Insight

(Wednesday Morning, September 4th)

When Chad takes his seat in the classroom, he smiles at the dinosaur in his lap. "Chad," Professor Hawthorne addresses, and his smile slips. "What have you got there?"

"My dinosaur," Chad answers. "His name's Dino."

"Yes, well." The professor asks, "Do you think Dino would like to have a front row seat at my desk?"

"No." Chad hugs the plush toy. "He's protecting me."

Professor Hawthorne takes a moment. "He'd be able to protect you easier if he had a better view of you, don't you think?"

Chad glances between the monster and the dragon. "No. He's guarding me."

"I see." He eyes over him. "But I am afraid your dinosaur might get hurt if he sits there today. We have a very messy project ahead of us."

Chad glances between them again, and Brendan interrupts, "Maybe the dinosaur should be guarding the door."

"Excellent idea," Hathorne enthuses. "Chad. Would Dino like to guard the door?" Chad clings tighter to the soft creature, and Professor Hawthorne takes a deep breath. "Would everyone make space on your desk. We're going to use construction paper and glue to create a visual representation of a cell. Hang it up in your dorms for a daily remember and passing the test should be twice as easy."

Chad glances around as the other students rush to the demonstration table, Hathorne passing out the required materials. "Hey," Brendan whispers, and Chad looks at him. "Are you okay?"

Chad frowns. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just," he hesitates, "the last time you brought Dino to class was when your parents were having that big fight."

"My parents are fine," Chad irritably says, and Brendan sighs.

"Okay, then." He stands from his seat, and Chad watches as he approaches the smaller group of students.

Once they return to their desks, Hawthorne scours the room, and his eyes meet him. "Chad. Would you like to gather your materials?"

"I'm listening," he reassures.

The professor takes a moment. "You've had much success in tactile lessons. I feel you might learn a great deal better if you follow the demonstration with the rest of the class."

"I'm listening to the lecture," Chad says again, and the professor nods.

"Alright, then." He eyes over the classroom. "As you already know, a cell is the smallest unit of an organism. For some creatures, such as bacteria, a single cell is all you need to live. Today we are creating a cell of a multicellular animal. I promise you will be surprised by just how many parts our cells contain to function as they do."

After Chad knocks on the door, the headmistress cheerfully shouts, "Come in." He steps inside, and she clasps her hands. "Chad. How are you today?"

He takes a seat in the chair, letting Dino sit on his lap. "I don't know. You tell me. You're the one who called me down here."

"Right." She strains a smile. "I just thought we could talk about your friend." She nods to the dinosaur. "I hear you took him to class today."

"Did Hawthorne tell you that?" Chad accuses.

"No, actually." She strains a smile. "And it doesn't matter who in particular told me."

"There's nothing in the student handbook that says you can't take a stuffed animal to class," Chad protests. "I've done it before."

"I know you have." She purses her lips. "Chad. I was wondering if you might tell me what prompted you to bring Dino to school today?"

Chad's eyes lower. "My guard stopped protecting me. I needed Dino to do it."

"But you realize he's just a toy, don't you?" she reminds him. "If it's comfort you seek, then maybe a plush keychain would be better."

"A plush keychain?" Chad's eyebrows furrow.

"Yes." She explains, "You see, your dinosaur to just so cumbersome. It might be better to have something small for the classroom."

"A keychain isn't going to protect me."

"Neither can a plush toy," she counters.

"Dino's special," Chad insists. "When I was little, all of these shadow people were in my room, but when I got Dino, he made them go away."

"Are you afraid the shadow people followed you here?"

"No," Chad answers. "But if Dino protected me from them, then he can protect me from other things too."

"Not to bring religion into this," Fairy Godmother starts, "but as a believer, shouldn't you have faith that God will protect you?"

"God didn't make the monsters go away," Chad discounts. "Dino did."

"You know." Fairy Godmother holds the pen between her fingers. "I could protect you too, if I knew what was going on."

"What?" Chad agitates. "The counselor talk to you?"

"No." She sympathizes, "But I can tell something's wrong."

"Why does something have to be wrong?" Chad dismisses. "Why can't I just want my dinosaur in case something happens?"

She purses her lips. "I can't help but wonder if you're afraid of someone, maybe a certain someone we've discussed before."

"I told you," Chad reminds her. "Nothing scares me."

"Nevertheless," she says, "it's easier to deal with problems when you're not alone."

"But I'm not alone," Chad retorts. "I have Dino."

She takes a minute. "Chad. Dino might have been able to protect you from the shadows, but if you're being hurt by someone, do you really think he can fight off something corporeal?"

Chad's frown deepens. "I have to."

Chad reaches for his phone, and the image of his father appears. "What?" he quietly complains. "You calling every day now?"

"I'd like to." His father frowns. "Why? Are you busy?"

Chad closes his eyes. "I wanted to rest. I already took something to sleep."

His father repeats, "Took something?"

"Don't worry." He reassures, "It's not going to… I can take it with my meds."

"You know, you had me very frightened." His father reminds him, "When you overdosed on that drug, after the doctor specifically told you not to take them together."

"He didn't tell me they would stack," Chad defends. "I know better now."

His father takes a moment. "Chad. Are you planning on relapsing?"

He opens his eyes, but the lids weigh heavy. "Relapsing is a part of recovery." Chad half laughs, and his eyes close. "At least, that's what Hawthorne said in class."

"How are things going with him?"

Chad's eyebrows furrow. "What do you mean?"

"Is he being nice to you?" he asks.

"Sure, he is," Chad sarcastically says.

"That doesn't sound too convincing."

"Ask the other students." Chad murmurs, "He stopped the class just to talk to me."

"He stopped the class?"

"He wanted to take Dino from me." Chad sets the phone down and hugs the soft dinosaur. "That monster's afraid that Dino will hurt him."

"Chad." His father questions, "Was the dinosaur with you in class?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Okay. Good." He instructs, "Keep doing that." Chad hums. "Chad?" He fails to speak, and his father sighs. "Sleep well."

"Are we sure it still works?" Ella inquires.

"I checked after we found out Chad was doing drugs," Charming confirms. "But the next time I visit Chad I should replace the battery again, just in case."

She sees the black-and-white video pop on screen. "This is ridiculous. What's a teacher going to do in a classroom?"

Charming grumbles, "The audio's broken."

"You'll need to fix that too," Ella recommends.

"No." Charming shakes his head. "Chad's only going to be in the bathroom long enough for me to switch out the battery. That takes priority."

"You were right about the nanny cam," she supports. "I never thought we'd need it this late in his life."

"We shouldn't have to," Charming remarks. "He should be coming to us."

"He did come to us. He got scared, changed his mind."

"Is that what you think it was?" he unsurely asks.

"What else would it be?"

"I don't know." Charming leans in towards the screen. "But it'd be a lot easier to tell what's going on if this was in color."

"Remember," she comments, "this is all they had back then."

"Maybe we should bug Chad's graduation present too," Charming considers. "With how sociable he his, anyone could kidnap him."

Ella folds her arms. "That's not going to help us now."

The screen goes black, and Charming groans, resting his forehead on the laptop. He feels her hand on his back, and he sits back up. "Maybe the audio should take more of a priority."

Noises emit from the table. "What's that?"

Charming examines his phone. "Chad. He fell asleep. I let the call run."

"Is that ethical?"

"We're debating restoring Chad's nanny cam," he points out.

"To find out if this teacher is really mistreating him in some way," she asserts. "Even if he's not… touching him, he could be eating at his self-esteem. He could be doing it to the entire class for all we know, calling them stupid or—"

"El," Charming interrupts. "He's crying." He unmutes the phone. "Chad. Chad. Can you hear me?"

Chad picks up the phone, sniffling. "Dad?"

He sees his wet face. "It's just a nightmare. You're safe." Chad breathes heavily. "Is Dino still with you?" Chad brings the stuffed animal into frame. "Good. Hug him and tell me what the nightmare was about."

Chad continues to cry. "I don't remember."

"It's okay."

"I didn't think it could get any worse," Chad whimpers.

"Hey." He stresses, "It's okay." Chad shakes his head. "Want to talk to me about it?"

"I said I don't remember it," Chad voices.

"But you know what's bothering you," he guesses.

Chad quiets, "I don't want to talk about it."

Charming glances at Ella. "Alright. Then we don't need to, but I will be here until you fall back asleep." He continues to run through the footage, and Ella takes a seat.

Several minutes pass, and Chad asks, "How's Ben?"

Charming looks back at the phone. "It's hard to say. The antiparasitic is working, and with his fever reduced there's no reason why he shouldn't be waking up."

"But it's only been a week," Ella adds. "There's no need to worry."

"Ben can take as much time as much time as he needs," Chad decides. "I don't want him to see me like this."

"Seriously," Audrey complains. "What's up with you?"

Chad turns towards her. "What's up with me?"

"Yes," she emphasizes. "You've been wandering around the school like a lost kid about to have a temper tantrum." Chad holds Dino, and she eyes him up-and-down. "Seriously." Her voice softens, "You've got me worried."

"Why don't you worry about Ruby?" Chad defends, "Isn't she supposed to be, like, your best friend or something?"

Audrey frowns. "Did you learn that from Ben? Because, I've got to say, if you're trying to gaslight me, you're doing it wrong."

"That's right." Chad counts on his fingers. "One: lie. There's nothing going on with me. Two: repeat. I promise you, I'm completely fine. Three: Escalate." He steps towards her. "You're not worried about me. You're just reaching out to make yourself feel better."

"Chad," she whispers.

"Wear out the victim, and five: form a codependent bond." He smiles. "But trust me, if I did have a problem, you'd be one of the first people to know. Six: give false hope. If there was anything wrong, I would tell you." He lays a hand on her shoulder. "Finally, take control." He meets her sad, brown eyes. "Maybe you should stop asking me what's wrong, take a long look in the mirror, and ask yourself why you feel the need to fix problems that aren't there."

"Why?" her voice strengthens, but her eyes flood with tears.

"You think Ben never gaslit me?" Chad comments. "I wasn't trying to hurt you, Audrey. I'd really just appreciate it if everyone would stop trying to fucking help me." It's asking for help that got him in this situation in the first place.

"You could have just said that," she seethes before trailing away. Before she knows it, she's standing in front of the bathroom sinks. The blond boy with green eyes appears in the mirror, and she sniffles. "What are you doing? Quit it before someone sees you."

A girl walks between them before exiting the restroom. "I don't think anyone cares."

"Yeah, well, Fairy Godmother will if she catches you in here." Audrey turns with her arms crossed. "Not a stalker, huh? You know who else barged into the girls' bathroom? Ben. Right before he pinned me to a wall and threatened my life."

The boy gapes in partial disgust and confusion. "What did you see in him again?"

Audrey's eyes shift. "Well, I'm supposed to be queen. I can only do the most amount of good, once I have the most amount of power."

"And?" he prods.

Her thoughtful expression dissipates into an angry face. "And I'm still mad at you for stalking me." She steps forward, and he makes way for her to walk out of the bathroom. "I don't know how you got away with it this long, but—" She glances over her shoulder. He isn't following. She walks back into the bathroom. If he doesn't follow her, then she can't lead him to Fairy Godmother. "Hello?" she calls out as she checks each stall, but they're all empty. She rushes back to the hallway, but both directions are deserted. He must have slipped off into the other direction while she'd been on her tangent. "Jesus Christ." She takes a deep breath. "Remind me to talk less."

"Ah, huh." Fairy Godmother writes down the note before smiling at Audrey. "And did you finally get his name?"

Audrey falters. "No. I didn't."

"Too bad." The headmistress sets the pen down. "That could have been useful."

"Well, you can get his name when the police thumbprint him," Audrey asserts. "Check the cameras. Find him."

Fairy Godmother solemnly smiles. "Dear. I'm afraid it isn't as simple as that."

"Why not?" Audrey huffs.

She takes a moment. "Let's look at the positive. He's finally making conversation with you. That's progress."

"Right," Audrey scoffs. "He went from stalking me to invading my everyday life. Hey. Maybe next year he can hold me captive, do whatever it is King Beast did to Belle."

Fairy Godmother's frown deepens. "You graduate this year. The likelihood of him following you off campus is very slim."

She places a hand on her hip. "What makes you think that?"

"Well," she examines, "if none of the teachers recognize the sketch we had made last year and yet he's remained on campus, obviously he has unfinished business here."

"You mean with me," Audrey corrects. "He's following me."

"Or maybe he believes you have the power to help him," she says, and Audrey's arms drop back to her sides. "Did he say anything to you that might help explain his behavior?"

Audrey's eyes lower. "He just said… he's wanted to talk to me for a long time." She faces her. "He has a question for me, but he doesn't know what it is. Whatever that means."

Fairy Godmother smiles. "I'd say that means you should help him figure out what it is."

"Help the person who's been stalking me for the past who-knows-how-many years?" She raises an eyebrow. "You've got to be kidding me."

"The way I see it," she insights, "if he's being genuine about his intentions, then the sooner you help him, the sooner he can move on."

"Stalkers don't move on from the people they're stalking," Audrey argues.

Fairy Godmother nods. "Think of it like this. It gives you an excuse to find out his name. Once we do that, it will paint a much better picture of what we're dealing with here."

"His name." Audrey nods. "I can definitely get that."

- Posted: 04/17/2021