The bell rang and Jacob nearly jumped out of his seat.  It was like he had lost time, the day had been going by so slowly but as soon as his thoughts turned to Mara, time flew, as if fate demanded everything about her must be fleeting.  He hurried to pack up his things and catch up with the rest of the class, but as he walked past Mrs. Weiss' desk she touched his arm, gently motioning him to stay.  The rest of the class filed out, some snickering, having noticed Jacob be subtly asked to stay, assuming he was in trouble, or failing.

"Jacob," she said haltingly, as if not quite sure where to begin.  "Jacob, ever since... well, ever since Samara... died, you've been even less focussed on your schoolwork than in the past."  She gave him a half-smile.  "I didn't think that was possible, but here we are."  Jacob shuffled his feet, staring at the floor.  He didn't want to have yet another conversation with yet another person who had noticed that his spirit had died when Mara did.  Not today.
"The reason I say this, Jacob, is I was wondering if maybe you should... see someone, you know?  A counsellor, I mean.  Just to help you sort things out a bit."  He sighed.  Was this all she wanted?
"I am seeing someone, Mrs. Weiss," he told her.  And it was true, once a week he went downtown, sat in a waiting room full of schizophrenics and manic depressives for the obligatory half hour that Dr. George would be late, and then lied for an hour.

He had tried telling the truth in the beginning.  It hadn't gone well.  He didn't feel unburdened, or any better, he just felt exposed, and he didn't like the way the doctor looked at him.  So he researched grief, memorized all the right things to say, and began to lie.  And it worked.  Dr. George had told him in his last session that he was doing remarkably well, that he wasn't sure how much longer Jacob would need their weekly sessions.  And that was exactly what Jake had wanted to hear.  Soon he'd be free of this ridiculous obligation.

But for now, he continued to lie.

"It's taking time, but I think it's really helping.  I think I'm starting to make some progress," he said with his approximation of a hopeful look.  She smiled.
"I'm very glad to hear that, Jacob.  I've been worried about you."  Why did she have to say that?  He never knew how to respond when people said that.  He shrugged.
"I'm doing okay, Mrs. Weiss.  Really."  All he had to do was lie a little longer and it'd all be over.  This whole nightmare would be over.  Mrs. Weiss smiled.
"Alright, Jacob.  Thanks for having this little chat with me.  You'd better get to your next class though, you're late as it is."  He smirked.  As if it would be unusual in the slightest for him to be late to class.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weiss.  I'll see you tomorrow," he said, leaving the classroom before she could say anything else.