Scarlet was blessed with many of the privileges that other sixteen year-old's on the planet had been denied. She was intelligent, making straight As in school with little effort. Her prowess on the piano could rival anyone. She was tall, beautiful, and posh in her imported outfits and cosmetics. No expense was spared for her stylish shoes and one-of-a-kind dresses. During the winter she frequented the northern continent to ski. Several times a year, she sailed to Mideel just to relax in the hot springs. Yet, she was a "poor little girl" who had been referred to me after an almost successful suicide attempt.
Scarlet strolled into my office dressed in a rosy sundress and carrying a clipboard with her own notepad. She introduced herself with an overly assertive tone and a firm handshake. Then she sat in the chair across from me and made the exaggerated motions of therapist taking notes, which she would continue throughout most of our session.
I asked her if she knew was she was in my office.
"Of course." She replied, not even attempting to hide her sarcasm. "I swallowed a bottle of pills."
"Your parents informed me that you nearly died."
Scarlet let her mouth drop open to feign a look of shock. "I can assure you they were being melodramatic."
"Why do you think that you did it?"
"Think?" She paused in her note-taking to look up at me and give me a look filled with ridicule. "Now, now doctor, let's not be coy. We both know why I did it."
"Fine." I wanted to shake my head in frustration. "Then tell me why you did it."
"Well, I didn't intend to kill myself, if that's what you're thinking."
"Then why?"
"I was angry with my family. I want a gold chocobo for my birthday. Nothing too expensive. They wouldn't buy me one." She smiled victoriously to herself. "Now they will."
"Did they explain why they initially said no?"
With her elbow propped up on the armchair, she pressed her fingers to her forehead and shook her head back-and-forth slightly in frustration. "My family has plenty of gil, as I'm sure you're well-aware. They're only saying no in an attempt to teach me some lesson. It's really quite infuriating."
"Tell me more about your family."
"Sometimes, they really expect me to behave like a normal teenager; keep up with my schoolwork, clean my room, stay within my allowance, be home before curfew. That's utterly ridiculous." Her voiced was filled with what seemed to be sincere outrage. "Mother does nothing of real importance all day and hires staff to take care of the errands. So why should I be expected to have all these responsibilities?"
Scarlet had a common problem that many children from affluent families experiences - she expected to be given anything and everything she wanted. People from more humble families learn through childhood that not everything they desire is a necessity - it's not a luxury that 99% of the population can afford. But from what she had mentioned about her mother, I felt there were other problems not rooted in gil. I asked her to share more about her family.
"My parents are in a loveless marriage. Father is traveling constantly for work and he's rarely home. Mother despises him, but she enjoys the wealth." She sighed with boredom and paused in her note-taking to put her glossy blonde hair into a casual bun. "Mother relishes in revenge. When Father has been away from home too long - she buys herself jewelry, shopping sprees, spontaneous trips across the planet. Ironically, Father buys me presents when his trips extend far too long." She held her wrist up into view so I could admire the gold chain around it. "This was a present. I believe Father was only gone for a week when I woke up to this gift-wrapped on the edge of my bed."
Scarlet seemed to be following her parent's example. Her entire life she had been taught to invest her emotions into material things, not other people, and striving for luxury instead of love. She never learned how to appreciate social relationships of any kind, and I was unsure if she ever would. Scarlet needed support - more than just the nice clothes and fancy vacations. She had no appreciation for her peers and was completely self-centered. She learned that happiness comes from using others, leaving her to live her life without any real emotional connections.
Later in our session, we spoke about her goals for her future. True to form, she wanted to run a business like her father and be extremely wealthy. She wanted a beach house in Costa del Sol, a chalet near Icicle Inn, a walk-in-closet full of luxurious gowns and her own helicopter.
After our hour was over, I was very surprised that Scarlet agreed to schedule another session with me. "What's your interest in coming back?"
For someone with as quick of a wit as her, she was hesitant to answer me; perhaps she was cautiously wording her answer, or maybe she was genuinely unsure herself. "It feels as if you actually care about what I have to say. It's rather interesting."
I ended our session with, "Think about what you would like to talk about next week."
