The Awakening - Chapter Three

Philip sat across the table from Jeff. Jeff was seventeen years old. He was one of the violent youth that belonged to the most prominent gang in the facility. He had the respect, or at least the fear of everyone he came across. He liked it that way. He liked the feeling of power it gave him. To know that everybody had better watch how they treated him was an amazing feeling because he was the one that mattered, not them. It was them who had to watch what they said and how they acted. He could act however he wanted and they would have to put up with it whether they liked it or not. They would have to pretend to like it.

Jeff was close to becoming an adult. Once he became an adult, if he didn’t conform to the standards of society, he would be transferred to an adult facility. Philip knew if that happened, Jeff wouldn’t be the one in charge anymore. He would be the one who would have to put up with the way other people acted and pretend to like it. Philip had tried to drill this idea into Jeff’s head, but Jeff wasn’t interested. He was addicted to the power trip he was on. He had no idea what was going to happen when the power he wanted to hold on to would be gone but Philip knew.

That night Philip called his friend George. He explained the situation that Jeff was in and that nothing he had tried had changed Jeff’s mind. Philip asked George for more of the supplement. He told George that it was Jeff’s only chance. Jeff’s mind needed to be re-wired. Philip begged George to give him more. George told Philip to relax. He would be happy to provide more of the supplement. George told Philip he would come over and that everything would be ok.

George did come over. He brought the supplement with him. He gave him a month’s supply. Philip started giving the supplement to Jeff. He didn’t tell Jeff he was doing it, he had the supplement mixed in with Jeff’s food. Jeff started changing, just as Bobby changed. Jeff wasn’t interested in the violence anymore. Jeff told Philip he wasn’t getting high on the power trips anymore. He said he wanted to do something with his life that mattered. Jeff started listening to Philip when he gave him advice. For everyone that knew Jeff, the turnaround was amazing. Nobody could believe he was the same person. Right before Jeff turned 18, Philip recommended his release. Like Bobby, everybody who had knowledge of his reputation, expected him to revert to his old behavior. But like Bobby, Jeff didn’t go back to the way he was. He got his GED and enrolled in classes at the community college. He stayed out of trouble and started getting a different reputation. A better reputation.

Philip was not amazed this time. He expected the change. He knew that whatever George had provided really worked. It worked regardless of the attitude of the person it was working on. He needed to get this supplement to the entire facility. He called George back. He told George about how the rest of the detainees needed his supplement. George said he would do it but first Philip must take the supplement himself. Philip was a little shocked. George said that once Philip took the supplement himself, he would have a clear balanced mind and everything would make sense. He said that Bobby now has a clear mind and Jeff now has a clear mind. He said Philip need a clear mind as well. George told Philip if he didn’t take the supplement himself, He wasn’t going to help him anymore. It just had to be that way.

Philip told George he would think about it and get back to him. George told him not to think about it too long. Philip couldn’t sleep. He thought about the implications of George’s supplement. Did he really not see clearly? What was there to see that he was missing? If he took the supplement, he could continue his life’s work and really make a difference. The next morning, Philip called George and said he would do it. When the supplement arrived, Philip began taking it. He took it every day for the next month.