School started two weeks after that incident. Every weekday, especially on the first day of school, Mr. Peabody fussed and always asked her if she had everything. "Notebooks?"
"Yes."
"Pencils and pens?"
"Yes."
"Highlighters?"
"Yes," Joey would always respond, beginning to get annoyed.
"Homework?"
"I've got everything."
"Very well. Here's your lunch. Let's go."
Since Joey still refused to get in the sidecar of the motorcycle, both she and Mr. Peabody would take a cab to her school.
Joey was sent to one of the best private schools in the city. All of the students were required to wear blue and black uniforms. Joey didn't seem to care one way or another about the dress code, but Mr. Peabody took extra care of her clothes, making sure they had no wrinkles or tears. Joey would just roll her eyes when he was being overly particular about anything.
After Mr. Peabody would pick Joey up every day, he always asked how her day went, and she always replied, "Fine." At home, he would try to help her with her homework (when she would let him). One day, especially, when Joey sat at the dining room table doing her homework, Mr. Peabody noticed that she was getting upset. "What's the matter, Josephine?"
"Nothing," she replied, trying to hide her feelings.
The canine sat in a chair next to her and said, "Here, let me help. What are you working on?"
Joey ignored him and kept trying to make progress, but she couldn't. Finally, she got up and slammed her chair against the table. Mr. Peabody jumped. "It's this damn math! I HATE math! I'm not good at it!"
"Josephine, it's alright," Mr. Peabody said, gently, trying to calm her. "I can help you. We can do this together."
Joey exploded, as if anger had been bottled up inside her. "Yeah, because you're such a freakin' know-it-all! You think you know everything about everything! Why don't you leave me alone?! I've got to go to school for 8 hours, then have to listen to you for the rest of the day! Just stop!" She stormed off into her bedroom.
Mr. Peabody, trying to get over his shock, became worried. It was obvious that she was overwhelmed. She needed time to herself. And her statement about him being a know-it-all...Was he being too forceful when he tried to teach her things? Did he seem full of himself and unknowingly put her down? Knowledge was one of the best things to have, and he wanted her to have as much of it as possible, but what if she was trying to learn too much in too short of a time? It was possible that she couldn't handle it.
Instead of trying to talk to Joey at that moment, Mr. Peabody let her stay in her room. Hopefully, she would calm down soon.
Later on that week, Mr. Peabody got a call from the school. He was told that it was about Joey and he needed to come right away. When he got to the office, the principal and the guidance counselor told him that Joey had been skipping classes and hiding in different places in the school. when the guidance counselor had found her earlier sitting down on the floor somewhere in the gym, she had refused to move or talk to the counselor.
Mr. Peabody was worried. Joey barely ever talked about anything that happened at school. He had no idea that she was skipping classes. When he heard that she was hiding, he said, "Let me go talk to her."
The guidance counselor took him to the gym, to the spot where Joey still was. The counselor left Mr. Peabody and Joey alone.
Mr. Peabody sat down beside her and said, "Josephine?"
"What?"
"What's the matter?"
She started crying. He put a hand on her shoulder, but she moved away.
"It's alright. The guidance counselor said you've been skipping classes."
"You're angry!"
"No, I'm not. I just want to know what's been going on. Has someone been bullying you?"
"No."
They were quiet for a few moments, then Joey said, "I...can't...do it."
"Can't do what?"
"I tried. I've been trying. Every single day. And I can't do it."
"Do what?"
"Anything! I try to go to class, I try to do work, I try to do stuff and I can't! Everything just grinds to a halt. I can't...make myself do anything." And she began to cry again.
Mr. Peabody sighed, thinking. Finally, he said, "Josephine, I'm going to get you help. We're going to make an appointment to see a counselor. Right now, we're going to go home."
She nodded.
They went to the office and signed out. Then, the two took a cab home.
After many sessions of therapy and visits to a psychologist, Joey was diagnosed with both Asperger's Syndrome and Bipolar Disorder. The first thing she said when they found out was, "I knew there was something wrong with me."
"Josephine, nothing is wrong with you. These diagnoses explain why you act the way you do, but you're still you." Mr. Peabody assured her.
Mr. Peabody began researching everything he could about Asperger's Syndrome and Bipolar Disorder. He read many things and shared his knowledge with Joey. She was put on two medications to help level out her mood swings and function a little better, and thankfully, she wasn't against any of the treatments. Mr. Peabody was with her every step of the way. He supported her, cared for her, and made accommodations for her. He took her to all her appointments and picked up her medications. Joey was surprised at everything he had done and kept doing. He rarely lost his temper with her and seemed to be understanding. She still wasn't completely comfortable with him or used to him, but she wasn't those things with anyone. She doubted that would change, and she didn't really want it to.