The only way to describe the difference between Asher and Elai’s education and socialization was night and day. Instead of dilapidated school buildings with burned out teachers, Asher attended pristine schoolhouses with teachers who loved their small classrooms. Asher learned French from his ballet instruction, but also could carry on a conversation in Spanish and Chinese Mandarin. His mother’s native language, Gregorian, was transferred carefully through the years. His classes were catered to each student. The differential instruction guaranteed each student would thrive. He was given the opportunity to learn with his hands and with manipulatives. Lectures were rare.<br/><br/>At any other school, Asher’s education would have suffered. He would have been forced in the back of the classroom as he fidgeted in his seat, unable to learn the basic reading, writing and mathematic skills needed to function in the world. Desperate to gain attention, he would have acted out to gain adult interaction. Instead, the low student to teacher ratio made sure that Asher was given all the attention his greedy heart desired.<br/><br/>Not to say that his education was completely rosy. From preschool, Asher’s genetics and upbringing made him susceptible to anger and aggression. He wanted what he wanted when he wanted it. He didn’t understand why the same rules at home didn’t apply at school. Asher’s brother, Ryder, was a baby at the time. He was utterly used to having his own toys and following his own schedule. His tantrums when he was forced to share or play nice with his classmates were legendary.<br/><br/>Instead of suspension or expulsion or shuffling Asher in and out of alternative schools, the school worked with Asher’s parents to ensure that his behavior decreased and he was able to function properly with his peers. As Asher became more involved with dance, his behavior improved. He was not overly friendly, but he was able to maintain relationship and not engage in hostile behavior. Medication and therapy made him indistinguishable from any other child.<br/><br/>High school went differently.<br/><br/>Asher was coming off a hell of a tantrum in the home setting when he became a freshman. He stomped his foot and cried and begged for his father to send him to a full time dance academy. Vlad had ignored his wishes, insisting that he could pursue whatever he wanted as long as he had a normal high school education. Already bitter that he had to be there, Asher became more antisocial and withdrawn at school.<br/><br/>The fight over the ballet school was the first in a long line of Asher’s increasingly erratic behavior. There would be weeks where Asher would sign up for every school event offered and go out every weekend with his friends. He started dating precociously with girls in his class. Vlad and Petra had two separate sit down talks with him in that regard. Vlad insisted that no matter who Asher was with, as long as he was happy and healthy, Vlad would approve. He insisted on waiting to indulge in any sexual activities. Petra on the other hand slapped a pack of condoms in his hand and forbade him from dating anyone ‘lower’ than him.<br/><br/>“No gold digging whore is going to trick my sweet angel into getting her pregnant,” She cooed sweetly. She knew those girls would see her Asher and see a meal ticket. She knew because she was once one of these girls. She knew the damage they could do.<br/><br/>After his weeks of high activity, he slowly became more of a rag doll. He slept throughout the weekend, lost whatever girlfriend he had due to his self imposed isolation, and could not summon the energy to attend both school and dance.<br/><br/>After the first few cycles of this, Petra had taken her son to the best psychiatrist in the state. After the evaluation was complete, Asher was given the bipolar disorder diagnosis.  Petra had been crushed, hating that her child not only resembled his biological father physically but had inherited the disorder that inflicted so much damage on those around him. The ride back home was silent. Nothing was spoken about it again.<br/><br/>The medication helped Asher tremendously. He felt like himself again and was able to balance every part of his life.<br/><br/>Then Bryan transferred to Asher’s school.<br/><br/>Bryan was a junior to Asher’s sophomore. He was a gorgeous young man with dyed red hair and a penchant for leather jackets. He was a prodigy in his science and math classes. He was set to go to any college that wanted him to pursue a degree in astrophysics. Asher couldn’t keep his eyes off him when he saw him and he began to question everything that he was.<br/><br/>The pills though…He knew what he wanted to do, but it was so hard to please himself. He wanted to feel some semblance of satisfaction. Ignoring all internal advice, he stopped taking his medication.<br/><br/>The mania came first. He wanted to take his father’s car for a ride and did not think about how it was not his property and therefore that would be ‘stealing’. He took the car keys and drove away from his house. He drove throughout their town until he saw Bryan hanging out with his friends at the skate park. He invited Bryan in for a joyride and to go to the beach with him. The next thing he knew, his ‘joyride’ had turned into a three day extended trip to Atlantic City.<br/><br/>When the police finally located Asher and Bryan, they were taken back to their respective homes. The car, Asher later explained, was somewhere in New Jersey, totaled and left at a mechanic’s. Petra had screamed at him the moment the police officers left the house. She shoved the unopened bottle of pills in his face and demanded to know why he refused to take them. He awkwardly explained about Bryan. Petra called him a “slut” and threw the bottle in his face before storming away.<br/><br/>Asher never knew rejection and sorrow until the moment that his mother lost her patience with him. He began taking his medication again if only to avoid facing her wrath.<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>The other members of the ballet company were raising their eyebrows, looking around at each other when Asher approached. Asher was by no means the most popular ballerina, but he was usually less awkward in social situations. His charm was what defined him most of the time. As Carlos broke the tension, Asher looked at him with a look of disdain, “Over my dead body,” He replied in a cold manner.<br/><br/>When Elai returned to the group, Asher flashed his fake, drunk smile at him. He looked him over again and made his move to get closer to him, “We should really talk, you and I…I think that we got on the wrong foot that day…” He stated, referring to the day of their fight. It was an understatement considering the two men had gotten into a violent altercation in front of several witnesses. Wrong foot would have ended at the cruel comment Asher made towards Elai’s mother. Both had acted in an ungentlemanly manner, but Asher was the one that went too far when he attempted to choke Elai.<br/><br/>It was not the first time that he attacked someone so violently. He lunged at other children before and the occasional new teacher’s aid that pissed him off. The first time he had choked someone was when he saw Bryan with someone else so soon after their rendezvous in Atlantic City that caused so much trouble. Asher felt like a passenger in his own body when he ran to Bryan and grabbed him by his shirt collar. He shoved him into the lockers and proceeded to squeeze his throat between both of his hands.<br/><br/>Vlad and Petra had convinced Bryan and his parents not to press charges on the condition that Asher transfer to a new school. Asher had not been without consequences when he came home. He woke the next morning to Petra flipping his mattress over and making him pack up every single possession he had besides his clothes. All he had in his room was a sleeping bag. Asher protested the punishment, continually surprised that his mother’s indulgence was becoming more and more scarce as he grew up.