Music is her liberation, nothing has ever brought her so much peace. There are many classical songs that ease her flooded stress, you can almost hear static coming from her brain as it happens. Everybody has a coping mechanism they enjoy doing to relieve themselves in stressful situations. As a child she was  pulled in by the arts. Being able to pick up a paintbrush and draw out what she wants for example allows her to create anything that is floating in her mind in that moment and express her emotions in a healthy manner. Her childhood took a numerous amount of rough turns and thus resulted in her feelings to be trapped inside of her like a starved animal trying to claw its way out of its cage. She wanted to understand why she couldn’t just feel like herself and be happy, she didn’t even get why she was feeling this way, and it seemed like she was the only student who felt this way.

        She couldn’t express herself to anyone without her classmates glares piercing right into her. Art class was the only time she enjoyed herself because all of her flooded stress would instantly go away, she could then float but her teacher would always be concerned about what she drew. Her art was always “dark” and could not be understood by most, unless the meaning behind the drawing was explained. At the beginning on class, on tuesday morning she had created a piece where she laid on a corner in tears while a big crowd full of happy people walked by without

acknowledging her presence. As Ms. Adams observed everybody's work, Kaylee’s caught her eye immediately.
“Wow, this is quite the piece you’ve created here” she said while letting out a deep breath.

They both admired the art for a couple of seconds

“Yes, I guess so.” Kaylee whispered while fidgeting with her fingers.

She really enjoyed creating sad styles pieces because only then was she understood.

Ms. Adams curiosity grew as she looked at the amazing detail this art piece carried, the different tones of blue and black made her feel a bit sad and empty inside as she stared into the painting.

“I’m curious as to what inspired you to draw such a simple yet emotional piece.” Ms. Adams said while looking over at Kaylee.

Kaylee didn’t want to just explain why she drew this piece, it was something she wanted people to actually feel emotionally.

“Close your eyes and picture yourself inside of it”

“What do you mean?” Ms. Adams asks.

Kaylee didn’t reply and took her teachers hands, she then proceeded to set them on top of the canvas. Ms. Adams closed her hazel green eyes slowly while thinking this was all just a little odd however, she also really wanted to feel what Kaylee felt when she drew. In a matter of seconds, all the students voices faded away, and she opened her eyes.

Ms. Adams was gone and she was trapped in a pitch black room.

“What just happened?” she whispered to herself.

She began to look around for a way to get out, her heartbeat began to increase, and she commenced to run. The more she ran the more she felt trapped because she didn’t know where exactly she was trying to get to. Laughter from a crowd passed her briefly. She began to feel her palms getting sweatier by the second. The feeling felt almost too familiar.

“Where did you send me to? Please someone help me!” she attempted to yell but was short of breath.

At the corner of her eye she saw a group of students. For some reason she felt a sense of fear to ask them for help but had nobody else to turn too. She slowly approached the girls and was suddenly being stared down by all nine of them. Her body was numb and a feeling of panic took over.

“Can you guys help me? One of my students trapped me here and I don’t know how to get out.” she asked with a very serious tone.

They all began to laugh uncontrollably. Ms. Adams face suddenly turned pink and hot, why were these girls making fun of her? They all began to walk away.

“Do you get it now?” they all asked with a smile.

She shook her head from left to right. Frozen in fear that they would hurt or her she would be stuck there forever.

“This is what Kaylee wants you to feel. She goes through what you are going through right now every second she is at school. Unbelievable amounts of teasing and anxiousness, all while being judged by everyone for anything she does.” The student finally faded into dust because it seemed

to be Kaylee is disguise all along. A moment of silence came in between both of them and no one knew what to say. Kaylee couldn’t tell if her teacher was upset by what she had just done so all she could do was look down toward the ground. Now all that was going through her head was whether or not this was going to help someone finally see why she creates the drawings she does or if she’s going to be put down again.

“Listen, I’m not mad about what just happened because I understand that you wanted someone to actually experience what you do and be in your place” she said while going in for a hug.

It was one of the most comforting feelings for someone to finally show compassion toward Kaylee and not feel like she’s alone anymore. Kaylee smiled at Ms. Adams.

“Does this mean you’re going to help me?” she asked while her heart raced.

“Without a doubt Kaylee. Now that I know what you have been through I realize how serious this really is, and we are going work on this together to make sure no other students who are feeling this way think they are alone.” she said while smiling.

Suddenly a white light appeared. Kaylee felt a sense of hope for the first time and they both walked out of the deep dark room together.