Bustin' Out!
Summary: Every so often, the balding, rich owners of Happy Volts mental asylum grant a patient with Day Release. It's a day, to go outside and live your life – with only two conditions. You have to have an orderly with you, and you have to sign in at noon. Trust Gary Smith to break both of these rules.
Disclaimer: Rockstar owns Bully/Canis Canem Edit, not me.
Day Release.
Two words, stamped onto a plain piece of printer paper, reach out and smack Gary Smith right in the face. The teenager doesn't understand what's going on at first; he thinks he's being set up.
They're trying to trick me.
His mind growls at him, but his heart beats furiously in his chest, threatening to jump right into his throat altogether.
Day Release.
He reads it again. And again. And again, until he's staring so hard that the words become blurred and his eyes water, spilling clear liquid onto his cheeks. Of course, one of the thick-headed orderlies picks now to waltz in and see if everything's okay.
"Hey, kid – why are you crying?"
Gary snorts, tearing his eyes away from the paper to give the orderly a hard, much deserved glare.
"I'm not crying."
The orderly is an idiot. He rolls his eyes, taking a drag from his cigarette. "I'll ask again. Why are you crying?"
Gary raises an eyebrow, smirking.
"Does it really look like I'm crying? It's hardly like I'm sobbing in the corner, is it?" He stops, taking a breath of the now smoky air. "You're not aloud cigarettes in here."
It's the orderly's turn to snort. "What are you going to do, tell on me?" The man snorts again, before walking off, leaving Gary alone in his cell with the (now slightly wet) piece of paper clasped inbetween his fingers.
There is more written on the paper, Gary realizes. Of course there is, they wouldn't just give him the two words, (no matter how amazing/uplifting the two words are).
He skims over the note, occasionally stopping to reread. The "letter" explains the meaning of the two stamped words.
He is going to be let out of the asylum for a whole day. Of course, there'll be an orderly following him around, (Gary hopes it isn't the meat-head he's just talked to), and he'll have to go back to the asylum to sign his name at noon.
But, above that, he can go anywhere.
Anywhere.
*
The cafeteria food tastes better than usual, but Gary wonders if it's just the prospect of getting out that makes everything seem sweeter. He sits alone wherever he goes in the asylum. No-one's wanted to be with him, and Gary doesn't want to socialize here.
He watches as three men, at least ten years older than him, play poker a few tables away. Gary likes poker, even if he does lose most times he plays. Then again, he hasn't played for a while. He wonders if he would get lucky should he choose to play again…
The loud crash of a plate shattering against the tiled floors jerks Gary out of his thoughts, and the cafeteria is filled with the cheers of the oh-so-sensitive residents, who laugh as the girl who dropped the plate scurries away to get an orderly. The laughter dies down, and out of the corner of his eye, Gary watches the men resume their poker game and decides not to go over and test his luck.
Judging by the letter he only recently received, he was pretty damn lucky anyway.
Gary looks down at his food. It's nothing special, just a piece of chicken and some boiled potatoes, unceremoniously drowned in mayonnaise. The condiment was Gary's doing – he never liked to have just "plain" food.
The girl who dropped her plate returns with the orderly, who starts cleaning up the mess, completely oblivious to the fact that he was being watched by the entire room. Gary chuckles, realizing that it's the orderly from this morning and that the girl probably interrupted him from his cigarette break.
It's a dull lunchtime, and the day will probably drag along with the same insipidness as watching paint dry.
Gary stabs his fork into the chicken, mayonnaise splashes onto the sides of his plate.
*
It's raining on the day Gary's mother visits. She enters the visitors' lounge, removing her soggy jacket and running a hand through her dripping brunette hair.
Gary is sat on a cushy leather sofa, twiddling his thumbs and staring out of the window, watching the rain tumble down. She gazes at him for a while, noticing how much older he looks every time she visits. Admittedly, her visits are few and far between, and her son is now sixteen, but it still comes as a shock to her to see him changing so rapidly. His hair is different, he's grown out (or outgrown) his old hairstyle, settling for a pretty normal haircut with a short fringe. The scar that runs from his forehead, across his eyelid to his cheek is still there (obviously), blatant and burning, but… it looks healed, if only a little.
Of course, he notices the eyes on him and turns around to face her, his nonchalant face morphing into a smirk.
"You should have brought an umbrella."
"I should have driven past here altogether."
Gary's mother, also known as Lara, remembers why she doesn't visit often. Gary gets on her nerves, and she gets on his. They always used to wind each other up during the summer holidays, and Lara is sometimes secretly thankful for the most peaceful year she's had in a while, although it's because her son is in an asylum.
He is silent now, contemplating her words with his head bowed, and Lara thinks she has already gone too far.
"Gary…" She chokes on her apology, (obviously), and her son keeps his head down, not bothering to perceive her silence for anything more than it is.
The room is silent, other than the noise of the rain drumming on the rooftops outside. Gary has gone back to twiddling his thumbs, although he never really noticed stopping.
The next two minutes shuffle along uneasily, and then a small spark sets off in Lara's mind.
"I hear you're getting to go on day release next week."
Gary nods. "Yeah. I'm pretty excited about it."
"What are you going to do?"
The conversation carries on from there, and the spark that started it stays alight in Lara's mind, miraculously untouched by the downpour of rain. She's talking to her son, and it's easy, just laughing and joking and talking.
By the time she leaves, the rain has stopped. The air smells of wet grass and the trees flick water at her as she walks to her car.
Gary watches her drive off from the window in the visitors' lounge, and wonders if she'll come again any time soon.
*
Gary can't sleep, the night before the day release. He tosses and turns; a mixture of excited and nervous. He wonders why being aloud to walk around Bullworth has possibly gotten him this excited. He's curious – has anything changed during the few weeks he's been away? He doubts it, nothing ever changed in Bullworth while he was there.
Well, technically he is still in Bullworth, but being inside the asylum makes him feel thousands of miles away from anything.
After about three hours of lying awake, Gary realizes he's thirsty. His cell is one of many in a long corridor, and there is a bathroom at the very end. He could creep past the orderlies, and get a drink of water from the tap if he was quiet. He's done it a thousand times before, so why not again?
He winces a little as his bare feet hit the ice cold floor, and slowly creeps to the door. Grabbing the handle in the darkness, he turns it, opening the door. It creaks louder than he expects, and he jumps back into the room and into bed as he hears an orderly yell.
"What was that?"
Gary resists the urge to giggle, clamping his hands over his mouth as the orderly stomps up and down the corridor for a while. Eventually the noise fades away, and Gary has to come up with a new plan.
He envisions himself sliding his window open and clambering out into the cold night air to run past the orderlies toward the front door, which is both miraculously unlocked and not creaky, and slipping through the corridors - a shadow on the walls - into the bathroom, where he takes a sip of the water, feeling victory wash over him. Except he can't really taste the water and he doesn't remember there ever being gold plated cups in the bathroom...
Gary doesn't know it, but he's dreaming.
*
A pair of jeans – his jeans – are passed to Gary the next morning, along with a t-shirt and a hoodie (his also). He doesn't remember packing before being dragged off into the asylum, so his mother must have brought them with her yesterday.
Trying not to choke on the feeling of nostalgia, he pulls on the clothes and then attaches a name tag to his hoodie. Sunlight floods the cafeteria as he picks at his breakfast, eyeing the window. He can just about see the road he'll be walking down in a little while, or maybe that's just his imagination. The three poker-playing men are sat across from him again, but they're not playing poker. This doesn't hold Gary's attention for long, because he's got half an hour until he's got to go, and he's wondering if the cutlery would make a time machine so he could speed up the process. He would power it with sausages, or those little packets of sugar.
It's eight-thirty-five. Gary can't help but wonder about the people on the other side of the fence. The people who think he's a complete and utter maniac. He's been trying to distract himself from that thought, but every so often it creeps up on him. It wasn't just the obvious people, (e.g. - Jimmy and Pete), but it was every single person in Bullworth. They all think he is a psycho, and in all honesty, Gary knows they have a reason to.
As for the aforementioned Jimmy and Pete, how are they going to react when they find out he's in Bullworth? There's no point in hoping that they won't find out, because Jimmy is the King, and he has connections with practically everyone in the town.
It isn't so much Jimmy he's worried about. It's Pete. Sure, Jimmy could beat the daylights out of him, but what would Pete do? Would he get mad? Would he act all disappointed and upset?
Gary sighs deeply and looks up at the clock again.
Eight-forty.
Jeez.
*
Gary hasn't changed. He hasn't become a "whole new person" after being in Happy Volts for almost a year.
But…
It's hard to explain, he figures.
He isn't the person he used to be. The "Old Gary" would manipulate the shit out of everyone in the building, just to get this day release. That being said, until he got the note, Gary had no idea what day release was. He just… wasn't so…
Unruly.
That just about described it. He wasn't a different person, he was still sarcastic, still the same Gary, he just thought before he acted. (Not that he didn't before; if anyone was known for thinking, it was Gary). He just thinks of the consequences before he jumps into a full scale take-over-the-world scheme. Now, he doesn't know if that makes him a better person or not, but if it does, he doesn't mind.
He doesn't have anyone to talk to in the asylum. There's nobody his age, and he finds himself being pushed out of things quite a lot for that.
This brings Gary's train of thought right into Petey's station.
Good old Petey, always fun for Gary to pick on, but never good enough to actually hang around with him.
It's strange how much sympathy Gary has for him now. It sucks, to always be the person people turn to to be cruel, and also be the person they ditch for something better.
Gary supposes this is karma giving him what he deserves, but poor Petey never did anything to deserve the way he was treated.
He thinks that if he could go back in time to stop himself from being such a bully to Pete, he would. Does that make him a better person?
It's all very, very confusing.
*
The gates are pushed shut and locked behind him by the orderly; a tall, blonde-haired man. He isn't wearing an orderly's uniform, instead choosing to dress in a beige pair of trousers and a white shirt. Max, his name is - and he seems friendly, thank goodness. Gary had actually started to worry about getting the idiot orderly from a few weeks back.
"So, where do you want to go?"
There's something Gary hasn't thought of. Right now he's stood outside the gate, gaping at the road ahead of him, trembling. If anyone asks him, he's cold, even though the day is quite pleasant. It's the end of spring, and blossom is falling off of the nearby trees and rolling across the pavement, making the ground look all fluffy and multicoloured.
"I told my Mum I'd visit her," He starts, but he's cut off by the shout of somebody nearby. It's just a little kid, kicking a ball down the hill with some friends, but it still shakes Gary to the core. The kids are wearing Bullworth uniforms. They must be new, because they look young and Gary doesn't recognise them.
"Where's your Mum live?" Asks Max, placing a hand on Gary's shoulder. "Gary?"
"Bullworth Vale." Gary blurts it out and is surprised by how shaken his voice sounds.
"Let's get walking, then." Max smiles down at him, and Gary can't help but feel a little comforted that he has an adult with him.
*
Everything is the same.
The townie stuff is still everywhere in Blue Skies, but Gary is only there for what seems like a few moments. He's more worried about walking through Greaser territory. His head is bowed and Max keeps trying to assure him that all the kids are in school. The billboards all have the same adverts on them that they did when Gary was last walking around. The buildings are still smothered in graffiti. As he walks through the tunnel into Bullworth town, he can still see Jimmy's message, tagged onto the wall in purple spray paint. It makes him want to laugh and cry at the same time. In Bullworth town, he doesn't get close enough to the town hall to see the BULLWORTHLESS tagged onto the wall in pink, but he can feel it radiating off of the building, glaring at him, mocking him. It's enough to make him speed up his walk, which of course, leads him closer to Bullworth Academy.
He realises that his legs are like jelly and his feet are pretty much glued to the floor when he gets about halfway over the bridge.
"Gary," Max's voice has a cautious edge to it. "Are you alright?" Gary nods.
Old Gary would have just ignored the feeling of his heart pounding in his chest and strolled along past the school, berating himself for being such a girl. But this Gary was thinking about the worst-case scenarios. What if Jimmy saw him? What if Pete saw him? What if the whole school just happened to be standing by the gates at that one particular moment and they all saw him and pounced at him?
Okay, maybe that's a little far fetched. A little.
He takes a deep breath and then continues walking, Max walking along aside him.
Gary's never felt so scared in his life, but he holds his head up high and walks. He's across the bridge, and he can see the edge of the school building, the faint lines of scaffolding holding up construction workers as they work on the skylight.
The skylight he broke.
He keeps walking, and now he can see the gates, wide open. The gargoyles stare down at him, their menacing eyes following his every move, watching as he swallows nervously. He wonders if-
Ooomph!
He's so lost in his own thoughts that he doesn't hear Max warning him, nor does he see the furious looking teenage boy stood in front of him. And he doesn't know how, because this kid is literally huge.
Yeah, he's just walked into Russell.
*
"RUSSELL SMASH!!!"
Gary puts his hands up, not quite knowing why, and starts walking backwards as Max starts babbling, trying to talk the big lump of anger away from him.
Russell looks pretty much the same. He has some stubble on his chin, making him look older than he really is – although Gary doesn't know if he's been held back a few years. He's dressed the same, in a Bullworth shirt and jeans, but right now, Gary isn't paying attention to his jeans. He's looking at the big fists that are flailing around, despite Max's attempts to calm Russell.
"Russell, down boy!" Russell skids to a halt upon hearing that familiar voice… "Use your words, Russell. What's going on?"
And now, Gary thinks, maybe karma could just be finished with him, because it doesn't get much worse than this.
He's face to face with Jimmy Hopkins.
"Oh."
That's weird. After everything that has happened, everything Gary's done – Jimmy Hopkins doesn't fly at him, screaming abuse and attacking him with all his power. No, he just stands and stares quietly, as if he can't quite believe his eyes.
"Gary." He says. His eyes get more squinty than usual, and his thick, fuzzy ginger eyebrows screw together to create a confused frown. "Hello."
Hello? Hit me. Scream at me. Ask me what I'm doing, daring to show my face around here! Get mad, please. Get furious.
To say it's an awkward silence in an understatement. Gary can feel Max's inquisitive gaze on him, and he knows the orderly is just itching to interfere.
"Hi." Gary buries his hands inside his hoodie pockets, refusing to look Jimmy in the eyes.
"You got out of Happy Volts, I'm guessing?"
"Day release."
Jimmy raises an eyebrow. "Oh."
The two stay silent for a while, Russell decides to run off after some little kid. In all honesty, Gary had forgotten about Russell. Again.
"Jimmy, why aren't you angry?" He blurts it out, and doesn't even realise what he's said until he hears it.
Jimmy is quiet for a while, apparently pondering Gary's question. He shifts his weight onto the other foot, and puts one hand into his jeans pocket. Gary only now wonders why he isn't wearing school uniform.
"I am." Gary raises an eyebrow.
"You're not acting very angry."
Jimmy sighs, rolling his eyes. "I am. Trust me here, Smith."
Gary takes note of the use of his last name.
"But unlike you," Jimmy continues, "I don't go on a rampage when I'm upset. I don't destroy everything in my path, or start riots, or turn people against each other for fun, or because I like the way it feels to be in control!"
For once in his life, Gary Smith is speechless.
"I'm not saying that I don't get mad and wreck a few things every once in a while, because I do – and we both know that. But I'm going to be the bigger person here - because you definitely won't be – and not lash out at you. You've got a day, a day to do whatever you want to do. I suggest you try to at least start making amends here, because otherwise you're going to have a very lonely life."
Max gulps very loudly behind them, and Gary is reminded of the face that he lives in an asylum and that the only person who ever visits him is his mother.
Jimmy walks away, leaving Gary stood on the pavement, staring up at the gargoyles and wondering if they're laughing at him. Then he decides.
He can't go back to Happy Volts.
He can't, can't, can't.
*
It's almost ten when Gary reaches his Mum's house, and he's already come up with a plan. It's your average ditch-your-dinner-date plan, which involves him climbing out of the bathroom window and getting on a bus to somewhere far away. He doesn't know that the feeling bubbling in his stomach is guilt, and he doesn't know why it increases when his Mum opens the door and pulls him into a hug.
He doesn't want to leave this newfound family feeling behind, not yet.
But he can't go back to sitting in a cell, wondering about the people on the outside, living their lives. Gary wants to live his life.
The living room is painted a shade of pale pink. It matches the curtains and the sofa, making Gary feel very out of place in his blue hoodie and jeans. They drink coffee – Gary, Lara and Max. Lara talks about work, Max talk about work, and they both occasionally talk about Gary.
Gary says nothing, sipping the coffee even though it burns his tongue, and laughing at the right moments. He thinks about what Jimmy has said.
You have to at least start making amends here, or you're going to have a very lonely life.
Petey.
He can't leave without talking to Pete. It's all very confusing, and Gary decides to take a break from his thoughts and listen to the adults, who are chatting, hopelessly unaware of the turmoil Gary is in.
"So, how much longer is he going to be in Happy Volts for?" Lara sounds a bit desperate, and Gary hates himself for planning to leave her.
"Well," Max shifts slightly in the chair. "It shouldn't be long now. He's got day release, trust me here, day release is very hard to get. I don't think he'll be staying with us much longer, although he is one of our more… pleasant patients."
Pleasant? Gary resists the urge to snort, because his stay most certainly hasn't seemed pleasant.
"That's good." Lara leans back in her seat, casting a smile to Gary. "Isn't it?"
He nods, and thinks that the coffee must be too bitter, because he's starting to feel sick.
How pathetic. He never used to be like this, wimping out, worrying about people's feelings. He'll do it now, go to the toilet and leave, and never come back.
He feels like he's running away. Chickening out. Being a girl.
Its torture, excusing himself, and he practically bombs it up the stairs, blaming it on the caffeine in his system.
He does actually pee, he wonders if it would just be better to pull the flush and go back downstairs, spend a little more time at Happy Volts and not have to run away. The bathroom window is locked, but he ignores it and searches for a key with trembling hands, finding it in a little pot in the cabinet.
Should he leave a note? He looks around, realising that he has nothing to write a note on, no way to apologize to his mother for leaving. So he just thinks Sorry really loudly and hopes with all his heart she can hear, before quietly sliding the window open and sticking his legs through, sliding until he can grab hold of the drainpipe and clamber down.
He can still climb up and act like nothing's happened.
Minutes pass, and Gary can't remember how long he's been stood in his garden for.
Then something miraculous happens.
He makes the right choice and grabs hold of the drainpipe, about to climb back up.
Gary's only about a meter away from the bathroom window when a voice echoes from the garden of his next door neighbour, Trevor.
"Hey, kid! Are you robbing that house?"
It's not what it looks like.
Trevor comes closer to Gary's garden fence, Lara and Max come running out from the front driveway.
"Gary?"
Lara frowns confusedly at her son, while Max approaches him, saying things that Gary can't quite make out, because his blood is rushing so fast around his body he can hear it. Seconds seem to last hours, and Gary realises that it's already too late. If he goes back, Max will tell on him, and he'll never get another day release again.
Heck, he may never leave the Volts.
Lara nearly jumps out of her skin when she sees her son throw himself off of the drainpipe and hit the floor, pausing only for a second before he gets up and runs past her. She watches him tear down the garden and into the driveway.
The wind howls for a moment and then everything is silent.
*
Gary doesn't know if how long he's been running, or even what direction he's going in. He doesn't recognise the place he's in. There are trees; he's practically surrounded by them. Branches sway in the wind, blowing more blossom at him with ferocity. The multicoloured petals have gathered in his hood, and he wonders if pulling the hood up would give him a wig.
In all honesty, he knew he was going home sooner or later. He didn't want to escape, and didn't know if it could even be called escaping.
He stops running. It's pointless really. He's breathless, and whatever way he runs, he's met by more trees.
It's cold. And windy.
He rubs his arms, trying to get warm. Maybe he's still in Bullworth. There are places where people race their bikes, and they're surrounded by trees.
So he turns around and walks the other way, just as thunder fills the air and the rain comes rocketing down. He'll just have to face the consequences, no matter how much he hatesthat idea.
*
Pete Kowalski hates homework. He isn't stupid, in fact, he likes his lessons. But after six hours of learning, the last thing he wanted to do was sit in his dorm room and do more.
He has his own room, now. He used to share it with Gary, but now the bed opposite him is inhabited. The sheets are made up and tidy, just as Gary left them.
Pete's often thought of jumping from bed to bed; just too see if it's fun – but something inside him stops him from messing up Gary's sheets.
He eyes the bed.
Stupid bed. Stupid pillows. Stupid sheets.
Pete's mostly on his own now, after all, Jimmy is the King of The School. Sometimes he gets to tag along with him, but it usually requires hanging out with the Greasers or some other clique. He likes Jimmy, and considers him one of his best friends – even though they rarely see each other.
"Hey, Pete."
Pete jumps. He didn't even realise the door was open.
"Hi, Jimmy!" Okay, that just sounds eager. He hopes it doesn't scare his friend off.
The taller, ginger haired boy stays stood in the doorway.
"Wanna go do something?"
Do something? With a friend? Pete slams the homework book shut, gets up and almost runs to the door.
"What're we doing?"
*
They are pranking the townies. They do that a lot, since Jimmy and Zoe split up.
Jimmy has cartons of eggs, fire crackers and water balloons in his dorm room. Pete takes half of the load and wonders if he should.
The townies have no idea what is about to hit them when Jimmy and Pete, grinning from ear to ear, start throwing down eggs. The first person to get hit is Gurney, the second is Leon and the third is… Edgar.
Uh-oh. The boys see the anger on his face and run from their hiding place (a warehouse window) into the street. They're being chased now, and Jimmy has to drag Pete along by the wrist to get him to speed up.
Pete's giggling like a little kid, despite the danger, and it feels good to be running and laughing with his friend. It's raining heavily, and occasionally they slip and fall then get up, laughing harder every time.
By the time they get back into the boy's dorm, it's half four.
*
Gary can see it again. The place that got him so worked up earlier, the place that made him insane a year ago.
Bullworth Academy.
He knows what he's doing. He's making amends, before he gets dragged back into the asylum for good. He's soaked, and he probably looks like a complete nutcase with a hood full of blossom petals. The gates are still open, and he takes a cautious look into the campus before stepping in.
It's like walking into a memory. Everything is exactly the way it was before the riot. The dorms are free of graffiti. There are little kids running past him, not knowing who he is, and not caring, either. The rain pours down on top of fixed up fences and walls.
He walks toward the boys' dorm, not knowing how he's managed to get this far without being stopped by anyone. The building towers over him, and he walks up the steps with legs that feel like marshmallows.
He presses his hand to the door. That familiar, blue door with its chipped paint and scratched wood. It's pushing open on what seems to be it's own accord, because Gary doesn't feel like it's him pushing.
He can see the inside of the dorm ahead of him, miraculously deserted and still exactly the same. The TV is showing static in the common room. Gary gulps, but grabs the opportunity of the empty hallway and runs down to his old room, hoping that his old friend hasn't switched rooms.
*
It's five. Pete is pretty tired, and the homework isn't helping that. Luckily, tomorrow is a Saturday, and he gets to sleep in.
He's doing algebra when there's a knock on the door. He closes the textbook again, hoping that it's Jimmy again.
Then again, when does Jimmy ever knock?
He opens the door, and is suddenly staring right at a very bedraggled looking Gary Smith.
Of course, Pete knew Gary was on day release. Jimmy had told him earlier, in music class. Pete wasn't really too bugged by it, he never thought Gary would come to see him.
*
Pete.
He looks exactly the same, and completely different. Same curly brown mop of hair, same pink shirt. He's taller, though. Gary's only about a head taller than him now.
"Gary?"
God, Pete actually looks petrified.
The two stand, looking at each other, digesting the moment.
"You're soaking."
Gary snorts. Of all the things to say/yell, Pete chooses to tell him what he already knows.
"I was in the rain." His voice comes out as a croak, and he wonders just how long he's been in the cold. Suddenly, they hear voices approaching, and Pete grabs Gary and pulls him inside.
"Aren't you supposed to be back in Happy Volts by now?"
"That depends. What time is it?" Gary stands awkwardly in the doorway, Pete checks his watch.
"Five."
"P.M?"
"Yeah."
Pete just stands, looking at the shivering form of his friend. His former friend.
"Sit down." He orders (timidly).
The shock on Gary's face doesn't last long, and he turns around to get the desk chair.
Pete giggles.
"What?" Gary spins around, confused.
"You have flowers in your hood."
It's silent for a moment, and then both boys burst out laughing.
*
"So, you ran away?"
Gary nods. He'd chosen to "spill all" to Petey, and they had been sat in the dorm room and talking for about an hour.
"Why? You only had a little while left in Happy Volts!"
"I knew that, which is why I tried to get back in. My dumbass neighbour saw me and started yelling."
"Oh."
Gary shifts on the bed he is sat on with Pete.
"You need to go back, you know."
He does know, but it still makes fear jump in his chest when Pete tells him.
"I'm going to. It'll be Hell, though."
"Why?"
Gary sighs. "I never see anyone, or get to talk to anyone. Everyone's older and bigger than me, and they all push me around like I'm nothing. The orderly's are jerks-"
Well, that's not completely true. Max isn't a jerk.
"Gary?"
Gary looks him in the eyes.
"Never mind. Pete, I'm going to go now, but I want you to know that…"
Petey is silent.
"Pete, I'm sorry for being such an idiot last year. I'm sorry for picking on you, and I'm sorry for practically starting a riot."
The not-so-much-shorter boy doesn't say what Gary is expecting. He doesn't say: That's okay. He doesn't yell or get mad, he just says:
"Prove it. Go back, do your time and learn something from this."
Pete gives the best answer anyone possibly could, and Gary remembers it as he walks back up to Happy Volts.
*
"Gary!" Gary flinches as Lara runs up to him, wrapping him in the most loving hug he thinks he's ever had. He hugs back, and he can see Max over her shoulder, shaking his head. It's dark by the asylum but everything is lit up by the blinking of the police lights. He's pulled away from his mother by a policeman, who instantly starts shouting in his face. The words "crazy" and "lunatic" echo in his ears.
"Hey!" Max pulls the policeman backwards, and glares at him. "I think we can take it from here. Thank you."
The policeman stomps off in a huff, and everything goes dark as the police car drives away.
"Gary," Max folds his arms, staring down at the boy. Gary is thankful that Max doesn't lose his temper, even in the most stressful of moments. "What on earth were you thinking?"
Gary just shrugs. He's too tired to explain himself.
"Why did you run away?" The softer voice of his mother makes Gary want to jump back into that hug again, and he wonders when he became such a sap.
"I couldn't go back to living like this. Most of the time, I sit in a cell. When I'm not in a cell, I'm out getting picked on by other patients or just sitting on my own. You're the only person who visits me, and you hardly do." Lara looks slightly guilty at this.
"It's lonely, and it's stupid and I couldn't handle it. I can't even stick up for myself when I get picked on, because it just looks like I'm in the wrong!"
"Oh."
Gary's had enough of oh's.
"But I'm going to have to handle it, because I want to get out of here one day, and live my life."
By now they're outside the asylum doors. A few lights come form the windows, but other than that it's dark.
Max sighs.
"I signed in for you at noon."
Gary's eyes widen.
"What?"
"You heard me." He shifts his weight onto the other foot. "I knew you'd come back."
Is he that predictable?
"So, technically, you're not in any trouble." Max raises an eyebrow. "Never pull a stunt like that again, Smith."
Max is the second person who has called him by his last name today.
"How can I repay you?"
Max ponders the question.
"The other orderlies are a bit… weird. I need someone to sit with at lunch."
Gary grins.
*
The next morning, Gary lies in bed for hours. He has a cold, thanks to being in the rain for so long the previous day. It feels weird, that yesterday he was out, and today he's cooped up in a cell again. It sucks, and he hates it. He loathes this cell with a vengeance, and can't wait until the day he's gone for good. He might keep in touch with Max though, because he's got a tough few years ahead of him, and he's going to need all the friends he can get.
Friends? Friends are for the weak!
He chuckles. It's strange how much his perspective has changed in a year, because he certainly doesn't think that anymore.
*
He doesn't know if he can do it. Throughout the rest of the week, he has someone to chat to, and it's cool sitting with Max and talking. Max the orderly is nothing like Max the prefect from Bullworth. He's kind, and funny, and he's a good guy to hang around with.
But he doesn't know if he can stay at Happy Volts without losing it.
However, the next visitors' day, when he's greeted by his mother and a certain boy with a curly brown mop of hair, he thinks he just might be able to scrape along.
End.