Young Writers Society

A.U.C

"Let's cut to the chase here, guys and gals, you're the worst of the worst. You're here because your parents have completely given up on you. How does it feel to be such a high grade of scum that your own parents don't know what to do with you anymore? I see some of you snickering but I can assure you that your experience here at A.U.C will be anything but funny! You're here to work! We are not your parents. We are not your friends. This is not a vacation! This won't be fun. Welcome to the Academy."

---

The Academy of Uniformity & Conformity, the best bad kid boot camp in the nation. Parents send their children here thinking that the school will help them change into better people, but really the Academy is nothing but a corrupt institution that does less constructive changing and more brainwashing and fear tactics. The entire thing is run by a team of expert psychologists that know just how to construct the Academy so that the kids are essentially robots by the time they leave.

You're a student here at A.U.C and you're just as bad as your presence here suggests you are. Try to keep your sanity until graduation!

School Schedule:



*Because the school is run by psychologists, they'll be taking random students every now and again to perform in experiments. Some of them are psychological and others are done to the human body and are performed by the school scientists. Basically, during these time windows, all students become guinea pigs. Also, the students have free roam during these times.

The psychologists and scientists love messing around with the children. Sometimes they'll mess with a kid's food and test the effects they have on the body. They'll abuse kids, isolate them, and put them in different traumatizing situations just so they can make observations on the human behavior.

Profiles:

Code: Select all

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Grade:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]Other:[/b]

Spots:

1. Parker Oritz - ReisePiecey - F
2. Rafael Capone - Genesis - M
3. Adrian Paver-Smith - ScarlettFire - M
4. Nisha Karan - Dreamy - F
5. Jacqueline Blackwell - Iggy - F
6. Pan Hadley - RP - M
7. Miriam 'Miri' Fowler - Skorpionne - F
8. Akiko Sato - EllaBliss - F
9. Dahlia Grove/Logan - Auxiira - F
10. Joaquin Frey - AriaAdams - M

Consult this for more information on how this will work. Basically, like this but in an academy setting. The teachers are much like the policemen.

Parker Oritz

"Name?"

Parker squinted her eyes against the sudden blinding brightness as the blindfold was ripped away from her eyes. A survey of the room revealed it to be bare except for the wooden desk on the far wall, which behind it sat a bored looking man, his small circle glasses perched on the very end of his nose as he starred her down. To the right of him stood two nurses dressed in plain white clothes and to his left was a guard holding a gun, dressed exactly like the one that held a firm grip on her upper arm.

"Well, since that initial question was apparently too hard for you to answer, how about we make this easier."

Parker's attention was snapped back towards the man sitting. He had a smug grin on his face and her eyes darkened as she took it in. Her left hand immediately shot into her pocket.

"Give me your last name. Got that, sweethea-"

"Don't call me sweetheart."

The grin dropped from the man's face and he pushed his glasses up on his nose with a stiff finger.

"Last name."

"Oritz."

He took the oppurtunity to give her one last cold glare before flipping through the pages on his clipboard. Parker felt the heat start in her ears, the first sign of her growing anger. The grip on her arm was too tight, but tugging only made the guard grip harder. With her free hand, she rolled the dial on her lighter. It gave a small click, altering the attention of the two nurses. They whispered quietly to each other before the male nurse scribled something on his clipboard.

"Ah, here. Oritz, Pene-"

"Parker," she insisted quickly, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

The man raised an eyebrow before smirking. He crossed out something on the list before writing carefully. The two nurses came together in conversation again and the male nurse wrote something else on the board and showed it to the female nurse. She nodded once and they both went back to starring at Parker.

"Parker Oritz."

"Glad you've learned," she forced between clenched teeth.

The man let out a loud, hearty laugh. Parker clenched her jaw and turned her lighter dial again. The heat in her ears had spread to her face. She threw a curt look at the nurses as they started whispering again.

"I can tell we're going to have a lot of fun together, Parker," the man whispered as the last trails of laughter left his voice.

Parker stiffened as he stood and approached her.

"Christopher Hayman. But you will adress me as Doctor Hayman."

"Will I?"

"I guess we'll see." Hayman paused and cleared his throat before walking past Parker and towards the door. "Search her."

Parker's eyes widened as Dr. Hayman left the room.

'Search me?'

The guard moved and restrained both of her arms behind her back. Immediately she started to struggle. Her eyes threw threats at the two nurses as they approached. She could barely make out their whisperes past the sound of her labored breath and pounding heart.

"Touch me and I'll kill you I swear!"

She thrashed more and more, trying to reach for the lighter in her pocket. Using the anchor of the guard holding her arms, she kicked out at the female nurse as she knealed down in front of her. Her boot caught the woman in the nose and sent a spray of blood flying onto the carpet. The other guard quickly moved into action, grabbing Parker's legs and holding her still. She let out a feral yell and began to buck.

"Get off of me!"

"Michael the sedative please," the female nurse said flatly while holding a white sleeve to her nose. Michael, the male nurse, reached into a bag hanging off his belt loop and procured a syringe.

"There's always at least one," he sighed.

In a panic, Parker threw her head back and head butted the guard behind her. He cried out and dropped her arms, letting half of her body fall on the ground. With a twist of her torso she wrenched her legs from the other guard's grip and kicked him in the legs. She was scrambling for the door when a sharp pain pricked the back of her calf and her world went fuzzy.

---

"Adrian... North Carolina..."

Parker comes into conscience slowly, blinking the last foggy trails of sleep away from her eyes. There was a dry cotton feel to her mouth and she frowned at the sensation as she sat up straight in her seat. The world spun in her vision, blurred faces siting around her, starring. Two people standing, one male one woman. The boy speaking trailed off and paused before continuing.

"...thought it would be 'best for me'..."

Parker looked around the room, ignoring the feeling of nausea that the laggy movements gave her. It was small, cramped, and smelled faintly of mold. She made a small disgusted noise at the back of her throat turned towards the speaker. His voice came to her in muted waves of varying volume, but just as he was taking a seat her world was returning to normal.

"You," the teacher said while snapping in her direction. "Sleeping Beauty, introduce yourself."

Parker tried to glare at the woman but couldn't find the strength. Her limbs were still dead and weak, so she opted into staying in the chair.

"Uh, Parker," she mumbled. "Mm from North Caro-"

"Speak up, child!"

Lazily, Parker raised her middle finger to the lady. The teacher, offend, stormed over to Parker and hoisted her out of her chair by the collar of her shirt. Parker's eyes shot open and her body tensed up immediately. In a flash, she'd pushed the woman off of her and was ready to fight, hands balled into fists by her side.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Good, you can speak in a volume above a whisper," the teacher snapped. "Now introduce yourself!"

Parker took a threatening step forward, but a guard palming his gun caught her peripheral vision and she forced herself herself relax. She reached into her pocket, found her lighter sitting there, and gave the dial a few turns.

"My name is Parker," she hissed. "I'm from North Carolina. I'm here because the police said so. Just don't fuck with me alright. Happy, lady?"

"Thrilled."

With a sarcastic grin, Park grinned and made a curtsy before plopping back down in her seat.

"Well," the teacher drawled. "This is going to be a great year."

Rafael - A Smooth Introduction

I sat with my legs crossed and my head propped up to my fist looking out the window of the plane. I was sure this was going to be boring trip my father has me going on, recruiting associates into the family so we have a better task force to get tasks going. Of course I was riding in my fathers private jet, I didn't both to consider just how much it must have cost. I yawned as one of my fathers soldiers brought a brief case to me, fresh clothing, my favored weapon, and the full details of my assignment.

"Here are your belongings Mr. Capone," Jack said.

I soon looked at him to see he was presenting the case to me. I take it and place it in my lap, opening I saw everything I would need for this trip, my gun, a fresh silencer, one clip of ammo silver case of Cuban cigars, and fresh clothing for later. I close the case, happy with it's contents. This flight would be short no more than a few hours of sitting around, I would soon fly straight into the Academy.
We descend onto the runway, the decent making my ears pop with pressure. I grab the handle of my briefcase and stand as we touch down, I would stay year round at the academy observe people at the school and find students best fit to carry out tasks for the mafia. I breath as the door opened as Jack stayed in the craft to keep a watch on me to ensure my safety.

"Mr. Rafael Capone?" a woman with blond hair, white smile, and in uniform.

"Yes, that's me," I said.

"Good, please come with me, your group that you have been placed in by the academy is waiting for you," she said.

"Group, there was nothing in the details about being placed into a group?" I thought to myself, I smile and nod to her.

I was lead away to the building, the woman ushered me though, and the moment I walked though the door I had a distinct chill run though me. I suddenly had a bad feeling something was off about this place, and not in a good way. I was lead to a burly security force, three guards.

"Briefcase please, arms up, legs apart," one asked.

I hand the guard the briefcase and assume the usual pat down for weapons and other things. The guard opens the case and pours though the contents, I left the assignment details in the plane, I didn't need the guards getting any ideas. Then he lifts the gun to show me once the pat down is done.

"A gun?" he asks.

"My father called ahead of time and told the headmaster that I must keep it on me at all times." I said with a perfect white smile.

Then the guard opens a silver case with a pack of Cuban cigars inside of the casing, and the guard gives raised eyebrows. "Cuban, these must have been expensive?!"

"Yes I know, five hundred dollars for a single case, please put it back."
The guards shakes his head and places all the contents back neatly, he closes it and hands me it. Then came the tattoo, I was warned ahead of time about this, I walk forward to meet the third and final guard. I place the briefcase on the table.

"Turn around, tilt your head forward," the third guard said.

"Then the sudden, hot, painful string of the tattoo coming in all at once hits and sends a painful shock wave though my body. I've experienced intense pain before, and only a few times have I had such intense pain. I breath, trying to keep calm as the pain continues. Once the guard was done, I was lead away to what I believe is the classroom or homeroom to meet, she told me of a group, and now I was about to meet them.
Walking in, Rafael commanded the attention of the entire room, all eyes were immediately upon Rafael as he walked in to the classroom. He saw two girls and a man, he didn't recognize any of them.

"Name?" the man asked.

"Rafael Capone, Chicago Illinois," he said with confidence.

Akiko

The man looks me up and down.
"Name?"
"Akiko Sato, from Japan."
"You're from Japan?"
"Yes I am!"
"Alright. Next! You, go over there where the nurses are," he instructs me. I do as he says and move over to a place in the corner that looks like a nurse's office.
"Hello, may you take a seat up here please," says the lady. I do as she says, lifting myself up onto the white surface. They come in closer to me.
"Inspect her," says the man. The nurses inspect me and find nothing. I flinch, but it must have been mistaken for a violent gesture and I am sedated instantly.


*~*~*~*~*

I wake up in a classroom with an obese black-haired woman in it.
"Wake up, wake up," she yells in my ear. I pop up instantly. "I see that you're awake. Name, Age, Home Continent?"
"Akiko Sato, Seventeen, Japan," I whisper quietly.
"Speak up," screams the lady, taking a ruler and whipping me across the face with it.
"Akiko Sato, Seventeen, Japan!"

Pan Hadley

Pan grabbed his backpack off his bedside table and sighed as he walked out his bedroom door. His parents were sat at the dinner table, pouring quietly over the new student profiles while simultaneously starring at the messages coming into their phones. Michael and Victoria, their head nurses, were already at the academy, giving them live feed info on the kids as they went through inspection.

"Keep an eye on Rafael," his mother called out to him without even looking up from the portfolio in her hand.

"And Adrian," his father added.

"Yes mother. Yes father."

Pan stood in the middle of the dining room, starring blankly at his parents as they worked quietly. They didn't show up until Testing hour, and most of the first day was spend preparing and taking measurements and fitness tests. They worked hard, twenty four seven. Pan couldn't remember a time when he was hugged, or kiss, or told that he was loved by them. He didn't really want it now, but the thought still crept into his head, that he would walk through the door of adulthood without ever being loved by anyone other than Luke.

"Hurry off," his mother said with a hint of a bite. "You can't be late."

Pan lingered in the dining room only a second more before going outside to the escort car waiting for him in the driveway.

'Another year at the Academy,' he thought with a slow, calculating blink at the car. 'My last year.' Pan rolled his eyes and got into the back seat.

"Hadley," the driver greeted.

"Winston."

"Last year, huh?"

"Yeah," he replied in an even monotone, already scribbling away in his journal.

"I remember driving you your first year. I swear it was just like yes-"

"Winston, shut up."

The driver laughed before letting his face drop into a scowl.

"Just like your no good parents, you are."

"Yeah."

--

"Prepare for search."

"I really don't have time for this, Dr. Hayman. I'll be in my room."

"You don't get special treatment, boy," the principal said with an amused look on his face. "Especially not after last year's incident."

Pan's heart lurched in his chest and his eyes narrowed.

"I'd prefer you didn't speak about last year."

"You make exactly zero rules here, Pan. I'll speak on whichever subject pleases me. Now, you're about to be searched, like it or not."

With a glare, Pan removed all of his clothes until he was standing naked in the middle of the office. The guard by his side chuckled lightly to himself, but Hayman was not in the least bit impressed.

"Search over," Pan bit out, his heart pounding loudly in his ears.

"I'm sure your parents would love to know about this."

Hayman pulled out his phone and sent off a quick message. Pan balled his hands into fists but kept his face straight.

"I expected more from you, Pan. Who would have thought," he laughed and shook his head. "You're still caught up on that Luke kid."

"I said don't talk about him," Pan snapped.

His whole frame was shaking in anger, and his nails punctured the skin of his palm as he tightened his fist and tried to grab grip of control. He'd taken a threatening step forward, but the guard restrained him with a strong hand on the shoulder. Quickly, Victoria wrote something down on her pad.

"Really caught up, then," Hayman mused. "Hopefully we won't have another Luke problem this year."

"Luke wasn't the problem."

"Right... Anyway, please re-dress and go to your group."

Slowly, Pan pulled on his clothes and headed towards the door. He was one foot out when Hayman clearing his throat stopped him in his tracks.

"Oh, Pan, it would be in your best interests to stick to your job this year. We won't be as nice as we were last year should you slip up. Also, your little stunt has earned you a personal strike."

All of a sudden, Hayman banged his fist on the desk, causing Pan to flinch and cover his ears, his eyes wide and scared. He whipped around and his eyes darted quickly around the room, panicked. When they settled up Hayman's smirking face, his fear subsided and was replaced with a burning hatred.

"Good to know your fears haven't changed," the doctor drawled.

"Good day, Doctor Hayman."

"Always nice to have you back, Pan."

---

Pan reclined back in his chair, listening only idly to everyone as they spoke, while writing in his journal. He'd already spotted the two people his parents highlighted, and the two girls who had to be carried in piqued his interests for only a second before he was bored again.

"Next," the teacher barked.

Pan remembered her from last year and he could tell she remembered him. He put away his things as slowly and carefully as possible before standing, eyes locked with the now grinning teacher.

"My name is Pan," he recited flatly. "I'm here because I tried to shoot up the school and the police are too good at their jobs. It would be best if you all maintained a safe distance. I don't want to be associated with any of you."

He shot one last look at the teacher, and a scathing look at the boy who started laughing - the Rafael his mother mentioned - before taking a seat and beginning to write again.

'Dear Luke, I wish you were here.'

"Name?"

Dahlia blinked as the blindfold slid from her eyes, revealing a bespeckled man, with a clipboard and a bored expression. She glanced behind him as she replied quietly, "Grove. Dahlia Grove." The guard behind him stayed impassive as the man flipped through the pages on his clipboard. The nurses behind him didn't though. A whispered conversation ensued between the two filled with smirks aimed in her direction. Dahlia shifted uncomfortably in her seat, waiting for him to find her name. He suddenly penned the paper and turned back to her.

"Will Logan be joining us?" A lazy smile crossed his face as he watched her stiffen in the chair.

"I-I don't know..." It wasn't that Logan wasn't going to wake up, in fact, she probably would, it was more that Dahlia didn't know when it would happen. Logan was unpredictable, but not when it came to protecting her.

The man leaned forwards, steepling his fingers, the smile not disappearing, menacing now, almost. "Well, do keep her inside. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt now, would we?"

She tried to shy away, but the guard's hand on her shoulder stopped her. She couldn't help but flinch, and saw the man's eyes narrow with a quick quirk of his lips. She shook her head at him, looking down at her lap.

"We'll need everything in your pockets, dearie." She flipped Logan's knife in her pocket, before placing it on the table carefully, refusing to look at it. She couldn't look at it. It was Logan's not hers, so she didn't need to look at it. After a few seconds, she took out the pen from her pocket and placed it next to the knife. "A knife and a pen. Is that all?"

She nodded again, then whispered, "The knife isn't mine." She wanted it back already, back in her pocket, so she wouldn't be able to see it, even by accident.

"Logan's? Well, we'll hold onto it for now, but don't fear, you'll get it back." He stood up, nodding to the guard behind her. "I'm Doctor Hayman. We'll be seeing quite a lot more of each other from here on out. Maybe I'll see Logan too, who knows. Oh, and you'll be searched now. Be a good girl." The grip on her shoulder tightened as he left and she stood up, panicked.

"S-searched?" One of the nurses nodded as they moved towards her.

"Don't worry. If you don't resist, it's completely painless." They started patting her down despite her shudders. As soon as she though it was over, a searing pain in the back of her neck made the world swirl. She gasped, but the pain was gone as soon as it has come, and soon, she was being pointed down a corridor to a classroom, Logan's knife being handed back to her as she went.

Hurrying in, she sat down in a seat near the door, and watched everyone introduce themselves as she flipped Logan's knife in her pocket. There was Adrian; Parker, on of the girls who had been carried in after her; Akiko, the other girl; Rafael, and Pan. Then it was her turn. She stood up, unable to shake her nerves. She was afraid of the boys in her class, afraid of what she didn't know about this place, afraid of everything. It was when she was afraid that Logan woke up.

"I'm Dahlia Grove, from Minnesota," she said, managing to make her voice loud enough to carry. She saw everyone's eyes on her, saw everyone watching, then couldn't see.





Logan opened their eyes to a thundering heart. I just have a few things to say, then I'll hand right back over. She looked around the room quickly. She had seen everyone who had introduced themselves through Dahlia's eyes, so that wasn't a problem. What was a problem was that no one knew Logan was there. She was about to change that..

"Dahlia probably introduced us using her name. Well, I'm Logan. If you want to hurt us then you'll have to go through me, and believe me, you won't know what happened to you."

"Splendid." The teacher snapped, apparently annoyed by the intrusion into her class. ""If you're quite finished, maybe we could carry on?" Logan sat down with a smirk and a nod, then closed her eyes.





She woke up, blinking, the world swirling around her. At least she was sitting down, there was no way for her to fall over. Quite a few eyes were still watching her, even though she had sat down, but she tried her best to ignore them as she took out her pen And scrawled on her arm. Logan, what's going on?

Joaquin Frey
*

He opened the car door for Danny, walking with a hand on his shoulder, smiling and breathing in a deep breath as he looked around, nodding at a random human who walked by and ruffling Danny's hair. Playing the perfect parent, as always, maintaining the image of the person the world knew him as. I forced myself to look away, clenching my fists in my pockets, focusing on a plant growing from the concrete to get the last week out of my mind. He wasn't the perfect parent then; there was no one around to impress, and he knew he didn't have to hide from us.

I turned back, meeting Danny's eyes for a moment. He was worried - not exactly showing it, not exactly succeeding to hide it. I didn't like Father's hand on his shoulder, loosely placed there as if to keep him safe, and I knew he didn't like it either. A casual, friendly kind of restraint, stronger than any chain, ready to grip harder if any of us made a move.

"Here we are." He moved, standing between us, putting other hand on my shoulder and looking from me to Danny and back. "What do you think?"

I turned my attention to the building before us; large, probably dating from some past century but amazingly renovated, sending that vibe of elite place which makes people better whether they want it or not. Dolled up into perfection, but if just one other person got to attend it for similar reasons as myself, it had to be as far from paradise as it got.
He said something else, gently pushing both of us towards it, but I couldn't focus enough to hear the words. His hand on my shoulder seemed heavy, but I was only bothered by the one on Danny's. He wasn't trying to squirm out, never wanting to show his discomfort, yet I could tell. I always could, even in the rare moments he'd try to hide something from me - his eyes would always shine in a particular way when he was afraid, completely different from when he was happy or even just calm. It wasn't a big change, evidently since no one was able to notice, but to me it seemed like earth and sky. Get your hand off him.

I suppressed a sigh of relief as we reached the door, when he let go of us to shake hands with some man who stepped through. Danny took a tiny step towards me, enough for me to brush my fingers against his without actually taking his hand, and he met my little smile with alarmingly concerned expression.
"Don't worry," I muttered, almost surprised by how much effort it took me to stay calm. He looked so young, so alone even though I was right there, masking his fear as curiosity as he glanced around us. "Danny, there's nothing--"

"Daniel and Joaquin Thompson?" The stranger's eyes slid from me to Danny.
"The other way around," I said, "and it's Frey."
"I see." He observed us for a moment longer, before saying something else to Father. I pulled Danny to my side as Father turned to walk back to the car, and my brother gripped the back of my jacket.
"I don't like this place, J. He left.. let's just go."
"That would be a rather unwise call," the man spoke again, in a quiet, almost singsong voice. "Follow me."

I glanced the way we came from again before nodding slightly and pulling Danny in with me. I couldn't see anyone suspicious - I could barely see anyone at all - but I was fairly sure, if we tried running, more than enough people would come after us. Perhaps we weren't to be locked behind bars, but I knew it would be stupid to think this place was anything but our prison for the next year.
*

The man walked us to another door, and I kept my hand on Danny's back as we walked in. The man behind the table gave us both a long look, before consulting some papers on his desk, as a younger man and a woman approached us.
"Which one of you is Daniel?" The woman asked, very likely having troubles with figuring how to pronounce my name. She nodded and scribbled something down as Danny silently raised his hand a bit. "Do you know why you're here?"
Danny frowned. "Yes."
"Why?" The younger man asked, and Danny turned to him.
"Why do I know? Or why am I here?"
The man behind the desk chuckled a bit. "This will be interesting. Take off your clothes, both of you, please."
I knew Danny would tense in response to that even before he did. I slowly let go of his shirt and crossed my arms over my chest. "Will we get paid for it?"

The man behind the desk glared at me flatly. The woman wrote something in her notebook again. "You will be searched. Now, take off your clothes or my assistants will do it for you."

I kept my eyes on that man and his papers as I unbuttoned my shirt and shrugged it off, and smirked slightly at his expression before glancing at Danny. All of his cuts from last week have healed, turning into thin scars instead. They made his skin different, changed it from as flawless as it was supposed to be, like paper cautionlessly ripped to shreds. The man who called himself our Father, just like neither of the people who did it before, never understood it, using their knives and whips over and over on both of us - I didn't mind it on myself, but to see those cuts so carelessly scattered across my little brother's skin.. it was like watching oil spilled into the sea, ink staining white fabric. It was wrong, without a sense of balance, without understanding of patterns, without emotion or care for what was being done. None of them was able to see to the depths of it, and Danny was aware of that as well - it was, after all, why none of them never got to know the beauty of it, because none of them never got the calmness and the content which had to come first. No one but me. He will never truly belong to anyone else.

The woman walked around me, noting something down again, and gestured for Danny to follow her. He glanced at me, but listened to her, and I forced myself to stay still. I didn't like him being taken away from me. I didn't know where he was going, nor what they would do to him. If she or anyone else as much as touches him--

"I'm talking to you."
The younger of two men was standing in front of me, poking my chest with his pen. Unlike Danny's, the mementoes of the last week were still clear enough on my skin, some still hurting just as much as when they were first inflicted - but not enough to make me as much as take a sharp breath as he touched them with that pen. He was looking at me expectantly - they all seemed to be looking at me the same way.

"..I obviously wasn't paying attention."

"We don't get many siblings," the man behind the desk muttered. "Your father, however, insisted on having you both here, and seeing all this," he nodded at two piles of papers, "it wasn't a bad call. You may get dressed again." I listened without a word, taking my time, until he spoke again. "This school has a simple rule.. Frey. You do as you're told, and everyone is happy. Again, judged on your files, you should be able to do that, yes?"
I shrugged, not really wanting to speak, but his glare was persistent. "I do as I'm told if it pays off." I do as I'm told if I have no choice.
His smile wasn't exactly what I'd call a pretty one. "Oh, it pays off, you'll see."

I tensed a bit automatically at someone's hands touching the back of my neck, and closed my eyes at the sensation of a needle piercing my skin. They were making some kind of mark, or perhaps inserting something, and the person doing it didn't really bother to make it quick and simple. I smiled a bit as they finished, looking back up at that man behind the table.
He mirrored my expression. "Your father said you're not an easy person to break.." He wrote something down. "Interesting. Do follow my assistant, please. She'll show you the way."
I didn't move. "Where is my brother?"
"He's safe." The man leaned back a bit and raised an eyebrow. "I suggest you get moving. You're already late."
*

I wasn't impressed by a small group of teenagers of more or less my age sitting in the room they brought me to. Danny wasn't there - I could tell as much after one glance, and I didn't care to see more.

"Welcome." A woman - teacher, it seemed - didn't look too happy to see me there. "Would you care to introduce yourself?"
I looked over her, my eyes stopping on the ruler in her hand for a bit, before shaking my head. "Not really."
She raised an eyebrow and looked at a paper. "Joaquin Thompson, then. Sit."
I narrowed my eyes. You're doing this on purpose. "Frey. It's Joaquin Frey." I glanced over the others. What the hell am I doing here now? "If you must address me, use a name you can actually pronounce."
The woman just kept glaring at me, until I walked over to an empty seat and sat down, looking at the wall.
"Where are you from?"
What is this? "Places." I turned towards her again slowly.
"If you'd arrived here in time, you'd hear that the others have introduced themselves as well," she answered my unasked question. "Tell us a bit of what brings you here." Her words were nice, like those of a teacher talking to a young child, but her eyes looked strict, almost threatening.
"If they want to know.." I glanced at the others again, "..they can ask. We all know what this place is, so take a guess why I'm here." I turned to the wall again. She could ask me whatever she wished, I didn't care enough to answer. I wasn't there for holidays, it wasn't some sort of a camp or exchange program, and I knew it well enough.
Where's Danny?

I leaned back in my chair and let myself get lost in thoughts, only vaguely aware of someone saying something and someone moving, as scenes from last week flashed through my mind without waiting for an invitation.

The small, dark room filled with the scent of chemicals, once used as a photographer's laboratory and now turned into a prison. Clothes shoved carelessly into one corner, by the table with far more carefully arranged instruments, seeming completely black in the darkness though I know they're still stained by the same dark blood which I can feel creeping down my body. The feeling of cold, tight chains around my wrists and ankles, and that quiet voice hissing in my ear, silencing the sound of Danny's uneven breaths.

"I will release you now, but you will pay for what you did, boy. Over and over again, until you learn to behave like you should."
***

Jackie Blackwell

"Name?"

Jackie cringed as the blindfold was ripped off her face. Bright lights seared her eyeballs and she blinked rapidly, then rubbed her eyes. A sudden movement caught her eye and she noticed a guard in the corner with a gun that he brought up, poised. Her lips curled into a sneer.

"Name?"

"Kiss my ass."

The man in the lab coat smirked. "You only wish. Now, will you give me your name or will I have to force you to give it to me?"

"Is that supposed to be a sexual innuendo, old man?"

The grin slipped from his face and his cold blue eyes hardened. "Your. Name."

"Jacqueline Renee Blackwell," she said with a sarcastic curtesy on top of the cot. "But you, my good sir, may call me Jackie."

He made a note on his clipboard and stood up. "My name is Dr. Hayman. Welcome to the AUC, Jackie. Things are different here than they are at your old school. For instance, you will be searched and you will be a good girl or else. Now get undressed."

"Like hell I will!"

The female nurses that stand behind him move forward and grasp her arms. "It's okay, Ms. Blackwell. It'll be over in a minute."

One starts to unbutton her jeans and Jackie shoves them away, then glares at the doctor and the male guard. "Not with two perverted old men in here. Make them leave and I'll cooperate."

Dr. Hayman smirks and raises his hands in mock surrender, then leaves. The male guard shoots the female one a questioning look. which she nods to. Then he follows the doctor.

Jackie slowly backs away from the nurses. "I can undress myself."

They find her pocket knife and take it away, much to her anger. One nurse tells her she'll get it back when she leaves. Then they have her redress.


**

"This is bullshit." Jackie mutters as Parker is forced to introduce herself. Some other people do as well, including some guy that came in late.

Finally, the teacher's gaze lands on her. "And you?'"

"Jackie."

"Jackie what?"

Jackie lets out a loud huff and stands up. "Jacqueline Blackwell. Call me Jackie. I came from LA."

The teacher nods and Jackie flops down in her seat, then flips her the bird when she isn't looking. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Parker smirk in approval and Jackie shoots her a somewhat flirty smile. Then the teacher starts blabbing on about something and Jackie rolls her eyes, leaning over to whisper to Parker, "This is so gay."

“She is leaving tomorrow.” said Anand in an authoritive voice to his grieving relatives.
“But she is just a-” began his mother while wiping her teary eyes with her Latin cloth.
“My decision is final.” said Anand and stormed out of the room.

She was standing right there, behind the door of the room that was adjacent from where her grandmother was seated, listening to the conversation. There was nothing she could do, so she stood there helplessly. She smiled at her shaking hands. She was scared of the future and afraid of the past. She looked around the dark room, there was no light of hope. She walked closer to the window, she pressed her ears on the glass pane to hear the nightingale but they weren’t any.

“What do they want from me mom?” she whispered, clenching the curtain. The thin branch of the leafless tree shook with the wind, giving her the vibe of loneliness and sadness.

The sleepless night passed, like a sand clock. Each grain of the sand passed through the hole slowly and leisurely. She was lying widely awake, staring at her greyish ceiling. Her mind began to war with the possibilities and the truth. They are breaking me and sucking out my soul, she thought and closed her eyes on the rising sun.

Everything was very still and quiet when she woke up in the morning. That was something unusual to happen, in her house. She dressed up in her best clothes, preparing herself to the best and to the worse. She walked down the stairs feeling her leg, which got weaker by every step she took. Her father was seated in his arm chair, he was reading his daily newspaper. Her shadow fell on his shoe pits. He didn’t bother to look at her and that is the least thing he wanted to do. Nisha, shifted her weight from one leg to the other.

“Ah, you are up.” said Nirmala, who was seated in the dining chair observing her weary grand daughter and her stubborn son. “Come here. Eat something.” she added, removing her specs. Nisha walked towards her granny and took a seat opposite to her. They both sat in silence. None dared to speak. They knew nothing about the Academy that Anand was talking about. But they knew enough to remain quite.
They both remained hugging while Anand was losing every pint of his patience inside his air-conditioned car.

“I love you” said Nisha fighting back her tears.
“I love you too” said Nirmala losing her fight with her very own emotions and tears. “I’ll see you soon. I’ll visit you as often I can, Nisha. Be a good girl.”

Good girl. It echoed in her ears over and over again louder than the horn of the lorry behind her car, her father’s car.

The sudden break applied by her father awoke her. The car was parked in the vast area, her father went out of the car to the strangers who greeted him. She sat inside, awing at the size of the buildings. It was huge with pointed tips, it looked like a castle to her. She took her cell phone, they were no messages or calls as usual, she never knew why she even bothered to carry it on her. She threw her mobile at back of her car and got out. Those strangers looked on her way occasionally while talking to her father. She walked towards them. One of the strangers who were in guard uniform took her by hand and led her to the main door which was huge and majestic. The second guard still stood speaking to her father, turned over to see at them. “What are you waiting for?” he said, and signalled him to take her inside. “I will bring your luggage love.” he added in strong British accent. The first guard opened the door, Nisha looked back at her father eyes for the first time since she woke up in the morning, probably for the last time too. The guard led her inside, still holding her hand. After passing through few rooms and away from the window that looked right outside where her father was standing, the guard abruptly dropped her hand. She looked at the guard expecting a apology but he walked without paying any attention as if he never held her hand. He stopped in front of the black door, signalling her to wait, he went inside swinging the door open. After half a minute the door was opened by a huge man who was laughing uncontrollably, he stopped when he saw Nisha.

“Her?.” asked the man to the guard who brought her in.
“Yeah, that’s her Marty.” said the first guard who clapped his hands as he walked. “Your father talks a lot.” he added, while pressing her shoulders. “So let’s take her in?” he asked to the other guards.
“Yeah, why not? Take her in. I need to go to the men’s room” said Marty.
“You are always going to the men’s room. You having kids there to entertain you?” joked the first guard. “Come soon. She is new.”
“Ah, I’ve had enough.” sighed Marty and walked away from them.

Sitting on the arm less chair and being watched by five members, Nisha knew right away that she is into something and that her father has taken his revenge. She smiled at the person sitting in front of her. The man was wearing a white coat, “I’m Dr. Haymen”
She slid down the chair stretching her legs and spreading them in front of the doctor and began to shake her kness. She looked at him with her right eye brow raised, “So?” she asked.
Hayman looked at one of his nurse who were seated behind him and nodded his head. And she began to take some notes.
“Are you caring a weapon?” inquired the doctor.
She slid down an inch and said, “May be.”
The two guards standing at the door, hissed at her performance. Dr. Haymen gave them a stern look and signalled them.

They both dragged her up from the chair and began to search her. She pretended to be tipsy and groaned when they touched her. Her groaning grew louder and she burst into laughter when she saw the shocked face of the guards.

“That’s it.” Dr. Haymen declared. The lady nurse walked closer to Nisha. With a shot right on her neck was enough to quieten her laughter and the room was filled in silence except for the murmuring sound of the guards and the sound of dragging Nisha’s unconscious body.

Parker Oritz - Fountain Area

Parker lazily braided the three long-stemmed flowers together while starring down at the small packet given to her by their teacher, not really reading it. Her mind was occupied with other things, and by the time she threw the flower braid into the growing pile of others next to her, her mind was still not cleared. She was still angry.

"As long as you do what your superiors tell you to do, everything will go smoothly for you here. Just follow instructions. Resistance and rebellion will not be tolerated."

Parker narrowed her eyes at the fountain and dug into her pockets, searching for her lighter. The teacher said that was the main rule, but it didn't sit right with Parker. It made her squirm. Of course she said there were others - wear your uniform during school time, don't show up late or skip class, etc - but those didn't sound the same. There was something malicious, predator, in her voice. Parker was sure of it.

"Do as you are told, and you won't have many problems."

"Bitch..."

"Ms. Oritz."

Parker looked over at the call of her name to see a man clad in a white lab coat with a small group of people behind him. She recognized all of the faces from the room she woke up in. One of them was the girl, Jackie. She studied her quickly before returning to the man.

"What?"

"Please come with me, it is time for breakfast."

"I'm not hungry."

"I'm afraid this isn't optional."

---

The cafeteria was larger than Parker expected it to be, and she was maybe just a little taken aback when she was led through the doors. Rounding up the rest of her class took longer than the scientist escorting them expected, so when they finally arrived the place was already full save for one empty table with a few disgruntled looking cafeteria ladies standing next to it, all holding trays.

"Late for breakfast," one of them chided as the kids all sat down.

The escort bowed his head.

"My fault, ma'am."

"Hmm... noted."

As soon as Parker sat down a tray was sat in front of her. She ate quickly, without tasting anything, and was done in only a few minutes. When she was done she dropped her utensils on the tray and stood.

"Can I go," she spat.

The supervisor looked down at her plate and then back up at her before nodding and returning his attention to the still dining students.

"Dismissed."

Pan Hadley - Cabin



Pan got out of the cafeteria as soon as he could after shoving the food down his throat without tasting it. He'd learned that it was best to get in and out of the cafeteria, he knew what they did to the food.

Pan approached the cabin carefully. He thought he'd be ready for this - he had all summer to prepare - but his hands still shook and his heart still hurt. He didn't want to walk in and see their intials carved onto the wooden table, or the marks on the sliding door marking Luke's height when he swore he was growing taller ever since one personal punishment where he was stretched out on a board and displayed by the fountain.

"Luke..."

The name was forced out through the growing lump in his throat. With a hard swallow he willed the oncoming tears to stop, ad took a step forward. He had five hours or so to waste until lunch, and he was happy to spend every minute of the break in the cabin. Sliding the door open, it was easy to pretend that he was 17 again, that Luke was probably going to come running through the forest and into the cabin at any minute. But the cabin didn't smell like him anymore - like campfires and apples. He didn't even want to check to see if Luke's unfinished art projects were still hidden away. He didn't think he could deal with it if they were gone, or if they were still there for that matter.

Slowly, Pan took a seat in one of the chairs and tried not to think about how there should have been someone sitting beside him.

"Are we allowed to be here now?" A dark-haired boy stood in the doorway, looking at him. "I remember you. You're in J's group, aren't you?"

"Yes and who are you?"

"Daniel." He sat on the table, glancing at Pan's diary. "I'm his younger brother. Do you know where he is?"

Trying not to draw too much attention, Pan slid his diary into his backpack. "Obviously not here."

"I can see that, if he was here I wouldn't ask you if you knew where he was." He frowns. "Who are you anyway?"

"Pan. And since your brother isn't here I don't know why you're wasting your time. I'd check the lake though."

"Why the lake? He wouldn't go swimming now, he said he wants to talk to me."

"You didn't set up a meeting place beforehand?"

The boy drew his knees up to his chest, still sitting on the table. "He'll find me, he always does." He smiles a little. "I'll just wait here."

Pan huffed and tried to stop himself from groaning. "Can you wait somewhere else?"

"Why? Is this place only yours?"

Pan gave in and rolled his eyes."Yes."

The boy just smirks.

"That's a lie. If you asked me nicely, I might've left.. But I like it here. It's calm.. quiet enough, I can hear my own thoughts. It makes me think about art.. is that why you're here? Are you some kind of artist, or a writer?"

"No... not really I just... I just like it here."

"I see," he mutters before shrugging. "Well, I'd take some photos if I had a camera.. or do some art thing, but I never actually tried anything.It doesn't matter. Have you actually met my brother or did he just introduce himself?"

Pan relaxed enough to pull out his journal again, and began drawing small pictures in the margins, loosely sketching the boy's face. Something about him reminded him of Luke, and while it didn't make him feel good, it wasn't entirely bad.

"No I haven't, just introductions."

Pan kept his eyes on his book, but did notice a stretching silence. Only when he thought to speak up again did the boy eventually continue.

"Did he do anything? He doesn't like introductions very much... Not that I think anything happened."

"He didn't say much, and I wasn't paying attention anyway."

Pan caught a glimpse of the boy smiling slightly, actually looking sincere this time, before he seemed to catch himself and turn serious again.

"That's interesting."

"He, ummm, did seem distracted though. From what you've told me I guess he was thinking about you." Also mechanically, without his permission, Pan's hands switch from drawing to taking notes. "You seem close."

"We don't have anyone else, of course we're close." The boy looks at the diary, but not really trying to see what Pan's writing. "Are you an only child?"

"Yeah. How'd you both get here?"

He narrows his eyes. "By car."

With a sigh Pan taps with pencil on the page. "Hilarious."

"Thank you, I'm a natural. We were sent here by our.. well, guardian, I suppose, legally. What about you?"

"What did you both do, rob a bank together?"

"Would we have ended up here if we robbed a bank? You didn't answer me.. And you should ask J if you're curious."

"It's really not that serious. I was just asking."

"Mm.."

There was another long pause before the boy speaks again. Pan made note of the frequent breaks in speech. He was sure that would be of some importance to his parents.

"We didn't rob a bank, and I'm curious too.. do you think I couldn't handle it if you told me... Did you kill someone?"

Pan can't help but to chuckle.

"Maybe."

"You wouldn't be the first person I know who'd killed someone if you did. Did your parents send you in here?"

"Yeah. I didn't kill anyone, but I did try. Does that bother you?"

"Why would it bother me? Not like it was anyone I knew or cared about."

"Hmm..," Pan makes a quick note. This kid was more messed up than he at first thought. "I don't think your brother's coming."

"He'll be here. Are you taking notes about me? I could tell you more interesting things than the fact I never robbed a bank. But I'm curious too. Whom did you try to kill?"

"The general school population. My homeroom class mainly. And no I'm not. This is just my journal."

"Hm. How? You don't seem the type.. It depends on how and why, I guess, but I would never say you'd do that. You don't look like you like that much attention drawn to you."

Pan's eyes glazed over, a errant memory taking over his attention.

"That's the key though, isn't it," he says hollowly before clearing his throat and seeming to return to normal. "You're right, though. I don't like much attention. I prefer to be alone, actually."

"That's not what I meant--"