As I walk this familiar path,
watching my worn-out shoes scuff the beaten dirt road,
I remember the first glance I had of this place,
and I cant help but still be shocked by how menacing my surroundings are:
chain link fences enclosing each grimy brick building,
rain pinging loudly as it bounces off of the metal cages surrounding each light post,
the round, reflective surface of the cameras lurking around each corner.
At least here we’re all the same,
messed up,
too much like each other to even be looked at twice anymore.

For the first time since I got over the initial shock of being here,
I find myself wondering when I’d be considered sane enough to leave,
considered sane enough not to destroy ten kids’ futures like last time.
Well, they taught me what they wanted, didn’t they?
They taught me to suppress my emotions,
to become hollow and without feelings.
And as I stare blankly at the ground,
shock clutches my heart as I realize what it would take to come to such a state:
a bullet and a trigger.