Chapter 6: Piece of Mind

It was Saturday and while Lavanya was having tea with Jamie, Steven and Connie were petting Momo while they enjoyed the view outside.

"It's such a lovely day today."

"It's nice to enjoy a relaxing day on our day off." Jamie said as he was petting Momo while Steven and Connie were lying on the grass looking at the sky.

"Back in Empire City it's never this peaceful. It's always busy; cars honking their horns, people always talking loudly on their phones, and sirens blaring…"

"Sounds like a pretty stressful life." Steven said as he rolled onto his stomach.

"Lavanya what was it like, y'know your singing life?" Connie asked then Jamie motioned his hands telling her to stop.

"It's okay, Jamie. It's not really that difficult to talk about. My singing life back in Empire City was… Magical. Like something out of a fairytale… Unfortunately like all fairytale stories, there's always an end."

"What made you want to quit singing?" Steven asked as both he and Connie moved from the grass to the small table where Lavanya and Jamie were having tea.

"Before… As I began to perform more shows, in the back of my mind, a little voice said to me 'Who am I doing all this for? It can't be for mom and dad, because they love me just the way I am no matter what choices I make in life.' That voice would always repeat over and over in my mind. So with I decided to leave the theater and left Empire City."

"I wanna see one of your performance." Steven wished then Jamie looked at Lavanya and she sighed softly.
"Go ahead." She said then Jamie made a happy excited squeal as he pulled out his phone. As the video loaded it started playing a video of Lavanya on stage as the spotlight flashed on her. Both Steven and Connie gasped when they saw Lavanya with long hair and dressing so elegantly.

"You had long hair?"

"Yep."

"You look like a princess, Lavanya…" Connie said amazed by how Lavanya used to look like. As they heard Lavanya's beautiful performance the video ended and Jamie, Steven, and Connie sighed softly.

"I have that effect on many people…" Lavanya said as she rubbed under Momo's chin.

"Lavanya, it's a real big waste to quit singing when you're so talented!"

"Yeah! You should think about singing again!"

"Well, my life back in Empire City was struggling and pretty complicated… I'll think about it though okay?" Lavanya told Steven and Connie then Momo jumped off the table and started running then the two followed the chinchilla and played with him.

"Are you really gonna think about singing again?" Jamie asked softly so Connie and Steven couldn't hear the two of them then Lavanya went into the house carrying her tea pot. Jamie followed her, concerned with what he said might've upset her.

"I dunno Jamie… It's almost been a month since I quit singing… I don't even know if I can really do it… That little voice in the back of my mind still haunts me with that question…"

"'Who am I doing this for?' Well, if your mind thinks that it's not for your parents then what about your friends?"

"My… My friends…?"

"Yeah. Steven and Connie, and even me… We all like your singing. And it's a real shame for you to just quit and have people not know about it." Jamie explained then Lavanya softly rubbed the tea tin can and sighed.
"I always did enjoy singing when I was young… I'll give it a little more thinking. Thank you Jamie. It's nice to hear someone else's opinion. Normally I would go to my parents for advice, but because they're not here hearing advice from someone that I'm getting to know feels rather strange."

"Strange like a good thing or a bad thing?" Jamie asked then Lavanya started making more tea then she put the tin can away.
"A good way. A very good way." She answered then Jamie's cheeks felt warm and he looked away for a bit. While the two waited for the tea, Jamie raised his head up to look at Lavanya.
"You know… I heard from Steven and Connie about… You know…"

"I'm afraid I don't follow." Lavanya said but she had a feeling that she knew exactly what Jamie was going to bring up.

"Your anxiety disorder… And I don't want to upset you or offend you, but something like that is really nothing to be ashamed of…" Jamie said then Lavanya looked down smiling sadly.
"It's not that I'm ashamed of having a disorder… But more like how I'm treated when people know about it…"

"What do you mean?" Jamie asked then Lavanya sat on a stool.
"When people knew about my disorder they started treated me differently… They began to treat me like I was a person with a disease or they would carefully choose their words for what they should say to me so that I won't end up getting upset or hurt… That's why I enjoy Beach City, why I enjoy having Steven and Connie around, because even though they knew about my disorder they still treat me like a regular person."

"You are a regular person, Lavanya. A regular person who's very good at singing." Jamie said then Lavanya playfully punched his arm.

"Ow! Uncalled for!" Jamie said as he rubbed his arm.

"That was so called for. That's what you get for saying something like that. You're just trying to get me back into singing again."

"Is it working?" Jamie asked then Lavanya playfully punched his arm again then Jamie used his arm to quickly head lock Lavanya. As both of them laughed they heard Steven clear his throat catching both their attention. Steven had a giddy smile and Connie was smiling as well while Momo was on her shoulder.

"What are you two doing~?" Steven asked playfully then when Jamie and Lavanya looked at each other, Jamie immediately drew back blushing.
"I-I-I-I'm so sorry!"

"W-W-We weren't doing anything!" Lavanya answered waving her hands around. Suddenly she heard the water in the pot boiling then the blond hair girl quickly ran to the stove to turn it off.