Note: Not sure if this part adds much to the story; however, it seemed right and proper to give Layla, and her time in therapy, some sort of proper closure.*
*Yes, I hate that word too! Many apologies for using it! But in a fictional sense, I think the book needs it!
Anyway...
Layla Keegan - Case History
Session 18
Transcript:
Dr. B: How are you today, Layla?
Layla: Good.
Dr. B: That's good. Do you wish to start?
Layla: Where?
Dr. B: Oh, I don't know. Anything you wish to say?
Layla: No, not really.
Dr. B: Nothing?
[Brief silence]
Layla: So this will probably be my last session, then?
Dr. B: That's up to you, I suppose.
Layla: Hope it will be. Sure it will be. [silence] Probably won't be, though. [laughter]
[Brief silence]
Dr. B: Always remember, don't feel afraid to ask for help. Remember what I said at the end of the last session? [Brief silence] Try not to run away from your difficulties. When you face up to your troubles, when you begin to talk about them, they may not instantly disappear...But they may not feel as overwhelming as they first appear.
[Silence - approximately 30 seconds]
Layla: I'm sorry if I was a bit of a bi-...Bit of a nark when I first came here. I wasn't nice was I?
Dr. B: You were in pain.
Layla: I was a fucking pain.
[Brief silence]
Layla: Sorry, I didn't trust you at first.
Dr. B: It's to be expected. You've nothing to apologise for. You'd been through a terrible and traumatic experience.
[Silence, no reply]
Dr. B: You've been very brave. You've suffered a great deal. More than perhaps you yourself are willing to accept.
Layla: To live is to suffer, a man once said.
Dr. B: I suppose you know Nietzsche's also said: That which does not kill us makes us stronger. That's usually the one quote everybody knows of his.
Layla: I thought that was Kelly Clarkson.
Dr. B: Kelly Clarkson?
Layla: She's a singer. [Silence] That was meant to be a joke, by the way. [Laughter] She sings a song called Stronger which uses that line. I think she nicked it from Nietzsche.
Dr. B: Sorry, right over my head, I'm afraid. [laughter]
Layla: Don't worry. Song's rubbish anyway. You're not missing much.
YOU ARE READING
Fight Or Flight
Teen FictionA tale of memory, loss and the tragic consequences of bullying. When Layla Keegan arrives at Brookvale High School, her every step is followed by whispers and gossip as to the real reason she left her previous school. Withdrawn and silent - and unk...
