Of Shields & Trees [BxB]

01 | The School Shrink | Soft-Core

A/N: This is a shorter, soft-core version of the original chapter. What I've omitted here is the main character's relationship with his parents since he isn't raised in a healthy loving environment. I usually try to avoid triggers in my stories but in this case his family situation is important for further plot development.

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"Are you sure there isn't anything you want to share?" The shrink asked. "It might not be related to your parents. Anything else that is troubling you? I'm here to listen."

"I would like to get back in class, if you don't mind," I said, getting tired of all this. Other children in my spot I guess would be thrilled that they wouldn't have to stay in class, but I wasn't like this. I wanted to learn, to cultivate new knowledge, to develop new skills. And my French wasn't as good as to allow myself skipping class. Even if I was authorised to do so.

"Ok..." The shrink said, leaning back in his leather chair. "You may leave. But call me if you need anything, ok? My door is always open."

I was sure this was the phrase he used with all students that came here, and he wasn't particularly thrilled about listening to some kid's problems, but I nodded anyway, saying a timid "Ok" before I bolted out of the door.

I reached the classroom and told Mrs. Roux where I was. She let me take my seat without further questions.

My name is Radomir, by the way. But my friends called me Rado for short. Sometimes even my enemies. Like the boy sitting right next to me - Pavel. The loudest, most annoying boy in our class.

"Hey, nerd! What were you doing with the shrink? Did you totally lose it or something?" Pavel asked, looking for something to keep him entertained in Mrs. Roux's class.

"None of your business," I muttered, taking out my textbook. But he kept nagging me until Sabah hissed at him to be quiet. My hero! She was one of the nice girls. And for some reason the jocks actually listened to her when she asserted her judgement. I have no idea what she did to gain their respect but it was a fact. Once Sabah said something, everyone listened.

The rest of the day was rather peaceful. I skipped PE, since it was the last of our classes, and went to the park. I liked breathing in the fresh aroma of nature, sitting on a secluded bench and gazing at the clouds. It calmed me down. And especially at the end of November, there weren't that many people so it allowed me to stay alone with my thoughts.

I had plenty of time until I had to go home. I took out the three dice that I kept in my pocket and started rolling them in my hand while looking at the cloudy sky. There were cumulus fluffy clouds. It wasn't likely to rain any time soon.

I thought about what I was going to do once I turn 18. Or what I called The Coming-of-age Plan.

First, I was going to find a part time job. Something that wouldn't take me more than four hours per day and wouldn't get in the way of my studies. With my first pay check, I was going to open a bank account under my name and once I saved enough, I was going to look for a place to live in. Probably something cheap, that goes with a roommate. All the while, keeping my grades high. After all, I wanted to be a programmer. I had to get all As at least in Maths.

A stray cat started meowing at my feet. It was a white one, with some black around its ears and a colourful tail. I tried to determine what colour that would be but I only saw it as different shades of brown.

I realised that my colour perception was a bit different from that of other kids at the age of eight. We were drawing something in class and one of the kids asked me why I was colouring the strawberries brown. He pointed to a slightly different shade of brown and called it red. At the time, it didn't seem like there was much of a difference but I got the 'red' pencil anyway and finished the rest of the strawberries in that colour.

Over the years, I've noticed that some shades of blue people called purple. Again, not much of a difference. And that oranges aren't light brown but were actually named after their own colour. Eventually, I learned not to state the colour of things lest I get it wrong and look like an idiot.

I bent over and petted the cat, regretting I didn't have any leftover sandwiches on me. I already ate all of my lunch after 2nd period.

I stood up with a sigh, leaving the poor kitty behind. Too bad I couldn't take it home with me.

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I entered the studio apartment I lived in with my parents. We were residing in a tiny single room that had a sofa, a coffee table, a small TV, boxed kitchen and the washing machine all cramped next to each other. My parents slept on the expandable sofa while I used a plain single mattress that I had to roll up every morning. It was a bother but I got used to it.

My mother was lying on the sofa as usual, her feet on the tiny coffee table, gaze transfixed on the TV. There were at least a dozen empty glasses scattered on the table around her feet.

I got to cleaning, being careful not to stand in front of the TV. I gathered the empty glasses, washed the dishes, cleaned the kitchen counter... My mother was making a big mess even if all she had to do was warm something in the microwave. Right now, it showed that she ordered pizza for lunch by the paper pizza box I had to throw away. And she didn't leave any for me, of course. I wasn't even surprised by that.

Finally, I wiped the coffee table clean and went in my corner of the room.

I browsed through my schedule: PE, French, Chemistry, Biology, Literature. I started studying in French first, writing down words and imagining the pronunciation in my mind. I really strived to be the best in anything I do.

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IN BRIEF, what you've missed from the hard-core chapter is: Radomir has an abusive alcoholic father and a useless mother, who is totally neglecting her child's needs. Rado was discussing his family situation with the school psychologist at the beginning of chapter. Mainly because, and this is important, Mr. Andonov, a teacher of his, noticed a bruise on his arm, not for the first time.

It turned into quite a shortie after I cut out all the triggers :D

Thank you for reading and have a nice day/evening!

Love,
Ash 😘💋

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