By: Jessie Sha

“Hey Tricia, how was school?” My Evelyn asked one day when I came home. She’s my only friend in 2nd grade, and I’m scared of losing her.

“It was boring as usual.” I replied, shutting the door to my room.

“Honey, who are you talking to?” My mom called from the kitchen downstairs.

“Just Evelyn, you know, my friend?”

“Uh, yeah.” My mom replied, as if not remembering Evelyn. I don’t really remember her either, just memories of her. 7 years have passed, I’m in 9th grade, and she is still my only friend. I walked into my room today, and Evelyn asked her usual question.

“Hey, how was school?” Evelyn asked,

“Boring of course.” I ran downstairs to look for my mom, but she wasn’t in the kitchen where she usually was. Just then, I heard her room door close, and she was talking on the phone with a hushed voice.

“I know she’s lonely, she doesn’t have any friends. She made Evelyn up so she could talk to someone.” I heard her say through the door. “Evelyn is real, and of course I have a friend, Evelyn is my friend.” I stood against the door, trying to listen more, but the call ended soon after, and the doorknob turned. I jumped up, running into the kitchen and squatting down behind the island.

“Tricia, come down please, I need to tell you something.” I ran up the stairs quietly and then ran down loudly so she wouldn’t suspect that I had been eavesdropping on her.

“Yes?” I asked, meeting her in the living room. She was sitting on our velvet red couch, with a sweet smile, almost creepy.

“Come, sit.” She said, patting the couch next to her. I sat next to her, thinking about what she said on the call.

“Well, next Monday, when you come home, we are going to the doctor.”

“Ok, I will be in my room then.”

“No, I need you downstairs before I get back.”

“Fine, but Evelyn is coming to the doctor with us.” I say crossing my arms.

“Alright, only if she doesn’t say anything.” My mom says, nodding at me. A week passes, and it’s the day of the doctor’s visit. I wait downstairs telling Evelyn about how my day was boring and easy.

“Honey, we are going to leave now.” My mom said, popping her head from the front door.

“Ok.” I replied, walking out the door. I thought this was going to be the annoying one like you go there to get a shot or like a checkup. This, this was 10x worse, and it changed my life forever. We walked in the building, shivers running down my spine. We signed in at the front desk and waited in the lobby. Seconds later, they called my name and I was dragged into an office-like room with my mom.

“Mom, what is this place?” I asked, fear starting to rise in my chest.

“It’s the doctor’s office honey.” “This looks nothing like the usual one with the bed and chairs and desk for them to write things down.” The room I sat in was just a desk, couches and some chairs.

“Mom, this doesn’t look like a doctor’s office to me.” I said, looking around the room trying to find the best place to sit. I chose the couch since it looked the comfiest and probably the easiest to hide and avoid the questions. Soon after, the doctor walked in sitting at the desk.

“Hello Mrs. Helfer Tricia Helfer. I am therapist Jones. It’s nice to meet you.” “Therapist! What! I do not need a therapist.”

“Hello, Doctor Jones, it is great to meet you too.”

“Well, let’s get to it, I will ask Tricia questions, and go from there.” I knew from that moment I was going to hate this lady. Part of the reason I didn’t have friends in school was because I was “mysterious” and didn’t talk much, but you can’t blame me; they’re all stupid jerks anyway.

“So, start with something easy, how was school today?”

“Good, but mostly boring.”

“I see, now do you have many friends at school?”

“No, just me, and Evelyn.”

“Ok, that’s what I heard from you mom.”

“Right,” my mom cut in, giving her a look.

“Well, uhm I see you don’t have any friends then.”

“What! Of course I do, Evelyn is my friend unless you are suggesting that she isn’t real!”

“Well, uhm, honey, that’s the thing, she isn’t real.” My mom blurted, covering her mouth instantly.

“What, no that can’t be right. She’s been my only friend my entire life! I can’t just be lied to and lose her too!” I shouted, tears falling out of my eyes disobeying my brain.

“Well, it’s true darling. She is only in your imagination due to your lack of friends, you created on yourself.” Doctor Jones said. I hugged one of the pillows tight to my chest, burying my face into the pillow. I could feel my mom rubbing my back a few minutes later. After a while, I got tired of crying, and dozed off. When I woke up, I was sitting on my bed, still in the clothes from yesterday. I looked around the room. It was true, Evelyn wasn’t real. She was gone, forever. There was a knock on my door, but I didn’t want to see anyone.

“Go away!” I yell, pulling up covers over my head. I just wanted to hide forever; I was friendless.

“Honey, I brought someone. She wants to see you.”

“No! Leave me alone, I want to stay by myself!” I shout through the covers, feeling tears slowly fall down my face again.

“Please, let me talk to you!” Someone said from behind the door.

“No!”

“It’s me, Raya, I’m a friend from school.”

“No, no you’re not! I have no friends; you are just another imagination.”

“No, I’m real, please, let me talk to you.”

“Fine.” I say, hiding under the covers making myself a giant ball.

“Hi, I know we don’t talk in school, but you always seemed creepy.”

“Creepy?” I asked, peeking my eyes through the covers.

“Yes, creepy because you talk to yourself all the time.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize that I talked to myself. I thought I was talking to Evelyn, but of course I found out she was just a pigment of my imagination.”

“It’s ok, but now you have me. A real friend.” She said pulling back the covers all the way. “A real friend.” I smiled at the thought. “Finally.”