Vinnie got a bullet loaded into his snub nose and closed the cylinder. This is it. Now, I can escape! The demon inside him writhed angrily. It lashed his mind with feelings of cowardice. Every authority figure in his life flooded his sight, completely obscuring the real world. His father and his mother cast stern looks that Vinnie had long learn promised pain and hunger. Principal Lovecraft, wearing his smooth black suit, clenched his jaw. His hand squeezed into a fist with one long finger stabbing outwards at him, like a accusing dagger. Vinnie knew this look well, as it always heralded lectures and detentions.

Mr. Joshi was there also. The normally peaceful features of his tanned face were torn apart by a look of utter disgust. Vinnie had never seen him look this way. While he could shrug off being a disappointment to his parents for the hundredth time, Mr. Joshi was the only teacher to take the time to listen to young Vinnie. The rejection was shattered glass shredding Vinnie’s insides. The literature teacher turned his back on Vinnie and began to walk away. Vinnie’s eyes hazed over as his hand reached out blindly for Mr. Joshi’s jean jacket. He fell to his face, sobbing.

The small monster inside Vinnie had won. There would be no suicide tonight. Vinnie would live on to nourish it.