Sidney sat down in the far corner of the black leather. She crossed her arms and legs and turned her head to face the wall. She would have looked out the winder but then she’d had to look at him.
Cameron was already sitting. He too was on the couch and could tell that Sidney had purposefully sat far away from him. He sighed and turned his attention to the guidance counselor.
“Do you see what I mean?” he said pointing to his friend.
Mr. Warner stared sympathetically at Cameron. “Let’s not point fingers now. We’re here to talk about what’s bothering us and work out our differences.”
Cameron pressed his lips together. He sat stiffly. He had never been in the guidance counselor’s office before unless it was for something school related. He was a good kid. He did his homework, he was friendly with everyone. He didn’t understand why one of his best friends was so angry at him that they needed peer mediation.
“Sidney?” Mr. Warner turned his attention to her. “Did you hear me?”
She grunted, still staring at the wall.
“Sidney, we all need to be in this together 100-percent.” The guidance counselor said calmly. He opened a notebook and rested it on his lap. “Now, would either of you like to volunteer to start?”
Sidney cast a side glance over her shoulder. Once she noticed Cameron looking at her, she immediately turned away again. Cameron sighed looking at Mr. Warner. He opened his mouth to begin, but noticed the notebook.
“What’s that for?” he asked.
“To take notes.” Mr. Warner replied.
“Why do you have to take notes on us?” Cameron replied hastily. “This isn’t like… therapy or anything, is it? We’re having an argument, what’s there to take notes for?”
“I want to make sure I can understand and remember everything you guys tell me. Taking notes allow me to take a look back at your statements and try to piece things together.” Mr. Warner explained.
Sidney snorted.
“Statements?” Cameron stood up from the couch. “You make it sound like we’re on trial for something.
“I assure you, Cameron, that’s not the case.” Mr. Warner said shaking his head. He pointed to the couch. “Please, take a seat. Would you like to get us started?”
“What was that sigh for?” Cameron asked. “You think I’m ridiculous, don’t you? Well, I’ve never been on trial before!”
“You’re not on trial.” Mr. Warner said a little louder.
“Do you see what I put up with?” Sidney piped up.
Mr. Warner and Cameron froze turning their attention to Sidney. Neither of them had noticed she was looking at them now and actually listening.
“I’m beginning to. Sidney, would you like to start?” Mr. Warner replied.
“Oh, so now you’re both against me?” Cameron replied. He threw his arms up in the air and began to pace.
“No one is against you. No one is ever against you.” Sidney replied. She too stood up. “You overthink everything though. I’m frustrated because I corrected you with one little thing and you flipped out. You yelled at me and I don’t care too much for that, so yeah. I’m mad.”
Cameron’s shoulders relaxed. He swallowed a lump in his throat. “Oh.”
“You never ask about what’s going on in my life. You don’t care about how my day is. All you care about is whether or not you’re doing a good job.” Sidney explained.
“A good job with what?” Cameron asked.
“Anything and everything. It’s annoying.”
“Okay, but we’re not a couple, so I don’t need to ask you about your day and stuff.”
Sidney rolled her eyes. “We don’t need to be a couple to be interested in each other. We’re friends, we still care about each other. Well, I care about you. I don’t know much about you caring about me.”
“Is that all?” Cameron wondered aloud.
Sidney nodded her head. “I just want to be normal friends without my day having to revolve around you.”
“Oh,” Cameron said with a nod. “Okay, I can work on that. I didn’t realize. I’m sorry.”
Sidney smiled. She walked over to him and gave him a big hug. After they pulled away, they both chuckled at how silly this whole thing was. The bell rang and they left the room side by side.
Mr. Warner remained in his chair. He let out a sigh. “Uh, glad I could help?”
Words: 740
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