Her quaking jaw, drew to a halt. The stillness that followed was incredible. She didn't even realize she was being smothered by the counsellor like a crazy person. It was a crazy person hug. A crazy person, doing crazy person things.
No.
Ms Councillor was normal, a normal person doing normal people things and people like Kate were the insane ones. It made Ms Councillor trying to be normal at her become rather offensive and that let her damn up her tears.
When Kate was stiff and silent enough, the councillor let go and rubbed her face, clearing up the wetness with her thumbs. It was all so dramatic.
"There, there. Are you okay?" She whispered.
Even if her cheeks had been dried, Kate's gut was a wet sticky mess. It was like Kate was splitting from her soul just to make enough room to react.
"Yes, I am okay." Spoke an internal machine Separate from the mess that was Kate.
"Come sit, sit."
"Thank you," Kate said.
Kate was seated on an alarmingly short chair, an ottoman. She was not that little!
Kate sat with smooth elegance, her knees together, back up straight.
She was handed a tissue which cleared her nose of so much snot it looked like a water balloon. She must have looked worse than she'd imagined.
"Can I get a mirror?" Kate asked.
Ms Councillor smiled and pulled up a makeup kit. They worked together to clean her up, the councillor actually adding foundation to her original look.
"Thank you." She murmured not willing to put too much to her voice because she sounded a mess, and as if to confirm that she was given a paper cup of water.
"So, about that friend. Can you help me in finding one?"
Ms Councillor was struck dumb, "Well," she began awkwardly. "I can't exactly give you a friend."
"I understand ma'am." She said in a little too much of a formal voice, but it was too late to come back. "But if you were to use the profiles that you've created, pull out specific keys that you've noted, then I can do the rest."
Ms Councillor's mouth opened then closed, confusion ripping her apart.
The notion of using her personal profiles, appalling. How dare any one ask such? But at the same time. Kate was talking to the councillor about children. Those laws had been made to stop adults, not kids. It wouldn't be so bad for a child right? And, also, the display she'd just pulled was one of the most horrific in the world. Surely there could not be a living soul more miserable than Kate. Right?
Well?
Well…
She wasn't Mother, she wasn't even Griffin who'd proven himself so much more. And any other time it would've been so much worse. But No. The plan couldn't fail. Kate had been too pathetic, too miserable! They were bonding Kate even let her clean and doll her up. With all that they should have been besties. And the councillor broke, shattering like glass.
Her eyes closed and shoulders dropped.
"Explain to me what you mean." Ms Councillor asked.
"I just want someone like me. People with a low self esteem rating, but high bond reaction, with unique markers."
Huh.
Had she gone too far? The words hadn't been childish enough, too formal and machine mechanic, exactly the very adults she was avoiding. But then again, she'd been so pathetic!
But, all was well, Mrs Councillor was moving and collecting herself enough to look at a screen. Kate could see her finger swiping up and down, then left and right.
"Um, I like," Kate began. It had to be something others wouldn't like. Crossing the markers required to make her stand out as weird. Nothing sporty or violent. She would not have minded, Mother might, but so what? It couldn't just be the cousins Kate dealt with. "Journalism, actually no, photography."
"Do you mean like drone engineering?" She asked.
"Sure, ideally." Kate fought to keep from rolling her eyes. Manual photojournalism."
"Huh." Councillor said, tapping her teeth with a fingernail.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Then she grinned.
Ms Councillor had something in mind.
She was genuinely impressed at the notion. No it was even worse. There was someone she had in mind without the files!
There was no need for Ms Councillor to scrape the bottom of the barrel. She'd already done the searching and had been sitting with the answer all that time! And Kate, the fool, had just found that 'debris'' she'd been struggling with for age, a perfect partner!