Quinn and Stacy - Esteem? - Part 2

 

"Esteem, a Teen. The sounds don’t quite mesh. So. it is with teens and esteem. The two don’t seem to go together. But we are here to begin realizing your actuality...” Mr. Timothy O’Neill to the self esteem class.

 

Quinn raised her hand. She wanted to know what he meant by ‘realising your actuality’. It sounded like gibberish to her.

 

“...and when we do, each and every one of you will be able to stand proudly and proclaim, "I am." Now, before we...”

 

“Mr. O’Neill? I don’t understand something,”

 

“Sorry, question and answer time is later,” O’Neill said.

 

“What does ‘Realising your actuality’ mean?”

 

“It means... look, just let me get through this part, okay? Then there'll be a video!”

 

Quinn felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see that it was one of her new friends. “Stacy?” she asked in surprise.

 

“Quinn? Sorry, but he doesn’t know what it means. He’s got it all memorised,” Stacy explained.

 

“How am I supposed to follow him if I don't know what he's talking about?”

 

“I’ve taken notes before. I’ve been here twice, already,” Stacy explained.

 

 

Quinn figured that Sandi didn’t know, so she didn’t ask Stacy as they left the class.

 

“So, then, after the role-playing, next class they put the girls and the guys in separate rooms and a female counselor talks to us about body image,” Stacy explained.

 

“I can guess what they talk to the boys about,” Quinn said.

 

“Nocturnal emissions!” they both said.

 

“Ick!” Quinn commented.

 

“If you have the notes, why are you still in the course.”

 

Stacy paused, as if uncertain what to say.

 

‘Maybe she is,’ Quinn thought. “You can tell me,” she said.

 

Stacy breathed deeply. “I’m sure you’ve noticed…” she began.

 

“Go on,” Quinn said in an encouraging tone.

 

“That I have anxiety issues!” Stacy projected before putting her hands over her mouth.

 

Quinn hugged Stacy. “I did notice,” she said.

 

“I thought that I could find a way to understand Mr. O’Neill’s babble,” Stacy said. “But I can’t understand it, therefore the class isn’t helpful.”

 

“I see,” Quinn said.

 

 

When Quinn arrived home, she saw that her mother was already there. “Hi honey,”

 

“Mom? Why are you home before five?”

 

“I'm taking the rest of the day off to work with you on your self-esteem.”

 

“It doesn’t need to be worked on,” Quinn groused. ‘Although Stacy needs someone else to help her.’

 

“I don’t pretend I’m going to cure you,” Helen said as if Quinn hadn’t spoken. “But if a lack of mother-daughter bonding is part of your problem, we're going to remedy that right now. We're going out to do something you want to do.”

 

As an only child, Quinn thought that she had plenty of parental bonding. ‘That’s not the issue.’

 

 

At least they went to Cashmans, but it seemed her mother was doing her own shopping. “What do you think of this one?”

 

“It’s just like all the others, Mom,” Quinn said. “Now if we were to look at leisure wear…”

 

“I suppose so,” Helen said. “Let’s look at it then.”

 

Quinn smiled.

 

 

Stacy came up to Quinn as she was talking to a boy. “So... like, what do you like to do after school?” the boy asked.

 

“Oh, nothing special. Go to the movies... or, like, a theme park... or out for a really fancy meal now and then... or maybe go to a concert, if, like, I know somebody's got good seats and is renting a limo and stuff,” Quinn answered.

 

‘Good answer,’ Stacy thought. He didn’t have a prayer of dating Quinn. ‘It’s certainly a bummer for him.’

 

“So, you've got any brothers or sisters?”

 

“I’m an only child,” Quinn admitted.

 

‘Really?’ Stacy wondered. That was so sad. ‘I may not get along with my sister, but I wouldn’t want to be an only child!’

 

“I see,” the boy said.

 

Quinn saw Stacy. “See you later,” she said to the boy.

 

“Wait!”

 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Stacy said.

 

“I was waiting for you. I don’t want to be late.”

 

 

The Self esteem class was in session again. “So, what are we talking about when we talk about ourselves?” O’Neil asked, “Anyone?” He pointed to one of the students. “Yes?”

 

“We're... talking about us!,” the boy who had a shirt with the picture of MTV’s The Head on it, said.

 

“Excellent! When we talk about ‘ourselves’ we're talking about ‘us.’ Now, guys, I've got a little challenge for you. Today we talked about turning your daydreams into reality. Tonight, I want each one of you to go home and do just that. What do you say?” O’Neill pointed to Quinn. “Um, you. What's a daydream that you'd like to see come true?”

 

“Well, I guess I’d like to do something with both my parents,” Quinn answered.

 

“Excellent!” O’Neill said.

 

“Something that will really annoy them!” Quinn clarified.

 

“Uh. It’s healthy to air these feelings. I think.”

 

The Bell rang.

 

“We'll talk more about this tomorrow. Class dismissed.”

 

 

“You’re really going to annoy your parents?” Stacy asked.

 

“What do you think? Mom forced me into this class!”

 

“I see.”

 

 

“How’s the old self-esteem coming, Quinn?” Jake asked while preparing dinner

 

“It’s fine, Daddy.”

 

“Really?” Jake asked.

 

“Although. Why won’t we go to Pizza Forest tomorrow night? Like when I was a kid?” Quinn asked.

 

“The place with the singers?” Jake asked.

 

“I miss those songs,” Quinn said with a shrug.

 

 

Two days later, Quinn arrived at Stacy’s house on the way to school. “How did it go with Pizza Forest?” Stacy asked as she let Quinn inside.

 

“They were quite annoyed,” Quinn said with a giggle. “But I think we need to get out of the class.”

 

“I have the notes,” Stacy said.

 

“Great! So, why don’t we take the test today and get out of the class?”

 

Stacy sighed. “I guess that’ll leave more time for Fashion Club meetings.”

 

‘There’s something there,’ Quinn thought. “And shopping and dates and other hobbies,” she added.

 

“Of course!” Stacy said.

 

 

“And so, for tomorrow, I want you to make a list of ten ways the world would be a sadder place if you weren't in it,” O’Neill said as he finished the class for the day.

 

“Oh, Mr. O'Neill, Mr. O'Neill?!” the boy with shirt depicting The Head’s main character called.

“Yes, um... you.”

 

“Is that if we'd never been born, or if we died suddenly and unexpectedly?”

 

“Never been born,” O’Neill said quickly. “See you all tomorrow!” He noticed that Quinn and Stacy had stayed behind. “Hi! Did you need clarification on something we covered today?”

 

“We feel really good about ourselves,” Quinn said.

 

“We want to take the graduation test,” Stacy added.

 

“Well! I'm glad your self-image meter is on the uptick! But there's still three more weeks of class left,” O’Neill said.

 

“This first week has been really eye-opening,” Quinn said. “It must be your teaching.”

 

The teacher was flattered. “Oh, well... thank you very much.” He looked at Stacy. “You know, you look familiar somehow...”

 

“So, can we take the test?” Quinn asked.

 

“Well, it's not the way we usually do it, but... I guess so.” He grabbed the test. “Okay, question one: ‘Self-esteem is important because...’”

 

“It's a quality that will stand us in good stead the rest of our lives,” Quinn answered.

 

“Very good. Now, ‘The next time I start to feel bad about myself...’”

 

“Stand before the mirror, look myself in the eye and say, ‘You are special. No one else is like you.’,” Stacy added.

 

“You two really have been paying attention! Okay, ‘There's no such thing...’”

 

“As the right weight,” Stacy started.

 

“Or the right height,” Quinn added.

 

“There's only what's right for me,” Stacy added.

 

“Because me is who I am,” Quinn concluded.

 

“I don't think we have to go any farther. I am really pleased!” O’Neill praised. Then he dropped a bombshell. “I think the whole school needs to hear about this at assembly!”