Bare (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Prologue: August

Prologue: August

In one ear and out the other, that’s how Shadow James handled the lectures given to her by her therapist. She sank into the black leather recliner, her arms crossed tightly against her growing chest. Never in a million years did she actually want to attend these therapy sessions, but her stepmother made her and said it would be the right thing to do if she spoke to a professional. Well, there she was, sitting right across from a professional who only ranted to her about how the whole world wasn’t out to screw her over. Shadow wasn’t an imbecile, she was well aware that there were legitimately nice people in this world; it was just that in her world, everyone was stuck up and out to get her which was completely false, but that’s how she perceived it. This was the summer before her freshman year at Vienna Downs High School and Shadow was dreading it. Recently, after being seized by “Child Protective Service Officers” (that’s what she thought they were called, she couldn’t remember) she was taken in by her biological father, his fiancée, and his three children, having previously lived in Radcliffe Heights quite a few towns over.

            “Anyways, it seems that you are going to be a freshman in high school this incoming school year. Am I correct, Miss James?” her therapist, Dr. Chelsea asked after ranting to her for approximately twenty minutes.

            “Yes, that is correct,” she answered through grit teeth, trying not to scowl.

            “Are you nervous or excited? Do you have any friends going into high school with you, maybe upperclassmen to show you around and help you out?”

            “I have older siblings, they can show me around.”

            “You’re avoiding my question. Do you have any friends?”

            “Yes.”

            “And these friends aren’t including your siblings nor are they imaginary?” Shadow had made imaginary friends to compensate for her lack of friends in the past.

            “Yes, but it’s only one friend.”

            “Huh…who is this friend? At least you’re making progress, even though it is rather slow.”

            “My cat…”

            Dr. Chelsea took a breath, rubbing her temples methodically in hopes to soothe her headache. Ever since Shadow began to see her around three months back she always ended up with these splitting headaches. How on Earth was she supposed to help a girl that was so…stubborn? Given the reason the soon to be freshman came to therapy, Dr. Chelsea felt it wasn’t right to feel so annoyed with her. Scratch that, she wasn’t even annoyed with Shadow; she was aggravated that no matter how hard she tried, Shadow just kept fighting her. The therapist found herself in deep thought, trying to find reasonable advice for the teen before her. Each tip she would consider, she would immediately shoot down and it frustrated Dr. Chelsea.

            “Shad-“ Dr. Chelsea was shocked that Shadow had cut her off.

            “Don’t call me that, it’s weird and you know it. Call me Shane from now on. Shane James.”

            “I…I guess I can make that change, I didn’t know you were so self-conscious about your name.”

            Shadow’s therapist uncapped her pen and wrote herself a quick note to call her patient Shane. In the margin she wrote, “Miss James becomes self-conscious at the mention of her name”. After a few moments of scribbling, Dr. Chelsea looked her patient in the eyes and it at that moment she had an epiphany. The teenager before her could be given an infinite amount of lectures on how to live her life and she would attempt to do exactly the opposite. She opposed force, and at that point Shadow’s therapist realized something. That the only way to help Shadow was not by ranting to her, but allowing the small girl to speak and then they could find a solution depending on whatever situation Shadow was in. All Shadow needed was someone to listen to her, and from that point forward Dr. Chelsea made a solemn vow to be more gentle than before because the soon to be freshman was scared and no amount of force would help her. Being gentle was the way to go; Dr. Chelsea had solved a three month mystery.