from harm. Aaron is one of the few patients I have that truly sees things as they are more times than not. Unfortunately, his realistic nature is a double-edged sword. He tends to cling to negative facts and reality, and dismiss the positive. This is in part due to his high intelligence. Men and women who are extremely clever and bright, such as Mr. Pike, are typically very sensitive to their environments. Whatever is going on when they are children is what will oftentimes become a preoccupation in adulthood.”
“Yes, I understand that. I work with children, as you know, Dr. Owens. The children who have parents that read to them and help with their homework tend to do better in my class. The children that are ignored or yelled at don’t do as well, but the ones that aren’t doing well sometimes are not less intelligent.” She balled her tissue a bit tighter in her palm. “Sometimes they are actually more intelligent; it’s just that no one is helping them, no one is encouraging them.”
“Precisely. Aaron’s environment was not set up to foster creativity and celebration of his more than apparent intelligence and, dare I say, resourcefulness. It was ignored and at times made fun of, actually. Thus, Aaron cannot afford the luxury of living in a land of pretend since individuals like him deal with facts and records to figure out things in a timely fashion and strategize. Now, the issue with Aaron is that occasionally, for whatever reason, and it still remains a mystery as to the true motivation, he simply chooses to operate differently, regardless of facts at certain times. He makes a concerted effort to not follow his own script for specific situations.
“This doesn’t match his profile, and it is intriguing to say the least. I have my theories, but they are not important at present. Now, I do not have enough time to psychoanalyze you, Ms. Armstrong, nor did you ask for such a service, but I will tell you this… you’ve possibly done great harm to Mr. Pike in ways that you are completely unable to understand.”
“No, I’m sure that—”
He put his hand up and shook his head.
“No, Ms. Armstrong, with all due respect, you have no idea. You do have a genuine desire to help others, to teach, but you are the one in need of teaching right now.”
She swallowed and looked away.
“Ms. Armstrong, Aaron is—”
“Please call me Mia…”
“Okay, Mia. Aaron is a person who came to me in a very damaged state. I’ve made so much progress with him that I was astounded, quite frankly. I cannot give myself all the credit, however, for he did most of the work; but, the fact of the matter is, he needed direction and for additional doors to be opened. By you suggesting for instance that he speak to a black inmate was also a sense of therapy for him and luckily, the results were not catastrophic, yet, they could have been. You put him in a dangerous situation by doing that.”
“How so?”
“For starters, if he had approached an inmate that had something to prove, he may have engaged in a physical fight with Aaron for doing such a thing—and Aaron knew this. He took the risk anyway. Aaron being spotted speaking to a black person, unless it is a guard, therapist, or other personnel here at the prison, could have him tagged as a traitor and cause him to become not only injured, but killed. He had to be very careful about who he selected and when and where he did it. Aaron is considered a leader in his gang. I call it gang because that’s what it is to me,” he said, pointing to himself. “It is a gang with a cult like mentality and conduct and he helps promote it.
“The problem is that Aaron, in these last few months, has been trying to dissect this conduct and mentality and how he fits into it, if at all. This leaves him vulnerable at the hands of others. He is questioning who he is and why he is doing what he is doing, when previously, he had all of the answers and it was clear to him how he should