Chapter Two: Goodbye

I think it really smacked us in the face the last thing Gary said when he was being dragged away in the slightly cold September air as we all watched. He had been walking, minding his own business, when orderlies rushed out from a bush and grabbed him in front of the school. In front of everybody. The orderlies did a cop routine, almost. They pushed him to the ground and gave him a medicine into his shoulder that was in needle form. It turned out to be a very powerful sedative that took only a minute or two to work.

Gary, as the rest of us, had no idea what was happening. He started screaming wildly and instantly making threats even though he couldn't tell what was happening, his face shoved into the dirty cement ground. He looked like a scared animal that was being wounded by large predators. He most of the time just kept his head down since the- er . . . incident of last year. After his attempt to rule the school, he was treated badly. Called names by the tougher kids and treated like a crazy person by everyone else. He adapted to the way I handle school. He started not talking and staying reserved to himself.

When they pulled him up and he saw it was orderlies, you saw his face turn into a horrified look. A look none of us had ever seen. Gary Smith looked . . . scared. He had the expression of someone who was looking in the face of death or someone who had to answer for their harsh crimes. His face was turning a sickly gray color. It was a look that I can barely describe, and I was watching it from about ten feet away. It made your stomach turn just sitting there, imagining yourself in his shoes. He knew what was ahead of him at Happy Volts.

When he realized he was showing his fear, he bursted into shouting once more. But, he said something interesting. Something I know in my heart that I will never forget and I doubt the other teenagers will.
Gary yelled, "You morons caused this! You did this to me! YOU! YOU DID THIS! ALL OF YOU!"
I looked at the orderlies as they dragged him through the exit gates and blindly tossed him into the back of the padded van before closing it. I blinked a few times and looked at the confused expressions on the several other students as the dirty van drove off.

After a few moments of silence, Ted Thompson, leader of the Jocks, said in his normal better-than-you-attitude, "Well, someone has had a rough morning."
I shot him a look as the other kids gave a half-hearted laugh. Nobody wanted to think about what they just witnessed, but the reality was that we might have just saw the last of Gary Smith. Or at least the last of his slightly sane self.
We all have heard horror stories about Happy Volts. About how the torture their patients with electroshock therapy and how they force them to take several medication that can cause seizures or hallucinations. We all know the danger that can cause at the mental asylum and the slim chance you may make it out just fine. The adults try to reassure us sometimes that the people that go there really need help and that they are only treated with the "best care and comfort".

Ha. Funny.

I decided that after watching my only close friend get dragged away by orderlies that I deserved to take a mental break and have the day off. I sighed and walked back to my room quickly, hoping that nobody picks on me.
Once I made it safe in my room, I laid down on my bed and glanced at the other cot with messy sheets a few feet away. Gary's bed.
I close my eyes and start thinking about what he said. The orderlies were just doing their job. Why would he blame them?

After a few minutes, I gasped and opened my eyes. He wasn't blaming the orderlies.

Gary was blaming us.
Gary was blaming the students.
Gary was blaming me.