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However our story blossoms on a warm summer morning in August. Today was the first day of high school. As Remi was getting ready for her first day, suddenly a strange voice said, “Remi is stupid…too stupid for high school.” Remi immediately dropped her toothbrush as she was frightened! She quickly gathered herself and yelled, “MARCI STOP IT RIGHT NOW OR YOU’RE IN BIG TROUBLE!” Marci—who was now in the doorway—said, “what the hell are you talking about?? I am not DOING anything.” As Marci stormed off back to her room Remi felt confused. Her chest felt tight and it suddenly felt as though she couldn’t breathe. It almost seemed as though the walls around her in that already tiny bathroom were closing in. SMACK!!! Remi smacked both of her cheeks really hard till she turned bright red and yelled, “GET A GRIP REMI!!!” She took a deep breath and calmly told herself that it was first day jitters and she was psyching herself out. Remi picked up her toothbrush and rinsed it off to continue her morning routine. And just when she thought all was calm she heard, “what kind of idiot smacks themself in their own face? You really are stupid…AREN’T YOU REMI???” Remi looked up at the mirror her face still red from where she slapped herself, she watched as the tears fell from her eyes and she wanted to cry out for her mom but she refused. She knew she was hearing a voice and she was certain no one else could hear it. She knew she couldn’t tell her old fashioned religiously insane Caribbean mother in fear that she’d take her to the church for an exorcism—or worse commit her to an institution. She definitely couldn’t tell her friends or she’d be labeled as some kind of freak or some other horrendous brand that she could never be free from. She couldn’t tell anyone—NOT A SOUL. So she stood there staring into the mirror, silently weeping.