Mine as well start stereotyping the kids too then,
The Junkie: He will tell he was shooting heroin since middle school. Smoked his first cigarette in second grade. Hardcore. He is the star of every NA meeting because his story is so intense. He doesn't plan on getting sober when he gets out, and makes no bones about it. He talks about tracers and secretly walks the grounds in search of edible mushrooms.
The Jock: This kid has never done any real drugs. Smoked a joint with friends after a game once, but that's about it. He works out and likes to let people know . Talking about his recent kick boxing victories he can't quite figure out why he got sent to a program.
The Bully: It's obvious why this asshole got sent away, to everyone but him. Starting fights with younger kids, this douche bag is quick to become the staff's favorite. He will be promoted to the upper echelon of the program faster than anybody, programs need compliant muscle to do their bidding. You better not "get up in his shit" otherwise he might have to lay you on the floor.
The Psycho: Transfered from a long term mental hospital after his family's insurance finally ran out, this kid needed real help. Talking to people that aren't there and chucking back handfuls of meds at lunch this kid is a mystery. Nobody really knows what is going on in their head, but then one night you awake to this roommate who used a sharpened tooth brush to stab themselves just to see the blood poor. Eventually they pull something gruesome enough to get transfered to a lock down, and you never hear from them or see them again.
The Young'n: This is the youngest kid there. Physically he is half the size of the other kids, and nobody can understand why he is really there. For Christmas he gets the most expensive presents, but his parents never visit on the holidays. He's uppity and gives the staff a lot of problems, he's young and has a lot of energy and knows something isn't right about where he is in life, but still too immature to articulate it. When he is being too loud or obnoxious, staff read a letter aloud for everyone to hear (which they keep on hand for just such occasions) from his step-parent, explaining he is staying in custody until 18. This sends him crying under his covers until he passes out from emotional exhaustion. No more trouble from young'n, for tonight at least.
The Cool Kid: This dude is is cool. They always have a good comeback to any staff insult, and know how to play the system to their advantage without hurting their peers or betraying others. They weren't a junkie,but they like a few rails at parties and smoke pot with the best of them. They bust out break dancing moves in the least expected times and have a uncharacteristically bright attitude considering the situation they are in. The keep the Rasta bible as the one allowable book under their bed, preaching beyond-their-years wisdom to whoever will listen. Even the staff think they are cool and give them their space.
The Nerd: Kids and staff alike know this kid shouldn't be here. This is the kid who actually takes the program seriously, and is surprised when they figure out that the system is rigged, and it ain't much like Mountain Grove High School in a Colorado Springs suburb anymore. Logical progression has always served them well, but fails them terribly in this situation. They become confused, not knowing what to do, or what the staff want from them. Eventually they crack under this emotional pressure, becoming an emotional punching bag for staff and students alike.
The Programmed: This kid is a shell of their former person. They cracked under the pressure and the program seeped in through the cracks, now flowing through them with intensity. They fully believe in the program ideology, and viciously enforce it at all costs. They are secretly terrified that they will be called out as a fraud, and overact the part. They have no qualms in betraying and abusing their peers, and eventually come to enjoy it.
The Lost Soul: Kid cracked under the pressure, but the system reboot didn't work so they were not reprogrammed in any recognizable way. The intellectual and emotional destruction process was successful though. Leaving this person in a state of fear and confusion, and emotional turmoil that resembles mental illness. Look into their eyes, but nothing is there. Ask them their name, they do not respond. They have withdrawn into themselves completely. Refusing to comply with the simplest demands, they are shoved aside and placed in long term isolation until their parents run out of money or they turn eighteen.
The Normal: Like many others , you have no clue as to why this kid is here. His parents probably caught him smoking a cigarette or ditching school. They remind you of your first cousin Mark who is two years younger, innocent and lacking in any negative qualities. They are confused and looking for sympathy at first, but harden off over time when self preservation instincts finally kick in. Every time he gets a letter he spends his night in bed crying. He shares a letter with you, his parents telling him they took out a second mortgage to keep him there until he finishes. Nighty, night.
