Are you okay?
                                        Yes.
Are you lying?
                                        Of course.

A strange school,
reaching up to the sky.

Long staircases winding 
toward the clouds,
never ending.

Something is wrong
with that place,
it's halls
haunt my memories.

It has appeared
in my dreams
more than once.

What does it mean?

Something is wrong
with this place,
I cannot escape.

The hallways are white,
much too clean.

Is this a hospital?

I cannot escape,
please help me get out.

I need to get out of my mind...

How hard do I push myself?

How much energy can I give
before I fall apart?

A muscle in my leg
protests the movement
as I hit the floor

The bruise on my knee
grows bigger each day

Each day I break even more

Sometimes I don't want to talk about how I feel.

Sometimes I just want to be left alone.

Sometimes I don't want your help.

Sometimes I want to push through all on my own.

my restless knee bounces
up and down
up and down

trying to control the adrenaline
pumping through my veins

my natural instincts telling me
that this is scary
I need to fight or run away

but I'm in class
I can't attack the teacher
or run out of the room

so instead
my knee goes up and down
my fingers play invisible piano keys

just trying to release
this unneeded energy

the boy on my right
and the girl
on the other side of the room

their knees bounce too
up and down
up and down

adrenaline in our veins
coming out through our feet
​in a blur of movement

the syncopated rhythm
of our three tapping feet

a symphony of anxiety