Sheila found herself in a new room, one that was bigger and divided into several distinct areas. One section contained a few dining tables and chairs. A group of people were sitting around one of the tables and were eating, talking, and laughing with each other. There was another section with rows of large plush chairs in a row, all facing a gigantic television. Beneath the TV was an expansive bookcase filled from end to end with movies. There was a full-size soccer field that was illuminated with the distinct yellowish-white of the mid-afternoon sun, though here too no source of light could be identified.

“Nice to meet you Sheila,” said the man standing in front of her, arm outstretched for a handshake. He was an adult, much older than Sheila but not old by any means. Based on Sheila’s limited life experience, she could only place his age as being somewhere between “old enough to drive a car” and “younger than Mom”. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and golden complexion with a long thin face that made his smile seem impossibly wide, which in turn radiated an unmistakable feeling of warmth and trust.

“Nice to meet you,” replied Sheila timidly. Seeing another person who wasn’t wearing a mask and body suit brought back all of Sheila’s old insecurities and embarrassingly awkward ticks. Her face blazed red and a sheen of sweat formed on her skin, she instinctively bit her upper lip with her lower teeth and couldn’t help but look down at the floor. She wanted nothing more than to immediately disappear back to her room, alone.

The door to Sheila’s room slid open and the same motherly teacher entered. Sheila felt calm and content, eager for today’s lesson.

In her consistently calming, reassuring voice, the teacher said “Sheila, the man you met, Henry, wants to get to know you. He wants to be your friend. Will you let him come in and talk to you?”

The memory of meeting Henry suddenly returned, although here in her room where it was only Sheila and her teacher, she was able to more easily recall her mental fortitude training and could analyze the interaction from a less emotional perspective. She had acted childish, even rude, to someone who seemed to be perfectly nice. In the moment she completely forgot everything she’d been taught about dealing with negative emotions. It seemed like everyone she had met in her previous life, anyone who didn’t wear a mask, existed just to antagonize her. She had all but forgotten how stressful and embarrassing life was back home until it all came rushing back as she stood in front of Henry. An image of her brother’s malignant face flashed across her mind and then in an instant she was pushing her negative emotions away and once again felt content.

“I think that would be fine,” said Sheila. “I should probably apologize for how I acted, right?”

“That’s up to you, Sheila. What do you feel like doing?”, came the motherly response.

Sheila felt a strong desire to apologize and ask for forgiveness well up inside of her. Suddenly she desperately wanted to see Henry again, if only to say sorry.

“I’d like to see Henry now, please.”

----------------------------------------

Sheila always looked forward to her dates with Henry. That’s what Henry called them anyway. “If we’re both going to feel extremely nervous while we awkwardly get to know each other over meals and movies then that’s the best word I can think of to describe it,” he’d say. Although their relationship much more closely resembled a mentor/mentee bond. Henry had been here for a long time and knew how things worked, he’d told Sheila. He felt it was his duty to take her under his wing and provide support and companionship during her time here. Sheila too felt an obligation to learn from Henry, even humoring him when he occasionally came across as condescending. By now Sheila couldn’t even remember what it was like when she didn’t feel comfortable around Henry. He was the only other real person she spoke to who wasn’t wearing a mask, but more importantly, Henry was Sheila’s first real friend. He seemed to genuinely enjoy her company, they shared many of the same interests (despite disagreeing on which Harry Potter book was best), and it didn’t hurt that he was rather handsome and unfailingly charming.

“I told you before! The Shawshank Redemption is age-restricted for me. The TV knows that I’m watching it somehow,” Sheila said to Henry as they sat in the middle of the empty soccer field, enjoying the warmth of the sun that wasn’t there.

“I don’t remember you saying that. Are you sure you didn’t tell it to your other, even best-er friend?” Henry quipped with a grin.

Sheila playfully smacked his arm and dramatically rolled her eyes then plucked two blades of grass and absent-mindedly began twisting them around each other. She thought of how grateful she was for this friendship, this place, this life. She lazily smiled and then her face grew thoughtful and serious.

“You know Henry, I don’t want to spend time with anyone else. Ever. I see the others around, enjoying themselves and each other’s company, and I feel no desire to get to know them. I only want to be with you.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Sheila felt surprised by her own candid words. She’d lived her entire life so guarded, always putting on a front, trying to please or impress whoever was in her company. She had never felt so at ease with someone to confess such a deep and meaningful feeling. Her cheeks warmed and she knew she was blushing, but she was okay with it. Henry was a true friend. He could know everything about her and that was alright.

Sheila looked up from her entwined blades of grass and saw Henry staring deep into her eyes, his face confessed a seriousness that she had never quite seen.

“Sheila, you deserve everything you desire. If there is ever anything I can do to help you, in any way, I promise I will do it.”

Sheila felt her cheeks blaze hot red and her breath became short as she gazed back into Henry’s dark dilated eyes. His face suddenly relaxed and his familiar wide smile stretched over his face.

“Of course you’ll have to dump that best-er friend of yours who you’re always ditching me for!”

The tension between them evaporated immediately and Sheila threw the blades of grass into Henry’s face with a smile.

“We both know that’s never gonna happen! I think I hear him calling now!,” Sheila playfully retorted as she drew her hand up and cupped her ear in a dramatic fashion. “Yes? What is it best-est friend? Oh you agree that Prisoner of Azkaban is the best Harry Potter and anyone who thinks otherwise is a dolt?”

Henry playfully pushed Sheila and they both fell to the grass and looked up at the ceiling that resembled the sky.

“Speaking of other friends,” said Henry. “Before we met up today I caught one of the masked people looking through the movie collection and we started chatting. Turns out he’s a huge movie buff and he’s never seen Memento! Can you believe it?”

“Umm I don’t know, I think that one’s age restricted for me too,” said Sheila. “Although I’m kind of surprised that the maskers like movies. They always seem so...professional. It’s hard to imagine them relaxing and having fun.”

“Oh most of them have a fun side, you just need to ask. But I know what you mean. I’ve never come across one who seemed like they wanted to just hang out and watch movies. And this guy totally does! He said he was gonna get me from my room later when he had some free time. I think it should be pretty fun.”

“Well I’m happy for you,” Sheila said. But she didn’t mean it. In fact she didn’t like the idea at all. How dare this masker come and try to befriend Henry! Henry was hers! And the nerve of Henry to just go along with it without so much as asking Sheila if she was okay with him spending time with someone else!

“How would you feel if your mother walked through the door right now?” The masked teacher had briskly entered Sheila’s room and blurted the question without pretense to start the lesson for the day. Sheila looked toward the door to her room from where she was sitting, cross-legged on the floor.

“I would feel…,” she began before trailing off as she attempted to fully visualize her mother striding into the room. Sheila imagined her mother striding toward her, the pronounced bags under her eyes, her dark hair wrapped into a loose bun, her jaw clenched and eyes focused. A slow and steady tightening formed in Sheila’s chest and a sensation of shame and guilt began to gather in her mind. Sheila drew her focus into herself and took a deep breath while remembering that these emotions did not control her if she didn’t let them. She began to relax as the tightness released from her chest and she told herself that she had nothing to feel shameful about. The door to her room slid open silently.

“How would you feel if your brother’s friend Jeremy walked through the door right now?”, asked the masked teacher to start the lesson for the day. Sheila and the teacher were sitting across from each other at a wooden desk with nothing on it. The lessons here never involved books or paper or computers, they were always simply conversations between student and teacher. Sheila’s back was to the door so she closed her eyes and visualized that the door had silently opened and Jeremy was approaching her from behind. Anger and embarrassment welled up for a moment until Sheila regained control and allowed the emotions to pass. After all, this very hypothetical question had been regularly asked of her so she knew what kind of emotional response to expect and had been getting better at handling it. “I would…, ” tap tap tap. Sheila, startled by someone tapping her shoulder to get her attention turned to look and saw Jeremy standing behind her. He was dressed in the blue shorts and orange tee-shirt he was wearing the last time Sheila saw him and the memory of his genuine amusement and laughter at her pain rushed back into her consciousness.

“How! You? No!” said Sheila as she stood up from her chair and backed away from Jeremy, slightly stumbling as she stepped.

“Hi Sheila,” he said as he smiled.

The emotions she had visualized just a moment earlier began welling up inside her. Somehow, in her stupefied state, she remembered her mental fortitude training. She allowed herself to pause and collect herself. As she exhaled, the incapacitating anger and embarrassment began to subside. She wasn’t able to completely relax, but she could regain her composure. She stopped backing away and stood still, looking directly back at Jeremy.

“Hi Jeremy,” she replied.

“Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!” exclaimed the masked teacher. “I knew you could do it!”

Jeremy simply vanished away in a blink. A hologram or illusion, Sheila guessed. Some trick of the technology of this strange place. A test. And she passed.

“You’ve made wonderful progress Sheila. I’m so happy for you!” Said the teacher.

Sheila gave up an uneasy smile as she looked at the blank masked face. Feeling slightly shaken at the whole experience, Sheila asked, “Can I see Henry now?”