Bad things happen to good people

Meeting

It was lunchtime. The long-dreaded counselor meeting had come.

After the bathroom, I made my way back to homeroom and kind of hazed my way through the first four periods. Now, I was walking down the stairs to the cafeteria.

Of course, I never ate lunch, but I figured anytime I could use as an excuse to not be at the counselor's would be nice to have.

The line wasn't that long today. With one look at the lunch menu, I could see why: it was fish sticks.

I got in line anyways, killing time. The worst that happens is that the counselor gets mad that I took so long, I thought. And I have an excuse.

Ten minutes later, I was at the front of the line, putting my lunch pin in. My tray had four fish sticks, a carton of milk, carrots, and some ranch. Then, I started the tiresome walk up the stairs.

Before I walked into the room, I took a deep breath. My game plan, I thought to myself, is to go in there and say anything I can to get out of there and never go back.

"Hello!" The counselor said as soon as I stepped into the room. He had a smile on his face. "Take a seat. You can put your tray down over there."

I reluctantly took a seat in a chair in a corner of the small room.

"So why did my Mom call you?" I asked the counselor, mostly to break the silence.

"Well, I'm sure you can guess," He said, leaning forward in his chair. "She's worried about you."

That's funny, I thought. If she was really worried, why didn't she talk to me herself?

There were so many things I could have said or done, but all I did was sit there, staring at the ground.

"Oh." I could tell that the counselor was examining my face, attempting to read it. It made me uncomfortable.

"So, I wanted you to start to come in and see me every few days." He said, opening his computer to his schedule.

No, no, no, no, no, I panicked inside my head.  This is the opposite of what I wanted

"You know, I don't think that's necessary," I suggested. "I don't know what she's worried about. I'm doing fine."

The counselor peeked at me over the top rim of his glasses with a look that said 'We both know that's not true', and the worst part about it was, he was right.

"I'll figure the scheduling out later with your teachers and Mom," He said, looking back to his computer. "But I'm glad I'll be able to get to know you."

Him getting to know me was the last thing I wanted.

Then the bell rang.

"I'll see you tomorrow," He said, smiling at me.

"I suppose," I replied. I grabbed my untouched tray and walked out, feeling his eyes on my back.

Everything was going wrong.