Rebekah
When I wake, the Professor is still sitting there, quietly staring at me. But when I look around, I'm in his office.
"Er... I take it I'm still in trouble?"
He nods then sighs.
"You've proved yourself to be very honest about your own failings. Why?"
"Like I said, you have to admit there's a problem to fix it."
"That's a very...mature world view."
"I found out you can't hide in the library all your life. Sometimes you have to stick your head out to see what's going on."
"Explain."
"What is there to explain? I was bullied in primary, went to a different secondary and was too scared to make friends for the first three years because I was terrified people would treat me the way I'd always been treated. And then I found friends -good friends- and I came out of the library. And I found out you can't hide from your problems. You have to solve them."
He looks at me with an odd understanding.
"What I want to know is, why don't you want to lash out at those who hurt you? You're talking about this in a very measured manner. It must still hurt."
I shrug.
"Yeah. It hurts. But I can't live that anymore. If I don't put it behind me, I'll always be a victim in my own eyes. And if I lash out, I won't be any better than them. That's my way of dealing with it. I prove to myself that I am the better person. It's not perfect... I'm still upset at times... But it works for me."
I close my eyes.
"And if it stops me from hurting people -which I can do now, then it's worth it."
Isaac
Scott stood up and walked to the window. He prised the blinds apart and looked out at the world outside. My eyes were starting to feel heavy and I blinked quickly to stop them from closing. I wondered if I would get into more trouble if I teleported out of this place.
"You know Bekah admitted to hurting Jean?"
I stiffened up. Lies were fine until they're uncovered. Although I didn't feel guilty for lying I was not in the mood for getting into more trouble. How could Bekah be so stupid?
"Okay," I said slowly. I was trying to gauge if Scott was angry but he didn't appear to be. He seemed curious if anything.
"She said you need to admit there's a problem before you can fix it. She also said that if you strike back at your enemies then you're no better than them."
So I was right. Scott was in contact with the Professor.
"I have admitted there's a problem with me," I replied. "Maybe I'm mental. I couldn't swear I'm not. And me and Bekah disagree on that. So what if you're no better than them? Who wants to be a self-righteous, stuck-up, patronizing-"
Scott shot me a warning glance. I didn't bother finishing that sentence.
"If my enemies are cowering at my feet why do I need to feel bad? I can live life freely without fear and no one would dare mess with me again. I hated fear and now all those people will feel what I've been feeling. If being no better than them means being feared and hated, well, then I'm willing to face that."
Scott leaned across the table. "You will never be happy," he said in an almost sympathetic tone.
"I'm not happy!" I shouted. "I've never been happy. It won't be a sacrifice"
Scott stared at me with such pity in his eyes I had to turn away. I prefered the hate-laden glances.
"One day, someone special is going to come into your life. And you're going to be so full of hate you won't be able to be normal."
"That's a chance I'll gladly take."
Scott stood up so quickly his chair clattered to the floor. He marched to the door and opened it.
"Off you go. I've got nothing more to say to you." Looks like the strict was back. I stared scornfully at the open door and then teleported.
Bekah was in the garden under a tree. The sun danced in patterns on her fur.
"I heard what the Professor talked to you about. Why would you admit to anything?" I asked.
"I suspect you know the answer. What did Scott talk to you about?"
"Oh nothing," I replied. "Nothing at all."