"I don't know why I'm here."
Jacob looked over at Elsie, who was sitting in a chair with her arms crossed. "You drank to the point of nearly overflowing your rubbish bin with vomit after finding out your mother's prognosis. It's more than normal to be upset at that news, but that's an unhealthy reaction. You also punched your best friend when she was worried about you and you were recently found vaping in the school bathroom?"
Elsie scoffed. "The thing with Bella happened before Mam got sick and the vaping has nothing to do with it. Every kid my age vapes and a good few kids my age drink. I'm fifteen next month, I'm barely a kid anymore."
Jacob chuckled. "You do not want to grow up soon. And you're right, vaping and drinking by themselves aren't concerning, but the extent that you do it is worrying your parents, and your friends. It's normal to experiment with substances, but you had a weed vape in school and you weren't a big drinker before that night. And the incident in the school bathroom happened after your mother lost use of her legs."
Elsie shrugs. "It makes me feel better. People pop pills to not feel bad. What's so bad about me doing it? Weed makes me happy, drink makes me talk."
"Weed also causes paranoia and sometimes even disturbing hallucinations if used excessively, and alcohol can damage your liver and make you depressed, aggressive. What happens when your mother is bedbound? Are you going to snort a line? You need healthier ways of dealing with this."
"Like what? 'Talking'? Talking doesn't do shit. My mother yapped for a living and now look where she is."
Jacob looked down and shook his head, then back at Elsie. "Your mother changed lives, including yours and your siblings. I'm sorry, but she's an incredible woman. Her ability to talk to people was more than just yapping."
"I know she's incredible. And I know she did good and all. But talking doesn't work for me."
"Then what does, beside drinking and smoking? What are your hobbies?"
Elsie shrugged again. "I play tennis, I guess that's a hobby? I also read a bit, game a bit."
"Okay, so how about instead of doing something unhealthy when you're given bad news, you go to your friends and you play a game of tennis? Or you play a video game with your brother? You clearly get angry sometimes, which isn't a bad thing, everyone does. But instead of using that anger to hurt people, you channel that anger into hurting video game characters. When something happens to me, I usually do that. If you're sporty, wrestling or martial arts is also good."
Elsie chuckled. "Martial arts? My mother dies and I become the Karate Kid to commemorate her?"
Jacob smiled. "Why not? And it wouldn't have to be karate. But it's something to look into. I have a taekwondo class here at Starman on Fridays. If you ever want to check it out, you can come down. You don't hurt anyone, but there's punches and kicks. My students always say it helps to clear their heads. The kids here go through a lot too, and you're going through a lot. You don't have to do it, but you're always welcome."
Elsie looked around the room, then back at Jacob, smiling for the first time that whole day. "Thanks."
"See? The talking thing isn't too bad. I get you want active solutions instead of just talking, but that is what leads to them."
"Yeah, I get that. It's just, when something happens, I have to run away and do something to distract myself. Being home and seeing my mother get worse is a lot."
"Understandably so. But that's the thing. You don't have much time left for her. If you run away or get intoxicated instead of being with her, you might regret that down the line. You don't have to put your life on hold or anything, but being with her is priceless for the both of you. She may be sick but she's the same mother she always has been. You can still talk to her, watch films with her, hug her."
