An Insomniac's Guide to Anxiety - Book 1 of the Life is a Disorder Series

Chapter 6 - I Get Butterflies When I See Garlic Bread

Silas Carter

On Friday morning, I got to school early and sat at my desk, trying out a new method of mindfulness suggested by my counselor.

However, five minutes in, I got a knock on my door and Allison Davis walked in. "Hey, do you have a bowl I can borrow?"

I frowned. "A bowl? No, why?"

"What're you doing? Meditating?"

I felt my face start to burn. "No, I wasn't meditating! Why do you need a bowl?"

"I have a science experiment I want to do, jeez," she sighed.

"You're an English teacher," I said dryly.

Davis tapped her chin. "You know, I totally forgot that. Thanks for the pointless reminder!"

"Anytime," I said grumpily. "Where'd your bowl go from when you burned the fifty?"

"Oh so you heard about that?" she laughed, smirking. "I brought it home to wash it. I don't want that just sitting around."

"Probably smart," I muttered.

Davis frowned. "Why don't you like me?" she asked bluntly.

"What?"

"Why don't you like me?" she repeated. "I can tell, you know."

"I don't dislike you-"

"But you don't like me, either," Davis interrupted, causing me to frown. "Ah, I see. I just get on your nerves. Well, I'm sorry about that. Finn said that once I get to know you, you're not so set on following the rules as you seem."

"I didn't realize I came across that way now," I admitted. Davis didn't respond but she didn't move from the doorway either. "Maggie Davis is your niece, isn't she?"

"Yeah, I heard she has you first block," Davis admitted. "She really likes you."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me," she stated. "Thank yourself. That means you're a good teacher. She's an excellent judge of that."

"I... still, thank you," I said again. Davis smiled and left.

By the time my first class had settled in, I hadn't had a moment of mindfulness. Maggie and Cyrus sat in their regular seats in the back. It was surprising to me that they were getting along. Maggie didn't strike me as the type to get along with a class clown.

However, they acted as though they'd known each other their whole lives.

I liked Maggie. I could tell she was a good student. The first assignment of the year had confused me, but when I asked Finn, he explained what Avatar was.

Cyrus had written his in the third person, drama bio style. He even left a blank space to input what role he'd be playing this year in the fall play.

I glanced through the door and I saw Davis conducting a class conversation from the floor. I squashed down my flash of annoyance. There was something about her that bothered me to no end.

***

The cats swarmed me when I walked through my door. Milo called up from the basement that he was painting. I dropped a bag of cat food by the pantry, patted a couple cats on the head, and made my way downstairs.

"What're you painting?"

Milo hummed a greeting. He hadn't heard me.

"What're you painting?"

"Shh," he said insistently. "I'm concentrating."

"On what you're painting?"

"Yes."