A routine is something that should never be tampered with; it brings a certain comfort level, knowing what you have to do and what is expected of you. Routines can be taken lightly, happen unconsciously, or become such a ritual that it turns into more of a superstition. Superstition is a funny concept to consider, what happens if you alter a well-oiled routine, does the course you’re on change significantly? Would a superstitious person find that a bad thing, if it ultimately made your life better? Is there actually any harm in it if both people are praying for it, looking for something better, hoping to find meaning behind their routine; a reason for following it in the first place?

Did either girl realize that they’d fallen into a persona that neither could break free of or was it simply just a safety net?

It started on a dreary Monday, it’s unclear what either of the girls were told when they met with Peer Counseling advisor Miss James but anyone guessing would say that for one it looked good on a transcript, as for the other she was forced into it against her will. A mediation system was installed into the school system sometime late the year before, for small minor discrepancies; “She called me a bitch, she hooked up with my boyfriend” situations, that’s pretty much all you can expect from the small suburban town in Ohio.

Anyone could sit in a small room and listen to other people bitch and complain about their problems, most people when told would have to see mediators never argued. Who wouldn’t want to openly complain about someone and not get reprimanded for it? Mediation was a safe haven for all; confident, professional and criticism free. The problematic situation would arise when people neglected to go through mediation, the troubled kids.

Which is how the peer counseling program came about, one on one help, peer helping peer. Asking the tough questions, lending a hand and an ear to troubled students. How the advisor convinced both of these girls to go through with this was beyond reason.

Students were given an hour for lunch, the student population was so small that the school system some how could fit them all into one of two lunch periods the lasted an hour, the other hour long period they had gym. Class periods were regularly 42 minutes, so you can imagine just how much their eyes light up when given an hour to sit around and bull shit.