Private Finished First Session: Rei

A few nights ago, Rei learned someone reported for his "racism" against humans. The next few nights, Rei tried to make a list of all the possible people who reported him: his classmates, Professor Rotmoore, Evan, and Tez were a few he came up with. No one gave any signs of being the one, however. Racist was such an ugly word too. It made him seem irrational and automatically put him in a wrong light. In a way, it was like he was being called a liar, which meant his mother was being called a liar. Rei thought he had been getting better. He no longer started long arguments with his classmates at recess about whether humans were good or bad. He could even have a conversation with one, but he made no effort to be polite to them. Any fights that happened now were only occasional, and it was all their fault anyway. They were the ones fighting with an eight-year-old. At least Rei could hold his own against a teenager or an adult, usually.

Now he was standing outside the door of his second therapist. Fortunately, this was someone he met before at the Community Center. Going in blind as he did before was something he wanted to avoid. Going to another therapist was something he wanted to avoid, but his mom suggested that if the first one made him uncomfortable, they could try another. The most helpful therapist would be the one Rei stuck with, and the other would be dropped off. Another suggestion was to have two therapists, but having just one already made him sick enough.

For what had to be ten minutes after when he was supposed to enter the office, he had been gripping the knob of the door to Mr. Bryndísarson like he was trying to break it off. The only thing keeping him from attempting to snap the knob off was how he liked being the mature, responsible one, and breaking doors were not mature, nor responsible. He hesitated about letting himself in at first, but when he opened the door, it was almost aggressive in manner. The door was almost slammed shut as he stomped into the office. Afterward, he lingered in front of the closed door and stared at the ground awkwardly. "Hey..." was all he could think to say as he glanced up to see Valli and make sure he was in the right room.

Now Rei just felt bad. He was late to an appointment that he actually arrived early to, and now he was wondering what thoughts were going through his therapist's head. This entire thing was supposed to be a way for Rei to show how mature he was. That there was nothing wrong with him. His therapist must have thought of him as a delinquent. Someone trying to make a late entrance to seem cool or to show they are against authority.

He ran a gloved hand over the back of his neck. If they were going to be formal, Rei supposed the best way to respond was with, "I'm Rei. Just... Rei. Nice to meet you too." Of course, Doctor Bryndisarson would already have his name, but Rei also knew who he was from the Community Center. It was only fair, for what it was worth. "I like Doctor Bryndisarson more. Anyways, uh... yeah... Her name's Doctor Summers. Uhh, Vinna Summers. I-I think? I didn't want someone with the school. She's fine I guess."

Rei was thankful that Doctor Bryndisarson had not met Doctor Summers. He disliked the idea of his therapists talking amongst themselves behind Rei's back. Just the idea sent a shiver down his spine. At least the topic he moved on from her. It was most likely going to come up again, but they were still getting through introductions. But on that note, this session was already going much differently than with Doctor Summers. It was like a completely different setting. This must have been the difference between a school therapist and a normal citizen's therapist. So far, it was too early for him to tell which one he liked more.

What surprised him the most was the explanation about confidentially. It took Rei a few seconds to realize what that meant, but Doctor Bryndisarson explained it clearly soon after anyway. When he finished, Rei went through each explanation, not wanting to sound like he paid more attention to one than the other. Though, admittedly, the first one interested him the most.

"Am I supposed to know this? I-I mean... Doctor Summers didn't tell me this before. The confidential stuff. We just talked. And I've never killed people before anyway. I've never been to Texas either. Uh, Manta Carlos is my first place outside of Hell." He looked up to Doctor Bryndisarson with a stern, but somewhat proud expression on his face. Not killing or hurting people on this island seemed to be abnormal around here. Rei took that abnormality with pride, even if it did annoy some people around him.

The second one he had hardly anything to respond to. "In public, I don't want people to know. Just acquaint... Uh... Acquaintant..." Looking down at his sneakers, he tried to hide the vibrant blueness of his cheeks. With one last attempt, he (accidentally) rose him voice to yell, "Acquaintances is fine!" then quickly moved to his last response.

"I... don't know what to say. Um, the last part. Alma, talked about auras to me before, so I know about that stuff. Oh, she's my half-sister. A new one. A-Anyways, I don't think yours is bad. You can't do anything else to change me, right?" He squinted at his new therapist. Last time, Doctor Summers saw through his glamour and embarrassed him. If this was going tobe a common thing with therapists, he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

If his mom knew about it, she should have told him as soon as possible. He heard nothing about confidentiality from her. This entire time, he thought there was a chance his therapists would turn against him and spread information he never wanted out. He knew they were expected not to do that, but he did not know they were not allowed to. Doctor Summers was at fault too, but he now knew what to ask her at his next session now.

Gritting his beak, he realized introductions were over now. Rei knew what he wanted to know, but he wished there was more to talk about. Anything to push off the discussion about Rei himself. Nothing came to mind quickly enough, however. "I don't have any more questions... Sorry... Umm..." He glanced off away from Doctor Bryndisarson, trying to think of a way to still stay in control of the conversation. Still, nothing came to mind, and he left himself staring awkwardly at a corner in the room, kind of hoping they would move from the door and go somewhere to sit.

Rei was quick to sit down. He was tired from standing up for so long. Sitting helped him clear his mind and prepare for the rest of the session. Being late cut down some time so he could get out faster, though he still felt guilty about it. On a more pleasant thought, the door was nearby, so he could leave at any time he wanted. He knew that was a bad choice, considering his mom or the school would get angry at him, but it was a reassuring thought nonetheless.

A reassuring thought ruined by the conversation already shifting towards Rei again. He snapped out of his thoughts when Doctor Bryndisarson began talking to him again. Rei was tempted to give no response and pretend he heard nothing, but then Doctor Bryndisarson would think he was bratty and had trouble with authority. "I'm a fourth grader. I live with my mom in a house. My classes are fine. I have good grades, and they said I could be in middle school if I made more friends my age and got used to the island more." The main reason that he left out was his "behavioral issues," but those were the reasons he thought made more sense.