The Rasner Effect Read Online Free PDF Page B

make you very special.”
    “I guess that’s one way to look at it.” Rick smiled, finding this lady very strange, even a little patronizing, but warm and friendly nonetheless.
    “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I’m not looking to push. I was just curious.”
    Rick leaned against his desk, considering whether to tell his story or not. He found Janet easy to speak with and trust even though they just met. Besides Doctor Obenchain, she was the first person in the town he had spoken with for an extended amount of time. He also wanted someone, anyone, to know his story other than just the doctor.
    He made the decision. With his hands, Rick pulled back the hair from his forehead, revealing a three-inch scar across the left side of his temple. She bent forward to examine it, motioning as if to touch it, but choosing not to.
    “Remember the bombing of that bridge seven years ago in New York?” Rick asked.
    “I remember it well. There was a lot of coverage over that tragic event. They still haven’t re-opened the bridge.”
    “I was on the bridge when it all happened. I was one of the few survivors.”
    “Oh.” Janet took a step back, but then refocused her attention on the scar. “I can only imagine what the experience must have been like for you.”
    “I couldn’t tell you.” Rick clenched his fists. He thought he’d feel better, revealing the information, but for some reason he didn’t. “I don’t remember it happening. The injury to my head caused total amnesia. I was able to remember my name and that was it.”
    It was now her turn to cause an awkward silence. She stared intensely at his face with her mouth slightly open. With her left thumb, Janet massaged Rick’s forehead. “How horribly traumatic. No family? No friends from before all of…”
    “My family died in the explosion. Dr. Obenchain has been working with me through hypnosis to try to bring my memories back. He also helps me deal with the trauma.”
    “How has that worked out for you? Have any of your memories returned?”
    “Bits and pieces of events. Nothing concrete. The memories always feel like I’m watching a movie. I can see what happened, but I have no emotional attachment toward it. Usually, I can’t even make out the faces of people in those memories. It’s as if they weren’t even real.”
    “You poor thing.”
    Rick’s cheeks began to burn. “I owe Dr. Obenchain a lot, though. In fact, it was his work that influenced me to obtain my license in psychotherapy.”
    “Really?” Janet seemed legitimately impressed. “So you’re a recent graduate.”
    “Yes, it took quite a while, but I finished my classes a little over six months ago. Doctor Obenchain arranged for my placement in the program where I earned my license. He also arranged my first job as a school therapist in New York. For that matter, he recommended me here as well.”
    “He truly is a great man.”
    “I agree.” Rick truly meant it. “In fact…”
    The ringing of the telephone on the wall by the door interrupted their discussion. He strode to the phone and answered it. “Therapy suite.”
    “Miss Miller is ready for you now,” the secretary said.
    “Okay, I’ll be right there,” Rick acknowledged and then hung up. “I have to go,” he said to Janet.
    “Miss Miller?”
    He nodded. “Wish me luck.”
    “Relax, you’ll be fine.” Janet offered a laugh. “Straighten your back. Walk tall and with confidence. I’m sure you will do well.”
    Rick wished he had that same confidence in himself. He made his way toward the office, ready to meet his new boss. As he passed the classrooms, he spotted one of the teachers in the hallway towering over an extremely thin and light-skinned teenage black girl. Rick presumed the teacher to be Mister Royal, the name listed for the sixth and seventh grade classroom he’d just stepped out from. Although this was the first time Rick had seen him, he had noticed the name both on the staff roster