The Elevator Man

Part 3: Psychology

Josephine came up to the "College of Behavioral Science," and entered through the glass doors. A soft burst of cold air gently combed across her face as she stepped inside. She checked the time, seeing that there was still 5 minutes left before class started. Relieved, she made her way into the elevator and up to the fifth floor. Several other students accompanied her, but no one spoke.

With such a massive campus and enormous student body, most students didn't know each other. It was more likely to see someone outside of class at a party than anywhere else on campus. In large seminar classrooms, there was hardly any communication between peers either.

The elevator stopped on the third and then the fifth floor where Josephine exited and proceeded to her classroom, 510. She entered quietly, sitting down in a random seat near the back row. She then reached into her school bag and picked out the essential note taking tools for psychology, a pen, notebook, and her 800 page psychology tome written by Dr. Felch, herself.

About two thirds of the students were already present, most scrolling through social media on their phones or laptops, waiting for another exciting seventy minute course to begin.

The professor, Dr. Felch came walking into class with a binder for her notes and a coffee. She walked down the steps of the seminar hall to the front of the room where she placed her notes and coffee, her long silky black hair dancing atop her shoulders to the beat of the steps.

She turned around and examined the students' absent faces as their attention was fixed anywhere else than on her. But she acknowledged that class hadn't officially started as she checked the time on her watch and the digital clock above their heads. She seemed to trust the time on her wrist more than anything else, and often used it instead of other options.

As Josephine got comfortable in her seat and prepared her notebook for today's lesson, a male student entered the room and quietly sat next to her. He didn't look at her or even seem to notice she was there.

Josephine glanced over to him though his eyes were fixed on the textbook in front of him as he flipped through the pages, stopping on a section titled, "Mental Illness: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)" It then triggered in her mind that PTSD was today's lesson topic, and she opened up her textbook, flipping to the same page. She then reached into her bag for her laptop and started it up, signing into her online school portal to submit her homework. She had forgotten to do so last night even though she finished it on time, so she had to be certain to do so before the 8 a.m. due time.

She submitted her homework with just a minute to spare and closed her laptop as class began to start.

"Good morning, everyone," Dr. Felch said with a lively voice while a few more students stealthily sneaked into class and took their seats. "Well, I hope you've all had a great weekend full of psychology and behavioral health research... maybe a Netflix show here and there wouldn't hurt."

Dr. Felch was the kind of 50 year old professor that truly loved her job and the students she worked with and tried to make every day feel interesting and important for them. She had such a positive and pleasant demeanor that almost made up for the class being so early in the morning.

She took a quick sip of her coffee and set it back down, her black suit jacket adjusting to the movements. She wore a tight gray dress underneath that showed through the open buttons and dressy black slip-ons that made a light tapping sound as she walked.

"So, today we're going to talk about one of the most common behavioral health disorders that I am sure many of you are familiar with." Dr. Felch turned on her projector to her current PowerPoint lesson. 'Posttraumatic stress disorder... or PTSD abbreviated'. Could anyone tell me what PTSD is and how it affects the brain?" She stared out into the auditorium at averted eyes until someone raised their hand.

"Phil, right?" She gestured back at him, giving him the opportunity to speak. Josephine looked over and noticed that it was the boy that sat down next to her that volunteered.

"Yes. It's Phil," he started. "Posttraumatic stress disorder is a mental illness caused by a majorly horrific or terrible event in a person's life. The symptoms include anxiety, paranoia, uncontrolled emotional reactions, and could lead to depression. Veterans and people returning from wars often experience it the most, but it could happen to just about anyone if the events are bad enough." He answered confidently then proceeded to bury his face in his textbook.

"That was very good, Phil. Thank you so much for that." Dr. Felch responded with a bright smile then gestured back to her PowerPoint. "Phil is absolutely right. PTSD is a mental illness that arises after someone experiences a very traumatic experience as the name suggests. It will often cause very steep and noticeable changes in behavior when a person experiences a trigger related to that traumatic event. If you're an army veteran, it could be loud noises, smoke, among many other things. People with this disorder will often act out as if they were experiencing the event again either screaming, panicking, or suffering an anxiety attack of any kind." She explained as she flipped to the next slide of information titled "The Trauma."

Josephine shook her head, already bored with the topic. But, she tried to remain focused as the lesson went on. However, there were other things on her mind like her lunch break when she'd meet up with Kairus at the cafeteria. They both had very busy schedules but would see each other when and wherever they could. There were even plans to watch movies and hang out in Josephine's dorm room later.

Over an hour had passed with Josephine half daydreaming about Kairus and half trying to pay attention to the lecture. She had taken down all the notes she could, so that she could reference them later and confirm what was taught in this period.

"Alright, everyone! That's it for today, I will see all of your happy smiling faces Wednesday morning," Dr. Felch dismissed her class and they began to quickly exit.

As Josephine was getting up from her seat, Phil's light blue eyes quickly met hers, and he swiftly turned away with a sense of embarrassment.

Josephine noticed, but didn't think much of it as she exited the classroom and proceeded to her next class, French History.