Bleeding Sun---Pico's School Retelling

Arrival

PICO

"You know I love you, right?" my mother said solemnly with her hands on my shoulders. Her words were whispered, in fear of my father hearing her. There were signs of tears in her eyes as she gripped my shoulders so that I might say something back.

"Yeah..but if that's the case then why am I here?"

A small and silent gasp was heard from her, and she wiped the tears coming down with her index finger. "Pico..you know what the deal was. It was either this or military school and you chose this!" She fell to her knees and held my face, looking up at me. The bruise under her eye was showing through her makeup as tears washed the paint away.

"Please honey, please understand that I love you very, very, much...no matter what-" a loud honk came from the car behind her. She turned back quickly and saw my father's heated face looking back at her with hate. She turned back to me and hugged me tight, crying softly into my shirt. "Don't get killed, Ap," and with that she got up, wiped her tears, and walked back to the car with shame.

And that would be the last time I ever saw my mother.

My name is Pico. I was sent here to this place by my father when I told him I was gay. After beating the shit out of me, and my mother for trying to stop him, he told me i was either going "go to military school and be a real man, or go to that fucking insane asylum where you belong!". And I chose this place, Fulp School for the Mentally Unstable Teen. I'm not mad that I'm here, if anything I'm just glad I'm out of that house.

I walked up the steps and into the large white building. Inside there were a few seats with potted plants on the end. To my left I see the secretary, typing away at her computer. I went over to the reception area and tapped softly on the counter. "Hi, I'm here to check in?" Despite my best efforts to sound as nice as I could, she looked at me with annoyance and then turned to face me completely. "What's your name?" she said as she pulled out a checklist from God knows where.

"Pico"

"Last name too."

"Forest"

"Ok, Pico Forest..." she clicked her tongue as she dragged her pen down the list. She raised an eyebrow and checked off my name. "Alright, the last one is in. Come on, lemme give you a quick tour." She got up from her chair and walked over to the door leading out of the office.

"The first floor is strictly designated for therapy appointments, visitation from parents or guardians, and the staff. You are not allowed to be down here unless there is a valid reason." She led me to a hall with elevators in the walls. We got in the first one and headed to the second floor. "The second floor is where you'll be staying. There are two halls, one for boys and one for girls. Do not go down the girl's hall for any reason. Curfew is 6:00 pm on the dot. You need to be in your room by six. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, ma'am". When the doors opened, there was a large semi-circle space with different chairs and tables. Large windows surrounded the room and bathed it in light. But before I could take it all in, the elevator doors closed and it was on to the final floor.

"And this is where all of your classes will be. School hours are from 7:30 to 3:00. After 3 you are not allowed to be on this floor." The school looked almost liminal. Lockers lined the walls and only stopped when there was a door. At the very end of the almost endless hall, there was another door that had read "EXIT" in large bold letters. "Any questions?" she said, exasperated it seemed. "No, I think I-" "Good. You can find your room on the second floor. It would have your name on it. Good Luck." After cutting me off she took me back down to the second floor and I got off.

I just stood in the giant semicircle with my bags like some kind of lost child. I looked at my watch, "5:56...I should start looking." And with that, I am now officially a student at FSMUT. But seriously, did they even think of a better way to word that name?