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Post by Jeremy Stephen Evans on Oct 14, 2012 1:52:00 GMT -6
 The first three months at St. Helena's had certainly held a varied amount of positives and negatives for Jeremy. At least he wasn't routinely being run into in the hallways, people weren't pushing books to fall over on top of him from the other side of the bookcase in the library, and he had yet to be shoved into a locker or thrown into the dumpster. Maybe that was just how they liked to do things in the Shawnee County Public School System: four years of English and a dash of gravy on the shoulder every week. Jeremy was certainly making his impression on the teachers, as well. He was quickly able to shine in many courses and make an impression in spite of the fact that he actually spoke very little in most of his classes.
But the fact that he was now an orphan, with an abusive father in jail to boot, was really starting to sink in. Even though he had attempted suicide two times before coming to St. Helena's, he had honestly never felt so alone than during his time at this school. His mother had basically abandoned him; his father had abused him, both sexually and emotionally; and he had no siblings whatsoever to lean on. He didn't even have any aunts, uncles, or cousins that he could write to or beg Social Services to let him go live with. As the days passed, the hours went by, the seconds ticked, Jeremy became increasingly aware that he was now a ward of the state of Oklahoma. If he died, it really wouldn't matter; he had no family anyway, so there would be no reason to have a funeral. It would be so easy for him to disappear.
Perk up, he thought to himself as he washed the tears off of his face. He had a meeting with his new counselor today and he didn't want to blow it. The last thing he wanted was to give this Mr. Blackburn person the wrong impression and end up getting sent to isolation for the rest of his days. And who knew for sure? Maybe Mr. Blackburn was the meanest counselor on the staff and they decided to stick Jeremy with him just to test him, see what kinds of reactions would ensue. It's not like Jeremy could call home and tell his parents that he was getting mistreated, and have his parents come down to school and fix it. Nobody was going to vouch for him anymore, and it became very clear to him that all he had left was himself, and this meeting.
Recalling the steps he had learned from the man on YouTube, Jeremy tied the knot of his necktie and tucked his shirt into his pants. After tying his shoes, he put on a jacket, making him look very professional, almost as if he were going in for a job interview. Most other kids probably would have dressed in their regular clothes, but Jeremy took everything related to his schooling and his growth very seriously. He knew he could get better, and he wanted to commit to that. But he still wasn't yet convinced that his situation could get better. That was one thing that tied him down and prevented him from progressing. That didn't stop him from wearing the full suit and tie, though. This was no rodeo after all, no joyride on a Sunday afternoon.
Knock, knock, went Jeremy's knuckles. The door was open, but he wanted to announce his presence slightly just before his gaze drifted to the floor. In a quiet voice, he said, "Good morning, Mr. Blackburn...sir." He took only one step inside the doorway and folded his hands humbly in front of him, his head hanging down, his eyes focused on his shoes while waiting for his next instructions. Other kids at the school may have been apt to question authority and embrace anarchical behaviors, but Jeremy was a respectful young man and he treated every single person in his life with the utmost respect, especially women and his superiors.
Date: November 1, 2020
Time: 10:00 am |
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Post by Rowa Gene Blackburn on Oct 17, 2012 11:15:24 GMT -6
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 what it all comes down to i'm broke, but i'm happy. i'm poor, but i'm kind. i'm high, but i'm grounded. i'm drunk, but i'm sober. i'm sane, but i'm overwealmed. i'm lost, but i'm hopeful baby. Rowa had only just come back from a walk with the dogs when he'd heard the knock on the door. The file he had on the boy lay on the desk on the top of a stack of other folders. He hadn't had much time to skim over the contents, he really only had the basic understanding of the boy. He raised his head at the knock. "Come on in," he stated simply, offering a small smile to the male, though it would appear the boy wouldn't even notice. He himself turned back to his dogs, unhooking their leashes and harnesses, helping them out of it before grabbing hold of the most stubborn: the puppy. She was such an excitable little thing. Acyd could never hold still, it was part of her charm. "Just have a seat there, I'll be right with you," he stated easily to the student.
Standing up, with Acyd squirming in his grasp, he sighed in frustration. "Acyd, sweetheart, I can't take it off if you don't hold still," he exclaimed dramatically. It was hard to undo the clasp with one hand, what he needed was another hand. He then paused for a moment. Perfection! He turned towards the new student and smiled brightly. "Can I ask you to do me a huge favor?" he asked, walking towards him and stopping in front of the other male. He reached out, handing Acyd to the other male. "Hold on to her for a second while I get this harness off of her, else it'll bind her to much." He smiled as the boy took the rather large puppy and he set to work on undoing her harness and then slipping it off of her one leg at a time before she was free. "Thank you, so much!" he exclaimed, smiling slightly. "You can put her down now."
He gathered up the other harnesses and the leashes and placed them into a basket on his desk. He looked around at the other male then and held out his hand with a smile. "Well, its good to finally meet you face-to-face, Jeremy. I'm Rowa." He sat down in the chair beside of Jeremy on the same side of the desk as the other male. He leaned back, crossing one leg over the other knee and clasping his hands in front of him. "You know, you don't gotta stare at the floor the whole time you're here, right? I'd like to be able to make eye-contact when I'm talking to someone... shows respect, you know?" he asked, watching the other male, wondering why he appeared so meek.
Was it because he was a male? Given the other's past, it would make sense for him to be wary of older men. Perhaps they should have given the boy to one of the female counselors if that were the case. He'd have to see about that. "You look very nice today, Jeremy. I have to admin, you're making me feel all kinds of underdressed, I don't even think I own a jacket and tie," he stated, chuckling softly. "For future referance, I'm not the kind of guy who bases opinions off of other people's looks, you don't have to get all dressed up to come to counseling sessions." Not that he cared if the other male did want to dress nicely, but for such formal wear it seemed a bit of overkill. He himself didn't like to dress up, which was perhaps the reason he didn't even own formal clothes.
"Well, anyway, that's neither here nor there. Why don't you tell me a little about yourself, Jeremy? What kind of things do you like to do or... don't you like?" he asked, tilting his head as he watched the other male carefully. He wanted to get to know each of his students behind the things that were written into their files. "Oh! That reminds me," he added hastily, getting up to grab the folder on his desk and a pen and he sat back in his chair. He opened the file and clicked the pen, signing the top piece of paper in the file on his leg before handing the paper on top of the now-closed file to Jeremy with the pen. "It's the confidentiality agreement thing. It says basically that anything said here in this room is to remain confidential unless the information gained here reveals the intent to harm oneself or another."
DATE: november 1 - 10:00 AM
NOTES: this could be interesting
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Post by Jeremy Stephen Evans on Oct 20, 2012 21:53:55 GMT -6
Upon being invited in, Jeremy was relieved that he wasn't yelled at or reprimanded within the first five minutes. Even though it was probably impossible, he had scared himself into thinking that this person was going to be a nightmare. But they had started off on the right foot, and that was half the battle. "Yes, Mr. Blackburn, sir," Jeremy said politely, coming in and sitting down in a chair in front of the desk. He clasped his hands humbly in front of him, on his lap, and continued to stare at the floor, trying to both give the man some privacy while getting ready and also to show that he respected the unspoken power structure at play in the room.
The next thing he knew, a big puppy was coming right towards his face. Caught slightly off guard, he made the tiniest gasp that came out of a large, O-shaped mouth. He glanced quickly between the animal and the man and, even more quickly, replied, "Oh, yes, sir." Although the dog was quite adorable, and he would've liked to spend more time just petting it and holding it, Jeremy couldn't help being struck by the dog's given name. Acyd. It was certainly very unique, and to be honest, it put Jeremy a little on edge. In Oklahoma, most people named their pets things like Mittens or Scrappy or Zeke or something. Was this how non-Oklahomans approached the idea of naming their pets? Well, whatever the case may have been, Jeremy didn't have much time to give it any further thought. It was then that he was instructed to put the dog back on the floor, and he quietly but compliantly said, "Okay." He gently placed the dog on the floor and watched Mr. Blackburn take the seat next to him.
With a big smile, Jeremy exclaimed, "It's great to meet you as well, sir," though he was still looking at the floor, which Rowa quickly addressed. It was quite disrespectful to look at the floor. Maybe Jeremy just needed to have more confidence in himself to look people in the eye. He did matter -- just a little -- but it was enough to give people the respect to look them in the eye. Quickly, and with a noticeable fright and discomfort, Jeremy looked up, wide-eyed, and apologized. "Y-Yes, sir, you're right, I'm sorry," he muttered nervously, accompanied by a short nod. It was then that he was complimented on his dress, and Jeremy blushed a bright red, looking down proudly at his clothes. He held his mouth open, getting ready to speak, but he didn't feel that it would have been appropriate. He wanted to apologize for making Mr. Blackburn feel so badly, but the conversation had quickly moved on to another subject.
An interesting question, later added onto by "the confidentiality agreement." As he took the file folder, with the agreement on top, from the man, Jeremy suddenly felt a surge of anxiety. That was his file -- all of his life information. All he had to do was open it up to see if they thought he was crazy or not. But he was a good boy, and as usual, he did as he was told. "Yes, sir," he replied, nodding with a small smile. He signed his name -- his full name: Jeremy Stephen Evans, and it suddenly became clear that Stephen, his father, was still a part of him, and probably would be a part of him for the rest of his days. Was there no way to get away from his past, from this terrible man who had done so many awful things to him? Jeremy's middle name would forever be his lightning-scar horcrux.
Once Jeremy was finished, he placed the file and the agreement on an open space on the desk, then sat back in the chair and breathed, trying to think of an answer to the question. Likes and dislikes. Well, that was easy. "Well, um..." He smiled softly. "I... I really like to read. I love books a lot. I've read almost half the books in the school library now, and... and at my old school, I was a, um, a library aide. I guess I really like to help people..." He paused, trying to steady his breathing. He was so nervous. "And...I... I guess I really like my new friends, Victoria and Adrian. Adrian is a really nice person, and...and Victoria's really smart, but she doesn't think she is." His eyes noticeably lit up as he talked about his friends.
When it seemed clear that he was moving on to the next part of the question -- the dislikes -- he narrowed his eyes as he stared at the floor, trying to think of something that he disliked. Something, anything...there was really only one thing that came to mind, and he didn't really think he could talk about it. It was the outcast factor -- he was an outcast, at least until he had come here, it seemed -- and he thought that talking about it might make him cry. It was just so difficult of having so many horrible memories of being left out and left behind on the playground, while everyone else had the time of their lives on the monkey bars. "Um...." he finally talked, after a few minutes.
"I... I don't like being disrespectful...to women or my superiors. I don't like being late, and...um...I don't like to look... you know, gross or unclean. ...I just... I care a lot about what other people think of me..." Jeremy had been looking Mr. Blackburn in the eye this time while explaining this, but towards the end, his gaze drifted towards the floor, his low self-esteem rising again.
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Post by Rowa Gene Blackburn on Oct 31, 2012 11:21:15 GMT -6
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what it all comes down to i'm broke, but i'm happy. i'm poor, but i'm kind. i'm high, but i'm grounded. i'm drunk, but i'm sober. i'm sane, but i'm overwealmed. i'm lost, but i'm hopeful baby. Rowa smiled brightly as Acyd came back over with her long tail wagging to sit next to the other male, head resting on Jeremy's leg. "She seems to like you," he stated with a soft laugh. Of course, Acyd had yet to meet someone she didn't like. He smiled at the younter male as he stated that it was great to meet him as well. "Are you liking St. Helena's so far, Jeremy? I have to admit, it wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be." Though as the other male seemed to be quite distressed about his statement that not making eye contact was rude. He cringed internally and offered a smile. "You don't have to apologize, Jeremy. Really? Different people have different standards." Some people didn't like to be looked in the eye. Of course, Rowa didn't think much of those people who lorded superiority over others.
Rowa kept his eyes on the male as the youth stared at his file in his lap before he signed the confidentiality agreement. "Thank you, Jeremy," he stated easily, reaching out to take the folder from the desk. He slipped the paper back into the folder and tossed it up onto his desk as he leaned back and surveyed the younger male beside of him as Jeremy began speaking again, answering his question on what he liked. He smiled as the other stated that he iked to read. "That's great! I like to read too, though I have to admit I haven't had all that much free time to dedicate to reading recently." He tilted his head slightly as he watched the youth. "You know, it might be possible for you to be a library aid here as well if that is something you might be interested in. I'm sure I could arrange it," he stated easily, smiling at the boy.
And then he was talking about his friends. That was great, good friends were hard to come by, especially for a lot of the students at St. Helena's, having friends that they could look to for support was very important. "Well that's great, Jeremy, I'm glad you've gotten some good friends. Why don't you tell me a little about them?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. The way that he talked about his friends lead Rowa to believe that he really did care for them and enjoyed spending time with them. That was absolutely great, he himself never had many friends in high school, but those he had were a tight knit group that had always been together no matter where they were or what they were doing. The 'music nerds' he supposed is what a lot of people would have called them.
He came back to attention when Jeremy began speaking again about his dislikes. The first he had already kind of come to himself. He could tell just by the boy's mannerisms that he didn't like to appear disrespectful. He smiled, nodding slightly as the other spoke and he chuckled as the other stated that he didn't like to look gross, again, a bit obvious by the way that he was dressed. "Well... why do you care a lot about what other people think of you, Jeremy?" he asked simply, clasping his hands in front of him as he watched the other male.
DATE: november 1 - 10:00 AM
NOTES: this could be interesting
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