Ain't No Mountain High Enough

"Opportunities"

Arjun bought the plane tickets, and Ms. Harlow and I began preparing for the trip to Boston. We would leave in a week, and I was more than a little nervous. First off, I had never been on a plane before, let alone in a wheelchair. What would that be like? Second, I would have to put my sessions with Charlotte on hold, and I didn't know how to feel about that. There was a small part of me that felt that if I missed a session, or stopped going entirely, I would fall back into old habits. Yeah, I wasn't completely better, but I was happier these days with someone to help me face my feelings. But I would only miss one, right? I wasn't going to be in Boston for that long.

We were able to coordinate with Keto and Veronica so we could be on the same plane. At least I would be able to see them. Funny...the last time I saw them was in an airport, when we saw Valerie off to Boston. If only Arjun was coming. Then we could have a good reunion! That was one of the bad parts about being an adult. It was hard to stick with your friends, no matter how close you might be.

I went for one more therapy session with Charlotte the day before we would leave. Things went as usual, and I was feeling a little cheerful by the time we were done, though I had kept the fact that my mother called me a secret from Charlotte. I really didn't want to discuss that right now. Besides, what if it had just been an accident. How the heck had she gotten my number, anyway?

"Have you given my offer any more thought?" Charlotte asked, breaking me out of my thoughts of my mother.

I nodded slowly. "I...I think I have an idea," I said. I had given her offer to work for her some serious thought, and maybe the idea I came up with was useless to her, or just plain dumb. But I was going to give it a try, because this idea was what I did best. "I was in school for coding," I said, staring at my hands. "I wanted to make video games. I...I don't have my degree yet, but I can still code and stuff. I...I was thinking that maybe I could do something along those lines."

Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. "I'm sure that could be arranged. I have a friend who is a programmer, and I could ask him to set something up for you. You wouldn't be working here, though."

"That's okay," I said, smiling. "As long as I have something. I just want to save up money before I start school again in the fall."

Charlotte shared my smile. "A good idea! And I know I've said it before, but I am glad you are giving yourself goals to work towards."

I nodded. "It does give me something to look forward to."

"Very good," Charlotte said. She closed her notepad and stood. "Well, I suppose we'll not be meeting next week, hm?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm leaving for Boston tomorrow."

"Nervous?"

I laughed. "I don't think it's possible for me not to be nervous."

She laughed along with me as she opened the door to let me leave. "We'll just continue as normal when you get back. If you want to, that is."

I stayed quiet as I wheeled out of the room, then looked over my shoulder to watch Charlotte go down the opposite side of the hall. Programming wasn't what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but it would be a good start for me, and give me good practice. Soon enough, I could make my own games and get my name out there as an independent developer. Maybe I could even start making games like Metal Gear...

Okay, I wasn't going to get too ahead of myself there! I shook the thoughts from my head and went out to the waiting room, where Arjun was sprawled out in a chair reading a magazine with a scantily clad woman on the front of it. He didn't notice me until I was right in front of him.

"Oh, done already?" he said, closing the magazine and putting it back on the rack beside his chair.

I smirked. "Getting an eyeful?"

"Hey," he said, frowning. "It was a fitness magazine, okay?"

"Whatever you say, man." I laughed as he started grumbling under his breath and opened the door for me. It took us a few minutes to get into the car, then we were on the road.

"Mom's probably packing," Arjun said absentmindedly. "She always gets into this frenzy whenever there's a trip to pack for- well, you've seen her. I want to get back and help her out before she drives herself mad over what she'll need to bring. And to make sure she doesn't overpack like she always does."

"Why don't you just come with us?" I knew he wanted to take care of things with Nathan, but couldn't that wait? I mean, how could we have a reunion if he wasn't there? Besides, his mom would be safe in Boston with him.

"You know why I can't."

"Why can't you just call the police on him before we get the heck out of dodge?"

He pursed his lips, keeping his eyes on the road. "I want to make sure they get him, and there's no telling what will happen if I call the police, and they can't find them, then Nathan finds out what I did. I don't want to risk it."

I guessed I could understand that. I just wished something could be right for us, for once.

We got home, and sure enough, stuff was all over the place in the wake of Ms. Harlow's packing frenzy. She never could figure out what to bring, and what not to bring. She gave Arjun and I a hug when we came in the door.

"Good, you're back," she said, almost breathless. "Randal, I left a suitcase in your room, so you can start packing."

"Let me help, Mom," Ajrun said as he followed her down the hall. Their voices grew faint as they headed towards the storage room.

Smiling and shaking my head, I wheeled myself to my room to start packing.

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Thank you so much for reading! 

Listen to "Opportunities" by the Pet Shop Boys!

Peace✌️~ A.J.