14 octobre

14 octobre is a dated sequence in Ellensburg that follows Shelby Anderson Barnum from Ares Garden to her psychologist. At 15:45, she arrives at the boxing venue on her skateboard, asks for Chen Wu, and speaks with him before continuing to an appointment. The day's movement from a place associated with Jungkook's underground boxing to the calm, familiar waiting room of her therapist gives the date its shape: Shelby is still visibly burdened, but she keeps moving toward conversation and care.

Date and Setting

The novel places the scene on Monday, 14 octobre, at 15:45, somewhere in Ellensburg. Shelby rides her skateboard to Ares Garden, where the attention of people inside makes her immediately uncomfortable. She approaches the bar and asks where she can find Chen Wu; directed upstairs, she knocks on the boss's office door and waits until he tells her to come in.

The precise time and weekday anchor the sequence in ordinary chronology rather than presenting it as a recollection or a dream. The date also links two very different interiors: the public, watchful atmosphere of Ares Garden and the ordered waiting room of Shelby's psychologist. The account does not specify the duration of either visit, but makes their order clear: Shelby sees Chen first and goes to her appointment afterward.

Shelby at Ares Garden

Chen Wu has his head down over his earnings when Shelby enters. He looks up and sighs with relief at seeing her, whose condition seems better than it had on Friday night. The improvement is qualified: she still looks tired, and sadness remains plainly visible. His reaction makes the earlier Friday-night encounter a point of comparison, while her appearance shows that the passage of a few days has not removed her distress.

Chen stands and offers his hand. Shelby takes it and shakes it lightly. The brief greeting is restrained, but it marks a shift from the venue's watching eyes to a direct exchange between the two. After talking with Chen, Shelby leaves on her skateboard with questions still troubling her. The account does not disclose what they discuss or resolve; the visit is significant as a meeting she undertakes while still visibly struggling, not as a scene in which her worries are settled.

The Appointment

After leaving Ares Garden, Shelby reaches the place where she meets her psychologist. She enters the building and sits in the waiting room, looking over details she recognizes from previous visits: carefully painted walls, a clean parquet floor, comfortable chairs, oak furniture, and plants. The room's tidiness and familiar arrangement contrast with the unease she felt among the people at the boxing venue. For Shelby, this is not a first visit but part of an established routine; the surroundings are recognizable enough to bring her an immediate sense of calm.

The psychologist opens the door with a smile and asks whether Shelby is ready. Shelby nods, gets up, and enters the office. The scene ends with her seated in the armchair, looking at her hands on her knees. The appointment is underway, but the narrative does not disclose its discussion or outcome. Instead, the final image holds on the threshold between the orderly waiting room and the difficult work inside the office.

Place in Shelby's Wider Story

The date's scenes sit within a broader pattern of anxiety and trauma that the novel presents through episodes in different settings. In one episode, Shelby's panic drives her from a classroom; when Cassiopée finds her, Shelby recoils from touch and remains curled up and distressed. In another, Jungkook finds her crying in a shower at the boxing venue and stays beside her until she calms. Later, Madison recognizes Shelby's panic and seeks Jungkook, whose presence helps Shelby regain a normal rhythm of breathing. These moments are not identified as occurring on 14 octobre, but they clarify why her fatigue, persistent sadness, and regular therapy matter: distress recurs, while support is offered in forms that vary from simply staying nearby to helping her reach professional care.

The dated sequence itself does not announce a breakthrough. Its significance lies in the contrast it preserves: Shelby can make her way to Chen Wu and then to her psychologist, yet she remains tired and troubled by unanswered questions. By ending at the start of the appointment, the passage records continued engagement with care without claiming that the visit immediately resolves what she is carrying.