Thirteen Summers

thirty-nine

T H I R T E E N S U M M E R S

tw: descriptions of self-induced vomiting, disordered thoughts

"So after going through everything, I can tell you that I will be recommending Josie to have the assessment."

"Yes, we thought as much." Cameron casually nodded, like this was just a formality.

Josie, however, sunk down into her seat because this felt different for her.

She thought about how unusual it was that something as small as a personality questionnaire, not even filled out by herself but rather her guardian, could decide something as big as this.

Okay, sure.

Cameron and Roman did sit her down one evening and they went through the questionnaire together but still, ultimately it was about what they had observed about her, no matter what she denied.

And boy, was she in denial.

"That is not true." Josie shook her head at them both. "I'm very spontaneous, just the other night, I decided to have apple juice at dinner instead of water."

Cameron and Roman shared a slightly amused look.

"Sweetheart, you may not have realised it yourself but you have a way of doing things, routines and often, you struggle when they're broken." Roman gently commented, it was simply an observation he'd made. "Remember how upset you were when Kai sat in your usual seat at dinner?"

Josie refrained from rolling her eyes. In her eyes, that was a pretty bad example.

She wasn't that upset but she was annoyed, everyone knew that was her seat and plus, she had to endure his loud chewing the entire time, in the seat next to him which was her best bet.

So really it was his chewing that set her off that night, not her stolen seat.

When she didn't say anything, Roman continued. "Or when Caleb disrupted your studying sessions?"

Her face fell slightly, he had her there.

She remembered it as clear as day.

Everyday after school, Josie would have a short nap to relieve herself of the stress highschool brought upon her and then she'd wake up and study in their home library until dinner.

On one occasion, Caleb decided to join her to catch up on missed homework he'd gotten detention for that very day.

She didn't mind it at first but then came his questions about her work, and then the complaints about his own.

All through it, Josie managed to keep a certain amount of focus but it all came tumbling down as soon as he decided to video call Reece.

That was Josie's last straw before she found herself on the verge of tears from lost concentration, she'd taken shaky, frustrated breaths to calm herself down, which didn't work as Caleb & Reece laughed about something dumb in the background.

Finally, she yelled at them to shut up before slamming her workbook closed and leaving the room, in a state.

From Caleb's viewpoint, she knew she most likely came off as dramatic but only Josie knew what she was going through.

School came naturally for Caleb, he didn't have to do much to get high grades.

Unlike Josie.

She already struggled enough keeping up with the teachers at school which is precisely why she used her free time after school to relearn everything she'd learned earlier that day.