Tap Tap Tap

• Courtney Brooks, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2013

Tap. Tap. Tap. Over and over. Tap. Tap. Tap.
She just sat there, staring into space. What was she thinking? Her blank and pale face stared at the wall.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Her finger on the arm of her wooden chair sounded like an explosion against the uncomfortable silence. Tap. Tap. tap.
Her name was Samantha, but everyone called her Antha. Not the usual nickname for anyone, but, then again, she wasn’t the usual girl. She had been in this room for over an hour, and hasn’t moved since she sat in that oak, cushioned armchair. I have been sitting here, shifting my glance from her to my book over and over. I couldn't put my finger on it. Why was she different? What was in her head?
My name is Dr Oliver. I am no more than a an ordinary man who wants to help people with their problems. I have wanted to do so since I was a kid, and now I do it for a living. I help children who are… different. I've seen kids who have troubles at home, who are depressed, even some who just need a shoulder to cry on. For some reason, I couldn't place her in any one of the categories.
She just stared into the distance, even if it was only a meter to the wall. I could see in her eyes that she was thinking, but what? For the first time since she entered the therapy room, she spoke.
“What do you want with me?” she said calmly and flatly.
“I want nothing, except to help you, of course.” I replied, putting down my book.
“Then tell me,” she began “what do you do when your brain is too loud?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“What if you can’t get it to shut up? What if it goes thought after thought, never stopping for breath?”
I was a little thrown off. I could see it now. Her face was tired, weak. She wasn't sad, she was exhausted.
“Well, Antha, I don’t know. Have you tried playing video games?”
She turned to look at me with her green eyes. She was confused, I could tell. I broke a smile.
“Video games! They are great for exercising your brain and, in some cases, tiring it out.” I said.
She looked away and then down to the floor.
“no, I've never really played a video game before…” she said, almost ashamed.
I stood up from my chair and walked over to Antha, offering my hand to her.
“Why don’t we go play some together? We have a PlayStation in the other room. We could play some two-player, if you like.”
She looked at my hand and, after thinking about it for a bit, took it and stood up. We walked together to the other room.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Her fingers on the game-remote move faster than speed itself. Tap. Tap. Tap
Tap. Tap. Tap.