The Not-So-Quite-Love-Story Story

Chapter 6- "Spending Time"

Ethan Rivers:

After lunch I travelled west of the school Campus to a hallway lined with doors. I was looking for Room 29 specifically, no reason why, but I was instructed by Novak to get there as soon as lunch hour was over. I halted at the rectangular mahogany with the gold numbers two and nine and knocked three times. The door whined as it opened and closed.

When I set foot into the room a woman clad in a tweed blazer and black pencil stood in the middle of the room between a black recliner and a grey suede chair with a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other.

"Umm, hello?" I asked.

The woman's heels clicked against the floor as she turned around towards me.

Her green eyes glowed."Ahh, you must be Ethan". The woman transferred a stack of papers from the recliner and placed it on the small wooden table next to the suede chair. "Sorry Its a bit of a mess in here but I wasn't expecting you this early. Please, sit down". She pointed at the recliner.

I set my bag down next to the arm of the recliner and dropped down into the chair.

"So how are you-"

I held my hand up and she paused, "Let's skip the formalities and jump to the part where you tell me why I'm here"

The woman's brow rose and her glossy lips pressed together, "Your here for therapy sessions"

"Therapy?!" I jerk forward in my seat. "I ain't crazy, what do I need therapy for?"

The Woman chuckled, "Therapy isn't only for the mentally impaired, its also a safe place for people to express themselves freely"

"Who set this up?" I demanded.

"I believe it was you Mother-"

"Marny" I growled, my hand curling into a tight fist."The bitch isn't my stepmother, well not yet anyway. God, how did I not know this was her?"

"Well surely this is a good thing?" The woman asked."She cares enough about you to get you some help for your problems"

"I ain't got problems" I snapped.

"Well we definitely start with your anger"

"Listen here woman-"

"Ms Keller" She corrected

"Whatever" I dismissed "I don't have any problems therefore I don't have to be here. Why don't you just write some fancy bullshit on your clipboard and we can call it a day"

Ms Keller shook her head and sighed, her fingers interlocking into on big giant fist, "I'm not doing that Ethan. I'm going to lie to Mrs Novak or you father just because your too afraid to express how you feel"

"Psssh, I ain't afraid"

"Oh really? Than why don't you tell what happened in PSS that you set your book on fire?" Ms Keller asked me challengingly.

I felt like my flow of words was suddenly stopped so I cleared my throat, "I did it for bants"

"Nobody sets fire to a book for 'bants', Ethan"

"Well then I guess I'm exempt"

Ms Keller digs inside her blazer and retrieves a ball-point pen. She scribbles something on her clipboard and said, "People are going to know sooner or later"

"Know what?" I questioned.

A silence blanketed room and the atmosphere was charged with energy. The look she gave me made my stomach tense with uncertainty, she was trudging too close and I didn't like it.