Office #26, Wednesday

[chosehumanity]

Mitchell's nerves hadn't quite settled yet, but every day made a repeat visit from Herrick less likely - at least for the forseeable future. So Wednesday found him laying out lesson plans, flicking through books, and only occasionally checking travel books for somewhere safer.

Just as a precaution. He had no real willingness to let his past drive him out of house and home.

[[ open hours! ]]

Comments

[chosehumanity]

Mitchell looked up, identifying both girl and gigantic cup of coffee, and smiled, putting down his papers. "I think I might have one of those lying around," he said, and gestured at a chair.

[vanillajello]

"Good, thanks," she said with a little smile, sitting down. "I really needed to talk to someone. It's been an exceptionally bad day, so far."

As if that wasn't obvious from the huge coffee and the tired face.

[chosehumanity]

"That's why I'm here," he said, honestly.

He always had a soft spot for troubled kids. Don't tell anyone. "What's happening? You look like you haven't slept in days."

[vanillajello]

"Nightmares. When I can sleep from the stress that's causing the nightmares. Last night was the worst," she sighed.

"It's not the alternate universe thing anymore. It's gone past that into... other stuff."

Two weeks of thinking, and she still had trouble putting her worries into words.

[chosehumanity]

He sat up a little, folding his gloved hands together over the desk, and gave her a concerned look. "Other stuff?" he prompted.

[vanillajello]

"I'm not sure I should stay in Fandom. Because I'm scared," she said, looking down at her coffee. "I'm scared that this place is gonna crack my mind. Into four pieces."

She looked up at him again. Yes, she had a reason to be that precise.

[chosehumanity]

"It's a lot to absorb," Mitchell agreed, thoughtfully. "But these kind of experiences tend to settle on you after a while."

[vanillajello]

"Yeah," she said, not managing to sound at all convinced. "It's just that, it only has to happen really badly once for things to get fucked up beyond all repair."

[chosehumanity]

The lack of being convinced as well as that last sentence set off some alarm bells. "Kate," he said, smiling as disarmingly as he could, "Did anything ever-- happen--?"

NFB, thank you.

[vanillajello]

"To me? No. But it might."

She bit her bottom lip, hesitating. Explaining this was always unpleasant, to say the least. And finding the right words was hard. "Do you know what, um, dissociative identity disorder is?"

Re: NFB, thank you.

[chosehumanity]

"Split personalities," Mitchell provided, frowning.

Re: NFB, thank you.

[vanillajello]

"Exactly. Used to be called multiple personality disorder," Kate confirmed, possibly gripping her coffee a little tighter.

"So... My mom has that."

Re: NFB, thank you.

[chosehumanity]

"And something really traumatic happened to her to start it," he surmised. His eyes flicked to her hands. "Ease on the coffee, Kate."

Re: NFB, thank you.

[vanillajello]

"Yes. I don't know what it was, but I know it was something specific, and then that was it. It only took that one time for those-" she hesitated for a word "-people to come out."

She looked down at her hands, not having noticed what they were doing. "You know, I had to fight for this coffee. I'm afraid it will get away from me," she said with what was almost a laugh. She loosened her grip.

Re: NFB, thank you.

[chosehumanity]

"You think that now," he told her, seriously, "But next thing you know, it'll decide you're suffocating it and then you'll never get it back."

Mitchell's mouth twitched with another smile. "You've made it through a few months without anything going wrong," he said.

Re: NFB, thank you.

[vanillajello]

"A month. Not even that, before the comanap episode and the hi there was another you that was evil."

She shook her head. "I came here to get away from the crazy, and now I feel it's gonna be stalking me all the time."

Re: NFB, thank you.

[chosehumanity]

"It's a different kind of crazy," he said, losing the playful edge again. "It's less human, and more--"

He struggled for a word. "I don't think monstrous is the right word," he said, finally. "But there's a lot the human mind can handle without fracturing. You might be a lot stronger than your mother, and not even know it."

Re: NFB, thank you.

[vanillajello]

"I don't know if I want to know it, because I've seen what it's like to be broken like that. I've lived with it for 15 years. The risk, it feels too big."

Still, she managed a smile. "It's a small miracle I haven't bolted already. Maybe it's because Fandom doesn't have cars."

Re: NFB, thank you.

[chosehumanity]

"That's exactly why we don't have cars," Mitchell told her, "It's important to keep you all landlocked." He ducked his head in an attempt to encourage the smile. "It's a big risk," he said, "But as tragic and cliche as it sounds, life's all about which risks you decide to take. So you have to see for yourself if this one's worth it. You might not share her inclination, or the next few months might be utterly painless."

Re: NFB, thank you.

[vanillajello]

"It's gonna be a tough choice. Because I am really scared, but I also do actually really like it here. When there isn't alter-inducing trauma, Fandom's the nicest place I've ever been."

She sighed, and flashed him a little grin. See? Feeling better. "It would be nicer if there was the option of bolting with a car, though."

Re: NFB, thank you.

[chosehumanity]

"You could always try stealing a bicycle," he offered, smiling with just the slightest touch of playful mockery.

Re: NFB, thank you.

[vanillajello]

"Too healthy," she replied, making a face. "Having a shitfit and bolting is all about the not-healthy."

Re: NFB, thank you.

[chosehumanity]

"So eat a hamburger while you're going," Mitchell replied, sitting back. "But take a while before you make any choices. You've got some time to figure yourself out."

Re: NFB, thank you.

[vanillajello]

"I was going to make my decisions so that I could leave before the next term if I felt like it, but yeah, you're probably right," Kate nodded.

"It's unlikely anything is going to break my brain that soon after the last shock, after all."

Re: NFB, thank you.

[chosehumanity]

"It's easy to become glass half empty in the face of so much oddness all at once," he shared, "But it stops and settles after a while, trust me."

A pause. "And if something tries to break your brain again, I'll have you know I have an excellent right hook."