Hello Again, Sir {s/t - complete}

What About Now?: 13.

                She nodded before walking in, shutting the door behind her.

                “Please.” I replied again, pointing to the seat.

                Smiling, she sat down. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

                “You too.”

                “My names Dannie.” She replied. “I mean, not actually Dannie but Daniela.”

                “Why did you shorten it?”

                “I didn’t.” she shrugged. It was as if that in these four walls she felt safer because as I saw her a moment ago I hadn’t expected her to talk in here. She had seemed so fragile and I don’t know how to explain, but lost, I guess. I hadn’t thought, a girl that needed counselling, would tell me her name right away.  "My father did."

                “Have you seen Mrs. Lea before?”

                “Yes.” She whispered, suddenly letting her hair fall in her face. “I have. But not in a long time.”

                I placed my hands on the desk, entwined. “Do you want to talk about it?” I said slowly.

                “I was just wondering…” She looked up. “Can I drop out of college?”

                “What do you want to do that for?” In just a week I had found it sad that already one of the students had dropped out of school. Who knows how many students in other departments of the college had also dropped out? It was sad to see how many educations weren’t going to be fulfilled because of bad things in their private life. Because of their problems. “Dannie?”

                “It’s not about me…” she said quickly, as if it were reassuring herself. “I mean… I come to the counselling sessions because of me but I don’t want to leave because of myself. If I had it my way then I would stay as much as I could.” 

                “Then why don’t you want to stay?”

                There was a long pause and I looked at the clock. Each session was supposed to last ten minutes and nine of those ten that were Oliver’s were up. So seven of those were Dannie’s and were up. “Three years ago my mother left. Without a word and without a trace. She didn’t say goodbye. I didn’t mind because she didn’t deserve it; our family. But then my dad worked extra.”

                I swallowed. This all seemed slightly familiar to the problems that Thomas had. He too wanted to leave so he could support the family that he had left behind. “And you want to support him?”

                “I don’t want to work if that’s what you mean.”

                “Then…” I furrowed my eyebrows. “I’m afraid, Dannie, I just don’t understand. Why do you want to leave?”

                “He doesn’t have enough money to support my work at college and the bills. If I stay home then I can look after the house while he’s working, I can cook tea, clean the house, that way he can just get on with work, even if it means picking up more shifts.”

                I nodded my head slowly. If it were appropriate I would have smiled; smiled at the commitment that this young girl had towards her father. But then my eyes trailed to her skinny bones, her tiny wrists and I frowned even harder. I didn’t know if Mrs. Lea had to have a soft heart or a hard heart to do this job but I knew I wouldn’t be able to take up a permanent position in a job like this. “You know, Dannie, did you ever ask Mrs. Lea for help?”