I. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO TAKE CARE OF ME (Warnings: homelessness, mentions of murder, implied past child abuse)
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
The pasty white face of the case worker turns red, and his eyes radiate pure anger. That almost hateful glance is directed at a young man that is immediately recognizable as Aiden Price - he looks basically the same despite being thirty years younger - who is pouting back at him.
"I can't believe you're abandoning me like this."
His voice is already deep, but there's a different quality to it: it's not quiet yet, it's almost booming. The most assertive it has ever sounded.
"And I can't believe that you broke into my damn house, Aiden!" the case worker growls, visibly holding back "You need to stop following me, or I'll call the police."
"What?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO TAKE CARE OF ME!"
Aiden shouts, almost cries, but the man doesn't budge.
"Not anymore. You are a legal adult, and you followed a gifted children's program, you got all those degrees, I promise you'll find a job in no time."
"Easy for you to say, you are not overqualified for every job you apply to." he spits, willing to cut and make the other feel inferior for once "The money from the government is not enough to get a roof over my head, where am I supposed to sleep?!"
"At the homeless shelter where I took you."
The case worker replies like it's obvious, like it's not a big deal. The boy's voice breaks in response, becomes the quiet mumble everyone is used to.
"Why can't you just adopt me?"
"There are rules on this planet. Rules that I can't break, and even if I could, I don't want to."
Aiden lowers his head, stays silent for a moment before speaking again.
"...Is it because I killed my parents? You know what they did to me, I had no choice, you can't punish me for this too."
"Of course you're going to bring that up." the man shakes his head "It's not just that, what about the other kids?!"
"Why do you always treat me like a criminal?! It's not my fault that killing them was the only way to make you notice me!"
A moment of silence follows. The case worker stares at him with his eyes and mouth wide open.
"Listen...We tried our best to stop you from becoming a criminal, but clearly we failed." he says sternly, grabbing Aiden by an arm and pulling him towards the exit "All I can really do is hope that you won't get yourself in trouble, but even then it's too late for you."
"You're not supposed to talk to me like that..."
"You can't convince me, Aiden." the reply is accompanied with a scoff "You don't know how to distinguish right from wrong. That's why you will die in jail."
The door slams shut, leaving poor young Aiden alone.
Yet the present version of him is calm, watching the scene with an almost bored and annoyed expression. He is 'the Counselor', now, and will always be. He doesn't recognize himself in that distressed kid, he stopped being a person a long time ago.
The sad memory
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
The pasty white face of the case worker turns red, and his eyes radiate pure anger. That almost hateful glance is directed at a young man that is immediately recognizable as Aiden Price - he looks basically the same despite being thirty years younger - who is pouting back at him.
"I can't believe you're abandoning me like this."
His voice is already deep, but there's a different quality to it: it's not quiet yet, it's almost booming. The most assertive it has ever sounded.
"And I can't believe that you broke into my damn house, Aiden!" the case worker growls, visibly holding back "You need to stop following me, or I'll call the police."
"What?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO TAKE CARE OF ME!"
Aiden shouts, almost cries, but the man doesn't budge.
"Not anymore. You are a legal adult, and you followed a gifted children's program, you got all those degrees, I promise you'll find a job in no time."
"Easy for you to say, you are not overqualified for every job you apply to." he spits, willing to cut and make the other feel inferior for once "The money from the government is not enough to get a roof over my head, where am I supposed to sleep?!"
"At the homeless shelter where I took you."
The case worker replies like it's obvious, like it's not a big deal. The boy's voice breaks in response, becomes the quiet mumble everyone is used to.
"Why can't you just adopt me?"
"There are rules on this planet. Rules that I can't break, and even if I could, I don't want to."
Aiden lowers his head, stays silent for a moment before speaking again.
"...Is it because I killed my parents? You know what they did to me, I had no choice, you can't punish me for this too."
"Of course you're going to bring that up." the man shakes his head "It's not just that, what about the other kids?!"
"Why do you always treat me like a criminal?! It's not my fault that killing them was the only way to make you notice me!"
A moment of silence follows. The case worker stares at him with his eyes and mouth wide open.
"Listen...We tried our best to stop you from becoming a criminal, but clearly we failed." he says sternly, grabbing Aiden by an arm and pulling him towards the exit "All I can really do is hope that you won't get yourself in trouble, but even then it's too late for you."
"You're not supposed to talk to me like that..."
"You can't convince me, Aiden." the reply is accompanied with a scoff "You don't know how to distinguish right from wrong. That's why you will die in jail."
The door slams shut, leaving poor young Aiden alone.
Yet the present version of him is calm, watching the scene with an almost bored and annoyed expression. He is 'the Counselor', now, and will always be. He doesn't recognize himself in that distressed kid, he stopped being a person a long time ago.