The screams from other 'patients' welcomed Gary as he entered his cell. His clothes were on the bed. The guard closed the door behind him and chained it. Memories filled Gary's mind. Mentally disturbing memories. He wished that he had never tried to take over the school. He wished he didn't boast about not taking his tablets.
But it was too late. And now he was in here. Again.
The Asylum. They treated the people inside like animals.. Like rats- Lab rats. They were given drugs everyday, shoved through their food, injected with a big, sharp needle through their skin, or just forced too. It was horrible.
Gary wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. There IS a big tree outside, where a few make it out alive. If you were caught climbing out they chase you, and if they catch you, you are never seen again.
Gary wondered why no-one cut down that tree.
Everywhere Gary walked he saw the shadows of cages on the floor. The windows were either boarded up or had bars on them. The whole building was a cage, and they were all trapped inside. It was a bit like a prison. Only more terrifying.
The rooms had an ever lasting smell of disinfection. Gary hated the smell. It gave him headaches. He tried not to say anything. The guards would give him even more drugs. He is amazed that he has not thrown up once, even after eating a bottle of drugs a day.
Gary's next-door-neighbour was banging his head against the wall. Again.
Gary shivered. It was boiling hot outside, but in here, it was always at a freezing temperature. The guards say it's to stop people from getting or spreading colds.
Gary was sitting on his bed with his back against the wall. He bit his fingernails impatiently. There was nothing interesting to do. You could try and be really childish and draw on the walls, but they will catch you and put you in a straightjacket to keep you still. It should be illegal. Gary was only a teen, after all.
Gary winced and looked at his finger. It was bleeding.
Damn, he thought to himself. He put pressure on the finger and then sucked the blood. He stared at the ceiling light.
Seconds felt like minutes. Minutes felt like hours. Hours felt like days. Days felt like years.
Gary heard his stomach rumble. Again.
Everything seems to be repeating. Everyone talks about the same thing everyday. Everyone eats the same thing everyday. Everyone cries the same time everyday. Gary never joined in. He was too dehydrated.
"Visitor, Mr. Smith." Gary looked up to find a guard outside the door, dressed in white. He looked serious, more serious than usual. Gary stood up and stretched. The man opened the door for the visitor.
Out of all the people in the world, Petey was the last person Gary would have expected to walk through the door.
"Behave yourself." The guard said before closing the door. Gary sighed and sat down on the bed.
"Morning, femme-boy. Or is it the afternoon?"
"It's 2:30 pm." Petey replied. He also had a very serious expression on his face. Damn, what's up with everyone today?
"So, what do you want?" Gary was thinking more about what he wanted to do- Take out all his anger on Pete. That way, he wouldn't have to kill one of the guards around here, and be locked up forever. It would be better for everybody, apart from Pete, of course.
But he kept quiet and listened to Pete.
"I have.. I have t-to tell you something. There's no way of saying this.. So I'm just gonna say it, okay?"
"Okay..?" Gary laughed. "Let me guess. You've popped your cherry? Good for you."
"Your parents are dead."
Gary stopped smiling. The room went quiet. Suddenly, the next door neighbour started to bang his head against the wall. Again.
Gary was still staring at the young man dressed in the ugly Bullworth's uniform, looking deep into his eyes. Petey stared back, not in a rude way, it was just that it was a awkward moment.
Gary's eyes glittered for a second. He blinked and looked away.
"What parents?" Gary tried to say that simple line casually, but failed. He opened his mouth to say something else. All that came out was indistinctive nonsense. He guessed that he wasn't as dehydrated as he thought as he realised he was crying.
"Gary, I'm so sorry," Petey said as he sat down next to him. "I really am." He put a comforting arm around Gary. It was a shock to see someone as dark and powerful as Gary to cry. Gary dug his face deep into Pete's chest. Gary's shoulders began to shake as he cries even harder.
There was nothing else Pete could do apart from hugging Gary every now and then, telling him that it was okay. But it wasn't okay. They both knew that.
An hour later.
The man next door had stopped banging his head. After giving him several warnings, the guards made the man swallow sleeping pills. Now there was only two problems left. No, three. The guy next door was snoring loudly. Gary had made Petey's jumper wet from his tears. The last thing was that Gary's parents were dead.
An effortless tear ran down Gary's face. He had just realised that this was not a dream. He stared off into the distance. Pete had told him that his parents were in a car accident on the way to the Asylum. Gary couldn't believe it. After all they've done to hurt him, they were going to the Asylum to see him? A few hours ago Gary had been dreading the annoying silence in the car when he got out of this shit hole. Now, there was no-one waiting for him. At home, at school, no-one, no-where. He might aswell just curl up against the wall and die.
Petey was still there. This is the closest, non violent experience they've ever had. And in some kind of way, Petey was enjoying it. But of course he wouldn't say anything. Gary would kill him.
The guard came up to the door. He peeked through the barred window and nodded to Pete.
"Go on. Leave me." Gary muttered, before Pete said anything. He patted on Gary's back and left. Gary watched him leave. He felt like crying again. He remembered his dad telling him to be a man, and never cry.
He guessed his dad was too busy bargaining with the Devil than worrying about his son. He began crying again.
The halls seemed more depressing that usual. He stood in the Block B line, waiting to get dinner. He wasn't really hungry. He was just told to do it so they could drug them.
A guard walked up to him and dragged him out of line.
"Dude, what the hell?" Gary protested and pushed the guard away. The guard angrily held his collar and spoke sternly.
"Listen, after hearing this little 'incident' with your family, other members of the faculty have decided to let you go back to Bullworths'. Today." He came closer to Gary's face and spoke quietly, almost whispering. "But I don't give a fuck about you so I can put you back in your cell whenever the hell I want. Do I make myself clear?"
Gary thought for a while. What would be worse- Stuck in a prison with lunatics, or stuck in another prison with people who would probably want to kill you?
"Well?"
"Well, what?" Gary snorted. "Of course I'll leave this place." The guard glared at him. "Oh, what, do I have to say 'pllleeeaaasseeee'?"
The guard stood there for a few moments, still staring at Gary with his cold eyes. Gary stared back, unblinking. The guard finally gave up and blinked as he walked away, letting go of Gary's collar. Gary grinned with satisfaction.
"Come with me." He mumbled. Gary followed him. He was supposed to have left the Asylum in another 2 weeks. It wouldn't have made any difference to his fate at the school. The cliques will spot him and hit him, one by one.
Then he stopped walking. He remembered, for the last time, that his parents were dead. The pills must be messing with his memory. You don't just forget something like that.
Gary took a few seconds to adjust to the light outside. He never realised how noisy the outside world was. The guard opened the car door for him. He still had the same stern expression like he had 10 minutes ago.
Gary took one last glance at the Asylum. He hoped that he would never see this place again. But that's what he hoped for the last time he was in here. A screeching noise was heard behind him. The gates were opening. Gary shivered- He could feel tiny drops of water on his forehead.
It was raining.
The tears never stopped running. The driver didn't realise that the teenager sitting beside him was crying. Gary watched hundreds of cars drive by, and he couldn't help but imagine his mum, who was always in the passenger seat, slowly being cut by thousands of glass pieces as the car window was slammed by an uninsured driver. Then he thought of his dad, the big alpha wolf of the family who never cries, lungs being torn by his ribs as he bounces off the steering wheel. He never wore seatbelts. Neither did his son.
"You should put on your seatbelt, son." The driver interrupted Gary's thoughts.
"You should keep your eyes on the road," Gary muttered. "And im not your son."
The driver didn't reply. Gary could tell that he was pissed off by the comment.
The car pulled up beside the school. Thunder echoed around the area, just like a bad horror movie. Gary took his bags and opened the car door and stepped outside. He didn't even thank the driver. What had he done that was so special?
The driver waved to Gary and drove off. Gary just stood there. He didn't know if he was crying or if it was just the rain.
He walked up to the school gates, which were closed.
The gates had metal bars. Just like the Asylum. Gary shuddered at the thought. The rain was pounding on him now, trying to defeat him. But he was already defeated. Everything had been taken away from him. Family, friends, and most of all, power. The only thing waiting for him was Femme Boy and Death.
He put his bags down and wrapped his hands around the gate's bars. His mind was blank. Gary closed his eyes. He only heard some cars drive by and the thunder closing in on him.
Gary had heard of a theory about the weather. When God was happy, it was sunny. When God was sad, it began to shower. When God was angry, it began to thunder.
Gary didn't believe in God. He didn't even believe in himself.
It must have been a half-hour wait. Time went by slowly. Almost as if it had been on cue, Gary opened his eyes to see Miss Danvers walking towards him. She opened the gates for him and said nothing. She picked up his bags and hurried away. Gary followed her into the school. He saw one of the cliques, the Greasers, giving Gary a funny look as he walked past. He was glad that a teacher was with him. Otherwise he would have been dead. Then again, he was already dead inside.
He forgot how warm it was inside Dr. Crabblesnitch's office. Miss Danvers seductively walked away, trying to get Dr. Crabblesnitchs' attention. He ignored her and laid his eyes on Gary. The old man welcomed him with a handshake.. and a frown.
"Have a seat, boy." The Headmaster pointed to a chair. Gary sat down. "Tell me, boy. Do you want to go back into Bullworth's?"
WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M HERE? Gary screamed in his head. "Yes, Sir." He said aloud. He didn't want to, he had to. An evil thought popped up in his head. He felt like tying up the teacher and torturing him. Then killing him. Slowly.
"Good. I expect to see you attend every single lesson, be good to other students, and most of all, have some respect to all the teachers. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Sir."
"And if not, you will have to find another school that will have you. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir." Gary was twitching in his seat. The bell was about to go in any minute. If he could just make it to the Boy's Dorm without getting spotted then he might be able to avoid being punched. For now.
"No running about, boy, either."
"Yes, Sir.. I mean, no, Sir."
The Headmaster sighed and scratched his chin. "You do understand how lucky you are, boy."
Gary felt like punching him to death. He didn't say anything.
"Bullworths' is a wonderful school." The Headmaster stood up and circled around his desk, hands behind his back, looking proud. "We are not ecstatic about having you back here, but it'll do.. You are a very lucky boy. We hope that you can excel-"
Gary ran out of the office, tears streaming down his face. What did he know about luck?
He could hear the teachers trying to chase him down, some giving up quicker than others. Then he heard the bell go. Now there was no turning back. He cursed to himself as he saw that the gates were closed. He sprinted to the Boy's Dorm. He thanked God, whoever he was, that there was no-one inside. He angrily picked up a lamp and threw it at a wall. The lamp shattered into a thousand pieces. This is exactly how Gary felt. He screamed as loud as he could.
"FUCK YOU ALL! FUCK! THIS! SCHOOL!" He took a quick moment to breathe. Then he picked up the television and dropped it on the floor. The screen broke and the electrical wires popped out of place. Gary inhaled deeply. "FUUUUUUCCK!" He kept repeating the word before he collapsed on the sofa, exhausted. "Fuck..." He whispered to himself. He was breathing like crazy, like he had just run a thousand miles. He regained some air in his lungs and started to limp towards his room. A glass had gotten underneath his toe. But that was the least of his problems.
He punched the wall before he entered his room. He kicked the door shut behind him. He couldn't feel his legs. He sunk onto his bed.
Fuck, he thought. He put his head in his hands and exhaled. Then he began crying. For some strange reason he remember telling Petey that if he ever cried, he was just like Pete- A girl. He regretted it now. Over the past week he has cried roughly 27 times.
"Um.. Gary?" A voice. Dear God. Gary was not alone in the room. He didn't dare look behind him. It sounded so familiar. Then he realised.
"Hey, Femme Boy." Gary stuttered. He was so out of breath he couldn't even think. He dried his tears. He prayed that Petey didn't hear him cry. Once is enough. Twice is just bad luck.
He gasped as he felt Pete's arms around his neck. He was hugging Gary. Normally, Gary would have hit him until Pete said sorry, but just for today, he allowed him to.
Pete rested his head on Gary's shoulders. They both heard every clique entering the Dorm. They didn't move. They just sat there, let the hours pass by. Jimmy never came in. He was too busy taking pictures of Mandy in the shower.