Pangaia: Agendas (Year One: Fall)

Chapter Sixteen - Cheyenne

 For their next session, Dr. Warhol presented herself in a much more professional manner. She even had a different style of dress.

Instead of the short skirt and revealing blouse she'd worn last time, she had a simple and conservative black dress suit. Her dark hair was pulled back in a neat bun, held in place by two matching hairpins, and to finish the ensemble was a pair of dark rimmed reading glasses. Immediately after Cheyenne entered and took a seat on the couch, the doctor pulled out her notebook and flipped to the next empty page.

"So," Dr. Warhol said with a bright smile. "How was your first week? I want to hear all about it. Every day, don't leave anything out."

"O-kay..."

At first Cheyenne was apprehensive about telling her everything. She wasn't sure what Dr. Warhol was trying to do. Still, she dutifully went through every day of the week beginning with Monday and going through to Friday. There were details she left out of course, most of which involved Denver and her new friends. She made sure to do her best to mask all those things in her mind as well.

"It sounds like you've had a fairly easy time adjusting to your new classes," Dr Warhol said. "Though the staff hasn't been concerned about that. You're an exceptional student, Cheyenne. Everyone is impressed with the work you've been putting forth and how you're taking the time to catch up. In fact, and you didn't hear this from me, but even Mr. Thantos has stated he's satisfied with your progress. He doesn't compliment new students often, or even students in general."

"He doesn't seem like the type to compliment anyone, period," Cheyenne said.

The doctor laughed. "You haven't even been here for a week and you've already got him nailed down to a T. Then again, with all the time you spend with the Willam twins, I shouldn't be surprised. Anj is one of Mr. Thantos' advisees. The two spend a lot of time together outside of class shooting the breeze. He practically idolizes the man, come to think of it. Those Willam twins are a pretty good pair to get yourself associated with."

"They're nice."

"I was thinking about how popular they are." Dr. Warhol stretched out her legs and set the notebook down on her lap. "They're quite possibly the most popular students we've had in awhile. It would be hard to believe given how closed off they keep their inner circle, but everyone who joins it instantly becomes popular as well. Do you want to be popular, Cheyenne?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I can't say I've ever thought about it before now. Sure, being popular would be interesting I guess."

"Interesting indeed."

"I mean," she clarified, "I wouldn't mind having more friends for a change." She slowly waded into the deeper end of their session, testing the waters to see if Dr. Warhol would be the shark or the lifeguard. The doctor only nodded at her, waiting for her to continue. "It's never been easy for me."

"Your medical records show you've gone to a doctor for anxiety and panic attacks related to large group settings. Do you feel yourself going through those symptoms at all here?"

"Only when something dramatic happens," she said.

Dr. Warhol raised an eyebrow. "You didn't mention anything dramatic happening this week. Or did I miss something?"

Do I tell her? "I had another encounter with the boy who bit me," she said. "We were out in the town. Anj, Zes, my roommate, their friend, and me. He was there, and it freaked me out. I wasn't sure what to expect. He made a scene in front of everyone. I don't like being the center of attention."

"Did he try to attack you again?"

"No," Cheyenne whispered. "He didn't do anything to me." She paused before deciding to take another step toward opening herself up further to the woman. "I know everyone here looks at me differently.The way he talks to me makes all of that worse. Sometimes he's aggressive. Other times he's flirtatious. He acts like he can do whatever he wants with me and no one will do anything about it. That last part was really upsetting to hear. I thought there'd be consequences to his actions."