I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord
Phil Collins-In The Air Tonight
Friday Morning
Cassie had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as she sat between her parents and next to her siblings. The whole family was on the E train, on their way to their separate locations. Cheyenne had a class at ten o'clock at Hunter College, Cassie was going to a group support session at a community center close to the Queens Center Mall at Woodhaven Boulevard, and her parents and C.J. were going to the school for a conference to meet with the principal, Simone, and her parents regarding the altercation that occurred last Thursday between C.J. and Simone.
This was what Cassie feared the most. Sure, it was inevitable that this was bound to happen, but it was Cassie's parents' approach to resolve the situation that worried Cassie the most. She looked up to see her father's face, which had a blank expression. She didn't know whether to be nervous or not. Cassie then mentally shook away those thoughts. The only thing she was supposed to do at this time was to look forward to attending her support group session in order to get better, just let go of the fear, and let her parents deal with the situation. But it was hard to do with all the lingering thoughts. Cassie sighed to relieve the pain in her stomach. Like reading minds, her father took her hand and kissed it.
"Don't worry, hon," Austin whispered. "It's gonna be alright."
Cassie smiled weakly at her father while the train screeched to a halt at the Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike station. She felt her heart pound a mile a minute as she heard the announcement as more passengers filed inside the train car,
"E train to Manhattan, next stop Continental Avenue, Forest Hills, stand clear of the closing doors."
Cassie, C.J., and their parents would get off at the next stop, while Cheyenne would continue on her way into Manhattan. She took a deep breath, and repeated to herself mentally,
Everything's gonna be alright.
Just then Cassie's heart nearly shot out of her chest when she heard the train conductor announce the incoming stop. Cassie uneasily got up from her seat as her parents and C.J. did like so. They bid their goodbyes to Cheyenne as the train screeched to a halt in the station. They exited the train, but before they went their separate ways while the E train moved out of the station, Cassie, C.J., and their parents took this time to say their goodbyes for the day.
"Ok, Cass, you know where you're going right?" Austin asked.
"Mm-hmm, take the R or V to Woodhaven and it's a few blocks away," Cassie replied rather confidently.
"Alrighty, hon, you're gonna go to that therapy session, get better, and have fun, OK?" Angie said to Cassie, placing her hands on her shoulders to instill comfort.
"Ok, Mama."
Cassie then turned to her father. "Daddy, remember what we talked about," she told him.
"I know, baby girl, I won't walk away from that promise," Austin replied reassuringly.
"I'll make sure of it, Cass!" C.J. chimed in.
"Who the hell are you?" Austin snapped at C.J., putting an amused smile on Cassie's face. "I'm a grown ass man!"
"I'm more grown than you, babe," Angie joked, making Austin suck his teeth.
"I don't even know these people," Austin grumbled to Cassie, making her giggle.
He placed his hands on Cassie's shoulders. " Listen, don't you worry about anything," Austin said. "All your troubles, all your bullying, it's gonna stop today, alright? Your Mom and I are gonna talk to them, huh?" he finished reassuringly.
"Ok, Daddy."
Austin smiled at Cassie. "Gimme a kiss."
They gave each other their usual kisses before going on their separate ways. After hugging her mother, she waved goodbye to her family before stepping in the R train, as they went upstairs out of the train station. Cassie sat down as her mind flooded back to her talk with her father. The year wasn't through yet, and she still has a chance to turn everything around.
It was only two stops as she was getting off the train at Woodhaven Boulevard. She emerged into the outside and looked around the place to see that it was very busy with all the hustle and bustle around the Queens Center Mall area. She then saw the brick-clad building to her north and began walking. She felt a little pain in her stomach because she didn't know what to expect in this therapy session.
Cassie then heard her father's words in her mind ringing true,
If you keep thinking negatively, the things that you least hoped for will actually happen.
Cassie took a deep breath as she entered the building of the community center. She didn't find trouble finding the room where the therapy session was. She walked in the room to see seven people sitting around in a circle. A standing blue-clad black woman smiled gently at Cassie.
"Hi, there," she greeted. "Why don't you have a seat."
She gestured to an empty seat next to a box braided black girl whom Cassie recognized as a student in two of her classes, Nicole Robinson. She was in her trigonometry and AP Psychology classes. Every time Cassie would see her, she would see the confidence in the way she carried herself. She smiled shyly at the facilitator of the group and sat down, trying to mask her utter shock. The facilitator then sat down, beginning the session.
"Morning, everyone," she greeted.
"Good morning," the members of the group replied.
"My name is Mrs. Rhonda Clayton, I prefer to be called Rhonda," Rhonda introduced. "And although we've met a couple of times before, the reason why I'm introducing myself today is that we have a new member in our group," she continued, smiling at Cassie. "Hon, would you mind introducing yourself to the group, and tell us what brought you here?"
Cassie cleared her throat before speaking. "Um, hi, my name is Cassandra Phillips, everyone calls me Cassie," she introduced. "Um, what brought me here is that I, unfortunately, tried to kill myself by overdose, and uh..." Cassie paused, twisting the ends of one of her two French braids. She looked up to see the whole group listening to her in earnest, especially Nicole. She uttered a quick little smile and continued.
"Luckily I'm still here, and the reason behind my suicide attempt is because I've been a victim of bullying for about half of my time in high school," she said. "It took a toll on my education, my family... just my life in general. And I'm here to get help, to get better, not just for myself, but for my family too. And I know that there's so much that life has to offer, and I plan to stick around so that I can achieve my goals in life," Cassie finished.
"What are your goals in life?" Rhonda questioned gently.
"I'd like to become a psychologist one day."
"Oh, we have another future psychologist in the group!" Rhonda commented, pleased. "You and Miss Nikki here."
Cassie and Nikki smiled with each other at what Rhonda said.
"This might be a great day today," Cassie thought to herself.
***************************************************************************
Earlier On
C.J., Angie, and Austin stepped inside the school to see that it was full to the brim with chattering students socializing with their friends. After checking in with school safety, C.J. led his parents to the principal's office, as eyes followed their every move, Austin's move to be exact. His face was stone cold and emotionless.
"Oh, crap, C.J.'s dad's here," a boy spoke up. "I've seen his mom before, though."
"Yeah, they're both here for Simone and Ashley," another student replied. "Remember, they made Cassie try to kill herself."
"Oh, yeah. They done did it now."
"Couldn't have said it better myself, kid," Austin muttered under his breath.
"Austin!" Angie hissed. "Behave yourself!"
"I am behaving, babe, don't worry," Austin protested.
"Ok, we're here," C.J. spoke up, as they reached the main office.
"Austin, remember Cassie's counting on you to keep your cool, so Imma need you to calm down, smile, and let me do all the talking, hmm?" Angie instructed. " 'Cause you're still emotionally out of it, I can see it by the look on your face."
"Angela Carver, you see right through me," Austin replied lovingly.
"Aw, come on, Dad, not here!" C.J. groaned.
Austin glared at C.J. before they stepped foot in the main office.
"Hi, Ms. Derose," C.J. greeted. "We're here for the meeting with Mr. Gonzales."
"Good morning," Angie greeted.
"Yes, you're just in time," Ms. Derose replied, looking up from her watch. "Just step right in."
"Thank you," Austin smiled at Ms. Derose, as C.J. led them to Mr. Gonzales' office. C.J. knocked on the door, while Angie took Austin's hands in hers, while Austin took a deep breath.
"Come in," Mr. Gonzales called.
C.J. opened the door and stepped inside, while his parents followed. Mr. Gonzales was sitting behind his desk, while Simone sat with her father, with an anxious look on her face.
"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, we've been waiting for you," Mr. Gonzales greeted.
Angie had a completely shell-shocked look on her face, as she realized who Simone's parent was, while Austin looked flushed, a sign that he was getting steamed. Simone's father didn't look all that relaxed. He was completely shocked himself.
"Angela?" Simone's father spoke up.
"Jermaine?" Angie replied, her voice trembling.