Ms Gleeson had an oil burner on the windowsill It’s probably supposed to be relaxing, Chloe thought to herself. I bet it’s called “Serenity,” or something corny. It got up her nose. Literally. Her head ached from trying not to sneeze.
Ms Gleeson was leaning back in her chair, hands clasped over her stomach. She was wearing jeans that were slightly too tight for her bulging figure, and a gypsy top. Spare me, thought Chloe. She’s trying to be cool.
Weren’t counsellors supposed to say something? Didn’t they give you help, tell you what to do? Ms Gleeson was staring at her, as though inspecting something fascinating. And here we have exhibit B: The Tortured Adolescent.
“I don’t know what to say.” It was true, but she desperately wanted to say something, anything, to push words into the silence before it swallowed her up. Once the words were out she felt better. She had made the first move. The ball was in Ms Gleeson’s court.
“That’s ok.” Ms Gleeson leaned forward encouragingly. “Why don’t you start by telling me why you think you’re here.”
There was a hole in the arm of the chair, and she picked out tiny pieces of foam and arranged them in a pattern like a flower. Why she was here? Wasn’t that obvious? Because she was nuts, otherwise she wouldn’t be sitting in a counsellor’s office terrified because she seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Her throat felt swollen and her mouth was dry. She forced herself to open it, to squeeze out a sound.
“Because Mrs Gray sent me here.” Ms Glesson was still looking at her, expectantly. It wasn’t enough. “Because…” She fumbled around, looking for the right information. “Because she was worried about me. Because she thinks I’m crazy.”
“And what do you think, Chloe?” Ms Gleeson was still looking at her intently.
Outside Chloe could hear the shouts of one of the classes down on the playing field. PE, or one of Mr Reid’s weird math’s games. She wished she were out there with them.
Her throat was swelling up again. Her leg was going to sleep but she couldn’t move it. She stared at the foam petals, and imagined scattering them with a finger. She started to panic. She was frozen. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t speak. She was going to be stuck here, forever, pinned down by Ms Gleeson’s unwavering gaze.
“I understand that you’ve been hearing things. People that no one else can see or hear.”
Suddenly Chloe was free to move. She flicked the pieces of foam off onto the floor, and glared out the window. If Ms Gleeson already knew all about her, why was she bothering to ask?
“I’m not crazy,” she said quietly, speaking to the sunlight and the voices on the field. “They’re real people, they’re as real as anyone. They’re just… from the past.”
Wow. I really liked this, especially the little detail of picking out the foam in the chair.
Is this just a teaser? Will there be more?
Posted by: Cathy at July 24, 2003 04:05 PMWell, you never know... I have to write a novel at some point during this course, and this may well turn into it...
Posted by: Fi at July 24, 2003 07:52 PM