Annica: Starseed Ambassador

Chapter 5: Down the Rabbit Hole

Annica was already carrying a heavy sleep debt the day the crop circle appeared, and she hardly slept a wink the following nights. By Thursday morning her eyes were burning and bloodshot; the red veins contrasted sharply against her pale blue irises. She had lost her appetite, and she started putting her hair into a ponytail rather than braiding it. It became an even bigger mess than usual after first period gym class.

She didn't feel nervous at all when she entered Noah's office for their second session. The delirium from sleep deprivation dulled her connection to the outside world – the anxiety she felt walking into his office a week ago felt like it was from another lifetime. She plopped into the big, comfortable chair in the center of the room and instantly felt more relaxed than she had for days. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting herself sink into the cushions.

"I'm glad you decided to come back," Noah greeted cheerfully, pulling up his chair and setting it several feet across from Annica.

Annica rolled her head around to stretch her neck, with her eyes still closed. "Yeah, no problem," she said listlessly.

"How have you been this past week?" Noah inquired before grabbing his notepad and pen from his desk. "How is first period gym class working out?"

Annica slowly opened her eyes. "Oh, good. Though I have to carry around a duffel bag now."

Noah glanced at the duffel bag sitting next to Annica's backpack against the wall, then he looked back at her. "For your clothes, right?"

"Yeah... It's kind of annoying, but still better than having to change twice, I guess."

Annica zoned out while staring at the duffel bag, leaving her mouth hanging slightly open.

Noah looked down at his notepad, then looked back up at Annica without writing anything down. He bit his lower lip while taking in her bloodshot eyes and disheveled hair. "How are your other classes going?" he asked with obvious concern.

Annica closed her mouth and shifted her attention back to Noah. "No complaints," she said robotically.

Noah paused. "And your home life?"

"Good." Annica's attention drifted around the room, and she absentmindedly twirled a bit of unbraided hair around her index finger.

Noah left space for Annica to elaborate, but when she didn't, he carefully prodded further. "Are you making any friends? Have you given any thought to that croquet club?"

"No and no." She dropped the strand of loose hair, slouched deeply into her chair and stared at the ceiling.

Noah pushed his pen against his lips while observing Annica's disposition. "Is there something specific you want to talk about?"

She suddenly felt a rush of adrenaline shooting through her system. YES, her mind screamed. OH MY GOD YES.

She was fully alert now. She sat up straight and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"It's okay," Noah assured her. "This is a safe place. You can talk about whatever you'd like."

Annica took a deep, shaky breath. "I don't know," she said, trying to hold herself together as tears formed in her eyes. "What if it's crazy? Like really, really crazy?"

"We don't use that word here," Noah said calmly but firmly. "Every one of us has challenges."

Annica half-rolled her eyes before elaborating, "Okay, but there's challenges, and then there's, like, challenges, you know? Like what if I get committed or something? What if I say something so crazy that..."