Counseling for the Trouble Soul

Darran was in a trance stareing at his years old jeans wich was slightly riped from the knee area. He wounderd how he riped his favorate jeans when they were in there prime. Memories slowly flowed into his mind like how mud slowly drips off the bottem of the shoe's. He slowly rememberd the night his 'friend' gave him pot to ease him down while he had his strange attack like in the main room of the hotel. The night he smoked pot with his friend was the same night his family would be gone for the rest of the week. Contuiously he smoked pot every morning, day, and night and it slowly helped him control those sudden attacks. His parents got home and the smoking dramiticly stoped wich cuased with draws. The attack came back faster than it went away. He became paranoid and hid in his room for days with no food or water. while walking in the same rotation of his room his knee hit an object that cut his knee. While he came back from his with draws he slowly felt the pain in his knee.

Suddenly he heard the sound of water and shocked him out of his slow deep thoughts of his mind. He stared into his lap to make sure he isint noticed. Who was he kidding, whith hair like this and this crap on his lips would surely get peoples attention to him. In his mind hopeing that the god dam metting would start so he can go to his room and smoke a ciggirate. He got a strange feeling that some one was watching him, the room got hot, things started to get blurry again but he heard a voice as clear as a cloudless sky. He looked up to see a clear face with a bight smile on her face. Darran smiled with his lips but if you looked into his eyes it was dull with no will to do any thing. "oh hi, um well i dont mind if you sit here. As long as you dont mind me her-" His voice was cut off by an older woman who apperd out of a room. She told the girl (who apparently spilled the water) that it was fine and the maids will take care of the issue.

She had asked ever one to follow her into a room. "God dam it, the shit is going to hit the fan now...." He said loudly with out noticeing he has done so, it was loud enough that the people around him could hear him. He turned to the girl and with a lower tone in his voice said "well, my names darran and nice to meet you.....looks like were all going to get grided into raw meet now." He stood up and push his chair in. It was a strange habbit hes allways had since he was a child. He ignored every word the woman said and looked for his name tag. He had found his name and in spected the seats right next to him. he was stuck bettewn the people named Charlotte and Ariana. He placed his bag on his lap and while siting down stared into his bag so that he wouldent make any eye contact with any one.
 
Tara watched him steadily, his lips seemed to be covered with something. Though she did not stare, it was rude in her opinion. She heard him say he didn't mind until he was cut off. Looking up she saw the woman she figured would be Gloria. All her friends talked highly of her, they were the reason she was here. Tara's parents wanted to have her committed, "If you don't fix this problem your going straight to the loony bin." Their voices reeked havoc onto her mind.

One hand lifted to rub at her temples, she almost didn't notice the males dismay at the soon counseling meeting. Lifting her gaze she nodded steadily. Sliding her hand from her temple, pushing at the curly strands of red hair. His name was Darren she would be sure to remember. However, she didn't have time to introduce herself. Deep down she was already sure, she would have to say her name eventually.

Following in his foot steps, she stood to push her chair in. Walking into the next room a small frown pulled her lips. The seats were assigned not to mention they were in close proximity to each other. Her arms crossed in front of her chest, each hand rubbed idly at her upper arms. Tara finally went to find her seat, looking at the different name tags. The names she muttered to herself, "Riley, Andy, Tara...Oh there it is...." Dropping one hand she lifted the paper to take her seat. The name tag stayed clenched in her palm, as if it were a stress reliever.
 
It felt like everyone in the room was staring at her as Annie swiped at the puddle with more napkins. She was so panicked over catching everyone's attention that she didn't even notice that Gloria had arrived until she was speaking. Her face turned a deep shade of pink when she realized Gloria was addressing her. She bit her lip, glancing back at the spill and reluctantly drawing her hand away from it. It wasn't in her nature to let others clean up after her problems, but she was too anxious to resist this woman's gentle demand. Her gaze went back to Gloria, and she noted that the woman wasn't nearly as old as she had expected her to be. In fact, she appeared to be rather young- couldn't be long out of her 20s.

"...follow me..." It was time for the first session. Oh no... They'd probably all have to introduce themselves and say something... How much information would she be expected to give? Hopefully not much more than her name. She had to focus on her breathing to keep from hyperventilating as she stood to follow everyone into the meeting room. The first thing she noticed when she walked in was a black cat sitting on a chair, eyeing the people entering the room and swishing her tail slowly back and forth. Annie felt a bit of relief at the sight of her. She had always felt more comfortable with animals than people, and cats were her favorite. She reached out her hand tentatively to pet her, scratching the animal softly behind the ears, a slight smile appearing on Annie's lips. She resisted the urge to talk to the cat, lest the others think her to be crazy. After a few moments, she left the cat and looked for her seat, not wanting to be the last standing and thus the center of attention. She had almost had more than she could take of that already. Her name tag was between Ariana, another small relief, and a stranger. That was one person better than she had expected, which counted as a victory in her book.
 
It was time to move into the other room. Andy took one last spoonful of his soup. When he had swallowed it and wiped his mouth he walked to the garbage, depositing his bowl, napkin, and spoon. From there he walked to where Gloria was. She seemed like a nice person. He followed her to the room where everyone would apparently be sitting and most likely talking. He made note of the chairs and compared the number to the number of people present. Not everyone was here. He found his name. Some one was sitting in one of the seats next to his. Andy preferred sitting alone, but he didn't make any fuss. He sat down in the chair after picking up the name tag, posture straight. He turned his empty expression to the girl sitting next to him and emitted a non-committal, rhetorical, purely superficial "Hi." He faced forward and waited.
 
She looked around slowly, her gaze fixed on the door. Watching others pour into the room, it made her nervous. Tara didn't want the world knowing her problems, and she was sure they didn't want her to know theirs. The name tag became a twisted mess, constant pulling of her hands caused it to be in tatters. Shifting in her seat she let her eyes fall to the floor, the carpet was a normal green with some kind of spade print.

Tilting her head she followed the pattern. It seemed to distract her for a few minutes until she heard the simple unemotional word, "Hi." Glancing over this must of been Andy, he was the one that seemed so indulged in his breakfast earlier. Tara tried not to be rude, but she honestly didn't know what to say. Nodding her head towards him she gave a small attentive smile. "Hi back." The words tumbled out of her mouth, before her gaze fell back to the floor.

Surely Andy didn't want to have a conversation, he was probably forced to come here like some of the others. Tara hadn't wished to come here either, but this was the only willing option she had. A deep sigh escaped her lips, her face contorted into a look of desperation. Keeping her head low, her hair falling around her face. She was rather grateful, this way no one would be able to see the displeasure on her face.
 
black_cat(2).jpg


Luna was always a bit of a sucker for those who petted her. She gave a soft meow, hopped off of the chair and followed Annie to her seat. The cat merely stayed near her feet, waiting to see if the stranger would want to pick her up.

"Meow," the cat said quietly, tail swishing back and forth.



Gloria closed the door to the room quietly once everyone had sat down. The tension in the room was overwhelming, but when she turned around to face the group, she had a gentle smile on her face. She purposefully left the door unlocked in case Dyne were to walk in. Taking her seat in the circle, Gloria placed her hands in her lap and beamed at everyone.

"Well I'm glad you all could make it," she began. "As you've probably surmised, my name is Gloria."

"Now I know that some of you are apprehensive about this, and some of you don't want to be here. I don't blame you nor would I hold that against you. But I want to commend each and every one of you for coming here. You are all very brave and I hope I can help you in every way that I can."

She gestured toward the room, "I would like to remove some of your anxiety. First I want to let you know that this event is paid for out of my own pocket and my time here is voluntary. The therapy, your rooms, the food - all of that is paid for by me. There isn't someone in the background monitoring your progress or mine and using that information to boost their institution. So you can be rest assured that all of the things I do - along with my coworker - are done for your benefit and not for someone else's. Secondly, everything that is shared here or in private remains confidential. This is to ensure that you all feel safe."


On cue, the door opened and a gentlemen dressed in a navy shirt and baggy blue jeans entered. By his side was a middle aged labrador. The man made his way to the circle at a fast walk, his dog trotting slightly to keep up.

"Sorry - Uh traffic was hell and my gps broke."

Gloria gestured to the empty chair for him to sit and gave him a smile.

"This is Dyne everyone - He will be helping me with the therapy sessions."

She waited for him to get settled then looked upon everyone, her eyes warm.

"I would like to start with everyone introducing themselves and telling everyone why you're here. If you are not comfortable, you don't have to explain why, but please tell us your name."

Her kind eyes rested on Sean O'Reily.

​
 
Dyne sat in his designated chair, while his dog Rocky sat up on the floor between him and Gloria. Dyne quickly got situated and tried to make himself look as professional as he could to ward off the awkwardness of being late. All the while, Rocky was looking around the room at everyone, appearing very calm and content.
 
View attachment 6923Sean took his seat, not even bothering to look around at the faces of those he would be spending the next week with. They were obviously all screw ups, for whatever reason, he didn't associate himself with them at all. He was here because his sister had black mailed him into it. In Sean's mind, she was the one that needed help. Stupid bitch. His head felt hot, his skin tingling with the onset of perspiration. He needed to calm down, needed to relax. He let his mind wander to something that always seemed to help in these situations. He thought about fire. About the way the flames danced, how it felt to ignite something and watch it burn to the ground….

He was stopped mid-thought with the realization that The therapist lady, Gloria, was looking right at him.

Sean felt everyones eye's fall on him. Up until now, he had never had an issue with being the center of attention, but this was different. This was real. Back in high school, it was easy enough to just crack a joke and ignore it, but this was……different.

Sean felt flushed, but he didn't show it, nope, he was cool as a cucumber.

"My name is Sean. Truth is I was black mailed into coming here, no disrespect, but really doubt anything you say is going to be able to help me." Sean couldn't help but sound like he had a chip on his shoulder, indifferent to everything and everyone.

He avoided everyone's eyes. God let them just move on. Why was this so tough?
 
Jeremy had stayed back in the breakfast room for a moment, to take a nother swig from his flask. He then walked out after the other and followed at a distance. Entering long past the rest, he showed up just in time to hear Sean's spiel. He grunted then took a place along the wall behind his seat, not wanting to sit with these people in such an open, circular manner. He did not want to be a part of their group. It was because of people like these, civilians, that he was even being forced to show up here.
 
She was rather...beautiful. Gloria. Alur had barely expected such an elegant and lovely young lady to be the one in charge of this operation. He had imagined an older woman with wrinkles and with the attitude of, I'm going to change this generation of foolish young children to become just like me. But she was completely different. He wondered silently as to why she had gotten herself into the messes of troubled people. She herself couldn't have been anywhere close to thirty.

Alur McKenzie rose out of chair that he had been sitting at and silently followed Gloria and the others into a room. The room was basic. It wasn't large nor small. There were, in the middle of the room, many chair that formed a circle. There were name tags on each. He found his spot quickly enough. His eyes darted from person to person as they sat, and he memorized where everyone was. Gloria spoke for a little while and then told the group that they would start by telling their names and why there were here.

Alur realized soon enough how Gloria had arranged the seating pattern. Sean O' Reilly went firs to speak. After the boy had spoke, Alur felt as though what the boy had said was nearly true enough. But he couldn't assume instead he readily got his act together and looked out across the flows of students. It was his time to speak. He sighed a little before finally speaking up,

"My name is Alur McKenzie. I could say several reasons to why I am here, but I will go with the easiest and say that if it wasn't for my Father, I would have never ended up here. Being threatened to live on the streets again isn't exactly my cup of tea. So, here I am." He spoke calmly yet intensely. He was never one to fumble with words. Alur leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes that were lighter than what they had been earlier. He was rather interested in to why most of these people were here. He stopped himself from showing a grin and sat with his ears listening inventively.
 
Riley made it out of the dining kitchen and into her seat at the circle of tables in one minute flat. She commended herself internally. Her stay at this place was breezing past easily and she was sure that the rest of this weak would be cake. Besides, the sooner she got out of there, the sooner she could go back to the screaming kids, annoyingly concerned friends, and, of course, her life. The lady that was called Gloria seemed nice enough and began explaining the basis about their stay at the hotel. Riley made small mental snip its of what she was saying, and the rest of the time, she decided to observe everyone in the room.

They all looked average to her. She found stereotypes to be a complete waste of time so she only looked them over, observing their clothing and posture, then returned her gaze to Gloria. When she looked to either side of her, she found out that she was sitting beside the girl who had spilled the water (Annie, was it?) and a boy who, like mostly everyone else at the table, said very little. The name tag on the seat read "Andy" so Riley needed. When she took a seat, a strand of brown hair fell between her nose. Annoyed, Riley blew once on the strand, and in response, it attached itself to another straggled strands of hair by her ear.

Folding her legs, she listened to the very short and brief stories of both Sean and Alur, internally thanking them for speeding up the process, all the while, the strand of hair returning to the bridge of her nose. She blew on it once again, patiently waiting for Annie to speak before she got her turn.
 
He griped his bag of clothing tightly from the door opening with the last person to enter the room. He kept his head down trying not to listin to the nosie or voice's of people in the room. His arm started to shake lightly as sean began to speak to every one. The room started to heat up to tempatures he didint know exsisted. He knew it was one of his attacks but he couldent control it at the moment with out his ciggartes or weed. The room started to slowly spin around his still body. He looked up slowly and things started to get blury again. The room began to spin faster and faster. He wanted to throw up every where in the room but he held back feeling the acid in his mouth. It was disgusting but he had to hold it so the girl he talked to wouldent see him in such a weak state.

He looked up in the bluryness and noticed that some one eals started to talk in the group, This was the worst feeling he has every felt. All the attention was about to be on him. the room spined untill he noticed a clear pice of some ones face. He hasint talked to any one so he didint know what would clear out that persons face. The clear spot slowly spread through out the whole room and the room stoped suddenly. He put one leg awkardly one one area where he couldent fall from the sudden stop. He looked where the clear spot had started and it was the face of that he talked to. He decided as long as he has a friend in this sad place he would try to make it through the program.

He noticed the group had stoped talking and all the eyes where on him. He looked at his clothing and looked back up again. with a low voice he said "Uh, im darran......im here becuase..." He had to think why he was truely here but he decided to say. "i need to get rid of my panic attacks....they get worse..." It was enough he thought, enough to leave him alone for this part.
 

The woman who was leading the group, Gloria, had breezed through the dining area and people had seemed to follow her as though it were second nature. Even she herself had been swept up into the group and followed behind her as though it were natural. The grouping of chairs with their names on it had at least eliminated the social awkwardness of a high school cafeteria - deciding where to sit. Happily, Ariana found herself next to the girl that she had spoken with earlier. On her other side a was a twitchy fellow. Then, the introductions began.

The first in the line-up, a boy who introduced himself as Sean, seemed to be a moody sort and his introduction made no mistake of informing them all that he was not thrilled to be in their presence. Ariana's wandered away from the people talking and she was picturing the food again, delicious pastries... She was having a lovely daydream, or was it more than one daydream? She couldn't tell if her thoughts had branched again or stayed on track but she realized that the tweaky fellow next to her was speaking and she tuned in just in time to hear the word panic attack. And then he was finished with his introduction. It was her turn next.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Ariana and it's really super great to meet you except that this isn't really meeting you, this is just me talking about myself so I guess it's sort of like you meeting me but then all of you are going to do this so in a way I'll be meeting all of you just not yet! I'm here because I thought that this might be a good way to deal with some things that I haven't been so good at dealing with myself that I want to fix and because this was advertised as free and I don't really have the money for anything else so this seemed like a good idea and when I saw it I thought to myself 'Yeah! This sounds like a great idea!' so here I am!"

Grinning broadly around the room, Ariana turned her attention to the girl next to her whose turn it would be to speak next. She was going to try to listen to all of what this girl had to say even if it was really tempting to look at Gloria and try to guess how old she was or to admire the pretty black kitty.
​
 
When Annie sat down, she noticed the cat had followed her and was now sitting at her feet, looking up at her. She meowed softly, eliciting a smile from the girl. Annie reached down, scratching behind behind the cat's ears, then slipped a hand under the cat and lifted her up into her lap. The cat didn't seem to mind. She just curled up there in Annie's lap, purring softly while Annie pet her, finding comfort in the animal's presence.

The introductions started while Annie was busy musing over what the cat's name was. A boy named Sean was first. Annie felt that his anger was palpable. It unnerved her. His voice sounded calm enough, but she wouldn't be scared to bet it was a facade. An older man walked in while Sean was speaking, and Annie thought she caught the scent of whiskey in the air, quickly glancing around the room to see if she could spot the culprit. You can't even go a day without drinking and thinking you smell it everywhere? Get your shit together. The next boy to talk had a strange quality about him. Annie couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she couldn't help but to keep glancing up at him while the introductions continued.

Between the occasional glance up at the strange boy, Alur, was it?, and petting the cat, she began to zone out. She hardly noticed how panicky the boy before Ariana was. Ariana! She was speaking, sounding very bubbly, of course, and Annie realized her turn was next. Her breath caught in her throat, the hand she was using to massage the cat's belly stopped, and her eyes froze on the floor near Gloria's feet. Ariana finished her introduction, and Annie swallowed hard, composing herself. She didn't look up. "My name's Annie," her voice was unsteady, and she went back to petting the cat to take some of the focus away from her anxiety, "and I'm here because..." She paused. She had almost spat out a legitimate reason in the haze the anxiety cast over her mind. She didn't want these people knowing her problems. "...because I... need to be."

She bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying to shut out the image of the people around her. In her mind, they were all staring at her, though the reality was that most of them were staring at their hands, seemingly as opposed to being open to this group as she was. She focused on ignoring those thoughts, imagining she was smoking a cigarette, the way it felt in her fingers, the smoke in her lungs. Her breathing started to slow as she calmed herself down. If only she actually had a stoag to smoke.
 
The introductions continued and Riley was intent on all of their explanations. They all seem short winded, except for this "Ariana", who bled hers out with no problem. Her disposition was peculiar in the current room, but Riley didn't want to mind it. She just wanted her turn to come. And it did. As soon as miss Annie was completed with her very short description, Riley looked from her to the middle of the room. Pressure didn't weigh on her and no anxiety came. She was just as blank as always, looking directly into the middle of the floor before pursing her light pink lips to speak.

"I'm Riley Marxman. I'm here because my friends think I need to be, even though I honestly have no idea what the problem is. I think they're the ones who needs counseling. But oh well."she said. That was as short as she was going to go. Explaining her problems with doubt would only prolong the event. She let her eyes travel to everyone who had already spoken. Did they feel the same satisfaction that she did when they completed. The answer was a giant 'no' plastered to their faces. If anything, it looked like they were all about to be sick (all but Ariana, of course). Riley was curious as how Andy and the rest of the crew would take the pressure, and also when they were going to be out of there. She stifled another yawn and leaned back in the chair, eyes still planted to mid floor.
 
The other people were talking, it didn't interest him really but he listened while he watched the patterns on the floor. He saw faces, animals, scenes, the whole thing consumed him almost completely. Some one may have thought he wouldn't respond, but he did. He said "I am here because my family is concerned for my emotional state" in a steady low voice. He resumed observing the patterns in the carpet.
 
Tara lifted her gaze to shift around the small circle, the look itself seemed lost and hopeless. Those large orbs didn't land on anyone, nor took in anything. Her lips didn't move she simply stayed silent for several long minutes until she found the courage to speak, "My name is Tara.....It was either this or the asylum...." Her voice trailed off into a whisper, her eyes retreated to stare idly at her hands. The false smile she once held was no longer present. This was real and she didn't want to be here. Maybe if she went to the Asylum it would be better than this. Here she would have to tell her terrible dark secrets. That seemed far worse than staying in padded room. Tara's hands moved from her lap to rest on her aching temples. Her fingers moved in small lazy circles, it distracted her from the multiple thoughts that rocketed around her mind.
 
Jeremy looked at the group from his place on the wall behind is seat. They were all looking at him now. Stupid introductions... I suppose it was protocol so he should make it short. "Jeremy." He grunted a bit and took another swig from his flask before replacing it in his pocket. He didn't think they needed any more then this. To be honest, he didn't plan on sticking with this whole thing very long. It was stupid. Any of them could be here just to find people like him, military. Terroroists lived among the general populace, white black asian arabian, color didn't matter. They could be here, and he wouldn't let them get too far with it. He peered at the faces turned him waiting till they figured out thats all he was going to say and leave him alone.
 
forms.jpg


Gloria's eyes slowly turned from soft and gentle to serious. As she listened to each person talk, whether they came here of their own will or whether they had someone force them here, it was quite evident to her that they all needed help. Even the one who smiled brightly and spoke lightly, Gloria knew it was a facade. She would know of course, she had used such a wall to deal with her problems years and years ago.

With Sean she saw a lot of anger and insecurity. She saw how he sweated since he was so close to her. Holding back the instinct to pat him on the shoulder, she let him talk although he didn't say much. When Alur spoke her eyes had turned sharp at the mention of black mail. To blackmail any soul into getting better never ended well, if anything that person went off the deep end instead of righting their lives. As for Darren, Gloria hoped that several sessions of meditation would fix his problems, and she wouldn't have to resort to medications. This was always a last solution for her... Ariana was very peculiar. She grinned and talked fast. Out of everyone in the room Ariana pulled off being well, but Gloria knew that the girl wouldn't have come here of her own accord if she didn't truly think there was something that needed to be fixed. Surely she would be a very interesting patient. The girl Annie worried Gloria momentarily. She relied on Luna a lot for comfort and for a moment, it seemed like Annie was going to faint. But her words came out, although not as clearly or confidently as Gloria would have liked. Still it was progress... Riley sounded very angry. Lots of hatred and loathing were in her words. And she avoided everyone's eyes not because she was scared, but because it seemed like it was a choice. Andy however didn't want to meet everyone's gaze, and Gloria thought he wasn't going to speak. Again, his family made him come here. It was understandable but that wasn't always a good scenario. Tara's eyes spoke of absolute fear. Obviously someone - Gloria assumed her family - was also blackmailing her for seeking help or she would be abandoned. Gloria shook her head at her words, and then her eyes settled on the last person, who chose to sit along the wall and away from everyone. He was the only one here who had experience in a war... Perhaps that would be a case for Dyne. Gloria dealt with veterans before, but she felt that Jeremy would be better suited for Dyne. What sparked a bit of outrage however was seeing the flask... Gloria kept her features smooth, she would deal with that later.

"Thank you for speaking up, I know that some of you were very reluctant to share." Her gaze swept among everyone, her eyes reassuring. "This next phase," Gloria reached underneath her chair and pulled out a small pile of forms, which she handed out to everyone. "Requires some work on your part. Please fill this out for me and hand them in once you're finished." Gloria also gave everyone a pen. "Our next session starts at ten, which is where you are going to share all of this information with everyone. If you wish, you may do this form here or somewhere else in the hotel. All I ask is that you be back here for the next therapy session."


​
 
Dyne's eyes shifted to each person as they spoke. He let his right hand down to pet Rocky's head occasionally, and kept his facial expression very calm and focused. He could tell that he had his work cut out for him with this group, and could see why Gloria anticipated the need for another qualified person to help. He was already going through his head which of the people here he thought he would be best able to work with in case Gloria decided to split them up between the 2 of them.

He remained silent as Gloria spoke after everyone was finished with their introductions. He knew there would be time to talk to her about everything soon enough. Rocky however was getting a bit curious, and stood up and walked over to Annie. However, it was Luna that he seemed interested in at the moment, as he started to sniff at her curiously.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back