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"Er... I dunno." Theo played with the cuffs of his jacket, looking anywhere but the eyes of the career counseling woman in front of him. She was really sweet, a tad bit awkward, but it made her presence endearing. It's just that the questions she was asking made the boy uncomfortable.
"Well, do you have any short term goals?" She asked earnestly, her hands clasped in front of her.
Theo shrugged absentmindedly. He really didn't have any goals. He was more of a live-in-the-present type of guy, but he was beginning to see how that could all backfire considering he was going to leave high school in less than a couple years.
"What about passions? Any hobbies?" Theo leaned back in his seat. He didn't like to think about the past; it only brought up the bad feelings that he kept buried deep inside himself. But as he racked his brain for anything, he recalled a certain memory of him and his older brother, Franklin.
"Say ahhh!" Theo shoved a tongue depressor roughly down his brother's throat, causing him to splutter and cough.
"Jeez, Theo, be gentle!" Franklin wheezed. Theo paid no mind to his patient's obvious pain as he placed a hand on his chin, thinking hard.
"Aha!" He exclaimed, grinning toothily, "You have... a broken arm!" Theo decided before reaching for the roll of bandages beside him. He yanked Franklin's sleeve up and analyzed the wound. Tearing a long layer of bandage off, he began to wrap it around the inside of his brother's elbow.
"There!" His young mind deemed that enough to heal a broken arm, "Now just keep your arm straight until it heals!" Franklin smiled and touseled Theo's hair.
"Thanks, bud. I think I'm feeling better already!"
"I... like to help people... like when they're hurt." Theo ventured tentatively. The woman smiled reassuringly and nodded her head, "Like a doctor? Or a nurse?"
"Well, isn't being a nurse a bit girly?" Theo's eyebrows furrowed as the woman shook her head in response. "No, no. There are lots of male nurses! And types of nurses too, like you could be a paramedic, an EMT, nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner. You could pursue nursing and then continue your schooling to become a doctor if you wish as well! The possibilities are endless."
Theo rubbed his chin, deep in thought. It seemed like such a big step for him. He didn't even have any goals 5 minutes ago and now she was practically writing down his whole life plan.
"You think it's scary?" His head snapped up. She voiced his thoughts exactly, a sincere expression resting on her face, "It's normal to be scared. It's terrifying to have to choose a path this early in life. It's pretty crazy if you ask me," She chuckled lightly, "but there's really no pressure. If you don't like something, no one says you can't change your mind. There's so much time to explore things, so don't spend it worrying." The woman smiled sheepishly as she tried to gauge a reaction from Theo's face.
