Alyssa's Sins

13. The Double-Edged Peace

With the peace deal on Christmas, Alyssa could finally breathe a sigh of relief. It wasn't just a sigh of relief, but a great day, topped up by her Mevius 100s her tobacconist Cosmo got for her. The flavor was quirky and initially a bit off-putting, but she soon grew to like it. It was a change for the better. Lucas Jones invited some cousins to a Japanese restaurant with an outdoor area and a table with an ashtray so Alyssa could smoke there. 

He reminded Alyssa to not smoke too much there, as some family members are sensitive to cigarette smoke. Alyssa agreed, and she even said, "Even though I enjoy smoking, if they don't want me to smoke near them, I will comply respectfully" with grace. She even suggested pairing shalimar eau de parfum guerlain perfume to pair with her cigarette smoke smell in case others found the tobacco smell by itself too offensive. Lucas Jones was impressed by this, muttering to himself, "Man, I raised a well-mannered girl. Even though she is only 11, she takes this much time to be considerate of others who may not like the smell of her smoking. It shattered my preconceived notion of teen smokers as rude and ungrateful!"

And the perfume worked—it complemented her looks as she smoked a 100 with her cigarette holder and black satin gloves. Lucas Jones took photos of her doing it—classy, like a model. At first, they were shocked that she smoked so young and with that much grace, but later half of them grew to accept it. Half of them were very judgemental, and some even took Lucas Jones aside and insulted him as a "bad" parent. A few threatened to report him to CPS; Lucas Jones simply blocked their phone numbers and ignored them.

She was elated by this and decided to put more effort into modelling. Perhaps she could use her good looks to win some modelling competitions or even try out as an actress despite her need for regular smoking breaks. She could even become a graceful dancer considering her figure. Yes, cigarettes weren't great for her lungs, but they did keep her figure slim and beautiful. If she liked tobacco but didn't want the lung hits, she could use snus or cigars. And she did - the day after Christmas she enjoyed a Honduran.

The time flew by, going into different modelling and acting tryouts. It was tough at first, which was to be expected considering how competitive it was. But eventually she succeeded a week after school started to be on a tryout for acting. It did come at a cost—her academics began to slip and Michael took advantage of this by closing half the gap between Alyssa and himself. Alyssa's behavior began to slide a little bit, enough that Lucas Jones noticed a bit more hyperactivity, although nothing too serious.

Knowing that her academics were slightly falling behind, Alyssa decided to seek her therapist again for studying tips. She knew she had to not fall behind in order to be considered to skip 8th grade. The 2nd semester would decide whether Alyssa could join the accelerated courses to bridge the gap or not. 

The burnout was beginning to surface now that Alyssa's adrenaline from fighting off the Pluh Cult was gone. Only a few students could be on the accelerated programme in the middle school and it had a heavy emphasis on behaviour, despite the research by A Nation Deceived that acceleration is beneficial even for those students who are not necessarily very mature but who are not immature. 

Alyssa attempted to pursue detente with Michael. She knew if Michael could ease up on the competition with Alyssa, it would give her less stress just in case the Pluh Cult attacked again. All she would need to do is be at or above the bottom line - go to a decent high school to skip 8th grade even if it's not the best.

She knew she wouldn't be the best, yet she knew the DSM-V with its relatively lenient criteria of ADHD would be published in 2013. All she needed was to wait a little over three years and have the psychologist use the criteria. In order to prepare for this possible diagnosis, she compiled her records, including one at age 11, certifying she had several symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity: often being "on the go," fidgetting with hands, talking excessively, and restlessness (subjectively, and physically, but not to the point of running). All These symptoms are in multiple settings.

A week after the promising acting tryout, Michael agreed to detente with Alyssa with these terms - no grade grubbing, no aggression to each other in middle school, some trading of study materials and goods equally to each other. Practically, it was better terms than Alyssa was expecting—similar to a non-aggression pact. However, this led Alyssa to rest on her laurels too much, exposing various problems she has compensated for up to now. On the bright side, at least Alyssa can finally start acting and has managed to secure a place for modelling.

As time flew by, the impacts of difficulty organising and procrastinating began weighing down on her. Already in March/April, some teachers were worried she was falling below her potential. This had its merits—her IQ suggests she was to achieve extraordinary things, yet she achieves as if she is merely bright, like a 115-120IQ student. There was a gap, but it was unclear if it was clinically diagnosable. Alyssa suggested to her dad to wait and see, to seek a psychologist in 7th grade to give a report about the symptoms. It would've been a lot worse had Michael put a lot more effort into academics to overtake Alyssa.

"I've had a little bit too much, much... All of the people start to rush... A dizzy twister dance." Alyssa sang with tipsy passion to Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" on the radio, her voice surprisingly on-tune and coherent despite three shots of rum and a Honduran cigar. It seemed she had a decent alcohol and nicotine tolerance despite being 5'0" and 85lbs, and that's how she didn't make a fool of herself despite intending to for April Fools' Day. 

Overall, Alyssa was finally relieved of the pressure to fight off the Pluh Cult. She could work on her hobbies like acting and modelling. She could even have some days doing absolutely nothing. But her productivity is slipping. Almost everything is falling apart. Can she make it in time? Or will her grand dreams be destroyed?