Young Royals: What...now?

Cafeteria Trays.

Wilhelm

Wilhelm found himself again in the counseling office, this time with an appointment. Tuesday, 9am. The biggest advantage was that at least he got to miss Civics class. What a waste of time that class was. Currently, they were learning how the government was run. Having a front row seat his whole life kind of gave him a head-start on that one. He literally got a 100% on the diagnostic. When she handed them back, the teacher had said with a smile, "Maybe you should be teaching the class!" Teachers...

The secretary nodded at him politely as he sat down in the waiting area. At exactly 9:00, Dr. Nilsson opened his door to let Wilhelm in.

"Good to see you again, Wilhelm. How are you today?"

"Good, good. You know."

As Wilhelm got seated, the therapist asked, "Have you gotten out in the snow yet? Last night it snowed absolute buckets. What I wouldn't do to have knees that could safely ride in a sled."

Wilhelm smiled, immediately feeling more comfortable in the space. "Ha, yeah, some guys and I went out last night before curfew. We took a few of the cafeteria trays, greased the bottom, and went down the hill by the entrance."

Dr. Nilsson looked at him, mildly impressed. "Cafeteria trays, eh? I'll be sure to mention it to the kitchen crew to double wash those things before reuse!" he said mischievously. 

Wilhelm gave a polite smile. Like they actually returned them to the cafeteria. Currently, they were safely under Henry's bed in the dorms in the room next to Wilhelm's.

He continued, "You said you went out with some other guys. Who are your friends here, Wilhelm?" 

Wilhelm looked down at the carpet. What was he supposed to say? 

"Oh, um, yeah, I guess I'm more of a loner type. Some guys from the dorm just went out and they knocked on everyone's door, and I, yeah, just went with them. It was no big deal."

"Friends are hard at every age, but especially at this age. And especially in your situation."

Wilhelm continued looking at your shoes. He nodded slightly as Dr. Nilsson spoke.

"Wilhelm, I don't mean to press. However, from what I recall you did make a friend last semester."

Wilhelm knew exactly what we was talking about. He looked up at the counselor. 

Wilhelm saw how uncomfortable the man looked. "Again, I don't mean to press. This is your appointment, you can talk, or not talk, about whatever you like." He wondered if the counselor felt any extra pressure talking to him more than to other kids. He doubted that he would have squirmed so much talking to Vincent or Frederika. 

Wilhelm sat up a bit straighter. "Um, yeah, no, I mean, we can talk about it."

Dr. Nilsson put his hands on his knees, in the universal active listening stance.

"So, you said you have a hard time making friends. How did you make friends with him?"

Wilhelm found it interesting that the counselor never named Simon, just referred to him as "him" or "friend". Was that some kind of psych thing?

"Yeah, so, we met at lunch at Forest Ridge. He was eating alone, and I was eating alone, so we talked a little about a class we had together. Um, and then, we both ended up joining the rowing team, so we saw each other a lot there, which helped, I guess. We had something to talk about. You know."

"True. Some of my closest friends have been people I ended up meeting when I was by myself and had something in common with already," he commented.

"Uh-huh. Um, I-I don't think I want to talk about the rest yet. Maybe next time?" Wilhelm looked up at Dr. Nilsson. 

"Sure. Whenever. As I said, this is your appointment. You can talk- or not talk - about whatever you want. My job is just to listen and help you think about things in a different way, maybe."

Wilhelm cracked a quick smile. "Thanks. Really. My life is sort of falling apart, or, I guess, already fell apart around me, and I-I just can't seem to pick up the pieces."

"Someone once told me, sometimes it's nice to be at rock-bottom, because all you can do is go up!" Dr. Nilsson joked.

Wilhelm laughed at the corniness of the therapist's comment. Everyone had heard that. "Yeah, guess so. It's gotta get better from here..."

"Yes. And it will. Promise," affirmed the counselor.

With that, Wilhelm walked out, just in time to not have to return to Civics. Tiny miracles.