Creeps, true stories from Reddit (Second book)

The Bag Man

"Mr. and Mrs. Sousa, I'm quite concerned about your daughter, Cindy," Mrs. Carlyle said. She sat with her hands folded on top of her desk in her classroom. Mandy and Pedro Sousa sat across from her, fidgeting in their small, hard plastic school chairs.

"Last week, she stole her classmate's pencil and refused to give it back, saying it was hers. The week before that, she spread rumours about another classmate. The poor little boy came to me in tears because nobody wanted to play with him at recess.

"But this behaviour isn't what concerns me most. I've also noticed that Cindy can be quite violent with her peers as well. I've had to reprimand her three times for pushing and once for biting this month alone. Once, she pushed her friend into another classmate in an attempt to make them fight for her amusement. Whenever I confront her about her behaviours, she always denies it and tries to blame someone else."

Pedro sighed and looked away, slouching down into his seat. Mandy frowned.

"Please understand, I'm not telling you this to upset you. I asked you here today to discuss solutions. Cindy is a smart little girl who has a bright future..."

"But?" Pedro said, raising an eyebrow.

"...but, her antisocial tendencies will only hinder her ability to succeed. Not to mention the pain she causes her vict–"

Pedro slammed his fist down on the desk, startling his wife and Mrs. Carlyle.

"There's nothing wrong with my daughter!" he said.

Mrs. Carlyle looked down and said nothing. Her lower lip started to quiver. Pedro jolted up, knocking over his chair, and stormed out of the classroom. Mandy watched him leave, then looked at Mrs. Carlyle and said, "I'm so sorry. We know Cindy has problems and we've been trying to work through them with her at home."

"Have you contacted a psychologist?" Mrs. Carlyle said.

"No, we haven't."

Mrs. Carlyle took a deep breath and said, "Mrs. Sousa, you need to take your daughter's behavioural problems seriously. I have a background in child psychology, and I can tell you she ticks all the boxes for a condition called conduct disorder. If left unchecked, it can develop into something called antisocial personality disorder when she becomes an adult."

"What does that mean?"

Mrs. Carlyle leaned across her desk and said, "It means your daughter could become a sociopath."

---

Rain splattered across the windshield as Mandy and Pedro drove home from their meeting with Mrs. Carlyle. Mandy turned the steering wheel and said, "You know Cindy's problems aren't confined to when she's at school."

Pedro stared out the passenger window and didn't respond.

"She lies to us all the time, about big things and small things alike. Remember when she stole my wedding ring and lied when I asked her about it, saying she didn't know where it was? Then, when I found it in her toy box, she said that her little brother, Johnny put it there to get her into trouble. Johnny's a baby. He can barely walk, and she knows that.

"Speaking of Johnny, she's always making scary faces at him and pinching him to make him cry. And remember last Christmas when he got more presents than she did?"

Pedro pressed his head against the cold glass of the window and shut his eyes.

Mandy said, "She took his presents and threw them one-by-one into the lit fireplace until she had more than he did. I still remember the putrid smell of melted plastic hanging in the air. It lingered in our living room for weeks."