01<@Ardweden> [Day: Saturday, September 25. Time: 1:58 pm.] 01<@Ardweden> [Tiffany went to her 1:30 appointment with Heather Abrams of her own volition! Only she tried to spend the entire time in silence, which is not really what these sorts of things are for. Then her mom called, who probably would have been delighted to know Tiffany was in said appointment, only Tiffany hung up on her.] 01<@Ardweden> [It's a tissue box throwing kind of day, which is what Tiffany was just doing, but then she stopped, dropping back into her chair and trembling, staring at the floor.] 01<@Ardweden> [Ms. Abrams goes from vaguely amused enabler to concerned adult in an instant, appearing at her side. "Tiffany?"] 01<@Ardweden> [Start!] 06* Tiffany clutches her wrist and clutches it tight. She doesn't respond. At least not the first time. 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams falls silent, waiting. She doubtless heard her.] 06* Tiffany finally responds with a quiet "...what do you want me to say?" 01<@Ardweden> ["Whatever you want, Tiffany. I'm here for you, not the other way around."] 06* Tiffany tugs at her armwarmers and chews her lip. What does she want to say? She kind of *wants* to talk but... "Um...well....there's, um...this school project..." She sounds unsure, much less confident than the deal with the dream. 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams nods for Tiffany to go on.] 06* Tiffany tugs on her clothes some more and looks away. "Well...a lot of people don't agree with me...um...they've kind of been getting mad..." She looks off to the side and then finally sighs. "I'm sorry. This is stupid. Probably a waste of your time." 01<@Ardweden> [Heather frowns, but not in an angry way. "Your issues and concerns are far from stupid. Why don't they agree with you?"] 06* Tiffany looks off to the side and frowns. "It's hard to explain..." 01<@Ardweden> ["Try?"] 06* Tiffany snaps up at the woman, glare in her eyes. "It's..." She looks down, shaking her head, turning small. "Nevermind! It's complicated..." 01<@Ardweden> [She nods, leaning back again and folding her hands over her crossed legs. "We have another..." She glances at the clock. "Half an hour to sort through this complex situation of yours, Tiffany. It's clearly bothering you."] 06* Tiffany chews on her lip, mulling over for a while in silence. Half an hour. Great. Another half hour of this bullshit. Finally, she hazards, "...people don't want to do what they need to do for this project..." 01<@Ardweden> ["But you need them to help with it?"] 06* Tiffany nods, shoulders relaxing slightly, but her eyes are still on the very fine carpeting of Ms. Abrams' office. "Yeah. If I screw up...might be really important. But it's not like we have a lot of time to do it..." She frowns. 01<@Ardweden> ["What have you done about it, then?" she asks. "If anything."] 06* Tiffany looks up. More curious than anything. Though slightly annoyed at the question. "What do you *mean* what have I done?" 01<@Ardweden> ["I just want to know how you're reacting to the situation."] 06* Tiffany looks up at the therapist and *starts* to speak...she *tries* to...but she just...can't... She can't get the words or the words won't come out and she just...freezes. Gritting her teeth and retreating into herself. If that's any *indication* of how she's handling the situation... 06* Tiffany 's hand goes up to hold her neckchain. Like a security blanket. She doesn't take the locket *out*, but she's clearly holding onto *something* about her chest... 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams leans forward. "Tiffany?" She reaches out to almost touch the girl on the shoulder, trying to get her to open up, and then notices that the girl is clutching something. "Tiffany, is that a necklace?"] 06* Tiffany *starts*. Almost as if bitten. As if shocked. Her eyes snap up as she suddenly folds back into the chair, pupils wide and staring. "...what?" she manages to croak out. 01<@Ardweden> ["Let's see it," Abrams says gently.] 06* Tiffany frowns and flinches back for a moment. She seems to be mulling over the possibilities, chewing on her lip. "...why?" 01<@Ardweden> ["Because you were just holding it like a lifeline." She doesn't sound entirely unreasonable.] 06* Tiffany doesn't seem convinced. "...I don't have to show it, do I...?" 01<@Ardweden> [She shakes her head.] 06* Tiffany seems to be considering it. Looking down. Chewing on her lip again. Her voice is soft, weak. "...okay. I'll do it. If you do one thing..." 01<@Ardweden> [Heather tilts her head.] 06* Tiffany looks up, frowning. "...you're not going to tell my parents, right? Um...that's one thing...I guess there's another..." 01<@Ardweden> ["I don't plan on it."] 06* Tiffany stares hard at her. "That's not good enough. You *can't* tell my parents. At all." She sounds serious about this. 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams blinks. "I won't. I need to warn them if your *life* is in danger, but I highly doubt that necklace is actually trying to kill you."] 06* Tiffany nods and looks down into her chest. Silently, she pulls out the chain and shows off the locket. A lovely little silver heart chain locket. Slipping it off, she holds it carefully out to her therapist. Yes, much like a lifeline. 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams reaches out and holds the locket part, gently, but she doesn't remove it from Tiffany's grip. The necklace is clearly important to her. "Where did you get it?"] 06* Tiffany looks down, holding her cheek. As much as she tries to hold herself together and try the cool, calm demeanor she's been keeping in the office up to this point, she's clearly vulnerable. Especially to a therapist. She's still small. "...I've got nothing to say about it..." 01<@Ardweden> [She looks at Tiffany, some calculation turning behind her eyes. Yeah, Abrams isn't buying it. She turns her attention back to the locket. "Do you mind if I open it?"] 06* Tiffany turns back to look at the doctor, clearly annoyed at this point. But slightly resigned too. "Can I stop you?" 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams locks eyes with Tiffany. "I won't open it without your permission."] 06* Tiffany rolls her eyes. A practically *therapeutic* response. "...if I let you open it, do I have to come here less often?" *Bargaining*. 01<@Ardweden> ["I don't strictly control the number of appointments you're supposed to make, Tiffany."] 06* Tiffany frowns. "...you can tell my *parents* I don't need to see you as often...." That's right, isn't it? 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams frowns a bit. She lets go of the necklace and leans forward, folding her hands again. "How many appointments do you realistically make? By my count, it's once a month."] 06* Tiffany seems torn between frowning and almost laughing at that for a moment. She settles on frowning. "...you've been keeping count?" 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams throws her hands up in the air. Finally, some real emotion out of the therapist. "Of *course* I have! For this ONE HOUR A WEEK, Tiffany, you are the only person I care about. And I know that sounds strange or stupid to you, but it's true."] 06* Tiffany looks up at the therapist in surprise at the sudden crack, but tries to hold firm. She is frowning a little too. "...you're right. It *does* sound a little stupid..." She lets out a deep sigh though and lets go. "...but okay. We'll have it your way." 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams shakes her head. "I know that it's difficult. Opening up is a very hard thing to do. I... anyway. Here's what I suggest." She stands up and goes to her desk, pulling out a notebook, then walks back and hands it to Tiffany. "Every Saturday at least, I want you to write something in here to me. It doesn't have to be long. You can call me names if you want or tell me how stupid this is. Whatever you're thinking or feeling at the time. You can go over if you want to, but you don't have to."] 01<@Ardweden> ["Come in at your appointment time and give it to me, let me read it and write a response to you, and you're done. Once a *month*, I want you actually in here for the hour."] 06* Tiffany frowns slightly and looks at the notepad, as if it's a dirty towel she left on the floor. Her frown only tightens as she considers what to say. "...really? That's it?" 01<@Ardweden> ["That's it."] 06* Tiffany frowns. Still thinking, fingers adjusting her locket and fiddling with the chain. Didn't she want to look at it? "...can I do it right now?" 01<@Ardweden> ["You mean instead of talking to me for the rest of the hour?"] 06* Tiffany thinks. "...I dunno. Maybe. I just wanna try it out...." 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams smiles slightly. "Yes. And if you'd like to use a different notebook, you're welcome to do that, too."] 06* Tiffany slides the notebook over. And takes a pencil off the table. She scribbles something in the notepad and slides it back over. "Butts," is what the notepad says when Abrams opens it. Just one word. "Butts." 06* Tiffany is the deadpannedest of doing it too. Well, she *is* in drama. 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams looks at the word, then snorts. She grabs a pen and writes, "Why butts? I don't understand," and slides it back.] 06* Tiffany starts giggling to herself at the snort. She actually vocalizes the next part. Is that a bit of a smile? Maybe that's a bit of a smile. "Why not butts?" 01<@Ardweden> ["We all do have them," Abrams says after a moment of consideration. She grins.] 06* Tiffany nods in response. Very scholarly about the concept of butts. "No ifs ands or butts..." She then frowns to herself, shoulders hunching. "Um...sorry..about earlier..." 01<@Ardweden> ["Your apology is accepted," Abrams says with a warm smile. "And appreciated."] 06* Tiffany nods a bit. Thinking. "Um...thank you...uh...about the notepad thing. I mean...I think it might work..." She sighs deeply, but does seem somehow more relaxed. "...do you still want to see it? Um...I haven't...haven't really shown it to anybody before..." 01<@Ardweden> ["If you'll let me. I promise what I see and you say won't leave this room."] 06* Tiffany frowns and chews on her lip, holding her arm and looking away. "...I'm not sure if I'm ready to talk about it yet...." 01<@Ardweden> ["That's all right." She pauses, then continues, more gently, "Maybe you can write about it for next week, if you're feeling up to it. If you're not, that's okay."] 06* Tiffany nods, then breathes in deeply. She *did* promise. And *despite* what *some others* might think, she's not intending to be a promise breaker...she leans over to the desk and slides it over. 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams opens the locket, looking at its contents. She studies it for a moment, then closes it and hands it back to Tiffany, not even commenting. "Thank you," she says, studying the girl's face.] 06* Tiffany blinks, slightly surprised that there's no questions. She seems to want to try to ask why but thinks better of it. She slips the locket around her neck, hiding the actual locket part and says again, outloud this time, "...yeah. Butts." 06* Tiffany does look like she's ready to go now at any rate. Whole thing took a lot out of her. And she didn’t get her answers, but... 01<@Ardweden> [Abrams nods at that. "Exactly." She doesn't chase Tiffany out, instead leaning back in her chair again.] 06* Tiffany sits the rest in silence. Well. *Mostly* silence. She does take the notebook and look through it for a few moments. After a bit, it looks like she's actually doodling in it! But she's not showing Abrams this. At least not today. Whether she looks at them next time she turns it in is up to her. 01<@Ardweden> [And so, they had a surprisingly productive session. What will next week bring for Heather Abrams?] 01<@Ardweden> [End!]