Checking up.. (Cherry)

[leo ronald mcknight]

So here he was waiting on his student Cherry. He had mentioned to the other staff members that he was going to check in on the students and to find out how everyone was settling. Cherry was a veteran at Horizon, only because she had just passed the three month mark. Then there were kids there that had been there for years on end. He had planned on meeting with some of the other counselors students as well. He had a special place in his heart for them and he wanted to help.

Leo had everything set up in his office. He had the books, the files, everything he would need to glance at or read when dealing with each kid, but the books never told him everything. Even if most of the counselors felt like he was a bad ass, it didn't matter. He called out to the secretary now. "When Cherry gets here just have her come into my office."

Sometimes even counselors made mistakes but right now he was going to use his bad ass personality to his bonus extra. He was going to help her no matter what. It was his goal to see each student changed. Even if they didn't well act right. Even if they tried to be an ass right back. It was just his way of counseling. He was just about to lean against his desk, when he thought he heard something. "Cherry is that you, come on in please." He would try to be nice right now. At least that's what his goal was.

[cherry ava momsen]

So, Cherry was supposed to go meet with her couselor, Mr. McKnight. She wasn't exactly sure what to call him, but she remembered her grandfather had yelled at her once for calling an adult, one of his ex-business partner and close friend, by their name. Plus, she heard that the Ridgerunners counselor was rather...well, strict to say the least. She really didn't want to go. Cherry knew she was a screw-up, and a rather depressed one at that. However, she didn't want to admit that. She didn't want to admit that she had a problem.

She walked up to the secretary. "Um, I'm suppose to..." before Cherry could even finish her sentence, the secretary pointed down the hall. "You're Cherry, right? Go down the hall. He's expecting you now." Cherry nodded, and walked slowly down the hall, as if she was heading toward her execution. Anxiety was suffocating her. It was true, with her PTSD, that she worried and panicked often. She still woke up screaming from nightmares. She still needed help.

Cherry reached the door and hesitated. She was trying to stay quiet, but she knew her footsteps were too loud. "Cherry is that you, come on in please." said Leo McKnight, his voice echoing from behind the door. Cherry sighed, as quietly as she possibly could, and forced a small smile. She was going to convince him that she was fine, absolutely fine. Cherry knew how to lie, and she believed knew what people would think. Quickly she entered the room, and closed the door behind her. "Hi Mr. McKnight," she greeted nervously. "Uh, how long is this going to take?" she shifted her weight from one foot to another. She wanted this to be quick, she wanted to leave.

[leo ronald mcknight]

Unbeknownst to Mr. McKnight, he didn't realize that he had a strict no nonsense look on life. Leo wasn't strict, he was just a little bit on the edge. He was hard on the kids because he knew that most of them were feeding him bullshit and he called them on it. He had planned to call every student on it, including any student that tried to lie to him. He didn't like liars, in fact he despised them, but he knew some of the kids hid things for others. He wanted to make sure that Cherry wasn't one of them.

The Secretary buzzed to let him know that she was coming. He sat down and pulled out Cherry's file. He knew that Cherry would think she was in trouble. Most of the counselors didn't handle things how he did. He checked on things, gathered some thoughts before any trouble could possibly start. He was a counselor who liked to think ahead and that's what he was doing. He was thinking like a student, because at one time he was a student. He felt that the counselors wouldn't care if he got high on campus. That they wouldn't care he was using. Well he was wrong, they cared. More then any other counselor would at any other normal high school as the kids put it.

"Hey Cherry, How are you doing hun?" Leo asked right off the bat. "Why don't you have a seat Cherry, it might be a while, it's going to take as long as you need." It wasn't filling a quota when he had these meetings. It was letting the kids at Horizon know that someone besides there parents cared about them. That even though it was his job, he would do it free of charge.

[cherry ava momsen]

Cherry took a seat. "I'm fine," she said, quickly. It was one of those questions where Cherry always said the same thing. She never went into detail. She never said how she was really doing. It was just one of those questions you didn't answer with any detail. She just made up a little lie, and then they would forget about it. That's what usually happened, at least with her. "Oh, I really don't need much time, to be honest," Cherry said, focusing on the carpet. "Really. I'm fine."

Lies, lies, lies. She wasn't fine. In fact, she was horrible.Cherry was lying because she didn't want to admit how she wasn't really getting any better. Why was she here? Was her school work bad? No. She was managing B's and C's, which wasn't exactly a crisis. Even if she was failing, Mr. McKnight wouldn't need to call her into his office for that. Cherry didn't do anything bad yet, either. "Um, is there a reason why I'm here?" She asked, then quickly added, "I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just curious." Did he came to tell her about her grandparents? Her mom? No, most likely Peter would have to do that. Nervously, Cherry silently tapped her foot in anxiety.

She sighed. "Mr. McKnight, I swear I haven't done anything wrong. I mean, I guess I could improve on my grades," Cherry trailed off, "And I guess I could participate more in camp activities..." she shrugged. "But besides that, I haven't really done anything...at all." It was true, most of the time Cherry just sat in her cabin and slept when she didn't have classes or chores to do. She continued to tap her foot, nervous and impatient. She wished she just knew why she was here already. If it was just a check up, fine, but if it had something to do with her behavior, Cherry just might ignore the whole thing.

[leo ronald mcknight]

Leo lofted up an eyebrow when he heard Cherry pass off something as if it was nothing. He sighed a bit as he gave her a look that said he didn't believe it. "And yet you are here Cherry, Why is that? Why are you at Horizon?" He asked as he looked her over. He didn't honestly think that Cherry thought she had a problem.

"Cherry I want you to look me in my eyes and tell me that you honestly are fine." Most kids couldn't look into the eyes of something and lie. It wasn't easy, at Least LEO didn't feel like it was easy. In fact to him it was to dang hard to do that. He couldn't ever do it attending Horizon either. Leo knew how hard it would be and could read her like a book. Even if the book was hard to get through.

"I didn't pull you in here for behavior Cherry, I brought you in here to talk." Leo sighed, why did every kid think he wanted to punish them? He didn't get any joy in giving kitchens, shuns, wood chopping, all of that, heck he hated when he had to do it.

"So talk Cherry, I want to see you honestly tell me that, you don't need Horizon."

[cherry ava momsen]

Cherry squirmed in her seat, still focusing on the ground below her. She didn't want to admit too much, yet she was willing to give only a little bit of information. Only enough that they would know she needed help, but wasn't a hopeless cause. Cherry sighed, deciding she had to talk about her PTSD, and how that was the reason why she was here. She didn't mind talking about it, she only minded when people asked how she developed it. It brought back nightmares and bad memories, something Cherry wasn't ready for. "I'm at Horizon because I have PTSD, you know, post traumatic stress disorder?" She commented, and shrugged.

Inwardly, Cherry groaned. She obviously wasn't fine and Mr. McKnight knew it. "I'm not fine," she admitted and looked him in the eye, which was honestly a little intimidating. "I only said I was because some people expect me too." Cherry drawled attention to the words 'some people' without meaning to. With that, she meant her grandparents, who just couldn't deal with Cherry's problems. She doubted even Mt. Horizon could. All Cherry wanted to do was just get away from her life, which seemed to hate her ever since she was born.

So Cherry wasn't in trouble, thankfully. She was relieved; there was no reason for here to be in the first place, unless Mt. Horizon became ten times more strict. If that was possible. Then again, talking seemed worse than punishment. She didn't like to talk. Not about her problem, her family, or really herself in general. Cherry tried to avoid that by sticking to herself, and not talking to anyone else unless she had to, or occasionally, wanted to.

"I don't think I can," Cherry replied, this time speaking the truth. She decided she wasn't going to lie anymore. However, that didn't mean she was going to cooperation like some perfect little kid. "I'm not really in denial about Horzion, really. I just don't like it." She shrugged, and added, "I'm sure I'm not the only one. So, I guess I do need it, but it's not like this place will ever help me. I've been here for several months and I haven't improved at all." Cherry leaned against the chair, no longer nervous but annoyed. Was talking going to actually make her feel better? No. Not really. "So if you intend to turn me into some happy kid, I'm sorry to say that's never going to happen." She tapped her foot impatiently. Cherry predicted he was going to ask her more questions, and probably yell at her for her rudeness. She didn't care at the moment. She had no problem with the chores they assigned as punishment.

[leo ronald mcknight]

Leo could tell that Cherry was growing a bit uncomfortable with the questioning most likely, but at Horizon she didn't really have to much of a choice to stay silent. Horizon was a school for changes and helping, and this is what Leo intended to do. "I know that Cherry, I know you have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but is that it, or are you hiding things that you don't want people to know?" He asked, he was willing to bend the rules slightly if that meant he could be able to get more out of Cherry.

Leo nodded when she admitted that she wasn't fine, when she admitted that she needed help and that was part of Horizon. Getting the kids to admit that they needed Horizon, that they needed someone to confide in. "I'm not expecting you to be fine Cherry, I am expecting you to tell the truth, which is what you just did." He nodded to show his appreciation. "And I am proud of you for admitting that very first step." There was still change that needed to happen. He was sure that Horizon if they kept going would get something more of her.

Leo nodded when Cherry said she couldn't talk to him, he understood. "Cherry, admitting that you need help is half the battle, but yet there is more right?" Leo asked, as if he knew that there was. Some of the kids didn't know about his past, that he had been at Horizon himself so many years ago. That he had graduated this place, that his whole entire life had changed. It had happened because of Horizon. Which made him such a good counselor, even if he was a complete jackass to them at times.

"I'm not expecting you to turn into a happy go lucky kid, hell I wasn't one come to think of it, but I want you to start facing your fears, and by that, I want you to tell me what you are afraid of here at Horizon, what do you think you need to overcome, maybe talking to someone in your family, talking to someone about your home, talking to someone period."

"But as far as not changing you have already Cherry, it takes more to talk to a counselor then you think." Heck Cherry had been making good progress in his opinion, even if at times it was a bit concieted.