The Therapist

Chapter 1

Sasha and Anne sadly waved goodbye to the lovable nerd as they dropped her back at the airport.

"Goodbye, Marce!" Sasha yelled, fighting back tears.

"Keep working on the webcomic for us, will ya?" Anne exclaimed, sniffling.

Marcy smiled sadly. "Bye Sasha, bye Anna-banana. I'm really glad that we got to celebrate your birthday. I had so much fun! Thanks for picking, and dropping me off."

Sasha grinned. "No problem girl."

And with that, Marcy left the warm embrace of their hug and bravely turned around to head into the daunting doors of the airport, ready for the journey back home-and then she tripped and fell on her own shoelace.

Sasha laughed. Oh, even ten years later, she never lost her clumsiness.

Anne joined in on the laughter as Marcy miraculously picked herself off, brushed the little cuts away and happily exclaimed, 'I'm ok!". Seconds later, even Marcy joined in on the laughter, not believing the absurdity  of it all. 

Even though the fall-to all of their relief- delayed the goodbye it still eventually happened, with Marcy sadly walking into the airport doors and Sasha and Marcy waving goodbye and craning their heads until they couldn't see her anymore.

The silence was a bit awkward as Sasha opened the door of her car for Anne and then climbed into the driver's seat herself. But soon enough, Anne was quickly picking up the conversation.

"I still cannot believe you guys surprised me like that! Thank you, and oh that restaurant out of the town was so much fun! Hah, we even got to see your office Sasha! It felt just like old times, back when we were kids!"

Sasha quickly replied with, "We still are young! We're still in our early-twenties, if that's anything.  I guess that's what you think at every age. I mean, when we were 13 years old we thought we were really mature, being teenagers and all. I mean, don't get me wrong, we definitely were mature for our age and our classmates still couldn't catch up to that even now, but we still had a lot to learn. Y'know, accepting change, being better people, and for me it was to become a better person by not using you guys. And you're right, despite everything we were still just kids, whether we wanted to believe we were or not."

"No, no, you're right," Anne responded. Suddenly a smile crept onto her face and she lightly pushed Sasha. "Since when did you become Miss Mature? Teenage you would've never said that."

"Yeah, well I'm not 13 anymore." Suddenly a truck swerved their way, getting a little too close before readjusting its position on the road. Sasha's brows furrowed and she honked her horn. "WATCH IT!" Luckily, she took a few deep breaths and she was back to normal.

"Hah," Anne laughed, "still the same Sasha I see."

Her eyes suddenly turned a little sadder and she said, "Y'know, I'm going to miss Marcy."

Sasha's heart dropped slightly and she responded, "Same."

"On the bright side," Sasha continued, "She's doing well now, and we'll know that she's strong enough to survive. That webcomic is going to turn into a T.V. show adaption soon and we know it, and therapy's really helped. She's a smart girl, and she's learned to accept change. Ooh, dang it, I will miss her though."

"Therapy, that reminds me! I still can't believe your a FREAKING THERAPIST now! I mean, I learned that a long time ago, but still it's a weird yet comforting thought.  And a kid's one too! Man, we could've used that before Amphibia. Funny how that place was our therapy and was the cause of our trauma that made us go to therapy at the same time, right?"

Sasha and Anne shared another laugh at the ironic situation. 

"Yeah, I don't know Amphibia inspired me to become one. I mean, I have the experience and kid's and teenager's mental health isn't really taken seriously. Apparently, they're 'too young' to have problems. I mean, we experienced that stigma when we went to therapy. We didn't even have that much options, just the therapists that Mr.X could provide for us that knew that Frogvasion was real."

"Yeah," Anne agreed. "Luckily, we did get the help we needed. I mean, I went on to get great grades in 8th grade and high school, and I was even the runner-up for valedictorian, remember?! Now I'm a herpetologist. Doesn't mean the pain's gone away though. The trauma's still there, and I miss the Planters every day."

She gazed wistfully into the distance, and Sasha could relate, sadly. Grime was still on her mind every single second, and the guilt of never reuniting and apologizing to Percy and Braddock would probably never go away.

"Yeah, unfortunately no amount of therapy can ever 'fix that'. But we can learn from the lessons, learn to coexist with the pain we still might shoulder." She put a comforting hand over Anne.

She smiled at her. "No wonder you're a therapist, Sasha."

Sasha blushed. Suddenly her phone buzzed, and she was reminded of the job she had to reschedule appointments and resume her life as a therapist. After all, the week break she took with Marcy and Anne was coming to an end as she was on the way to drop Anne back home.

She quickly typed some emails on her phone, expertly handling work and driving. Anne continued to talk, but Sasha had zoned out.

"Right, Sasha?" Anne had finished, laughing. She looked disappointed when Sasha snapped out of it, revealing that she had not payed attention.

"Crap, sorry Anne, I wasn't trying not to pay attention. It's just, I had to deal with some emails and stuff since I took the week off to hang out with you guys."

Anne's disappointment turned into understanding. "Oh, no, it's fine Sasha. I get it. Just please don't drive while being totally distracted."

Sasha rolled her eyes a bit and Anne laughed but she was right and she did what she said.

For a little longer the two sat and Sasha drove comfortably, half of the time they made conversation and the other half Anne was thinking and Sasha was double checking that all her appointments and all were in order. Being a therapist was a bit stressful, but she loved the kids and it was 1000% worth it. 

Then, only 15 minutes away from the Boonchuys' home, Sasha got a certain email that caught her eye. She checked the email it was sent from: CamilaNocedatdmail.com. 

Huh. Wasn't one of the parents she knew. A new client, maybe? She definitely had room.

She scanned the email and couldn't believe her eyes. The Demon Realm? Witches? Evil emperor? Human girl stuck in another world?! Coming to her after determining with extensive research that she was the girl from Frogvasion? Ok, ok, maybe this was a prank email or a hoax or something, but Sasha would take the chance. After all, she definitely could help these kids, Luz, Hunter, and whatever the rest of their names were. 

She looked at the open road. They were only 5 or so minutes away from the Boonchuy's house, and because there was a chance that it wasn't truthful she decided not to tell Anne. She quickly typed up an offer for a free phone consultation where they could work out all the details and shut her phone off. Her brain was thinking of a million ways this could go, so when Anne and her started talking the conversation wasn't as thoughtful. It was too late, she cared about Anne but her mouth was now on autopilot mode.

However, for a few seconds she forced the idea out of her head as she pulled on over to Anne's house. She smiled, as the Boonchuy house had been nothing but good to her. Anne lived with her parents in the same place, and the house had always felt like home to her and Marcy. The Boonchuys were probably the best parents she had ever met, and she meant it when she said that she missed them and when she gave both of them hugs before leaving. She also meant it, when, with tears in her eyes, she said goodbye to Anne and wished her well.

She was focused on them all the way until they were no longer in sight, then her brain went back to the email. Other world, huh?