18 Going On 30 || h.s. au

six

SEVEN YEARS LATER
(Maddie & Harry are now 28)
LONDON, ENGLAND

MADDIE'S POV

"Same time next week?"

"Yeah, thank you Maddie."

I shut the door after my last client of the day makes their way out. My day was fully booked, the only break I had was thirty minutes for lunch which went by way too quickly.

Being a psychologist can be so rewarding, but also draining. Especially when you specialize in teenagers. They deal with way more shit than anyone realizes. They tend to bury all their feelings deep down too, so when they finally crack and all their feelings come through the surface, it's a huge milestone. And it all happens right here in my office. 

I'm one of six psychologists in the building, and one of two that specializes in teenagers and adolescents. We're all spread out on the same floor of the building, with lots of other businesses and offices above and below us. 

Which reminds me- there's been renovations going on on the floor above us for weeks now. It's supposed to be over today though, the new office to be occupied at the beginning of next week. I have no idea who's moving in, but as long as the disruption ceases, I'm happy.

It's Friday, thank god. I don't have much to do for the rest of the afternoon besides review my schedule for next week and go through all my notes from today, which is a typical Friday afternoon for me.

But it's one of the many perks of working for myself, I get to control my schedule and give myself a Friday afternoon off if I want it.

"I swear to god..." I mumble to myself, rolling my eyes and standing up from my desk. "Louis! If you double book me again, I swear, you're in for it!" I yell to my assistant, Louis, who's sitting at his desk just outside of my office.

"I'm sorry! Alex had to reschedule his appointment and I just picked a random time." He defended himself. I'm not actually mad because I know it was an honest mistake, but now I have to go and make a call about it to fix it.

"Be more careful!"

"You got it!"

He's wonderful, really. It's part of the reason I hired him. He's efficient- most of the time- and he knows how to be professional while also being the life of the party.

I go back into my office, leaving the door open as I sit down again and pull out my phone. I call Alex's mum, explaining the situation and she brushes it off with no problem, rescheduling the appointment again for Monday afternoon. I'll have to stay a little later than usual, but I don't mind.

After about another thirty minutes of busy work, I'm finally able to pack up my things and head out. It's only three o'clock, so I have plenty of time this afternoon before I need to be home and get ready for dinner tonight. 

James and I's three year anniversary is tomorrow, but he's leaving for a business trip in the morning so we figured we could go out to dinner tonight and see a show in the West End to celebrate.

When we met all those years ago, we didn't start dating right away. I never even thought I would see him again, but about two days after our encounter at the bar we conveniently bumped into each other at the grocery store, chatted a bit, and exchanged numbers.

We stayed friends for a really long time. He had recently gotten out of a relationship when we met and wasn't ready for another just yet, and I respected that. So, our respective friend groups kind of formed one big group and we've all been friends since.