Chapter 4

That evening, I was in the dorm watching a show when someone knocked on the door. Then, the class representative walked in with a few sheets of paper.

"These are the psychological evaluation forms for this semester," she said. "Just fill them out. The counselor, Mr. Myers, said you can answer 'No' to everything, just like we always do."

These evaluations happened every semester and were mostly a formality, so we were used to it.

Sienna looked at her form and asked, "Why do we have to answer 'No' to everything? Can't we answer honestly?"

The class representative casually replied, "Answering 'No' is faster. If you answer 'Yes,' you'll have to check each question and see if it actually applies. Even if you really had a problem, the school probably wouldn't do anything.

"I've heard that in other departments, students flagged for severe depression were just told to take a leave and go home."

Sienna thoughtfully nodded and stared at her paper.

After the class representative left, I glanced at her and casually said, "It's not that serious. Even if someone has a mental health issue, the school would handle it. The counseling center isn't just for show."

With that, Sienna picked up her pen and started filling out the form.

There weren't that many questions, so I finished mine in under a minute. Meanwhile, Sienne was still carefully thinking through the third question.

…

The next day, the class representative collected all the forms and handed them over to Gary.

A few days later, during class, Gary suddenly knocked on the door. After apologizing to the lecturer, he called Sienna out.

Something felt off, so I slipped out the back door to see what was happening.

In an empty classroom, Gary threw the evaluation form in front of her. "Who told you to fill this out incorrectly? Didn't the class representative ask to answer 'No' to everything?"

Sienna looked at him with wide, innocent eyes. "Why do we have to answer 'No' to everything? Can't we answer honestly?"

Gary nearly exploded in anger. He couldn't admit that this was mostly a formality, because if a student really had a serious mental issue, it would be a major problem. "I told you to answer 'No' to everything! Why are you asking so many questions!"

Sienna, completely unaware of his frustration, continued, "But some of these questions do apply to me. Isn't answering 'No' to everything basically lying? The form even says to be truthful."

Initially, Gary worried that Sienna might have a serious mental health issue. If she did something drastic, even his PhD wife and their child studying abroad wouldn't have been able to save him.

Now however, he was sure that Sienna wasn't mentally ill—she was just a little crazy. "Never mind. Here's a new form. Fill it out again and bring it to my office after class."

Sienna simply agreed without another word.

Gary thought that he could finally breathe, but he was celebrating too soon.

After class, Sienna handed in the completed form. Coincidentally, the department secretary, Laura Lane, happened to be there to check on the students' mental health.

"Don't worry, Ms. Lane. We've carefully gone through everything," Gary said, putting on a polite front while silently signaling to Sienna to leave.

But Sienne didn't get the hint. Instead, she turned to Laura and asked, "Why do we have to answer 'No' to everything on this form? Is that a school rule?"