P.I.E.: A Nymphic Faerietale

Chapter 21

A few days passed, and the mystery behind Jimmy's actions were getting continuously deeper. Toast was getting worried about Jimmy, as Ghost seemed off because of it. If Jimmy was hiding something from even P.I.E, he must be desperate to keep it hidden from everyone else. Something he probably wasn't proud of in any way, shape or form. Something he was probably trying to forget about himself.

For some weird reason, Toast was genuinely worried about Jimmy's mental state. Everyone knew Jimmy was insane, that was pretty much common knowledge, but Toast was beginning to suspect there might a reason deeper and darker than mental illness that attributed to the insanity. Did Jimmy have some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that caused him to lash out whenever he was even slightly reminded of the trauma? Did all of that anger and fear turn him into the insane monster he was? Maybe. If Jimmy didn't want to talk about his "true secret", it was probably a trigger that caused him to have a total meltdown, and potentially cause not just others harm, but harm to himself.

When Toast thought of this theory, which was in the boys' bedroom, he opened his bedside drawer, pulled out his journal and began writing down his ideas and hypotheses of what could be causing Jimmy's mental conditions.

Ever since Toast discovered Jimmy Casket, he had taken it upon himself to study his behaviors and do whatever he could to help Ghost. Toast had studied psychology in college back in the UK as a major and had a Bachelor's Degree to prove it. He knew exactly what he was doing and was able to point out symptoms of different mental illnesses. When he made the connection, he immediately drew it to the possibility of PTSD. However, he couldn't just theorize PTSD, he had to find other possible disorders. He had to do some more research.

There was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Toast answered.

The door opened to reveal Mereda, holding her katana.

"Hey," she said, sweetly. "Whatcha doing?"

"I have a lead about Jimmy's behavior," Toast explained. "I think he might have some form of PTSD."

"PTSD?" Mereda asked, intrigued. "What makes you say that?"

"Jimmy's trying to hide something from us," Toast explained. "If he doesn't want even us, the closest people to him, to know about that thing, he probably can't talk about it easily, and may be trying to forget about it. He seemed about to lash out when we spoke about it, so maybe that memory triggers him?"

"That's a good theory," Mereda commented. "By the way, how do you know so much about this subject?"

"I have a degree in psychology," Toast explained, proudly. "I had a pretty good GPA in college if I do say so myself."

"How long ago was this?" Mereda pressed, teasingly.

"I graduated about five years ago," Toast explained. "The courses I took were pretty interesting."

"Yeah, they must've been," Mereda sighed, sitting on the bed, next to him. "You're very lucky."

"Why do you say that?" Toast inquired. "Didn't you get an education while you were at the orphanage?"

"Well, yeah, of course I did," Mereda assured him. "The orphanage would've gotten in legal issues if they didn't get their children educated. They had their own classrooms, and some of the caretakers worked as teachers and private tutors. They had a good system, and I never felt too bored during classes, unlike Carlisle. She always nodded off."

"Well then why are you jealous of me?" Toast asked with a smile.

"Because the orphanage began to fall apart, and they were never able to supply any of the children with scholarships. In fact, the circumstances at the orphanage got so bad that Carlisle and I decided to run away. We were old enough and knew enough to take care of ourselves, so we thought we would be able to find our way back to the town, but we got lost. We never found our way to the town. I realize now that we had headed off in the opposite direction, which ended up throwing us deeper into the woods. About a year later, we met you guys."

That's when Toast realized how bad of a turn their lives took right before they joined P.I.E. He really was a lucky guy to have had such a good education and loving family. But, certain moments of his life seemed much worse than Mereda's. Maybe it was because he'd never experienced it himself, or maybe it's because of that one horrifying event that turned his life sour and influenced him to make a few very poor decisions. That was the reason he had an alcohol problem. He had been slowly trying to work on it, but occasionally, he felt symptoms of withdrawal and he'd lose some progress. Comparing his life to hers seemed wrong, but he couldn't help but try and find similarities. 

"Honestly, I think I know how you feel, but in a more figurative way," Toast sympathized.

"Really?" Mereda said in disbelief. "You have a job you're passionate about, even if it is dangerous, you have a friend who, despite having the spirit of a murderer trapped inside him and an immortality issue, is very caring and willing to share feelings and experiences. Surely your life couldn't be that bad!"

"Well, there are some things that should be shared, but I don't think I'm ready to talk about it yet," Toast explained with a sigh. "Let's just say, there's a reason why I'm a recovering alcoholic, and one that almost sent me to bloody hell."

Toast closed his journal, stored it in the drawer, stood up, and left the room.