Planet XO

Satya #1

"I can't breathe," Satya pushed out an ill-formed cry as he clutched his throat. He could feel himself drowning as incessant waves of emotions came crashing into him from all directions. "Make it stop" he yelled in panic as he closed his eyes and shut his ears with his hands. But they only grew stronger as more of his classmates huddled around him, drawn by the commotion. "Go away!" he yelled in fear before collapsing to the floor. Seeing him fall made them burst into a frenzy. They had no clue what was going on and even the boldest of them we beginning to grow nervous. Eventually, their teacher broke in through the crowd of kids gathered around him. "Somebody run, call the doctor!" Miss Cremer yelled as she rushed towards the fallen boy and took him in her arms. "Get away from me!" he yelled as he felt a new wave of panic hurling towards him as Miss Cremer approached him. He could feel the force of every single emotion projected by the people around him. Through their faces, through their voices. Their panic filled his mind, making it harder and harder for him to stay afloat. He clutched his ears tighter as he realized he would soon drown if they didn't step away. When he was still a little child, merely closing his eyes had been enough to escape such onslaughts of other people's emotions. But over the years, he had grown better at latching onto their emotions even through tiny hints betrayed by their noises and movement. He tried to yell once more and tell them to get away from him, but he couldn't muster enough breath to make a sound. I should've never come to school, was the last thought that crossed his mind before he surrendered to the force of emotions that pulled him into their vortex.

"I don't know, Doctor. He's an orphan," he could hear the school principal's voice when he woke up. He looked around. His vision was hazy. Probably from whatever drugs they've given me, he surmised. The whiteness of everything around him, from bedsheets to walls, told him that he was in the school hospital. Even though he hadn't been to the hospital at Freemont Common School before, he had visited enough hospitals in Shallom to know that they were all designed to look the same. "Who lives with him then? It would help if I can speak to them," another voice, confident and bored at the same time. The doctor's, he presumed.

"He lives at our dormitory. One of our teachers, Mary, has taken him under her charge. But she's teaching a class right now. I've already arranged for her to come as soon as she's done," the principal replied. After a short pause, he added, "I didn't want to inform her in between the class. It would not be ideal for the other students." His usually authoritative voice was thick with embarrassment this time.

"Ah, alright. How long has he been with you? Is this the first time such an episode has occurred?"

"Mary brought him in a month ago. She rescued him from the streets. He had been at a foster home at some point before the streets, I think."

"Did he run away from there?"

"I don't know the full story, Doctor. This was his first day at school. Mary had informed us all that being in a group was difficult for him. So, I suppose she knew something like this might happen."

"I see," there was a hint of fake understanding in the doctor's voice.

"How old is he?"

"Around 10, I think."

"I see."

"Is he alright now? What is wrong with him?" the principal asked, clearly more annoyed than worried.

"From what Miss Cremer described, I suspect he might have had a panic attack. I believe he becomes anxious in the presence of other people. Especially around new people he is not already comfortable with. Since this was his first day at your school, he might have found their presence a little too much to handle. It is a classic case of social anxiety. He should start with smaller steps towards socializing with others. Make him take smaller classes first, with fewer students," the doctor explained.