”

“I suppose.”

“Do you consider yourself shy?”

“No.”

“Do you find it hard to socialize with others? To connect with them?”

“No.”

“Okay then,” Goldham exhaled loudly, as if to fill the awkward silence. “Well, then let’s talk about the invasion a couple months ago. Would you describe the events that transpired as traumatic for you or anyones you’re associated with?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Daedalus answered.

“Where were you during the invasion?”

“Home.”

“And where’s that?”

“California?”

Goldham sighed then. “Alright, then. Thank you for coming.”

***

“Hi,” Megan greeted excitedly as she walked into Goldham’s office, a rather pleasant smile on her face. “I just want to say that you have no idea how much I’ve been looking forward to coming in here and getting a chance to talk to you.”

“You were looking forward to coming in here?” Goldham asked, looking both surprised and concerned.

“Oh my God, yes, you have no idea how much!” Megan feigned an excited squeal as she took her seat. “So, disclaimer before we get started, I am a bit of a chatterbox and Oh my God, I have so much I want to talk about. I know you’ve been asking about the whole invasion thing and everything that went down and you have no idea how much I’ve been wanting to talk about it, like, it was so insane! I was taking a walk, heading to get some ice cream when it all started and there was so much screaming and running, but there was also this really cute guy that I ran into, his name was something like Gavin or Edwin or something…Anyways, he was like so cute and he was just the best, I mean he was scared but he was also like trying to protect me. And you know, by the time the whole thing died down and we headed home, I realized that, you know, I never asked for his number…and so everyday I’d go back to the spot where I ran into him, hoping he’d be there again but he never was, can you believe that? And I know it’s been months but I can’t get over the fact that you know, I might never see him again and that just, you know…it hurts.” Megan stopped then and took a deep breath, then looked up at Goldham and smiled. “Anyways, what did you want to know?”

“Uhm, I have no idea what to say to that,” Goldham said, very evidently confused.

***

Dante was the last of the gang to go in, and he had a plain expression on his face when he went in, exchanging greetings with Goldham before taking his seat. After sitting, he tugged at his sleeves awkwardly and simply said: “Hey.”

“Hey,” Goldham responded softly. “Dante, correct?”

“Mhm,” he answered, nodding. “And you’re Ms. Goldham? The counsellor?”

“I am,” Goldham answered. “Tell me, Dante, how do you feel about being in here today?”

“Dunno,” Dante answered with a shrug. “I mean, we’d been told we’d have to be in here so I suppose I’m fine with it. I’m a little more concerned about how long this might take.”

“Do you have something else to do?”

“No,” Dante answered. “I just don’t like to sit for very long. Or talk for very long. Besides, I have no idea what we’re going to talk about and stuff like that makes me kind of uncomfortable.”

“What makes you uncomfortable?”

“Conversations that might head someplace I don’t like,” Dante responded. “But I suppose that would make anyone uncomfortable so it’s not all that odd, right?”

“Right.” Goldham nodded. “And what if I told you this conversation could happen on your terms? That you could steer it in whatever direction you wanted?”

Dante frowned. “And how would I do that?”

Goldham shrugged, leaning back in her seat. “Just you talk about whatever it is you want to talk about, knowing it won’t be brought up anywhere outside of this office.”

“You want me to confide in you?” Dante asked.

“Sure, why not?”

“I have friends for that,” Dante said then, and then quickly added: “No offence.”

“By friends, you mean your cousins: Dang and Daedalus, correct?”

“Yes,” Dante answered. “Cousins,” he said, as if trying to convince himself that were the case. “And friends too,” he went on. “Daniel and Megan…and Chase, I suppose. Chelsea too.”

“And do you confide in them?”

“Some of them, yes,” Dante answered. “When I need to.”

“And are there things that perhaps have been on your mind that you haven’t told them yet?” Goldham asked. “Maybe conversations you wouldn’t feel comfortable having with them for one reason or another?”

“And if my answer to that was yes, would you want me to have those conversations with you?”

“Sure, that is why I’m here after all.”

“And what if a part of me felt like you wouldn’t understand?” Dante asked. “What if I thought those conversations might confuse you? That I’d be better off not saying anything at all?”

“Well, then I’d tell you you could get up and leave, you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to. Regardless of what you’ve been told, this isn’t mandatory.”

“Alright then,” Dante nodded, and straightened to his feet. “Thanks, I suppose.”

“But, Dante,” Goldham said softly then, “I do feel inclined to tell you that whatever it is you’d like to get off your chest, it’d be better to do it now than let it spiral into something else. There’s limits to how long you can distract yourself, alright? So if you ever want to talk, I’m always here.”

“Yeah, sure,” Dante responded. “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”

“Alright then. Have a good day.”

“Thanks, you too.”