I gulped.
“You’ll be fine,” Sawyer said, taking ahold of my hand and dragging me to the circle of white chairs. “It’s like a huge show and tell more than anything.”
“A t-t-time to com-com-complain is more like i-i-it.”
“Yeah, that too.” Sawyer laughed as she took a seat. I took one beside her with Miles taking the one on the other side of me.
Moments later, when everyone was seated, Dr. Mayes took her seat and looked around the circle with a soft smile.
“There are a few new faces today. Scarlett, Ellie and Mason. It’s great to see you three here, along with everyone else. How about we go around and introduce ourselves. Just a name is fine.”
From the right side of Dr. Mayes, everyone spoke their names. Some of the people slouched in their seat. Others sat stiffly. Miles was one of those who seemed like he’d rather be somewhere else, while Sawyer seemed more than happy to be here.
I didn’t catch any of the names. My heart was in my throat. My voice was small and squeaky when I spoke my own.
“Today’s topic is what makes you happy. That can be anything from a simple drink order or some life-altering thing that has made a huge impact on your life. The purpose of this session is to show what good we have in our lives and to not dwell on the bad. Who wants to go first?”
“I didn’t get yelled at at home today,” the girl with pink hair said, chewing a piece of gum a tad too loudly. “That’s a win in my book. It doesn’t matter that Mom was passed out drunk all day.”
“I made a new friend this week, and I think it’s going to be epic,” Sawyer said. “I don’t have many friends, since my brother always scares them all away. So I’m super stoked to have this new friend come into my life.”
“I bet she needs a friend too,” Dr. Mayes said.
“We both do,” Sawyer said only loud enough for me to hear.
“I graduated high school,” someone else said.
“We all have, you doofus,” the pink-haired girl huffed. No, we hadn’t, but I wasn’t going to say so.
“Sabrina,” Dr. Mayes said. “Comments like that are not appropriate.”
“Sorry.”
She didn’t sound it.
“Anyone else?” Dr. Mayes asked, looking around the group. She waited a few moments, and when no one volunteered, she went on. “Does anyone want to share anything else?”
“My brother plans to come visit over the weekend,” Sawyer said. “I haven’t seen him for a few months.”
“That’s good news!” Dr. Mayes said. “Any plans?”
“Not really. He’s not the type of guy that likes to make plans. He just likes to do. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he just shows up in the middle of the night, before it’s officially the weekend.”
“I can’t wait to hear what you two end up doing next week.” Dr. Mayes smiled.
When no one else volunteered to talk, Dr. Mayes went into detail on ways to deal with a panic attack: breathing techniques, counting objects, or talking it out while alone if need be. She made it all seem sonormal.
“All right, I think we’ll close on that good note. Like always, you are welcome to hang out for however long you’d like. And feel free to seek me out if you need to talk about anything at any time.”
Most of the group were quick to push their chairs back and out of the way before whispers of leaving echoed around the room. Sawyer was one of the first up and nearly bouncing her way to Dr. Mayes.
I hadn’t expected any of this to be so normal. Everyone seemed like it was just a normal day here, talking about nothing of great importance.
“Sh-sh-she is a g-g-g-g-good friend,” Miles said, slowly standing beside me. “She’s nice.”
“She is,” I agreed, not sure what else to say.
“She d-d-doesn’t have man-many friends. N-N-Neither d-d-do I.”
