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Chapter 4

ARLENE - Monday, October 10

The school today was like a beehive of activity. Everyone was using their iPads or smart phones. Sentences like "Have you seen the photos?", "Have you registered?", or "This website is super cool because it has everything we need!" were in the air. All this enthusiasm caused the teachers to say that if I don't put the phone away, that there would be a new rule and all the electronic gadgets will have to be handed over before school, and we will get them back only during the classes to use them. Well, personally I wouldn't care, but a lot of my schoolmates started to panic as if their lives depended on their smart phones. I checked out the new website only at home (to be exact in the garden house of the brooks family, and I have no idea when I can say that this place is my home), and it's really very good. Because it has everything necessary for a school website and the design is very modern. But the biggest plus is the content. It includes everything from the very beginning of the school. All the students, yearbooks, Photos of events, and teachers. Also there is feedback from former students who are now at the college or at work. They share their experiences and memories about the school. It must have been pretty hard to complete this website and you can really get addicted. There is this certain guy who hacked the previous website last year, and his father's company is said to have had to create this new website in return for not having his dear son kicked out just before graduation. So they designed a super secure website. I don't know whether it's true or not, but the result is certainly outstanding. Linda and Myron told me that they had to promote the new 'Write' menu on the school radio. This menu gives us the chance to write anonymously or with a pseudonym to a psychologist about our problems and we can also ask for advice. We don't even know the name of the shrink as it is abbreviated in the DrC and there is only a short introduction without any specifics.

There can be problems, questions or hardships in our lives that you cannot share with anyone. Now there is a place open to you. Ask and I will answer. If you feel, like you are alone and there is no solution, I can assure you that there are no taboos here. Whatever it may be that you want to share, feel free and share it here. I have many years of experience in psychology, therapy and working together with the police so I can help you.

This website is 100% secure. I can guarantee that your letters are untraceable. You can write to me under any name you like, and there's nothing to be afraid of. I am outspoken, sometimes even too outspoken, but I will help. Write.

DrC"

I am really curious what will be the first thing that will be on this menu. I'm pretty lucky that I can talk to my mom about anything, but I believe a lot of my classmates have no such person to share their problems with. Do they actually have the desire to share their problem with someone today? Or are they just so preoccupied with "whohasthebestcarintheworld" and questions like that? I don't think so. Or at least, I hope it is not so. Maybe inside there is an emotional person in every one of them, but at the moment they just hide behind their iPhones. I'm all for you doc.

LAURA - Tuesday, October 11

It was Friday at last! After school I went to the mall with Lynn and I bought a pair of running shoes (since my last personal trainer was an asshole, I will use the shoes on the treadmill), and also some training gear and a red Gucci bag. I shouldn't have since I went beyond my monthly limit, but I was given a good deal as my mom often shops there and it just looked sooooooo nice. I will tell my mom that she can also use it so that it wouldn't look so expensive. :) Lynn only bought a couple of long-sleeved T-shirts that are completely closed at the neck. I don't understand her new obsession, but she said she liked them. Actually, despite its simplicity, this new style really suits her. She's very thin (I think she has lost seven or 8 pounds since the summer but she says she's not on a diet), and when she has her hair up, she looks very much like Audrey Hepburn. Finally I managed to get her to buy some provocative bijou. Now she looks really cool even with these nun-style shirts. Pants or skirts, it doesn't matter, she looks perfect. I think I should become a stylist. Alan also bought some electric gadget but I didn't join her in the shop, instead I tried to call my mom because of the bag but she wouldn't answer. After shopping we had some ice cream (sugarfree for me), and finally it was all like in the old days. We laughed a lot and talked about Tun too. By the way I didn't have too much to say about him as I haven't seen him for days. Only his stupid friends were down in the schoolyard but they were constantly looking at their iPads. Maybe he's sick?

Then out of the blue Lynn asked me what I think about Write? It's that lame Page on the school website where everyone can write about their problems.

‘Do you think it will work?’ She asked if she was trying to take a strawberry out of her ice cream. She wasn't eating sugar free of course. Skinny.

‘I have no idea. It hasn't really started. And honestly who would write there?’

‘Why? There may be people for whom it's gonna be the last resort as they cannot talk to anyone about their problems.’

‘Come on Lynn, don't be such a fool. What kind of things? Now I have a little pang of conscience because of the bag as it was too expensive, but shall I write to DrC instead of talking to my mom?’ I was joking but you took it seriously.

‘Let me tell you that there are a lot of people who might have bigger problems in the world than just going over their credit card limits with a stupid bag.’

‘OK, OK,’ I was trying to calm her down, but a reaction felt really bad. ‘We can't really predict what will happen. We will just have to see who will write and what. IF anyone writes at all. Let’s go home. My parents are going to party at eight and I have to talk to mom before that.’

Then we went back to the cars and were laughing as if nothing has happened. But on the way home I couldn't stop thinking about why she became so upset. Actually, Lynn is very sensitive. Whenever she sees a beggar, she gives money. If there is any kind of voluntary social work at a nursing home, she always signs up. And also at Christmas to help sick children. I am not like her, she hardly ever manages to drag me along. I don't know where she got this from, maybe from her dad who died in a car crash when she was very young. Lynn doesn't even remember him. Her mom got remarried to a broker. His name is Mitch and he is loaded with money, and he's always very kind. I’ve only met him three times because he travels a lot. Actually, he's a couple of years younger than Lynn's mom. Lynn has two stepsisters, one is eight and the other is six. They are so cute, little blonde angels. Her mom is really introverted but she's also very nice. Whatever. We will go to the movies tomorrow and I will try to ask her about her problems.

Write! #1

Dear DrC,

I am Jake. I'm a sophomore. I have a question for you. Can you recommend some kind of enlargement pill? You know my thingie is rather small. I want it to be large. Thank you,

Jake

Dear Jake, I'm sure that your mail is just a prank which is targeted against the real Jake. I suggest that you deal with your own. Unfortunately you have no sense of humor. What you wrote is not funny at all, you act like you are in kindergarten. However, your question made me think. Do you need help in this field?

Best,

DrC

Write!#2

There's a girl in my class who I like. I can't take my eyes off her and she pretends that she never even notices me. After school I go home passing their house and hoping that I can talk to her one day. But she's never alone. Either she goes home with a friend or her parents pick her up. Sometimes I just talk in front of her house and look at her window. I think she has noticed me many times, but she always draws the curtain. We are friends on f*******:, I liked all her pictures and I like all the pages that she likes so that maybe one day we will have a common thing to talk about. I would really love to talk to her but I just don't where to start. Please help me. A.

Dear A,

My first piece of advice: don't act like a psychopath. Tha) girl may already be afraid of you and that's why she won’t go home alone. If somebody was always staring at me like that, and if that same person was always standing in front of my house and gazing at my window, I would probably call the police. Take it easy and try to behave more naturally. If you don't dare to talk to her, write her an email. It doesn't have to be complicated. You just tell her that you like her and would like to meet her. Until then if you see her say hello, smile and move on. Don't stare at her and don't follow her. Good luck!

DrC

Write!#3

Dear DrC,

Please help me! I'm a in total despair as I have spots all over my face. During the day I kind of manage to hide them with primer and corrector, but it is still ugly. I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror. I’ve tried to squeeze them sometimes although I know that I shouldn't. I'm in constant fear during the day and I hope the primer won’t come off and my pimples won’t be seen. I've never even had a boyfriend because the boys surely think that I'm disgusting. My girl friends tell me that I'm pretty, but I know that my skin is a disaster. I've been to a dozen beauticians with my mom to get some special treatment, but none of them have been efficient for a long time. She says that she's given up as she has spent thousands of dollars on my make up, but in vain. She's telling me to put dog s**t on my face. :( :( Thank you for the advice. Claire (this is not my real name)

Dear Claire (whose real name is not this),

I understand that you are disturbed, everyone would be that's why I am not telling you not to put anything on your face, because that would make your skin heal more quickly. I'm pretty sure that dog s**t does not help. Unfortunately, spots are part of a teenager's life. Some only have a couple, but some people's faces and other body parts are just covered with spots. This is the result of an internal process which might be concealed externally, but it will never be long-lasting. I'm sure that the super expensive treatments are OK but only as a supplement.

I suggest that you find a dermatologist. Even in this town there are at least five really good experts. Then the doctor will surely find you the right to cure both internally and externally. There might be a hormone problem or an allergy, but it is also possible that you have to change your diet a little bit. It means no junk food, no chocolate and you can also forget some cereals. Don't give up. In about a couple of months, the treatment can work. Just relax.