Back at Tao's house, her family came and opened the door.
"Hi" Nicole said. "You must be Tao's mom?"
"I'm her aunt" Thanh replied.
Tao responded. "This is Nicole. She goes to school in this town."
"I can see that" Thanh replied. "Come on in. "Your mom won't be back until later tonight. She has a busy job".
"I'm not surprised" Tao said. "She's always trying to make that extra handful of money."
All 3 ladies giggled a little.
"I see you and Nicole became friends" Thanh said.
"We sure are Ms. Thanh" Nicole commented.
She then gave a little sigh before telling Aunt Thanh, "you know, I can kind of relate to where Tao's coming from. She told me her parents are split up. My parents are split up too, but I don't worry about it much. What caused Tao's parents to split up?"
Aunt Thanh answered "well, since neither of Tao's parents are here, allow me to tell the story of what happened."
With that, she dove right into the story.
Enter Flashback.
"After the doctor first diagnosed Tao with Social Anxiety Disorder it's been hard for her to speak up. On the other hand, it's been harder for her sister, Tamera. She used to get bullied a lot when she was in Elementary school. Some of the kids made fun of the beautiful bows she would wear on her head. Few of those kids even called her baby bow head, which really upset her. She tried to tell the teachers, but only one would step up and help put a stop to it."
"Isn't it good that at least someone stood up to those bullies?" Nicole asked. "That's something I would've done for Tamera".
"I don't think the story is over yet, Nicole" Tao said.
"She's right" Aunt Thanh said. "It gets worse from here. Not even a whole month into high school, some of the other 9th grade students splattered her with spaghetti and pasta sauce and took pictures of her. The whole cafeteria was laughing. She was diagnosed with depression a few days later. We wanted to find a new place to live when she finished high school, but Tao's dad refused to help. It led to an argument, which caused them to split up. I witnessed the whole thing. Knowing it was Tao's dad to blame for why we couldn't find any therapists for those 2. Your mom and I got post traumatic stress disorder a few days after that, and we never heard from him again".
Exit Flashback.
"Now, Tamera's a sophomore in a North Carolina college studying to be a journalist while putting up with her depression."
"It's still gonna be a long time before I can see her again, though" Tao commented.
Nicole hugged both ladies to show how sorry she felt for them.
Tao told her it was okay.
Aunt Thanh replied "and that's why coping with mental disorders run in the family. Well, at least from this family's point of view."
"I see" Nicole said.
"Hey" Tao commented. "Didn't you tell me your parents are split up too?"
Aunt Thanh was shocked. "Really?" she asked. "Now I see why you must have picked her to be friends with you. She really does know what it's like to have divorced parents."
"She didn't pick me over divorced parents" Nicole commented. "I became friends with her because some of the students wouldn't stop making fun of her. I see her hiding in the girls' bathroom and asked if she was okay. I understand why she has trouble speaking up about her feelings, but she didn't tell me her parents were divorced like mine until just now when you told the story. You told me the story of why Tao's parents got divorced. I think it's time I told you the story of why my parents got divorced."
Let the flashback begin.
She began telling her story.
"I really like getting outside and getting into nature. I even told my own mom and dad that one day, I hope to be an environmentalist and help keep the earth clean. I have a really close friend. Her name's Olivia. We used to have so much fun camping together. One time, we even brought our own fathers along. From surfing to bike riding to just sitting around the campfire. It was a blast."
Tao asked why her mom didn't come.
Nicole answered "she's not really a fan of the outdoors. Later in life, when I turned 12, my own mom had to move to the Carolina coast for her new job. She wanted me to go with her, but my dad wanted me to stay with him. My mom kept persuading me to choose to go with her, but for some reason, I didn't feel as close to her as my dad. I chose to stay with him, but my mom got really angry. Both of my parents didn't want anything to do with each other ever again, so they filed for a divorce, which I watched get passed on. The next day, I tried to give my mom a goodbye hug, but she just slapped me in the face and left. I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder a few days later. It's just been a rocky road ever since that tragic day."
Exit Flashback.
"I still have Olivia as a close friend. I wish I can see her again."
Tao hugged Nicole to show how sorry she was. Nicole forgave Tao's apology.
"You know" Thanh said. "I want you to really experience what Heartlake City has to offer. Go, go spend the night with Nicole. I'll let your mom know".
Tao thanked her aunt by hugging her.
"You are going to love being in this city" Nicole said to Tao.
"I can hardly wait" Tao commented. "Let me go grab a few things and we can get going."
It was alright with both Aunt Thanh and Nicole.
