Skeletons-Jahren

.02

Joel stretched awake in his bed, gazing out the open window and taking a look towards the gorgeous exterior. A night of restful sleep would help him get through the day filled with new people and new opportunities.

He felt relieved to have been able to sleep through the night without getting woken up from shakiness or racing heartbeat, pounding headache or paranoia.

Sprinting out of his bed, he had a pep in his step. He began getting to work on some editing of a photo shoot he did a week prior. His anxiety had kept him from getting much work done, so he figured it would be a good idea to get work done while he felt good.

As he worked with the best attention he could put forward, his focus was broken by a phone call from his sister.

"Hey, Chanel, how are you?" Joel's voice was light and cheery for a change, rather than sad and groggy.

"I'm fine. You sound happy. What's wrong?" She joked.

"The meds, Chanel, they work! At least for now, I'm waiting for another comedown," He scratched his forehead, realizing that he can't be happy forever off of one pill, and that every high has a low.

"Good! I'm glad it worked. I was just calling to check up on you."

"Thanks. I have to go meet up with a friend later," Joel sighed.

"What?" Chanel exclaimed excitedly, "You met someone?"

"Yeah, my therapist said I should go out and do things socially, and I ran into a guy. He saw me taking pictures and wanted me to take some pictures of him and his friends I guess. So now I have to meet more than just one person," he took a sip of his black coffee, "This should be fun."

"Maybe don't be clumsy then," Chanel teased, "But it's good that you're getting out and talking to people, though."

"I guess. I'm just scared about how I'll react to more people. I don't even know how many people are gonna be with him, I'm hoping that there's not gonna be too many."

"Well, I'm wishing you best luck, Joel. Call me or text me about how it goes, okay?"

"I will. Listen, I've got some work to do while I can, so I'll talk to you later."

"Oh okay, talk to you later. Good luck."

"Thanks, bye." He hung up the phone and continued working at his job.

Joel hardly took glances at his clock, and once he did, he realized that he should take his pill and get going back to the ocean to see that skateboarding kid again.

He was positively sure that Ahren's friends would be punk-like and rude to him, so that part he wasn't looking forward to. But he was looking forward to the opportunity to earn money by doing something he liked, as well as getting praised for his mind-blowing talent of photography.

Joel felt himself getting anxious as he thought deeper into the topic, knowing that he had to take his meds before the anxiety got the best of him.

You can't cancel, this guy likes your work, and he's paying you. You'd be crazy to skip.

He shakily took a bottle of water, placed a pill on his tongue, and swallowed it, chasing it down with cold water that felt cool against the burning bile that rose up his throat. Shortly after that, he took a five-minute break to breathe and try to calm his mind.

Breath, Joel, it's okay. In four seconds through your nose, hold for seven, out through your mouth for eight.

Joel closed his baby blue eyes and inhaled breath slowly through his nose, holding it for seconds, suspense making him feel tense. He breathed out again after the seven seconds he held it in his lungs.