Kang recognized the kid from around school, as one of the bullies' targets, but he'd never gotten the chance to talk with him before.
"Of course. Come in. Your name is Martin, right?" He fought down an urge to get up and open the door all the way for the wheelchair; he was well aware that it could be offensive to the boy.
Martin's never been one to speak up, but this has just been a weird day. Might as well make it weirder by bothering a counselor. He nudges the door open himself and heads in.
He seems a bit surprised that Kang knows his name. He'd always figured he was one of the invisible ones.
"Yeah, you, got it right. But, I dunno, if there's anything you can do."
Martin nods, looking grateful for that. Even if Kang can't help, he's listening, and maybe that's all he really needs.
"It's not like, a bully thing. That just... that's going to happen. This is more like... uhhh, okay, I'm probably not going to be the best, at explaining this. You know déjà vu, right. Is there such a thing, um, as, having déjà vu, but backwards?"
"It shouldn't happen in the first place, but that's a completely different discussion for another time," Kang sighed, resting his elbows on the desk. "...backwards déjà vu?"
"Bluh," Martin makes a face. He didn't come here to talk about the bullies. At least they usually leave his chair nearby when they go locker-stuffing.
"See, that's just it. Uhh, I never really, had this happen before, so, I don't know if it's normal at all. But, things have felt kind of, uh, I guess, out of joint, somehow. Like I'm attending the same classrooms and staring at the exact same kind of ugly posters, and, um, at the same time, it's like I haven't seen any of them before."
Well now, that was strange. Kang had been getting the same uncomfortable feeling over the past few days, but he'd attributed it to stress and not getting enough sleep.
"No, it's alright. Is this a recent thing, or has it been happening for a while?"
"No, I don't think that, I noticed anything, that is, until recently. I don't know. I didn't get much sleep last night, and I guess maybe, uh, a weird dream could..."
He trails off, staring. For just a moment he could have sworn he'd seen... some sort of weird appendages, horns of some sort, curled around Kang's head.
"Don't apologize. The holidays are a stressful time for a lot of people; it's normal. Try to set aside more time for sleep, if you can, and make sure you're eating right. Sometimes that can have an effect. My door's always open, too," Kang smiled.
Martin smiles back, a little shyly. His problem hasn't gone away, in fact maybe it's gotten worse, but it's just... nice to talk to somebody who doesn't immediately treat him as a burden or brush him aside.
"You're right, I should just, uh, make those adjustments, and then let things kind of, go back to normal."
He glances behind him, then carefully turns to head back out.
A lot of the kids came to talk to Kang instead of the official counselor, for that exact reason. He didn't understand why that woman stayed in her profession when she complained almost daily about being pestered by idiot children. Of course, the principal didn't listen whenever people leveled their own complaints on the woman; the principal didn't care either.
He suppressed a scowl at the thought and got up to open the door for Martin, wincing slightly at his knee acting up again, "No problem at all. And, I mean it. Don't be afraid to bring up anything that's bothering you."
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"Of course. Come in. Your name is Martin, right?" He fought down an urge to get up and open the door all the way for the wheelchair; he was well aware that it could be offensive to the boy.
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He seems a bit surprised that Kang knows his name. He'd always figured he was one of the invisible ones.
"Yeah, you, got it right. But, I dunno, if there's anything you can do."
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"It's not like, a bully thing. That just... that's going to happen. This is more like... uhhh, okay, I'm probably not going to be the best, at explaining this. You know déjà vu, right. Is there such a thing, um, as, having déjà vu, but backwards?"
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"See, that's just it. Uhh, I never really, had this happen before, so, I don't know if it's normal at all. But, things have felt kind of, uh, I guess, out of joint, somehow. Like I'm attending the same classrooms and staring at the exact same kind of ugly posters, and, um, at the same time, it's like I haven't seen any of them before."
He stops, feeling stupid.
"I'm sorry, now I just sound, really crazy."
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"No, it's alright. Is this a recent thing, or has it been happening for a while?"
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"No, I don't think that, I noticed anything, that is, until recently. I don't know. I didn't get much sleep last night, and I guess maybe, uh, a weird dream could..."
He trails off, staring. For just a moment he could have sworn he'd seen... some sort of weird appendages, horns of some sort, curled around Kang's head.
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"No, um, I'm sorry, uh..."
He closes his eyes and lowers his head to rub his temple as if he has a headache.
"Maybe it's just, a lack of sleep, or just craziness because of the, the holidays."
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"You're right, I should just, uh, make those adjustments, and then let things kind of, go back to normal."
He glances behind him, then carefully turns to head back out.
"And, um, thanks. For listening."
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He suppressed a scowl at the thought and got up to open the door for Martin, wincing slightly at his knee acting up again, "No problem at all. And, I mean it. Don't be afraid to bring up anything that's bothering you."