“I’ll write you a prescription for Lexapro,” Aria heard him say. “You can try her on 10mg a day. It may take up to six weeks to notice an improvement.”

“Thank you,” Mrs Johnson said, before coming out and making another appointment with the secretary at the front of the office.

The atmosphere between Aria and Mrs Johnson was icy on the drive back home. Neither of them said a single word. The city seemed to move in slow motion compared to the speed of the car. The world outside the car was like a movie Aria was watching rather than a world that she was a part of.

That night, before she went to bed, Mrs Johnson entered the room with a glass of water and a tiny white pill. She held them out to Aria and smiled as if hopeful that the pill would take all of their worries away. Aria swallowed the pill and handed the empty glass back to her. “Did you finish your homework?” Mrs Johnson asked.

“Yeah,” Aria said.

“Good,” Mrs Johnson said and left the room in a state of satisfaction.

Aria pulled out her journal and made her sentiments known. This is hell, she wrote. I wish I knew what sins could be forgiven and that love could feed the world instead of sugar-coat it. I wish I wasn’t left wanting a time when I still believed an ocean existed inside every spiral shell, and the sound there was waves instead of a change in the goddamn air pressure. They gave me pills today. I’m six feet under and a thousand feet deep; they have forgotten the shadow I creep between. I’m alone. I always have been and I always will be. She ended her entry with a scribbled zigzag that took up the remainder of the page.

That night, Aria tossed and turned with stomach pain. She couldn’t sleep. She felt nauseous but couldn’t throw up. She stayed home from school the next day. After two days, Mrs Johnson suspected that it was a side effect of the new medication. She called the psychiatrist’s office and described the symptoms. The doctor told her: “Lexapro has been known to cause nausea and stomach pain but the benefits outweigh the risks so keep her on it for another week. The side effect should go away.”