Having Two Mates {2024}

FOUR.

HALEY

Haley isn't fond of therapists and doctors however, she finds time at the end of the week to meet with the school counselor Principal Quinn was adamant on her seeing. Most likely to ensure Haley wouldn't sue the school for emotional distress or something but Haley didn't argue much. During the meeting, even her mother agreed without hesitation.

Still, therapists and doctors remind her too much of her dad. How he'd be away on-call when he used to live with them. Decompressing from all his sessions seemed to prevent him from separating being a therapist and a father. A simple question would turn into a long conversation dissecting feelings and reshaping approaches to conflicts. Eventually, Haley adopted the habit of keeping to herself and giving little to no information to avoid those conversations.

Then he started staying away longer until eventually, the next they shared the same space was his funeral.

Sitting in the counselor's office, Haley is even more uneasy.

The room is bare, minus a few boxes stacked offside. There's a fake plant in the corner. The room smells brand new.  Freshly disinfected like a doctors office. There are no curtains on the window. Not that it needed any since it is a rarity to see the blue in the sky. The forecast calls for a storm on the way so the sun has been missing more than it usually is.

The door opens. A woman with dark hair enters with a folder tucked under her arm. Haley can see her name in all caps on the tab.

"Sorry I'm late." The woman smiles, adjusting her crooked glasses. She holds the file up, "I had to go all the way to Admin to grab this."

"It's okay." Haley watches her cross the room. "I have two free blocks at the end of the day today." It was either this or go straight home.

The first thing Haley notices is the woman appears younger than she expected. Her straight dark hair is tucked behind her ears. She's the only falcuty Haley's seen not wear heavy, cakey make up. She has none on minus a gloss. She's wearing an oversized sweater that exposes her shoulders and wide legged jeans instead of the business casual dress code Haley's sure she's violating even on a dress down Friday.

"Lucky me!" She takes a seat. "Can I get you anything? Water? Juice?" Haley shakes her head. "I'll introduce myself: I'm Dr. DeLuca. New school counselor. The last counselor got a better job and I took up the vacancy."

Dr. DeLuca takes a seat at the desk. She opens the folder, skimming over a lot of paperwork. Haley is taken aback by how extensive her file is despite her being a new transfer. Colored tabs stick to alternate pages. Even her last file at her old school wasn't this thick.

The folder shuts when Haley leans forward.

"You can call me Demetria though." She rests her chin in the palm of her hand. "I'm not that much older than you. I think it'll help with getting closer."

"Isn't that a bit unprofessional?"

Demetria cocks her head to the side. "No, I don't see why it should be." She says. "In college most professors prefer you call them by their first name so think of it as good practice."

Haley doesn't object.

"Doctor, huh?"

Haley doesn't see any plaques on the wall. She figures it's because she's new and hasn't had time to decorate.

"I'm working on it. But it has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" She grins.

"It does."

"It's a lot of work but taking on this job helps with my studies." Demetria kicks off her heels and begins to spin in her chair. "High education definitely isn't for the weak."