Classes dragged on by and even the power of caffeine had nothing against post-hyperfocus fatigue. With lunchtime came the idle chatter that filled the halls and Lemon's head, making it difficult to think. She quickly decided that she wasn't hungry, or that her low energy body had compromised her ability to feel hunger so it didn't really matter to her. The glare of the bright lights in the hallways soon became too much and she ducked into a room to hide, the world spinning around her. She hadn't ever seen anyone enter or exit that room before and it should be safe to stay there for the time being. Two students had been arguing in front of her locker which was rather upsetting, since she was unable to access her things. She had all the books she needed for the next period but she had planned to hang out by her locker during lunch and now she couldn't which meant that her plan was ruined.
It shouldn't have bothered her that much, seeing as it was a small interruption. Yet, the discomfort wormed its way into her body and she couldn't stop thinking about it. She wasn't supposed to be here right now, she should have been arranging her books and files alphabetically by subject and by color in her locker or something like that. Her mind went down an all too familiar path before she realized what was going on.
Lemon sat in a corner, drawing her knees to her chest and knocked her head against them gently as she tried to think. It was dim and quiet here and she pulled down her headphones in an attempt to make herself feel better. The noise from outside was faint but still there, echoing in her head. It was frustrating to not know what to do with herself, outside being too harsh for her but the room was too still and quiet. A thought crossed her mind but years of masking pushed it away. Slamming her body against the floor and kicking as hard as she could and scratching herself would accomplish nothing and she would only end up more exhausted and probably in tears. Still, letting herself meltdown kind of felt better than doing nothing.
She stared at the clock, trying to read it but the numbers floated around, not making much sense. She could see the numbers but they failed to register in her head. In fact, her mind was strangely ... was wordless the word? She could think, yes, but there were no words, just feelings. Her hands grabbed at her hair roughly, tugging enough that it started to hurt, grounding her for a moment.
Lemon glanced around and was suddenly painfully aware that the floor was very dirty. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to think about it but it felt like small bugs were crawling all over her body and where had this dirt come from, didn't people walk here, didn't they also go to the toilet, did they step in mud, when was the last time this was mopped? Was the mop even clean? Lemon's breathing grew shallow and her body tensed, ready to breakdown in just seconds. Her head hit her knees hard as she tried to calm herself down, rocking from side to side, but it was too late.
Lemon sat, fidgety and exhausted, on a chair in the sick room, picking at the bandages on her hands. She might've been out for a few hours but a little more sleep would be a welcome thing. Even though she was now calmed down, any little thing set her on edge, even the dean who sat in front of her.
"The next time that happens, and I pray that it doesn't, you need to look for me, or a guidance counsellour. Even one of the teachers would be preferable. You were lucky that one of the nicer students here at CPA found you, others would not have been so kind, especially at the intrusion of their school-assigned room," Dean Cadance said, her tone too complicated for Lemon to read. Many of the words went over her head so she just nodded, wishing she could get out here as soon as possible.
"Now, do you mind telling me what happened? Perhaps there is a way to avoid this in the future." Lemon opened her mouth to speak before settling on chewing her lip, miming vaguely with her hands.
"I'm sorry? Oh, never mind. Your brother's classes end in half an hour but I can call your parents to pick you up if you want. If you feel up to it, I hope that you can email me what you currently cannot say. I will look into organizing for you to have a small room allocated to you in the school, much like the one you were at earlier. You may do whatever you wish in there but it is intended to be a place for you to calm down." The dean sounded disappointed perhaps or concerned, or stern, Lemon couldn't tell. She just stared blankly before nodding her head slightly.
"If this happens too often, you may need to consider transferring out of CPA. The environment here is tough to cope with and there is only so much I can do to help you." Dean Cadance took the liberty of voicing her personal thoughts, realizing that Lemon was unable to comprehend more complex phrases in her current state.
When Lime entered the office with the two's mother, brief words were exchange before their car pulled away from the school. Lemon sat huddled in a corner, all of the dean's words from earlier echoing inside her head until she could understand them.
After the three left the sick room, the dean went up to her office, where a student stood by the door. If she had been waiting for a while, it was hard to tell as this girl was perpetually lost in her mind. "Twilight Sparkle," Dean Cadance greeted with a slight smile. "Have you been waiting long?"
"Me? Oh, no, not really," she said nervously, tugging on the strand of hair that framed her face. "Is she okay?"
"Lemon Zest has gone home," Dean Cadance said, opening the door to her office to let both of them in. "Thank you for alerting me of the situation, I think she would appreciate it if you did not mention today to anyone."
Twilight nodded, shifting her weight from foot to foot.
"However, I would appreciate it if you reach out to her, some other time. Don't bring this up but perhaps she could use a friend. I'm sure you remember when you first joined CPA and how hard it was to adjust. I know that I shouldn't say this so often but we have agreed that you can have your dog here at school but he should only be in your lab or outside with your supervision, not in your backpack. He is not qualified as a service dog, by his lack of a vest, and you thus cannot be caught roaming the halls with him." Dean Cadance was stern but she also had her students' best interests at heart, at the end of the day.
Twilight nodded sheepishly. Her parents had offered to get her a service dog but she had declined, realizing that she would have to bond with another creature and probably also neglect Spike.
"It is getting late now, and I probably shouldn't hold you back from your evening appointments. Remember, my door is always open to you. Go and reach out to Lemon when she feels better, I am in no position to disclose anything else about her but I trust that you have the maturity to be sensitive when you have to."
"I won't mention it."
"Good. Thank you for your assistance today."
"Mhmm..." Twilight got up and left, almost fleeing the office and her awkward interaction with the dean who was professional and stern but also rather open to telling Twilight things that she probably shouldn't know. It was a little odd. Sometimes, Twilight felt like the dean was being more familiar with her than she should be but she was in no position to comment on it.