Sashi

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It was Friday. Everyone was talking about the new council members that were announced just this afternoon. Though happy she caught Greg, the mermaid appeared a bit...unstable. She tensed up whenever someone surprised her, and she had a nervous twitch. Yet her eyes suggested overall fatigue.

This whole situation was giving her a headache. Or maybe she was suffering withdrawl still.

The princess went over to Valli's office on her own volition. Sure she got in trouble for the underaged drinking, but this was not a case where the school needed to drag her somewhere. She herself recognized once more she really needed help. Her hand reached up to knock on the door. Once responded to, she peeked in.

"Hey again..." A soft yet anxious smile crossed her face.

@Romi
 

Romi

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Valli liked to try and keep abreast of any situations at the school. Anything significant enough for him to hear about it was likely to show up in sessions later. Someone being bullied. Someone having a melt down. Someone getting caught doing things on video that should never have been caught on video.

He hadn't watched. Of course he'd never watched. But he'd heard. He passed through the office and heard the discussions, and before long he'd found out who it was without even trying.

It was very public.

It shouldn't have been.

Valli opened the door to find Aisha standing outside at the correct time, and he immediately stepped back, letting her into the office before closing the door behind her.

"Right on time," he commented, moving into the room to take a seat. "I don't think we need to go over the standards again - I imagine you remember. I would guess you have a specific thing you want to talk about first?"

No point pretending he didn't know.
 

Sashi

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Aisha went into the office and sat down. This time she felt more comfortable and held a less guarded stance. Unfortunately she felt even worse than she felt before. The mermaid nodded as the counselor vaguely hinted at the video. It was no secret how humiliating and questionable it was.

"Yes....I'm sure you heard about the video. About me getting drunk and doing things with a bunch of strangers." Her body flinched as she began to speak. "I thought I was going to be able to run this election, but well....you know the rules. Worst part is I don't even fully remember the details. I ended up watching the video and it was....it was like I was looking at an actress that looked just like me and was like being totally terrible."

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Romi

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The idea that she had an actual substance addiction--that she was an (at the time) functioning alcoholic had not crossed Valli's mind. Maybe it was simply a matter of hoping the best, but he assumed that none of his high school age students drank, even if it was a bit naive.

"I'm not someone who specializes in addiction," Valli admitted, eager to get that out of the way. "But it does sound like it's now interfering with your life. That tends to be the line people have. A drink or two--underage and illegal or not--is one thing. A drink that's starting to impact your life, especially like this, is a major concern for you and those around you."
 

Sashi

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"It's what helps me relax. Null things out for a while. It's become a bit of a regular night activity." In order to keep up with the demands of her academics and club work, she robbed herself of sleep. To make herself look less tired, she put on makeup. A dash of seabrezze perfume. And then found herself a nice large cup of coffee. She had so much coffee even that could be considered an addiction in itself now.

Aisha rubbed her arm nervously. "I never really thought of it as a bad thing until now. I just thought it was the thing to do. The only hint I had was how tired I felt afterwards. And that I just fixed with coffee." And of course the headaches that came with being hung over. The mermaid used various substances to escape her predicament. Now getting to a dangerous point when it came to coping with her problems.

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Romi

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Oh. Oh dear. That was concerning, to say the least, and the fact that she did so regularly? Almost every night?

"I assume someone's already talked to you about the legality of all this," Valli said after a moment's pause, "so I won't belabor that point. I think part of the issue is that you've, as you said, thought of it as a thing to do. A thing everyone does, and that it wasn't an issue."

Valli settled back in his seat, running through his options before speaking again.

"What matters is not how normal it is. A society that legalizes murder and lack of consent doesn't mean that those things are right. A society that encourages underage drinking, or really even legal drinking in excess isn't right either. I think what we should focus on is the why. Why drink? Just because it's normal? You've said it's to help you relax. So that tells me we should be focusing on helping you find other ways to relax and unwind, ways that won't have a negative effect on you."
 

Sashi

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"But how do I do that? I haven't really found another way yet...and I'm stuck with this awful headache." Withdrawal on an adult was bad; a minor just exacerbated the issue. Her body wasn't even ready yet to process the crap she had done to it. While she slipped under the cracks thanks to her ambiguous age, it was clear she wasn't quite ready to be an adult yet from her behavior. Her chaotic society allowed her to run wild and be selfish. Not to mention the paranoia it put her through...

The mermaid bit her lip. "Is it normal to, like, throw up so much and feel like sick? It's been really bad since I've stopped." Trying to hold down food was a problem The more stressful parts of the week left her craving the adult beverage. Caffeine only seemed to make it worse. "I didn't realize how tight I was for money until recently...I thought I, like, had way more than I do now! Is alcohol, like, lots of money?" Maybe if her parents bothered to teach her economics rather than enforce a murderous culture....

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Romi

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How did she do that.

Well, that was easier said than done, wasn't it?

"Well, for one," Valli said, standing up and stepping over to his desk, rifling through a drawer before drawing out a business card and returning to Aisha's side, holding it out for her.

"A treatment facility. They won't get you in trouble for underage drinking, and they'll help you kick the habit. Drinking can be an addictive behavior, and stopping can be a lot harder than it might seem. There's physical components, like feeling sick. But there's also mental and social components. I generally understand the dynamics, but I'm not an expert. My focus is primarily on trauma, and walking you through addiction counselling would definitely be handled better by an expert in the field. I can recommend this facility, and they have outpatient treatments. They're also cov-"

It was at that point that Valli's brain caught up to what she'd said. Is alchol lots of money?

"Hold on," Valli said after a moment. "Where have you been getting the money?"

This wasn't strictly part of his territory, but he couldn't not know. He felt like his understanding of events was a house of cards, and Aisha had just swung around and hit it with her elbow. The whole thing was in danger of coming down.
 

Sashi

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The mermaid reached out to take the business card and read its contents. A treatment facility? Before Manta Carlos, the idea of rehabilitation was non-existent. All problems could be solved by killing your neighbor. Now matters were more complex. There were actual health concerns outside of murder-happy merfolk. Her head tried absorbing all of the information as her green eyes kept scanning the card. So much so that the next question threw her off guard. It took her a moment to even process what he asked.

"...ah..."

The sheepish grin came on. Her eyes slowly gazed from the card to the therapist. "...weeell, about that..."

"I like uh...took my share of the 'family fortune' I think is like the phrase and ran away. But now uh...."
Her hands fidgeted. "...it's gone. All gone. I don't think I can even afford my home anymore." Yeah, something called bills existed. Who knew?

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Romi

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Oh dear. He knew it was going to be trouble the moment she started smiling that little smile. That awkward little just-got-caught-with-their-hand-in-the-cookie-jar smile.

And yet, somehow, it was worse than he'd imagined.

Valli didn't bother trying to hide his cringe, having more than enough of an idea.

"Ah," Valli said. "This is something you're going to have to talk to the school about. About budgeting, and... allowances and stuff like that." One day she'd regret having blown through stuff so fast. "But yes. Alcohol can be a very expensive addiction. And it sounds like alcohol helped you make quick work of the money you, ah... helped yourself too."

He didn't want to say steal, but that was more or less what she'd done.
 
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