Back and Forth

Out of all my years in crushing rebellions, I had come to the conclusion that high school was in fact, a time of rebellion. Boys and girls sexually active at the age of eleven. Smoking. Talking back to adults. That had become their way of rebelling, getting themselves known. I have heard people compliment these times but I knew for a fact that rebellions were meant to be crushed.

My latest victim: April Winters.

She was a girl of no more than sixteen years of age, naturally born with blonde hair but over the summer, she had dyed it a pale shade of blue. I guess I could say that it was so pale that it could almost be classified as silver. I didn't like that rebellious action and as her choice to keep her mouth shut had already grasped my attention, of course I had to step in.

Currently, I was watching her as she paused at the school gates. Her eyes were following all the students - Geeks, Populars, Goths, etcetera. Fear of social rejection seemed to bother her mind, gulping down her sweet throat. That was normal, as I had learnt from my experience with these types of people. It just meant that my job had only begun. As her stomach grew more and more nauseous, I knew I had to take more action. Fast.

'Don't back out now,' I warned her, tricking her into thinking it was her own mind. Technically, I was her subconscious; I was everybody's subconscious.

April shook her head, shrugging out any negative thoughts, just like I wanted her to. That was my favourite part of compelling a mind, the sudden agreeing. It was as though they had submitted to me, The Subconscious.

Slowly but surely, she walked past the gates, getting closer and closer to the groups of students. Dodging thrown balls and cigarette smoke was easy for her since she had done it so many times before and although I needed her to change, I was glad that she had sense to stay away from the smoking. That was another rebbelion I had to crush, just not yet. It was one person at a time.

 No one seemed to notice April, like always, yet the glances she took whilst walking past slowly gained her confidence. I could feel her wishing to be noticed.

That was my doing, of course.

 Inside was no different to the outside. Students were spread across the corridors, chattering as though there was no tomorrow, clearly showing off new jewellery and school bags as they followed the trends. Hairstyles definitely varied and I made April pick up upon it. Girls kept their hair curly, straight, in a bun, a plait - it was too difficult to keep a track of. With the guys, it was mainly their haircuts that differentiated them but the overuse of hair gel remained common in all of them. That was another rebellion, one I needed to sort out after this.

"I can't do this," she kept whispering to herself. Her mind was producing tears like a rain cloud, making me bubble with frustration. There was no way I would let her refuse my help and there would be no way in which I would fail this assignment. So, if she thought that I was going to let her off, then I had one thing to say to her: think again.

Of course you can do it. One word and you'll be fine.

'Yeah, sure,' her thoughts replied. I had to keep reassuring her, otherwise it was all over.

Head down, April continued to walk down the corridor to find her assigned locker for the year. Although full of students, she still hadn't spoken to anyone, nor had anyone come up to her. I couldn't help but get annoyed, as although I kept planting thoughts into her head, she still refused to think otherwise about the situation. Why did she make it so difficult to be normal?

Passing by a couple of girls by their lockers, I took it as an opportunity to get into her head once again.

Talk to them.

'I can't,' she snapped back. How dare she refuse my help? I was making her a better person - making the world a better place. It was my duty, so again, how dare she refuse my help?

Yes, you can and you will.

With all my might, I tried to keep her attention on those girls but no, she still refused to. Her little emerald eyes shied away from their sensual stances and hair flicks, their giggling becoming a nuisance to her. As the soldiers of her mind slowly began to shield me, I had to admit that April Winters was becoming a nuisance to me also.

Once she walked away, I came up with a plan. Out of the months I had spent preparing with April, I had learnt a lot - her strengths, her weaknesses - and if my observation was correct, I had to push her when she least expected it. Sneaky, yes, but she was bound to drop her guard some time soon. That was the thing about her: once comfortable with her own surroundings, she would relax. All I had to do was use that moment wisely.

In the meantime, I thought that I should reveal the story of The Subconscious, as you have probably heard little about me. Around the Second World War, it was decided that I would be initiated due to Hitler's widespread massacre of Jews, for absolutely no reason other than a personal prejudice. My original purpose was to prevent wars and rebellions, by planting thoughts of peace and ideas of resolution into their minds but as the years went on, there were other forms of rebellion that needed to be stopped.

The teenage era was the main focus, unfortunately. If I told you the amount of times that I have had to lead someone to a rehabilitation centre after drug overdose and constant hangovers, neither of us would be able to count it. Although I couldn't understand why my talents were bot being used to get rid of the Middle Eastern conflict, I was well aware that this era was a rebellious one, with majority of our actions as rebellious as the other. For instance, not giving a seat to a member of the elderly is classified as rebellious. Why? You're going against the values of respect. Even - oh! What a perfect opportunity!

I watched as April fumbled with her locker, struggling to get it open. The little voice in her head was almost certain that the code was correct, making me a snicker in amusement since I knew it was just her anxiety pulling her away from me. All she needed was someone to help her and the only way for her to get that help was to ask for it.

Come on, ask for help.

She bit the bottom of her lip harshly, continuing to tug on it as she processed the thoughts I had placed into her mind, allowing the tiniest drop of blood to slip out. It as though she would rather die than speak at all.

There are plenty of people around you. All you have to do is ask for help and you're already done.

Her lip remained tugged, as though it was to prevent the sudden shiver in her body. The only word her mind kept uttering was "no", pushing me out of her head as I fumbled with her fingers, leading to her failure in opening the lock.

"Seriously, why isn't this opening?" She muttered to herself again.

I couldn't help but smirk as I played my game with her. She was slowly losing control of herself and I loved it, so much so that I caused her hands to drop the lock altogether, creating a loud thud on the ground. Well, that was one way to gain attention.

Adrenaline ran through like a champion runner but instead of excitement, it was for fear. April Winters was a panicking mess as she felt another being beside her, saw another pair of hands grab the lock from the ground. It was then that I knew, her rebellion was almost vanquished and that I, The Subconscious, had almost won. Again.