Doctor Darren Jacob

Sineas had just finished taking a shower. He threw on a red t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, a pair of white sneakers and he was good to go.

'What are you watching, Aunt Janice?' he asked her as he descended the wooden stairs, swinging his backpack onto his shoulder.

She was wearing an orange blouse and her black waitress skirt. A shower cap was on her head. She usually took a shower just after Sineas. 'Good morning to you too, Sin,' she said without taking her eyes off the screen. 'Come take a look at this,' she beckoned towards him with her hand, still keeping her eyes glued to the TV. Her other hand was occupied with a half eaten slice of toast. 'Oh, Breakfast is on the table,' she informed him. Moments later he returned into the living room carrying a plate with three slices of toast and scrambled eggs. He stood behind the couch as he ate.

'So, what's up?' he asked her shoving a slice of toast into his mouth.

'You just missed it. There was a commercial with second-hand 1999 BMWs at half price.'

'You're thinking of getting a car?' he asked her.

'Yes. But I would have to put in extra work at the café. It would be nightshift after nightshift.'

'So that's a no-no on the auto?'

'Sin, I cannot spend hours in the night toiling away and leave you here all by yourself. You can't even cook.'

'Yes I can. I've been practising.'

'Sin, boiling water doesn't qualify as cooking.'

'Anything else good?' he asked her. He had actually been offended by her last statement.

'Just the usual blah-blah,' she said beginning to scroll through the channels trying to find something worth watching.

Sineas noticed something familiar in a channel she had just skipped. 'Wait, wait, go back two channels,' he said.

She scrolled back. There was a picture on the screen. A picture of Justin, Sineas' classmate.

He quickly made his way around the couch. He placed his plate of scrambled eggs onto the small table by Janice's feet and sat beside her.

'And if anyone has seen Justin, please call the number on the screen,' the female news reporter said. 'Justin was last seen yesterday at his school, Malrich High during school hours…'

'You know him?' Aunt Janice asked Sineas, her eyes on the screen.

'Yeah. He also does Sciences,' he told her. 'But I don't understand how someone could file a missing persons report in less than forty-eight hours.'

Aunt Janice shrugged. 'Maybe his parents are loaded. Flash a few bucks and they'll even announce a missing shoe report. I'm sure he's at one of his friends' houses,' she further speculated. 'Kids like him probably like getting drunk and having two to three-day hangovers with their buddies.'

Sineas thought Justin's picture looked more like a mugshot. Seeing his picture on the screen like that made him remember the humiliation he went through the previous day because of him. He remembered the undying laughter from the students. Even from students three-four-five years younger than him. Sineas the jester, they must have said; if they even knew his name.

'Do you see what kind of dangerous times we live in, Sineas?' Aunt Janice said when she switched off the TV. 'As soon as school is out, I expect you to head straight back here, do you hear me, son?'

He smiled warmly at her. 'Sure, Aunt Janice.' He kissed her on the cheek then stood up. 'I have to run.' He grabbed his backpack and headed for the door.

'Whoa, wait, Sineas,' she sprang from the couch towards him.

His hand was on the door handle. He turned around. Her hand was on his shoulder.

'I want you to go see Doctor Jacob. Today.'

He groaned and raised his head up to the sky. 'Really, Aunt Janice? I'm sure he can wait.'

'No, no, Sineas, I want you to go see him now! These meetings are very important for you. You need them.'

He turned his eyes back to earth. 'And school?'

'I'll call Principal Ned Stanley. I'll tell him you're going to miss your first two lessons.'

His pupils dilated. 'So you're also going to tell him that I'm seeing a shrink? Aunt Janice, that is not for everyone to know,' he protested.

'He won't tell anyone,' she said, 'I'll make sure of it. Haven't you ever heard of "Principal-student" confidentiality?'

'Don't you mean, "Doctor-patient"?'

'Never mind what I mean, Sineas. Go see Doctor Jacob. Now.'

He groaned again as he opened the door. 'Fine. I'll go see the quack.'

Sineas could not stand the smell. The smell of stacks and stacks of papers all over a room like it was a public library archive. A deceptive abacus sat on a desk ready to convince anyone who gazed upon it that its owner had a PHD. Two windows faced the door and they were wide open. The curtains danced metrically as a warm breeze rushed through the room. A long table was In the middle of the room and sitting at the edge of that table with a small notepad in his hand was Doctor Darren Jacob; Sineas' psychiatrist, or his quack as he preferred to refer to him as. Doctor Jacob was dressed in his uniform: a labcoat with a white long-sleeved cotton shirt underneath and black nylon trousers. Sineas could not figure out why he was wearing safety shoes though. Are you a blacksmith or a psychiatrist, you quack?! Why don't you make up your damn mind! Sineas yelled at him from the comfort of his head.

Doctor Jacob had not changed in the least…at least facially. The garish bumps on his face from excessive shaving where clustered on his jaw. Sineas was quite positive that he had not even replaced his spectacles either.

'Sineas. Sineas!'

Sineas returned his gaze back from the ceiling. 'Yes?' he responded half unconscious.