I tried to get to school on time, but I was too tired to make it before the end of first period. I didn't know what to do, so I knocked on the first door that wasn't a classroom. A dark haired woman in a pink dress opened it, smiling like she had been expecting me.
"Hi, I'm Ms. Kelly! You're Jane Hopper, correct? Did your brother send you?" This must be the counselor Max had been seeing. How did she know who I was?
"What?" Why would she think that Will would send me? I wasn't allowed to get therapy, and he knew that.
"Will! He sent you, didn't he? He said you should come see me sometime and that he'd send you over when he found you," Ms. Kelly explained. "Come in!"
I didn't know what to think. Firstly, it was really weird that Will broke the rules to send me here. Hopper would kill both of us if he found out. Also, what was I even supposed to do? This teacher never learned about the Upside Down, my entire life would sound insane to her. But, I guess talking to her wouldn't hurt.
"Ok," I mumbled, walking in. I sat down at the desk in the middle of the room. The walls were white with a few posters and drawings on them. If the office was meant to be comfortable, it wasn't doing a good job.
"So, Jane..." Ms. Kelly began. "How about we just start with a little bit about you."
"About... me?" Great, only a few seconds in and there's already an issue. There wasn't much about me, other than my powers. I didn't have anything to say about myself other than that.
"Yeah! Do you have any hobbies or interests?" Did I? I wasn't completely sure.
"...Writing. I like writing," That was the first thing that I could think of. I wasn't very good at it, but I enjoyed the sense of control I felt over my life when I wrote.
"That sounds fun, Jane! What do you write about?"
"Max," I said without thinking. Shit. "I-I mean, um..."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Are you talking about Max Mayfield?" Ms. Kelly asked.
"Yes."
"Were you two friends?" She asked. I nodded. "How did you two meet?"
I couldn't tell her the truth, so I stayed silent. After a few long moments, Ms Kelly changed the subject.
"Will told me that you yelled at him yesterday. He said you were really upset. Is that normal for you?" So that's why I was here. Not because of any long term issue, just a little outburst.
"Normal?"
"I'm sorry, let me rephrase that," Ms Kelly said. "Do you get upset a lot?"
"No," I answered. The room was starting to make me anxious. The walls felt like they were moving in, and the clock on the wall was ticking noisily.
"Ma'am?"
"Yes, Jane?"
"May I leave now? I need to go to lunch soon."
"Of course!" Ms Kelly grinned at me. "Come back whenever you need to!"
I grabbed my bag and almost sprinted out of the office, relieved to be in a more open space. The bell for lunch rang and everyone came out of their classrooms as I made my way outside for some peace. Immediately after stepping out though, a hand grabbed my shoulder.
