Danny Clark is a Nobody

Chapter Ten

It was Sunday evening, and I nervously organised my new school books in my backpack. I laid out my uniform on the desk. It consisted of a white shirt, red and black striped tie, a black blazer, and a pair of black dress pants. Michael had also bought me a sweater vest with the school logo on it, but it isn't a mandatory part of the school uniform.

After my breakdown yesterday, Michael had told me to go back to sleep, and that we should talk as a family at dinner, when James was back. After a restless but energising nap, I had woken up to hushed voices in the corridor.

"Is it like what you've been through?" Sam had said quietly. "I don't think so. It's similar, though." Freddie had replied.

"So, another mental illness? What do you think it might be?"

"Well, actually when Blake first met him, he made an assumption. He asked me about it."

"So?"

"He asked if he'd been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder."

"So he thinks he may have what, like GAD?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Wouldn't have someone else noticed his behaviour being an indication of that before, though?"

"You think dad's keeping the diagnosis a secret from us?"

"I mean, it's possible. Maybe he felt that it wasn't his place. You know how touchy dad can be about privacy and trust and whatnot."

"Yeah, that's true. Should we ask him about it?"

"Hm... I don't think so. Maybe it's best if we mind our business? I didn't really feel comfortable with sharing my diagnosis with my friends at first. If he wanted to tell us, he would. And we shouldn't put dad in that position either."

"Yeah, that's true. Ugh, why do you have to be so considerate all the time, it's annoying."

"Let's hope we can make him feel safe enough to trust us with that information, though. He's a very secretive person."

"Yeah, I think he'll warm up to us eventually. I miss him a lot."

"I do too. He was such a cute baby. Remember Pandacakes?"

"Ha ha! God, he loved that thing."

"Refused to go anywhere without it."

"He loved it more than he loved our parents... Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I do. Don't worry about him, he's tough."

"Yeah, he is. But he's just..."

"I know."

"He'll get through it. He has to."

"Yes, he will. Also, what's been going on with Julie? Are you two okay? She hasn't been here in a while."

"We had a fight."

"Oh, shit, really?! What happened?"

"She was just being so weird about Danny."

"Weird how?"

"She said she doesn't trust him. It was just so out of character for her to behave that way."

"What if she's jealous?"

"Jealous? Why would she be jealous?"

"Well, think about it. She's like family to us. She practically lives here. Then all of a sudden Danny comes along. Maybe she feels that he would replace her. That you'd forget about her. Or maybe she's worried that the only reason we treat her as family is because there was a hole when Danny left, and that she filled it. Now that Danny's back, maybe she thinks she'll be kicked out."