Partners In Crime

7 Maxiam Overdrive

Last week was an emotional healing week for everyone. Especially Maurice Runt, who prayed that the person who had the casualty wasn't his daughter.

He knew how insensitive, selfish and downright despicable it was to have that thought. It also doesn't help that Maurice is a helicopter parent, and is extremely overprotective. Just recently Maddie has been in a pickle and with her mum gone, Maurice had to pick up the slack.

But it was every parent's fear when reading the email that was sent out to him regarding the issue, only to mentally relax when it wasn't. He wasn't the only one, but that didn't make it right. What of the parents whose kids are in a coma? How did they react? They were given condolences by everyone, but it won't change anything. They knew that.

And that wasn't even the hard part.

The parents had to have discussions with their kids regarding the issue. Some were easier to digest than others, while others had to be commissioned to therapy. Not Maddie. Her dad told her that things happen, and it wasn't her fault. And this business with Johnty being the potential culprit has nothing to do with her. As far as she was concerned, everything went back to normal. But in reality, it wasn't. Although Maurice seemed calm the whole time to compensate for Maddie's shaken demeanour surrounding the issue, he knew that he was just as frightened. It was a dark age for everyone involved, including the teachers, who now have to deal with bad press and not buckle under the bad publicity.

It never got easier after that. People tried desperately to take their minds off it at the weekend, losing themselves in whatever activities and living in blissful ignorance. Well, pretending to at least. And then the kids got the biggest wake call of their lives when school resumed.

For the past two days, it was like walking through a minefield. A wrong false move and you're finished. No one can trust anyone and tension fills the air all the time. No one to turn to. There is still an adamant amount of people who still think Johnty's punishment wasn't severe enough, and proceed to make his life just as miserable. And, by the time the third came around, it seemed like Johnty was about to crack.

The day began with the morning being gloomy and wet. The skies were grey and thunder clapped as a torrent of rain cascaded down around Johnty. He kept a consistent pace and had a dark expression. He was dreadfully drenched, barely noticing he arrived.

A crowd of students unceremoniously released their backlash upon him, their relentless negative bias and energy being numb to Johnty at this point. He just ignored them as he went through the school gates and headed for the iso room. He still had his chin up high and had hope. Solitary confinement hadn't made him crack yet. And despite not liking the situation he's in, he knew that adding more fuel to the fire would just make things worse. Regardless, his friends seem to be the only thing that's keeping him going. And his current condition isn't all that bad. All it boils down to is doing work in a confined space, filled with absolute silence.
Part of the parcel.

Recently, they have persuaded people to join their side, thinking the bigger they are, the more likely the school would take action and take care of Johnty once and for all. They didn't seem to care that the detectives - who are currently on hiatus - would go and clear his name. By the time they do something about it, he'll be gone. Besides, the debate of whether they should take a break - even on weekends - exploits their lack of commitment is another discussion for another day. All in all, the time they're spending living their personal lives should be used to solve the mystery.

Speaking of mystery, Rodney is still experiencing the aftermath of his interrogation with the two, which brought Maddie's attention.

In the school cafeteria, the place is divided in two. On one side, it's people who are dead set on getting Rodeny out of here - the same from this morning - and on the other who haven't been coursed yet. Even pushy protesters have their downtime. Especially if it includes food.