: 7:00 P.M.
Shards of twilight poked through the partially-closed shades as the steady, soft ticking of the wall clock approached the top of the hour. The psychologist leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together behind his head. In front of him, his computer displayed his office's messaging service, an empty new e-mail's reply field staring back at him with a bright white glow.
PATIENT #0019583 - DREEMURR, ASRIEL - 6 MONTH REVIEW
This was the doctor's last assignment for the day. Despite the patient's name being near the top of the list alphabetically, he knew it would be one of his most thorough and difficult tasts to undertake, and this was more than just his educated assumption. While the rest of his patients had their notes, recordings, and diagnoses neatly arranged within a manilla envelope, the Dreemurr case took up an entire filing cabinet drawer, which he had moved next to his desk for this occasion.
The doctor sighed, and unlocked the bottom drawer of his desk, placing the key back in his shirt pocket. It was going to be a long night, and he was prepared for it. Pulling out a tall glass and an aged bottle of Scotch, he broke the seal and made himself a drink. After taking a faint sip, he reached for the filing cabinet, pushing in the thumb lock and carefully dragging the shelf out to his furthest extent. The cabinet was absolutely filled with an array of papers, notes from both him and the patient, test results, and enough recording devices to keep the local Radio Shack in business for the rest of the year. Sighing, the doctor decided it would be best to start from the beginning.
The doctor plopped a slightly aged envelope, bursting with papers, on the table, and set some old recorders on the table. He flipped idly through the pages and pages of reports, detailed notes and other miscellaneous junk that had found its way into the drawer. He decided it would be best to ignore it. Despite the astonishing mass of raw data he had to consider, brevity was essential for this assignment.
The soft click of a button being pushed down signaled the start of one of the recorders beginning its playback. The soft sound of static filled the room as the first few seconds began with silence.
Could you repeat your name for me, please?
Some more silence.
Mr. Dreemurr?
...Asriel.
And what did you want to see me about today, Asriel?
...
I'm having bad dreams...
Watching any scary movies after your mother goes to sleep? The doctor cringed slightly, hearing his past self laughing at his own joke. In hindsight, while it was well-intentioned, making light of the patient's suffering was not in very good taste.
...No.
Alright, well don't you worry, young man. We're going to get to the bottom of this, in time. For now, let's just start off with something simple, hm?
Mm.
So, Asriel, have you started school yet?
Mhm.
Which school are you going to?
Uh...
You don't know? That's alright. You've got enough to take in as it is, I'm sure.
...Yeah.
It hasn't even been a month since the, uh... Integration, I suppose, began?
