Troubled Mind - He asked "what scares you the most?"
I replied, "My mind"
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Our father is a control freak, my mother does nothing to prevent him from destroying our lives and my sister is resigned to living this life without flavor.
This is probably what Luís would have liked to reply to Mrs. Astoria, only their father was far too straddling the conveniences for him to be able to really explain the depth of his thought. So Freya just happened to give a sad look at her brother as he simply replied."Fine."
Ms. Astoria was the educational counselor and psychologist at Las Encinas, their new high school. And apparently she didn't seem very satisfied with her little brother's response. She frowned at the perfect family board in front of her before pushing a pile of files to the side of her already crowded desk. She began to rummage through paperwork placed in front of her. When she finally found their file - several inches thick - she hummed a little tune before taking a sip of coffee, leaving the scarlet lip mark on the rim of the cup.
Freya took the opportunity to take a look around the office. If Las Encinas breathed modernity and luxury, this office seemed strangely retrograde in comparison.
To the right of Alba, their father Sandvik began to show signs of impatience. To her left, Luís played nervously with his hands so as not to have to make eye contact with his new adviser.
Finally, there was Carmen. The latter carefully observed Mrs. Astoria with an almost begging look to find a remedy for her son's unhappiness.
They had just arrived and they were going to have to face a whole day of schooling, as for their father, an important meeting.
"How do you think your sister is feeling? Do you think she feels good?" Asked Mrs. Astoria again letting Freya give her an odd look this time.
As much as she did not want to be condescending with her brother, these sessions were not for her but for Luís. She didn't see how her well-being should be taken into account. A thought shared by their father visibly as he readjusted himself in his chair with a deep breath.
Sandvik's iPhone suddenly started to vibrate in the pocket of his overpriced suit. Sandvik pulled it out in a theatrical gesture showing how bored this session was. He was fully aware of his son's discomfort but it wasn't sessions with a psychiatrist that would help him. He wasn't crazy. It was just a little moment of rebellion. All the kids of his age wanted to provoke their parents.
At the sight of their impatient father Freya again focused her attention on the plaques surrounding them."Failure is your only enemy"; "If you want to reach the top, don't look down"; "Self-confidence is the key to success" ...
If only they knew these kinds of phrases had been the mantra throughout the childhood of the teens currently in the office.
Freya was just trying to reach the top. There was not a single moment when she did not think of excelling.
