Nothing could beat complete denial.

[Natasha Ainsworth]

Really, more than anything, Natasha rather resented being ordered to visit Torin Taylor's office.

If they had just asked her, she would have said 'yes'. She had to visit a therapist once every two weeks outside of school, as well as anger management meetings on every Thursday afternoon, and adding this to her schedule would not have been an issue. It was the fact that she was, more or less, forced and demanded into the act, which frustrated her heavily.

After the incidents of tenth, eleventh, and even younger grades, During had laid the situation out straight for her; she stayed out of fighting, and she visited Torin Taylor every second day during her lunch period, or she didn't graduate. And she most certainly didn't play on, or captain, any Parkdale Community School sports teams. It had upset her to hear it, but she had accepted it, for the sake of her teams, and her own sanity.

Without her teams, what was left?

It was a nice Wednesday afternoon, the sort that just called for being outdoors. Either going for a run, or just eating her lunch outside. She had passed Ophelia and Tatum, as well as Seraphim and Leigh, and had needed to turn both of them down on offers to sit outside in the delightful sun.

Instead, she was sitting in one of the chairs outside of the guidance office, with her bag in her lap, waiting for Torin, and her eyes fixed onto one of the stark white walls across from her. The art students were supposed to be painting murals this year, on all of the white walls, but they hadn't quite reached this wing of the school yet.

It could use some color.

[Torin Taylor]

Torin shifted the papers on his desk once again and then got to his feet. His person who filled his first appointment for the day was supposed to be here soon. He glanced at the small mirror on the wall and smiled before walking to the door and pulling it open.

He poked his head out the door, the smile still on his face, and glanced at the girl sitting there. "Miss Ainsworth? You can come in now." It was definitely odd calling one of his students by their last name, but this was the first time that he would be meeting with Natasha so it would be inappropriate to call her by her first name.

He waited for the girl to get up and follow him into the office before closing the door behind them. He walked across the room and sat behind his desk before looking at her, his radiant smile ever present on his features. "Now, are you going to tell me why you're here, Miss Ainsworth? Or should I tell you?"

[Rath Donnelly]

Natasha was obedient, standing and shouldering her bag, following Torin inside of the guidance office. It was the same as she expected, just like any shrink's office. Lots of motivational posters, filing cabinets full of secrets, and an ominous desk for him to sit behind. Not to mention a couple of overly comfy chairs for the patients, one of which she flopped into willingly. Her legs crossed, and her bag rested on top of them again, as she glanced toward Torin and listened to him speak.

"Well, frankly, I think I know why I'm here. From my point of view, it's pretty simple. But why don't you tell me what you've been told? I'm mildly curious, sir."

[Torin Taylor]

"Well, how about we start with the fact that you're always getting in fights?" Torin put his chin on his left palm and glanced at Natasha from behind his bangs. "As I understand, that has been quite a problem in past years."

He smiled a little despite the serious tone in his voice, "Oh, and you don't have to call me 'sir'. I'd rather you just stuck to Torin, alright?"

[Natasha Ainsworth]

Well, she couldn't argue that. Even if she had managed to abstain for the last couple of months, since the beginning of grade twelve at least, but she supposed she was still pretty notorious. Girls still avoided her like the plague on the rugby field. "Okay, you pegged me," Natasha replied finally, managing a little smile of her own. She wasn't ashamed, so much as a bit embarrassed. What if he thought she was some kind of loose cannon? Really, it wasn't like that. "I'm over that now, though, I don't know why During is making me do this. Unless he has some other agenda I don't know about."

She paused, shifting in her seat a bit. "And that's fine, you can call me Natasha. I'm not used to being addressed as 'miss' of any sort, too formal."

[Torin Taylor]

"You're not the first student that Mr. During has sent to me, Natasha. He's sent the majority of the senior class to me already." Torin replied, smiling a little wider now. "He seems to think you could all benefit from some counseling."

It was a good thing that Natasha had said he could call her by her first name because he felt much more comfortable when he was on a first name basis with his students. He didn't feel right calling students by their last names because it made things seem impersonal. And if he was going to be helping these students with their problems (whether they actually had any or not), he wanted them to feel comfortable in his presence.

"Now, why do you think Mr. During would have sent you here if you were over the whole fighting thing?"

[Natasha Ainsworth]

"Oh, I know some of us that could," Natasha said slowly, shaking her head a bit. She was feeling more comfortable, and slid her bag from her lab to rest beside her on the floor, arms simply crossing loosely over her chest instead. She seemed to consider his question for a few moments, her eyes looking past him, focusing on something on the wall as she pondered, before starting quietly.

"I know I've got some issues, that's no secret, but I wasn't aware they were in any school file. So all I can think of, is the fighting. I don't think Principal During really believes that I'm over it. And maybe I'm not, but I can control myself, I'm an adult. I just want to graduate, get a good scholarship, and move on. But he's got it out for me, I think."

[Torin Taylor]

"I'm not supposed to disclose anything about the others students but well... you definitely do have a point." Some of the files that had been passed on to him when he'd become the new counselor had been pretty intense. And he'd thought his past had been ridiculous.

"Yes, I can only assume that Mr. During thinks you haven't moved past the fighting. But I believe that if you concentrate on something else whenever you get the urge to hurt someone, you can get past this. Take up a hobby if you have to, just concentrate on something besides fighting and things should work themselves out."

He was aware that he sounded like he was preaching some generic shit from 'Counseling 101' but it was the honest truth. He'd seen the 'concentrate on something else' theory work tonnes of times before and was certain it could work for Natasha as well.

[Natasha Ainsworth]

Natasha could almost immediately think of more than just a few people that fell into that category. A dozen girls just from soccer, tennis, and rugby alone. There were even a few of her closer friends whom she was sure would be seeing Torin before long. Before him, they'd had the same stuffy old woman as their councilor for years, and no one had much fancied visiting her. It seemed that with a new, 'hip', young councilor in their midst.. well, During wasn't going to let it go to waste, it seemed. Torin Taylor would definitely have his hands full.

"I understand, yeah. I won't ask," she replied, smiling a bit. She considered asking about him, since he was going to ask so much about her. But it probably wasn't considered appropriate, given the usual shrink and patient etiquette. "I do that, mostly. It's part of why I'm so into all of my sports. It's something I enjoy, and somewhere to put my mind. Since I became soccer captain, I haven't gotten in a single fight.. well, I mean, outside of game. Soccer is famous for shuffles, and it's great," she explained, trailing off just slightly. She was normally quieter than this, more reserved, but what was the use? This was a different situation. In a position like this, she had to be frank.

"I know he called my grandparents. I guess your little folder there," she motioned toward the top of Torin's desk, "tells you all about my deadbeat mom and dad, doesn't it? And all of that junk?"

[Torin Taylor]

"Getting into fights during your games is perfectly fine. And sports are a great way to channel your energy into something productive. In fact, I took up sports myself when I was in high school to get over the fact that my father married some stupid bint of a woman." Torin probably shouldn't be revealing anything about his past, but he liked letting his students know that he was a real person just like they were and not some robot or someone who was just here for the paycheck and to not actually help or relate to the students.

"Yes, the file had a small section about your parents. It's definitely a good thing that you're living with your grandparents. From what the file says, they've raised you very well. And you seem like quite the strong-willed young woman so I'd say they did an excellent job."

[Natasha Ainsworth]

Natasha had to smile at his comment about his father, raising one eyebrow slowly at him. It was definitely unusual, in her experience, for a authority figure to just reveal a personal bit like that, no matter how small. It was a little comforting. "Sports can do that, yeah. Take your mind off of all of the things that frustrate you.. it's like when I'm playing soccer, nothing else exists. Just me, the game, and the girls. And that's all my brain can process."

Her smile faltered, just the slightly, as the mere mention of her living situation. She gave a sheepish shrug of her shoulders, slouching into her cushy seat. "Yeah, nana and pop are great. It's not like I have a choice, I couldn't live with mom and dad even if I wanted to, since.. well, whatever. I like it where I am. They're great people. I just wish I didn't disappoint them so much."

Well, that had slipped. And she looked sheepish again, quickly looking away from Torin's face. "I mean.. you know, who cares."

[Torin Taylor]

"I know exactly what you mean. I played soccer in high school myself. It was just so...exhilarating to concentrate on the ball and the field and just... play. ...Do you know what I mean?" Torin flushed a little as he remembered his days in high school (of course, it had only been a few years ago since he'd graduated, but still) and then cleared his throat.

"I'm sure you don't disappoint your grandparents as much as you think you do. I may have only met you today but I don't think you're that bad." He could tell that Natasha actually did care about the fact that she thought she disappointed her grandparents, but he wouldn't voice this fact out loud. It was best to keep thoughts like this to himself.

"So... your crap home life aside, why else do you think Mr. During asked you to come see me?"

[Natasha Ainsworth]

"I totally know what you mean!" Natasha agreed, nodding her head quickly. She could talk about soccer for hours, really. Her team, her favorite professionals, the game, the wins, the loses, just about anything under the world of soccer. Hell, anything in the world of any of her sports, and she'd be ripe to ramble for days on end. "It's an amazing sport, do you still play?"

Moving back to the subject of her grandparents, she shrugged again, trying to be nonchalant. "I guess not. I could be better, maybe I could try.. for them, yeah. That's part of why I'm over the fighting, because of them. Nana gets pretty upset over it," she explained, pausing. "But seriously, I don't know why else. My grades are okay, I've avoided the fights for a while, and as far as I know, my life at home could be better, but I'm content. Like I said, I think During just has it out for me."

[Torin Taylor]

"I don't get to play as much as I used to, but I definitely love playing. I've tried to get my kid sister out on the field near our apartment but she knows next to nothing about soccer other than you kick the ball, so she's not that fun to play against."

"I think if you try just a little harder to do your best in everything you do, you'll be the granddaughter your grandparents have always wished for. It might just be the counselor in me talking, but I really think you can do it." He smiled here and then nodded a little, "Well... Mr. During does seem like he's got a stick up his ass. But you didn't hear that from me, alright?"

[Natasha Ainsworth]

"I don't have any siblings, so I don't get that fun," Natasha replied softly, smiling a bit. "I do have some good friends on the teams though, both school and leisure, and I can find someone to play with whenever I need it. I mean, I don't know if you'd feel comfortable with it, but our intramural league is actually co-ed. And all ages, over sixteen. We could always use more people, just for fun, you know?" she suggested, a little sheepishly.

At the quip about During, Natasha couldn't hold it in, laughing loudly and quickly clapping a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggling. "Oh man, totally, he does! But man, yes, my lips are sealed, I swear. Won't say a word about it."