Disposable Teens (Maniggy)

Chapter 4

Brian's POV

I fucked up, again.

I lost my patience and snapped. I can't help it. When I know I'm right even though it won't get me anywhere, I can't just back down.

A big part of why I'm stuck here and never get anywhere in the system they've got set up is I don't knuckle under and I don't beg. I don't submit to anyone, least of all people I don't respect. I could earn myself more freedoms here by blindly obeying, but what would that make me? It's hardly worth selling out for a shot at watching a preachy Christian movie once in a while, or getting 15 minutes of extra time in the library just to be told I'm not allowed to borrow anything.

I sighed as I walked down the narrow hallway after being taken out of class. Sometimes the people working here were chill and only saw it as a paycheck, or managed to display a sliver of empathy or kindness once in a while. Not Ray. Ray was charge of our whole unit. He was in his late 40s, tall and a little soft around the middle but obviously still strong, like an ex-football player. Everyone in the male half of the school answered to him and he took his job extremely seriously. He generally didn't show his face except to make things worse. Needless to say, I wasn't a fan.

He led me to his office and motioned for me to sit on the creaky chair facing his desk. He folded his hands in front of him and gave me a stare that could curdle milk.

"I've been informed of some...troubling behavior on your part lately," he said. I gave him an odd look. I seriously didn't know what he was talking about. I'd swallowed my pride and been following the rules for at least two weeks, trying to avoid a repeat of a certain punishment.

"You've been hanging around that new kid Jeordie an awful lot more than we'd like," he said, his voice still flatly commanding. I glared at him. "It's not good to isolate yourself to only one person. Not healthy. And we know you both have some issues with..." he drew the word out like a knife, "...sexuality." He lowered his eyelids. "We wouldn't want to see that kind of seed grow and bloom. We plant good citizens here. Some just take longer to sprout." He smirked.

I shifted in my seat. I mean, it was true I wanted Jeordie. But I hadn't acted on it, or been anything beyond friendly, because I doubted he felt the same anyway. So being nice to another person was now an offense. Divide and conquer, I guess. Fucking typical.

As for the supposed isolation, Jeordie didn't have anyone else. I'd already seen too many other kids taunt him and pick on him, calling him every nasty name they could think of, stealing or messing with his stuff when he wasn't around. What was I supposed to do, let him have nobody?

And if I was being honest, I didn't really have anyone else either. I tended to intimidate people whether I meant to or not, and could be tough when I needed, but it just drove most people here away without the silver lining of getting me any respect. And no way in hell was I ever going to become one of those pathetic wastes of oxygen who took their studies here seriously, groveling in hopes of a scrap from the same people who tormented and insulted them.

"I haven't done anything," I said.

"I know. This is your first and last warning." I looked at the floor. Ray continued to glare at me. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself? A grunt of acknowledgement? Some smart-aleck remark? God forbid, an apology?"

I glowered at that. "An apology for what?"

"For your misguided beliefs and your bad attitude."

My hands clenched into fists. "I'm not the misguided one. It's not my fault you think being angry and alone all the time is normal, or that good people go through life obsessed with punishing others..."