Two girls - Alina and Mabel - once best friends now in rival friend groups at Aquarine High. Both have gone through traumatic experiences and the road to recovery and acceptance is long - very long - but what happens when they become the target of s...
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"Miss Henderson?" A kind, familiar voice chirped. Alina averted her gaze from her lap and her dull eyes landed on the ray of sunshine. Her wrinkled face smiled and her blue eyes gleamed with happiness. She wore a floral dress and her grey hair was tied in a bun.
Alina got up from that uncomfortable seat that she sat on once a week in the quiet waiting room full of people. She gave the secretary, Mrs. Louis, a small smile before slipping into the room where Mrs. Louis pointed her to.
She entered the room, smells of cinnamon and flower scented candles and a comforting interior- Mrs. Mendoza's office. Alina sat down on the seat across from a busy woman typing on the computer.
The door closed and then it was only the two of them.
The woman, short brown hair and hazel eyes, smiled. "Hello Alina!" She greeted, fixing her glasses while the many bracelets on her wrists jingled together. Click! Clack! Jingle! She grabbed a pen and scribbled something down on her clipboard.
"Hi," Alina mumbled quietly. Even if she had gone to her therapist since she was eight, she was still shy and hated being here. It made her feel weak. Alina knew that there was nothing to be ashamed of, but it made her feel like she was weak and couldn't do anything- old.
Mrs. Mendoza ignored Alina's incoherent mumbles under her breath, asking Alina, "How have you been, dear?"
Alina sighed. How had she been? Awful. She could barely sleep, lying awake with racing thoughts. She cried every time Mabel would pass her, remembering the memories they shared. "Good," Alina lied. Mrs. Mendoza gave Alina a stern look. She sighed, looking down at her lap, embarrassed. "Not good," Alina corrected herself, mumbling.
"What's wrong, Alina?" She looked concerned, scribbling down some notes on her clipboard. "Please tell me what has happened this week."
Alina sighed. She knew she could tell her anything, but she wasn't her friend. Her parents paid her to do her job. Sometimes Alina wondered if Mrs. Mendoza only cared for her because of the monthly payments she got from Alina's parents. "Everything. I can barely fall asleep because I have this feeling that someone's watching me. I lost my best friend after she joined the Elites and I don't know if she ever cared for me. My depression and anxiety has gotten worse. I don't even want to do schoolwork anymore. I just- I just feel so hopeless. Why does all of this have to happen to me?" Alina sobbed and Mrs. Mendoza stood up to give her a tight hug and a tissue.
"I'm sure the stalking feeling is just a hallucination," Mrs. Mendoza stated, giving Alina a small smile. "What happened to you and Mabel? Also, have you worked on those techniques I taught you last session?"
Alina shook her head. "I- I didn't have time." Mrs. Mendoza sighed, nodding slowly. "I don't know why Mabel left me just like that to join the Elites. I know that she got bullied by Gabriela, but she still could've been my friend. I just, I don't get her. She's like a stranger to me now. When our eyes meet, she turns away. I think," Alina paused, wiping a tear. "I think I lost another piece of me when she left."
