A Course Altered

Chapter 1
Excel Sheets and Exasperation

Chapter Description: Three friends reflect on their complicated lives before possibly finding a way to part from stress.

It was a truly beautiful day outside. He could tell because he had been staring out at it from the small confines of his office through the one window he was afforded. Ben sighed deeply before drawing a breath and continuing on with his computer work. He typed away at the Excel spreadsheet, almost absentmindedly, thinking about how he couldn’t wait until ten minutes from now, when he could get out of the damned place.

Things had been so much easier back in the day, he thought, recalling his college days over a decade ago spent skateboarding around campus, hanging out with friends and lounging around on a futon. He recalled the sun on his face, the cool breeze sweeping across his t-shirt, and lamented how stuffy it was, now, wearing a suit and tie at his job. He enjoyed the financial independence, sure, but was it really worth it?

He flipped back to the internet tab he had open from Amazon.com: youthening products. Salves, creams, vacation packages, the whole nine yards. All pretty shitty reviews, he noted. Damn. He read through one of the reviews, which linked, curiously, to another website.

“Most helpful review,” he mumbled as he clicked the link, “can’t be a virus site if it’s been rated this highly.”

The website redirected to an odd URL: http://www.alteredcourses.thy. That’s a weird address. THY? Felt Shakespearean! He Googled it quickly, which pulled up several other .thy websites, which seemed to suggest it stood for therapy. Everything from psychoanalysis to aromatherapy. Did he need a therapist? Maybe the stress was getting to him. He clicked to see the rates, or to even see where this therapy service was located, but couldn’t seem to find a thing aside from the fact that it advertised that their associates “travel free of charge to YOUR home.” He let out an impressed sound at that claim. Might be worth a shot.

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Ben met up with Chris and Elisa after he punched out of the office. They always had coffee after all three of their jobs let out, as they worked in the same corporate park. Ben worked with Chris at the IT firm, and Elisa, who was two years younger than them, worked as a consultant for an environmental assessment company.

“You’re out early,” Elisa said as Ben walked through the door.

“I wish,” he shot back.

“By that, I mean you’re not your usual twenty minutes late. Finish up your project ahead of time?”

“Nah, I basically just gave up on the damn thing for the day, I’ve been so stressed out lately.”

“With what,” Chris asked, “your job?”

“No,” Ben began, “not exactly, just…sort of everything, you know? Work, sure, but just not having any free time to just hang out and relax, you know?”

“I know what you mean,” Elisa said, “my boss has been up my ass, and my car is acting up, I think the brakes are completely shot. It’s just such a pain in the butt.”

“Yup,” Chris interjected, “I hear that, my wife has been completely hounding me for weeks about renovating the house. I just wish she could understand that I’ve got so much on my plate!”

“Hmm,” Ben began, pausing to gauge the two, “would…you guys think it strange if I saw a therapist?”

“No,” Elisa said, “you shouldn’t be ashamed of that stuff, I used to see one when my parents got divorced, it’s not that big of a deal. Especially nowadays!”

“Yeah,” said Chris, “I don’t think it’s weird at all.”

“Well, would you guys want to maybe…see one as a group?”

“For what?” replied Chris and Elisa in unison.

“Well, for stress, I guess? Work relat—err…life related. It might do us some good. I found this really well-reviewed website called Altered Courses, and they do pretty cheap rates and come right to you. We can do it at my house, if you want. If you guys are concerned, I’d completely pay for it, too, it might do us a lot of good, you know?”

Elisa and Chris paused for a moment before answering. Ben looked slightly embarrassed for even asking, and looked down at his hands.

“Sure,” said Elisa, “why not?”

“Yeah,” added Chris, “it might actually help a bit, plus, if we all do it, then there’s no one to be embarrassed in front of!”

The three laughed.