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Chapter Two

"Meredith, honey!" Mom shouted from the kitchen.

"Yeah?!" I yelled out in response.

"Breakfast is ready! Hurry up, or else we'll be late for your appointment with Miss Lynn!" My ears perked up when I heard the next words. "There's someone here to see you!"

"Yeah, yeah! I just need to get ready!"

I jumped off my bed and sighed, stretching my limbs out. I breathed in, and my hands began glowing green. Quickly pulling on one of Mom's hoodies with my grandfather's name in the sleeve, I bolted downstairs while grabbing my bag. I slung it over my shoulder and appeared at the door of the kitchen. All of this happened in a span of five seconds, using my time attribute. Papa was already sat down at the table, and Mom was at the kitchen. My eyes widened excitedly when I saw the person sitting across from Papa.

"Nana!" I squealed excitedly.

Nana Lucille, Papa's mother, smiled, her arms spreading apart. She stood up, and I jumped into her arms, hugging her tightly. She laughed, and I saw Mom smile behind her.

"Oh, Meredith," Nana said with a smile, "Haven't you grown!"

"You saw me only a few months ago," I giggled, kissing her head.

I took a seat beside her, and Mom came in with a plate of omelets. She sat down beside Papa and looked at me.

"Nana is going to be coming with us to see Miss Lynn since Papa has work today," she explained. Mom's smile seemed bright. "She said she has a slight solution to your problems at school."

"What part of them does it help?"

Please be the handcuffs.

Handcuffs.

Handcuffs.

Handcuffs!

"She said something about social anxiety," Mom responded nonchalantly, "which I personally think is a great idea. Your father and I are trying to figure out the bracelet part."

Awh. Damn. So close.

"Oh, those little scoundrels at the school district.." Nana huffed angrily. I continued eating, listening in on her. "Always too weak and scared just because a powerful woman has come into view." She crossed her arms and her green eyes glowed.

"Mom," Papa warned.

"I know, I know," Nana sighed.

"Thank you for the food, Mom," I said as I gave her a smile.

Papa and Nana looked down at my suddenly empty plate.

Mom grabbed it, smiling back sweetly. "You're welcome."

"Heavens, child! Are you a vacuum?! You ate so quickly! That's not good for you!" Nana exclaimed. She continued rambling as I laughed a little.

Papa sighed, though there was a hint of happiness. "Like mother, like daughter."

~~~

"Good morning, Miss Lynn," I said, walking into the white room.

"Good morning, Meredith!" She greeted happily. A smile braced her face. "Sit down, sit down."

I walked to the white loveseat, sitting down to face her. My hands rested on my knees as I looked up at the old woman. She was already flipping through pages on her clipboard, probably looking for what she had in mind to fix my social anxiety. I waited patiently, nervous.

"Ah! Here it is!" She exclaimed.

Pulling the paper out, she handed it to me. I took it gratefully and peered at it. It was an understatement to say that I was a little startled to see a list of games printed onto the sheet.

Miss Lynn cleared her throat. "I suppose I should explain, as to seeing your surprised face." She began her rant. "This may be a waste of time to many parents of teenagers, but in this case, I thought that having you play multiplayer games with microphones would let you interact with people. Most likely, these games make it almost impossible to find other people around your area when you play random games. Letting you meet and interact with strangers online may help when talking to others in real life."

"I.. I see," was my response. Looking up from the paper, I asked, "Are you 100% sure about this?"

"Other solutions I've sent to people with similar problems haven't really had much effect," Miss Lynn explained, "so I'm trying a new solution with you. I'm sure that it will work, as long as you talk to someone on the game."

"O-Okay."

~~~

"Games?" Mom repeated.

I finished my therapy session with Miss Lynn, and as we walked home, I explained to Mom and Nana about the solution to social anxiety. I was still scanning the paper, looking through the list of games. Ah.. these are so many popular games that people usually play. I hear my classmates talk about them all the time. I handed the list to my mother, and she looked through it.

Nana sighed. "I suppose Miss Lynn is right. Meredith needs to learn how to communicate more often."

She flicked my forehead, and I held it, my cheeks puffed out. "Ow!"

Nana and Mom laughed at my reaction. Mom put her hand on my head, patting me softly. "You're too much like me, Meredith."

I smiled up at her. "I know!"

That night, Papa helped set up a computer layout for me, since I didn't have one. I was to get used to the computer first before playing any games. Mom and Papa agreed that I could only play games after I finished homework and did all my chores. That meant I would play games from 7:00 to 9:00. I didn't complain whatsoever.

It shocked me when I took only a day to become accustomed to the computer, seeing as to I never had one before. I was in bed, reading through the list of games, none of which had really appealed to me much.

Maybe there's a game that Miss Lynn didn't add on here.

I sighed heavily.

Or.. I hope so.