Check Up

[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt knew this had been coming the closer the school year came to an end and yet he felt anxious coming into the hospital - something he'd never felt before his diagnosis. Now every time he entered he worried that he'd be put into an insane asylum for something he had thought was a mediocre thought. Most of his thoughts these days were mediocre. Still he knew that his therapist wanted to see him, if anything to touch base about how his meds were going and so the boy made his way to the mental health ward and after checking in with a nurse he was sent to wait in an office. There he sat down in a plush chair and sighed to himself. He hoped, above all else, that this would be over soon because he was ill equipped to handle this.

 

[Jucinda Tennison]

Jucinda had been sending letters back and forth with Wyatt during his school year to track his progress and keep their lines of communication open when they were not able to speak face to face. However that day was her first proper appointment with the boy in an entire semester, where she could speak to him in person, rather than through quill and ink. Despite keeping in regular contact and feeling like Wyatt was honest in his letters, Jucinda knew they still had a lot to catch up on. Letters could only communicate so much, of course, and she did want to hear Wyatt tell her about his semester at school himself even if it might have felt like a broken record to him. So the woman promptly arrived to the office Wyatt was sitting when their session was due to begin, and smiled politely as she sat in a different chair adjacent to him. After saying a quick greeting and shuffling her papers, Jucinda found the notes she made from his letters during the year, and kept the paper on top of the pile placed in her lap as she spoke. "Alright, Wyatt, I've made notes of what you said to me in your letters, but I was wondering if you wanted to tell me more about how school has been going for you. Is there anything you might have missed, or something you might want to tell me about now? How have you been feeling in general?" She said, ready to wait patiently for his response.
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[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt thought that Jucinda was nice and liked her but he hated these appointments, he hated her letters and he hated the potion but it somehow made him feel better. It made him feel okay and that was probably what he hated most about it. The teenager didn't really have the words to express that - having never been particularly loquacious. But as she asked him to explore his feelings over the past year he knew he didn't really have the option of not trying. "Uh," he began shakily. "I told my best friend, Marisol, about all of this," he told her as he moved his arms to vaguely show that he meant the therapy, the potions and finally the depression. He didn't know how he exactly felt about it so he didn't say anything. "I guess lately I've been feeling better than before," he said. "I don't know," he added even though he did. This was just his way of looking for approval and distancing himself from his own emotions. "I feel like maybe I can manage everything a bit better," he told her with increased uncertainty in himself because he was feeling a bit like an imposter - that maybe his problems weren't big enough to discuss even if people seemed to think they were. He felt only discomfort about this.​

 

[Jucinda Tennison]

Jucinda nodded as Wyatt spoke, waiting for him to finish speaking before she asked him a few more questions. It did seem like he was doing better than before, even enough to state that he thought he was doing better and share what he was going through with his best friend. Jucinda was pleased with this progress, though she still believed Wyatt still had a long way to go. "How did Marisol take the news? Have they been supportive of you?" Jucinda then asked, hoping that this best friend was supportive and wanted to take care of him when he needed it. She knew that a lot of young people did not know how to handle their loved one's having mental illnesses properly and it could often hinder their loved one's progress and she hoped this was not the case for Wyatt and his friend was helping him properly. "I'm happy that you feel like you can manage things better." She stated. "Do you think the potions are working for you? Are you experiencing any side effects?" Jucinda was aware she was asking a lot of questions but she did have a lot to go through despite the notes she had made during the year.
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