Crazed Minds | ✔️

eighteen

"I feel like I'm out of my mind, it feel like my life ain't mine."
-1-800-273-8255, Logic
________________________________

Mr Jefferson leads us behind his house to his back garden, where a small shed is situated beside a modest-sized allotment. I can't imagine the vegetables get much light with the ceiling of leaves from the tall trees though.

He slips into the shed for a moment, before returning with three rakes. He hands us one each, before gruffly walking back around the house, gesturing with his hand for us to follow. Mr Jefferson then proceeds to walk briskly along the trail through the woods.

We shadow in silence, Jasper in front with Alec behind me.

"I hear two of you found my cat," Mr Jefferson says out of nowhere.

Jasper shoots me a quick look over his shoulder, before looking straight ahead again. He clears his throat. "Um, yeah. That was Olivia and myself."

"And you don't know what happened to her?" he mumbles.

"No, we just found her like that," I reply.

"See, you may have the other staff fooled, but I don't believe it for a second."

My steps falter, and I can see Jasper frowning in surprise. "We're not lying. We didn't kill Whiskers," he says honestly.

Mr Jefferson walks faster, back hunched a little. "So you just happened to stumble upon her? That cannot be a mere coincidence."

"Mr Jefferson, we're sorry about what happened to your cat, but we had nothing to do with it," I answer, but just as I say it, the bad feeling in my gut returns.

"And you, boy, what are you here for if you didn't find my dead cat?" he asks Alec, not inching his gaze from the path ahead. We make it to the gravel drive, where we proceed to follow him to the building.

"A disagreement between two groups yesterday led to a fight breaking out. Wrong place at the wrong time, I guess," Alec says.

The three of us shadow the groundskeeper along the side of the building to get to the back garden.

"That's always how it is with kids like you. Wrong place at the wrong time. It's bullshit. You kill and ruin and destroy, and it's because of your minds, not because of the situation you happen to be in," he snaps.

This sends a spark of anger through me, because after listening to Jasper's story, he didn't kill to hurt, he killed to protect. We come out into the garden, which is deserted since everyone must be going to dinner around about now.

Once we're in a clear spot, he turns to face us, and I reply calmly, "Not everyone here killed to cause pain. Some did it to protect others, Mr Jefferson. Don't make assumptions about people like us."

Jasper and Alec stand on either side of me. Jasper shoots me a thankful look, but Mr Jefferson just seems angrier.

"You're saying I'm wrong then? That murder is okay?" he hisses.

I frown. "No, murder is not okay. I'm just saying you don't know what these kids have gone through."

"I do know. More than you think I do." Turning to Jasper, he asks, "What's your name?"

"Jasper Walker."

"You're here because you set your stepdad on fire." We all gape. Jasper looks like he's about to punch the guy, his piercing blue eyes almost burning into Mr Jefferson.

He turns to Alec. "You."

"Alec West," he replies blankly, folding his muscular arms across his broad chest.

"Knocked your teacher's head onto his desk. Put him into a coma that, if I'm not wrong, he's still in. After four years."

Alec doesn't say anything, but instead stares at his feet, eyes filled with resurfacing memories. Alec put someone into a coma? I can barely believe it, but none of this is quite believable.

And finally, he turns to me. "You?"

"Go fuck yourself."

"Name."

I scowl and look away, before grunting, "Olivia Mitchell."

"You're new. You were in a car accident. Acquired some nasty voices in your head that can control what you do. And they made you- although that's debatable- set your school on fire. Teachers managed to get everyone out except one girl. Your best friend, am I right? Who went to go look for you."

Tears are welling in my eyes, my bottom lip quivering as much as my hands. I want to scream. He had no right to bring back those memories.

"Does that hurt?" he grumbles. "To remember what you did?"

"Hey, back off," Alec snaps, taking a step towards Mr Jefferson and pushing him backwards with his hand.

The groundskeeper ignores him and presses further, "That stabbing feeling you're getting in your stomach, that hurts, doesn't it? Kids like you don't just cause pain to others, you do it to yourselves without realising. And it's what tears you apart!"

I angrily wipe away any tears that could flood my cheeks and find that it's becoming increasingly difficult to breath in straight breaths. Jasper takes a step forward and pushes him right in the chest, causing the man to stumble backwards. "Leave her alone."

Mr Jefferson looks like he's about to yell something, but then he stops, and instead mumbles, "Rake the leaves into a pile. I'll collect it later."

He walks around us and down the alleyway by the side of the school.

And then he's gone.

"What just happened?" Alec asks no one in particular as I glare after him.

"How does he even know that stuff?" I question, all three of us watching the snicket as if he'll jump out and surprise us with another few background stories of the students here.

None of us speak for a moment, but then Jasper grunts, "What a dick."

And after all that, all that humiliation and guilt that one person can cause, the three of us laugh.

Mr Jefferson told us that people with minds like ours are what get people hurt. But he was wrong. He proved by humiliating us that anyone can cause pain.

People hurt people. Doesn't matter what sort of mind you have.