“Nothing? No asthma, allergies, high blood pressure?” I kept my face neutral.
“I take a pill for blood pressure,” Brad said loftily.
“Ok. So, when you were in your doctor’s office and they diagnosed you with said high blood pressure, instead of offering you a medication or talking about lifestyle changes, like exercise and diet, did the doctor look at you and tell you to just, get over it?”
Brad jerked back. “That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. That’s right, that’s not what you’re proposing. So, then, your doctor must have told you to join a sports team?”
Brad’s face turned a very satisfying color of pink as I held my hands together under the tablet to keep them from trembling.
“Look, if you want to make me the bad guy, go ahead. But there’s a big difference between something you have no control over versus something that’s all in your head.”
It’s like the years I’d had with my father were mere practice to face this blowhole. I metaphorically pushed my sleeves up: it was time for school.
“Certainly, you are aware that learning disabilities, ADHD, depression, anxiety, and autism spectrum disorders are all recognized diagnosable disorders, much like high blood pressure. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Brad rose from his seat, trying to exert the authority he thought he had over me by standing. “You can talk down to me all you want. But high blood pressure is a lot different than some kid who’s sad their girlfriend broke up with them.”
And now, I had him.
“You’re right. But I’m not talking about the emotion of “sadness”. I’m talking about quantifiable, diagnosable, well-accepted mental health diagnoses, that happen to be protected disabilities under the state law of Tennessee. Did you know that a major depressive episode afflicts fifteen percent of teenagers across the country? It’s not something a child can just wake up and ‘get over’ by joining a sports team. Mental health conditions are not character flaws. You can’t will them away, that’s not within the student’s control.”
I’d like to say I sounded calm. But that’d be a lie.
“Whatiswithin their control, is getting help through counseling, medication, and lifestyle management like exercise and a regular sleep routine and school accommodations. Those are evidence-based therapies that kids don’t get either because they have parents like you who write off their medical problems like they’re a character flaw or because they have no financial means of obtaining such treatment.”
Brad sneered, “I don’t know who you think you are?—”
With trembling legs, I stood. The she-dragon inside of me had awoken in a fury from a long hibernation—likely from having smelled the scent of frailty from the smallest man who ever lived from the other side of the table—and she was ready for breakfast. She wasn’t going to take this from him.
And neither was I.
“I’m Dr. Polly Alberton, we met a few minutes ago, in case you’re having memory concerns. Low testosterone can do that to a man.”
I said that last part aloud; I literally couldn’t help myself.
“And if you continue to attach labels like abnormal to students with mental health problems, you are perpetuating the stigmatization of these disorders, exacerbating the problems these children face. I am sorry that this meeting happened this way, but I am afraid if this is your position, there is nothing left to say here, except that I will see you at the school board meeting next week.”
After giving me another glare, Brad stormed out of the conference room.
Liberation twisted with nausea in my gut as I wiped my palms up and down my trembling thighs. I’d never felt better standing up to that sniveling turd of a man. I felt like climbing to the top of the school and belting out “We are the Champions” at the top of my voice.
Beside me, Rose looked awestruck. Reggie, thankfully, was smiling wide.
A Cheshire grin spread over my face. “I think I made a friend.”
CHAPTERFORTY-FIVE
JACE
“Because if it’s possible to have a partner who gives all of themselves without reservation, who looks forward to working and sacrificing for me just as I look forward to doing the same for her, who can’t help but love ferociously, brutally, and unconditionally—and even perhaps without reason or sound judgment—that’s what I want. Because that’s how I plan to love in return.”
Penny Reid,Ninja At First Sight
After dropping off the kids at summer school on Friday morning, I sparred with Sam, dropped by my parents for a time, and was now setting up a romantic backyard candlelit dinner for my girlfriend for our first official date.
Because Polly Alberton was my girlfriend now. I still couldn’t believe it.
