𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

EIGHTEEN

Vivianne

"And when we get to her office- Vee, are you listenin' to me?" my mother asked, holding my forearm tightly as we made our way through my classmates towards the counselor's area.

The halls were semi packed, the beginnings of whatever lunch we'd have today floating down the halls in a mix of PINK perfume and freshly cleaned floors.

"Yes, I'm listenin'," I said tightly, rubbing my face angrily. My jaw was sore from Saturday but thankfully not bruised.

"You better do whatever this lady says," she added.

"I will," I said clippedly.

"And drop this attitude before I drop you."

"I gotta pee-

"Piss after we talk to her," my mother stated.

My mother sent two knocks on the woman's door. It was still before school and she was in a rush to head to her own job at the middle school. "I'll introduce myself, explain the situation, then you're on your own. If I get a call from this school, Vivianne-

"You won't."

"Okay then."

"Hello, you must be Diane Herida. I got your email late last night," my counselor smiled. Hadn't seen this lady a day in my life, I swear. My mom closed the door behind us as the counselor went to sit back down. She was a black lady with wild, loose curls that framed her face in a fluffy way, she had smooth, brown skin and a happy air to her.

"I'm Vivianne's counselor, Ms. Will. And I'm afraid I haven't met her before," she sent me a little smile.

"Oh, I guess it's all of our first time's meeting one another then," my mother said politely. I hated that fake front she liked to put up in front of other people.

"Yes. Nice to meet you both," Ms. Will told us. "So what did you need to see me about this morning?"

"I was wondering if you could work with my daughter. She's struggling with self harm-

"I'm not. She's just makin' it seem that way," I cut in, rolling my eyes.

"And she's just growing into a bratty, disrespectful thing," my mother shook her head, brushing my hair back a little from my face like she gave a fuck about me. "I've noticed the mood changes. The isolation...You know, I'm a counselor myself. This just makes me feel so defeated to see my own daughter struggling. Forgive her father for not being able to make it today, he had some important work to attend to," my mother added.

I looked around the lady's office as they spoke. It was somewhat tidy, pictures of her family, maybe kids or nieces and nephews. Little fake plants and cacti, random shit. It all felt too happy when I was anything but.

"I can offer her counseling and resources, but ultimately depending on the severity of how she harms herself and any suicidal ideation she may present, therapy or an in-patient option may be a better solution. But Vivianne and I can work together to see what works best for her, right Vivianne?"

"Can you call me Vee?" I asked, stubbornly staring down at my lap.

"I have to leave to head to work. But just know you have permission to do whatever needs to be done to fix my daughter," my mother stood up. "My phone number's on record and so is her father's."

"As a counselor...I assume you know that there is nothing to be fixed here, per say, but helped," the counselor gave my mother a polite smile, standing to shake her hand. "But I will try my best with Vee."