I sat and turned the paper-weight in my palm, over and over. I liked the way it felt, all smooth
edges and the one concave side. I tossed it up, to see how it would operate in the air, and delighted
at it falling back into my palm - and the sharp exhale from his mouth that I hadn't broken it.
"Well," he said "I'm sure this is boring for you but your mother felt it best that you talk with me."
"Yes, she mentioned that to me. Have you been recording this entire time?"
"I told you the tape recorder was off just like you asked."
I smiled at him, then I put his paper-weight back on his desk. I pretended to skim through his papers
making sure to shuffle them as loudly as possible. He coughed, and kind of wiggled in his chair. I looked
at him and he looked at me, then he picked up his pen and notepad and his face went serious.
"Your mother is curious as to whether you're angry. She's mentioned you're not taking things well lately.
She says you're behaving inappropriately at school, and that you aren't speaking to certain relatives."
"You know you're kind of like a priest for secular folk...I guess that's why you lied about the tape recorder.
You don't have to be honest like the neighborhood padre would."
"I told you, I turned the tape recorder off," he turned to his left and held it up, "see?"
I smiled at him again. He put the tape recorder down and let out an exasperated sigh. He started making notes
on his yellow papers and I tapped my fingers on the arms of my chair. I started humming "Under the Sea" from The
Little Mermaid, and he looked up at me from his paper.
"You like that song?"
"It's all right. I just watched the movie last night, I hadn't seen it before. It was kind of catchy I guess."
"It's a good movie. Do you watch a lot of movies?"
"I know what you're doing. You're not going to get in that way - or any other - and I'm not being passive aggresive,
and I didn't get it from my mother or from my father. I know you think I'm acting out because of my parents."
"I think you know a lot for an 11 year old."
"Some of us have to grow up faster than others, doctor."
I stretched my legs out in front of my seat and pulled my Gameboy Pocket out of my pants and turned on Tetris. I turned
the music up, type-a, and began to hum along to the little speaker as I set up a four line starter to my game. I had the
volume down low enough that I could hear him writing again. I was up to level three when I heard him put down his notebook.
"Do you have a lot of friends? I know you're an only child, I'm curious as to how you interact with other children."
"I'm not withdrawn, or depressed, or anti-social," I paused Tetris and looked up, "and I can't believe you still haven't
turned the tape recorder off."
"You're right," he picked it up and ejected the tape, "I'm sorry."
"And the other one?"
"The other one?"
"The one you're hiding beneath your briefcase."
He chuckled and picked up his briefcase. Then he took the tapes and threw them in the trash.
"Let me tell you about the things you're not seeing," I said.
He nodded. |
Submission Name: Eleven Year Old Secrets
