How to Save a Life ✓

IV: In Which She Goes to Support Group

CHAPTER FOUR

It's Thursday and as the flier said, I stood in front of the building that's supposed hold the support group. Since it was only 4:30 and I'm half an hour early, I decided to sit on the bench in front of the building. It was better run going back home, and risk seeing my mom in her drunken state.

Anything was better than seeing my mom in her drunken state.

The building had an array of multiple colors, with graffiti covering the entire side wall. Anyone else would think that this building just proved that this was a bad neighborhood. Graffiti was in almost every building and this only added to that, but I saw see what they didn't see. While the other building had a string of curse words drawn to them that I won't even mention, the work on this building was pure art. On one part, there was a picture of a silhouette running from various demons. Another side held a drawing of a cloud raining down on a person on a bench. My favorite one however, of a person picking up another one when they fell. I hoped something like that happened to me.

These drawings stood out to the ones around it, and held a powerful meaning. I never truly minded graffiti as it was just a way for one to express themselves. It was a creative outlet and invited I seeing what was inside people's minds. Of course, they are the people that just vandalized for fun but these drawings weren't that. They were something more.

In my visualization, I don't notice a person walking towards the building with a key.  He looked like the owner of the building since he was slightly older than me. I also didn't notice when he tapped my shoulder.

"Can I help you ma'am?"

Startled, I jumped up and turned him.

"Oh, I'm just waiting for the group counseling session at five."

"Well since it's ten minutes to five, you could come in now. More people will start arriving in around six minutes."

At first I was a little hesitant and debated whether it would be better if I just stayed, but knowing that I would go inside soon enough, I accepted the offer.

The inside of the building was just as pretty as the exterior. It had a rustic looking feel, as the walls were made of wood. Around twelve chairs were arranged in a circle. There was a mural on the wall, which pictured the Golden Gate Bridge. A pang of guilt struck me when I saw it but I quickly pushed it aside.

"What made you decide to come to group therapy?"

I turned around and answered, still dazed about seeing the mural.

"I wanted to meet and talk to new people. I don't have that many friends in school."

That sounds pathetic.

He nodded in recognition and replied, "Then you'll love Noah. He is probably the friendliest person I know. A little cold a first if you don't know him, but he is incredibly understanding."

"Noah?"

"He likes to come to these group therapy sessions to observe. I like to consider myself as a mentor to him seeing as he wants to become a counselor. Noah has a bit of an unfortunate past but he makes the most of it."

"Well I look forward to meeting him."

Just as I said that, a group of people came in. Some of them started talking to the counselor, I still didn't know his name, while others got coffee from the kitchen. I waited by the side, too shy to talk to anyone.

Why was I here again?

Deciding to ignore the question as I perfectly knew the answer to it, I looked by the door to see the boy from earlier come in. I really needed to start learning people's names.