BBC Ghosts: Teatime Club

Buried

"Boo." Julian sniffed, "That's crap AF. All you need to know about dieting is that se-"

"Food diet! Food diet!" Pat gave a panicked response.

"Oh, food. Right. What were we talking about again?" Julian was clearly out of it.

Humphrey facepalmed. "Dieting. Food dieting. You know, eat fruit and veg and you won't die- dieting."

"There's obviously more than that to it, Humphrey." Fanny responded, "But I can't see how this is at all relevant to what we've been actually doing in our P.E. classes. Us girls have been forced to play to volleyball."

"We boys been playing football!" Robin spilled out gruffly, clearing his throat afterwards.

"So I have a better idea; can we just not do this?" Thomas queried.

"I agree with him." Cap huffed quietly.

"Guys, come on! Please!" Pat hushed them with his hands. "We have a worksheet we're supposed to fill out which looks simple enough!"

"Is it the one with the plate where you have to divide a balanced diet into the different sections?" Mary asked.

Pat blinked. "Yes. Yes it is, Mary."

"Oh yay! We've done lots of these over the years, haven't we?" Kitty beamed, taking a sheet from the pile.

"Yes, way too often." Julian deadpanned. "But if it's super easy so I'll take it!" he snatched a sheet off Thomas who glared murder at him.

With a loud sigh, Cap unceremoniously got up from his chair and vacated the room, leaving eight pairs of eyes looking in his wake.

Julian spoke first. "Um... why did he-"

"I... don't know." Humphrey frowned. "Is he... okay?"

"He's been a little quiet lately but I didn't really put much thought into it." Fanny put in.

"I know he can be short-tempered and volatile sometimes, but he hasn't for a while. He's not really been himself lately..." came Kitty's perceptive observation.

Pat cleared his throat. "Okay guys, calm it down a tad. I'm going to pop outside and have a little talk with him, is that alright? Mary, can you just give out the rest of the sheets please?"

"No problemo." Mary nodded.

"Fanny, you're in charge." Pat declared as he left the room in what he hoped would be good hands. The short teenager gently pulled the door to and found himself in the porch of the building. He looked across to the adjoining classroom and saw the door was slightly ajar. He slowly made his appoach and opened the door to see Cap sitting at one of the desks, head in his hands.

"C-Cap?" Pat started nervously, approaching his friend.

Cap raised his head. "What?"

"Are... you alright?"

Cap was blunt. "Not really, Patrick."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Not to you, anyway."

"Oh." Pat recoiled, rubbing the back of his head. He went to leave but Cap shook his head.

"No, Patrick, what I meant was-" he stopped, trying to find the words, "I'm sorry, that was rude of me. It's just... something I have to conquer myself."

"Conquer? You're not scared of anything, are you?"

"Surprisingly no. It's different. Complicated."

"Did something happen at home?"

Cap bit his tongue. "Sort of."

"Did your parents say something?" Pat turned to face him. "You're not... bottling up your emotions, are you? T-That's really not healthy!"

Cap sighed. "It's not that. Well, I do sometimes, admittedly, but that's not the issue here."

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me about it?" Pat asked, genuinely concerned about his friend's mental wellbeing.

"I'm sure."

"If you say so."

Cap felt guilty for being so awkward. "Sorry I left the classroom without telling you. I just sometimes get-"

"You don't have to explain anything to me." Pat interrupted kindly, "Just come back in when you're ready. Okay?" he smiled.

Cap felt his lips turn up. "Thank you."

"It's a pleasure!"

Pat left the classroom, leaving Cap to wallow in his thoughts a little longer.