April had to help Jett with her shirt. Jett may have been good with mechanics and such, but not when it came to sewing and that kind of thing. April had cut the neck lower than it originally was, stretched it out to where it was looser, and cut off the sleeves so it was a tank top. Just as Jett requested.
"Thanks so much, April. I owe you one." Jett thanked as she held up the reformed shirt.
"Ah, no problem." April replied as Jett walked away so she could go try it on.
Jett walked into the girls' bathroom, and into a the first stall on the left. She tried on the tank top. It fit perfectly. She groaned in relief.
Jett put her shirt and hoodie back on. She walked out of the bathroom, only to be greeted by Phillip standing right there. Jett jumped back, startled.
"Jett," Phillip's eyes were glassy with tears. Jett had about a million horrible scenarios running through her mind at this very moment. Most of them having to do with Heidi. His voice broke her out of her stupor.
"I just want you to know something," Phillip's voice sounded shaky, "We're a team, okay?"
"Yes..." Jett practically whispered, then her eyes traveled to Phillip's right hand. There was an bottle of alcohol being gripped loosely by Phillip's long fingers.
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"Phillip, what are you doing?!" Jett shouted. She yanked the bottle out of Phillip's hand, tossing it aside. The contents pooled all over the hardwood floor.
Phillip's head shot over to the emptied bottle. His expression looked as if he had lost his one and only friend. His body began being racked by sobs.
"I just-- I--" Phillip stuttered in between hiccups. Jett watched as the older boy cried, feeling the sympathy that only came rarely. But also feeling pity.
"I can't handle the-- Just, seeing Heidi in that chair, I-- Can't handle it!" Jett embraced Phillip. What she was wondering was where exactly he got the alcohol from. Phillip began crying into her shoulder. Primzo must've heard what was going on, because he came in the room and nuzzled in between the two.
This had only happened one time before. The kids never want to speak about what had happened about a year ago. There was another kid in the Vertigo Project. His name was Noel, nice kid, fun to hang around, not too mature, but still had a good heart. He was the first ever to be a part of the Project. Definitely Phillip's all-time favorite. April hadn't come until about a few weeks after the incident. Long story short, the war was still getting started, and our enemies had raided the country.
Phillip had to run an errand, leaving Noel back at the headquarters. Somehow, a small group of soldiers had broken into the house. They came in, looted the place, looked for any war plans. Then brutally killed Noel. Phillip had come home about an hour later, seeing the carnage. That sent him into a deep, dark, spiral into depression. Phillip had found April in a Sanctuary, and took her in. April told that Phillip may have been drunk when picking her up.
Phillip was about fifteen or sixteen at the time. But the laws weren't in full effect since almost every single adult had been drafted into war, therefore giving the youth free reign to alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs.
Phillip had sobered up once Jett had come to the Vertigo Project. Unlike the others, Jett gave Phillip an ass-kicking. She told him this, "Yeah, I'm sure being drunk around a bunch of kids is really healthy for them. I'm sure that they'd actually be back at the fucking Sanctuary!"
Phillip then began to realize that Jett was right. The younger girl continued, "There, nobody's drunk all the time! And if your mother comes back from the war, what would she think? Watching your child direct the most successful Project in the U.S., and then watching him damage himself! Is that what you would want to see your son or daughter do?! I know, Phillip, losing somebody is hard, but think about it. That whole incident was over two years ago, and think about us! We have to sit here to watch our parents being drafted into the God-damned war, and you're just here pouting and acting like a child! Just think about that for a second."
Then she walked out, leaving Phillip in his office with his drunken thoughts and various empty bottles of alcohol.
Now, she's going through the whole thing again. This is why Phillip came to Jett, is because he knew that she would help. He wasn't going to get a "You poor baby" treatment, he was going to get a "Quit being so damn selfish and fix yourself" treatment. That was Jett's way of helping people.
She didn't believe in self-diagnosed depression. If you didn't have proof that you were clinically depressed, and that you couldn't help it, then she would give you a long lecture about being "fucking grateful for what you have, because people are always going through worse things than you are."
Since the dark-haired girl had gone through so much in her life before the war even started, the reflection of those events had formed what she was today. Jett was seen by her close friends as the tough girl that rarely cried. And when she did, it wasn't in front of others.
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"Phillip," Jett's voice was muffled through the older boy's jacket. Phillip tried his best to quiet his sobs.
"Remember what I said?"
She felt Phillip nod his head against her shoulder. Jett's eyes began to tear up as well.
"I know we're a team, and we're going to stay a team, right?" Jett asked. Phillip nodded again. Jett then saw all of the others peek their heads in around the corner. Primzo saw them, he trotted over to the group. Jett waved them away.
"Don't succumb to this again, bro. It ain't worth it." Jett reassured, pulling back from the embrace. Phillip wiped his eyes with the front of his hand, then gave a weak smile. Jett weakly punched him in the shoulder, Phillip pushing her back. They went their separate ways, but Jett was still really worried about her Leader.
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"So, what was that all about?" Jackson asked, wiping his hands off with a stained towel. Jett sighed, then replied, "It's a long story. Phillip just can't handle the pressure of Heidi getting taken away. I think he might have PTSD."
Jackson nodded. Then, they heard Phillip call out, "Bye guys, I'll be back!" Then a door slam.
"Well, bye to you too." Jett murmured, leaning back into her chair. All of the kids just sat at the design table silently. They were solemn, not having a clue what to say. The silence wasn't awkward, for some of them, at least. For others it was a contemplating silence, but still full of tension.
"Guys, I want you to know something." Jett sliced through the quietness like a hot knife through butter. All of the kids looked at her in anticipation.
"We're a team, okay?"
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Hey guys, trubberys again. I really don't know what happened in this chapter, I just felt that something had to go down with Phillip. And yes, he actually does have PTSD. Which means Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If you don't know what it means, please Google it. I can't really explain things that well, and I don't want you to get the wrong idea.
Anyways, I still hope you like the book so far, and thanks so much for reading. Every view is greatly appreciated.
Trubberys, signing out.
