~Chapter 5~

The room was filled with awkward silence for some minutes. He cleared his throat before asking his next question. Ah... an interrogation.

" You said your sister dropped off the business card. Then obviously, she was worried. Why? What were you doing to make her so worried?"

" Well, my habits aren't exactly healthy. My eating, sleeping, and lining habits all in all. I stopped interacting with people after my divorce. Jojo is worried. I haven't had the strength to search for a job. I don't want to talk to anybody." I crossed my fingers and hope he wouldn't make me talk about my divorce. Remembering my nightmare had been enough to drain me. I doubted I had any more strength inside of me to continue talking about those things.

" You need a job to survive. I understand why your sister is worried. To actually have a comfortable life you need money" He said. I could tell he was trying to persuade me to get a job but I don't want to. It's my decision after all. I can survive through various means. A job was just one of them.

" I'm not getting a job. I don't want to talk to anyone. I'll be forced to interact with people and I don't want to" I argued subtly. My voice will be getting louder any moment from now and that will be letting hell loose.

" How about you work from home?" He suggested calmly. That could work, why didn't I think of that earlier?

" I can do that," I answered, thinking of a couple of ideas.

" What did you study?"

" Office management. I went back to college for a degree in literary art, creative writing." Jojo was impressed when I informed her that I was going back to college. It wasn't like the first time. It was per time and I went from home. Maybe I'll think about getting my Master's degree someday.

" Why didn't you study office management first? Had a change of mind?" He seemed interested in my choices.

" Yes, I realized it wasn't really something I wanted to do. I worked in the administrative position for a while. I was about to put my new degree to a test when the divorce came up and things got messed up." Talking about my life out loud made me realize something I hadn't noticed earlier. Everything centered around the divorce. The one thing I didn't want to talk about. Unconsciously it took up a lot of space in my life and I allowed it to consume me. To control my habits and actions.

" Why creative writing?" He furrowed his brows and waited for me to respond.

" I want to understand the concepts of stories. Novels are beautiful. A lot of authors struggle and I want to help. It would be fun to help them write a good book and share their imaginations. I just want to be part of the process. It's safe to say my love for novels influenced my decision." Everyone seemed keen to know why I made those decisions. Some understood while some didn't. It didn't matter, I had fun.

" This would be a perfect opportunity to put that degree to use. Getting a job shouldn't be a problem, all you have to do is try hard. Put your mind to what you intend on doing."

" I will try my best," I told him as honestly as possible. I was willing to put in the effort. The thought of starting afresh made me feel warm inside but it only lasted for a second Doubt flashed across my mind but I gently tossed it to the back of my head.

" Annie, I will be giving you assignments after each session. You are expected to do them or at least try. It would help me, to help you quickly." He sounded serious. Talking in a serious tone doesn't really do much to me.

I almost snickered. Help him to rebrand me. A brand new Annie wouldn't be so bad. I was getting tired of this version of me.

" Okay. What's the assignment for this week?" Hopefully, it wouldn't be something extremely complicated.

" You start job hunting."

" Hmmmm mmmmn" I hummed in acceptance. Joanne will be more than happy to help with that.

" Before we round up this session I would like to ask one more question. What do you intend to get out of this therapy?"

" Can I write it down?" I asked cautiously. He pondered over it for a sec and gave me a piece of paper and a pen. I didn't mind if he read it, it's his job to know. I wrote it down for the sake of sentiments. Looking day someday, I'll like to tick and tell what I've accomplished. In less than 5 minutes I was done and handed the paper over to him. He collected it and folded it into two. I raised an eyebrow, silently questioning why he did not read it now.

" That brings us to the end of our first session." He informed me brightly. I let out a sigh of relief. That was intense.

" Nice" This had to have been the longest two hours of my life.

" You have finished scheduling the appointments right?" Mr. Andrew asked.

" Yes, I finalized it with Belinda while waiting" I was going to be having a session per week. I didn't want anything hectic.

I was out of the plaza some minutes later, driving back home. Finally, I'll soon have Netflix and my blanket. I thought back to the session today and smiled to myself. I was as proud as Jojo was.

Now it's a race! The thing about these races is, you never can tell what happens along the track, or how hard the obstacles might be. When you hear the whistle, you take off and run, running as fast and far as your leg can take you. But how far can you go? Where will the race be over for me, will I get to the finish line? Or get overwhelmed with the hurdles along the way.