With one period to go before lunch, Tao drew a picture of herself playing guitar on the beach.
Just as she was about to put it up on the wall, one of the background students asked "you made that?"
"Yeah" Tao answered.
That student laughed before saying "hey people, this girl, aka the newbie with a bad taste in music, has a bad taste in art too."
Tao got laughed at again. She couldn't find a way to speak up about her feelings, so she ran off to the girls' bathroom.
In the bathroom, she quietly thought to herself "why did I come here? I'm just too shy to say anything."
Another girl came out of one of the stalls.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Who are you?" Tao responded.
"I'm Nicole" the girl answered.
"I'm Tao" she replied.
"Why are you crying in the corner, Tao?" Nicole asked.
Tao answered "some kids made fun of a picture I made and I'm too afraid to say how it makes me feel."
Nicole gave Tao a hug to show how sorry she felt for her.
"You know" she started. "You aren't the only victim. Someone has been sending mean things about Livi for a few days now".
"What's a Livi?" Tao asked.
Nicole answered "some music start Heartlake City goes gaga over. You should ask your parents if you can pay her a visit."
"I guess" Tao answered. "By the way, my parents are split up, but it's no big deal."
"Really?" Nicole commented. "My parents are split up too".
"I'm so sorry" Tao said.
"It's alright" Nicole commented. "I have to go".
The 2 girls waved goodbye.
"Man, that's one quiet girl" Nicole thought.
At lunch, Tao chose to sit alone. She thought it would lower the chance of her getting bullied again. There was no way she could get her feelings hurt 3 times before 6th period. Nicole and Nate met up with one another.
After saying hi to each other, Nicole said to Nate "did you hear about the new kid, Tao?"
"Yeah" Nate answered. "She sure is a quiet one. Some students were picking on her in the hallway."
"I ain't surprised" Nicole commented. "I saw her in the bathroom crying because someone made everyone in the art class laugh at a drawing she made. First Livi, now Tao. There's gotta be a way to get to the bottom of this".
"No kidding" Nate said. "There's Tao over there. Let's go see if she's okay."
Nate and Nicole came over to her. Tao hid under the table.
"You don't have to hide from us" Nate said.
"Oh" Tao said. "It's just you 2".
"We just wanted to make sure you were okay" Nicole responded.
"I'm fine" Tao said. "It's just my social anxiety disorder."
"What's that?" Nate asked.
Tao answered "a common type of anxiety disorder. A person with social anxiety disorder feels symptoms of anxiety or fear in certain or all social situations, such as meeting new people, dating, being on a job interview, answering a question in class, or having to talk to a cashier in a store. Doing everyday things in front of people—such as eating or drinking in front of others or using a public restroom—also causes anxiety or fear. The person is afraid that he or she will be humiliated, judged, and rejected."
Here are examples of symptoms that go along with it.
Worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself
Intense fear of interacting or talking with strangers
Avoiding doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment
Enduring a social situation with intense fear or anxiety
Blushing
Fast heartbeat
Upset stomach or nausea
Feeling that your mind has gone blank
Neither of those 2 could believe what she said.
"I know" Tao responded. "I got so worried that I just went blank and had no idea what to say."
"This has happened to you before?" Nicole asked.
"It has" Tao answered. "Social anxiety is one of the most common disorders in America. Over 3 million people have it, but out of all of those 3 million, not even 100,000 would go do something about it. It gets stuck with you for years, if not, for life. My first experience was when I was in the 2nd grade."
Enter Flashback.
"I was walking up to say hi to another kid when I started feeling my heartbeat faster than before. That kid asked if I was alright, but I just went blank. I didn't know what to say. I tried again at lunch, but this time, I noticed I was blushing in front of the whole cafeteria. Some of my friends called me poor baby blushy for it. I told my mom when I got home and she took me to a doctor. That's how I ended up with social anxiety disorder."
Exit Flashback.
"It was nothing harmful" Tao said. "It's just that my mind will forever have a hard time adjusting to certain things".
She thought that it would be nothing thanks to her mom and aunt Thanh.
Nate and Nicole still felt bad for her and wanted to apologize for what she had to put up with.
"It's alright" Tao commented. "Coping with mental disorders has been a family tradition for me."
"Your whole family is full of mental disorders?" Nicole asked.
"Yeah" Tao answered. "But, you won't be able to see all of them now. My parents are split up, but that's like one thing I don't worry about much. My sister's away at college studying to be a journalist while trying to cope with depression."
"Oh yeah" Nicole said. "My parents are split up too, but I don't worry about it that much either".
"Sounds like your family's going through some tough times" Nate responded.
"Maybe" Tao commented. "But we're gonna get through."
Nate and Nicole understood what Tao was saying to them.
