Young Writers Society

Ruby Banks

They came for me in the dead of the night.

I was wrapped in my covers, hugging my pillow and in that half in and out state. That place where you're asleep and on the cusp of dreaming but you can hear everything going on around you.

I heard the front door of the apartment open and murmurs, but I ignored them. I figured Mom was just bringing the nightly clients back to her room for some... work. But then somebody burst into my room.

I sat up and screamed. This wasn't happening again. My throat was raw and my eyes squinted as a flashlight blinded me. Then somebody grabbed hold of my legs and my wrists, pulling me out of the bed.

"No! Stop!" I screamed. They were going to hold me down and... and...

"Ruby Banks?" An official voice said as I blinked spots out of my eyes and self consciously covered my pajama clad body with my arms.

"Please," I sobbed, "Please don't touch me." I was set down on my feet and I fell to the floor, retching and gagging.

"Ruby you have been sanctioned by the courts to attend Stablewright Academy For Troubled Teens instead of being incarcerated. You will have 5 minutes to put a bag together under supervision. You will not attempt to bring weapons, drugs, electronics or other substances or objects that may be illegal. Should you disobey or act out in any way, you will immediately be transported to the Manhattan Juvenile Detention Center. Do you understand the instructions you have been given?"

"Yes but-"

"Do you agree to comply with those instructions?"

"Yes," I said meekly, my vision finally clearing to see two police officers standing above me, one of them reading from a piece of paper.

"Sign your full given name on this paper and then proceed to prepare your belongings." He set the paper on a clipboard and handed me a pen as I signed. I'd thought I would go to prison, in fact I'd been enjoying my last night to myself before appearing at my sentencing.

I stood up and hurriedly dragged my beat up suitcase from the corner, throwing the rest of my clothes in.

"Am I allowed to go to the bathroom to get my personal care stuff?" I addressed one of the officers, my voice quivering.

"Yes, but you can't bring razors or products with alcohol in them. You are also not allowed to bring any kind of hairspray or air freshener as those are very flammable." I ran into the bathroom across the narrow hallway and the officer watched as I put things into a grocery bag.

I paused, staring at the pads and tampons underneath the cabinet. And then I looked at the male officer. He respectfully averted his eyes after he saw the boxes I was packing in the bag and I felt kinda relieved. At least he wasn't going to treat me like a criminal.

But the other officer, the one who read the paper, he pulled me to my feet after my minutes were up. Dragging me out the door. My Mom stared after me, her arms crossed over her faux silk robe. She didn't care. The other officer gently put my grocery sack of bathroom stuff into my suitcase and sealed it up for me and I was grateful. He didn't need to do that for me, my guess was he was new.

I was still wearing my sleep shorts and my t shirt and I was glad I'd put on a sports bra to sleep in the night before so at least not everything would be out in the open. I shivered in the cool night air, trying to avoid tripping as the bad cop shoved me over the the bus.

I walked up the steps, getting shoved once more and falling before the ribbed flooring of the aisle bit into my hands and knees. Some of the guys in orange jumpsuits jeered and laughed after I fell, but others were asleep or stayed silent. Some were in street clothes and I knew those must be the ones going to the school.

After collapsing into my seat, I realized I hadn't slept and probably wouldn't until the next night. So I laid my head back and closed my eyes, hoping to get some rest.

The bus woke me with a lurch.

I stumbled to my feet, brushing my wavy red hair out of my face. I took my bag as a guard handed it to me, hugging it to my chest. I got through the security checkpoint and went to the dorm room. I figured I would get in, take a shower and take a nap. My neck was stiff from the bus and I wanted to enjoy some alone time before my roommate got here.

Each room had an adjoining bathroom to the room next door which I thought was odd. But as I leafed through the student handbook and saw the emphasis on no sexual assaults, I realized this was for the better. The room was simple, two bare mattresses on wooden frames on either side of the room. There was a closet clearly divided in half by red paint with small dressers on either side of it. The window in between the beds was covered with bars.

I closed the door behind me, putting my suitcase on the bed and taking out a set of clothes. The bathroom had two shower stalls that were clean, thankfully. And I shakily closed the door behind me, looking at my face in the mirror. My light red hair was tangled and there were bags under my eyes from not getting enough sleep. I had a few bruises on my wrists from where I'd been grabbed and forced out of bed. I wanted to cry but I wouldn't let myself, not now. I just needed to shower and then go to bed. I'd feel better once it was not longer 5 am. So I undressed and got in the shower, scrubbing my body thoroughly.

The hot water felt amazing on my skin but as I stepped out, I realized I'd forgotten a towel. So I shook off the water and wrung my hair out before dashing into the room.

"Uh," I whirled around, my hair flinging drops of water in front of me. I saw a girl with lavender hair sitting on the bed, staring at my naked body.

I immediately froze, biting my lip as her eyes traveled from my breasts and further down, her eyes leaving goosebumps in their wake.

I grabbed my towel, wrapping it around myself.

"I'm Kat," she said, "I'm so sorry, I'm just going to-" She turned around just as I ran in the bathroom, my cheeks turning bright red.

What a great way to start off my year in hell.

Rose Carroway

This was absolutely terrible.

First of all, I have quickly realized that I’m one of the youngest here. Everyone else is several years older than me.

Great.

First day at the new school and I’m going to be the butt of all the “isn’t this past your bedtime jokes”.

On top of that, I had hardly any time to pack, and now I was left with minimal belongings and all of my “illegal” stuff hidden in a bush outside, which I’d have to retrieve later.

My roommate seemed to already have moved in. There’s a suitcase under one of the beds, and an orange uniform in the trash. Okay. So she hates it here as much as I do. We have that in common, right?

I plop down onto the other bed and check the time. I still have a little bit before I have to be anywhere. There’s a handbook and some other papers on my bed and I sift through them until my stomach becomes more a more watery with each rule I read. I think of all my stuff in the bush outside. All of that combined would lead to weeks of solitary confinement.

Without anything left to do, I unzip my backpack and start pulling items out. There’s not much for clothes, just a couple sweaters stuffed at the bottom, but I take great care in hanging them up in the wardrobe, smoothing out their wrinkles from packing. I feel around my bag until I find my pens and markers, which luckily weren’t confiscated, and I set these down on my half of the bureau. Dang, I could’ve sworn I packed more.

In exasperation, I dump out the contents of my backpack onto my bed. The rest of the stuff is toiletries, and a couple of barrettes that managed their way into my bag.

Wow. Now I had to get to that bush. There was hardly anything of value here.

I pick up the now empty backpack, sling it over my shoulder, and head out of the dorms. The courtyard is filled with students, and I feel even more isolated as some of the students greet friends from years’ past. This is great, just all great, I think. This is going absolutely swimmingly.

Me, thirteen years old, at a school for troubled teens. Who would’ve thought?

I leave the courtyard as a fight breaks out behind me. Please, please tell me fights aren’t a regular thing.

I can see the bushes on the edge of the campus. I’m so close. Eyes on the prize, Rose.

When I get there, I take a final look around to make sure no one can see me, and then I dig my hand into the bush and start feeling around until my hand snags a plastic bag, filled with all sorts of goodies.

“Yes,” I say quietly, not fully believing I was able to sneak it in. I hadn’t known they would search us when we got here, and so in my panic, I slipped nearly all my stuff into this bush.

With all my possessions recovered, I start back toward the dorms, not wanting to spend another minute out here in the open. When I reach the courtyard, I start running, racing back towards the dorm. I hear a cry of “Hey, kid, are you lost? The preschool is about ten miles from here!”

I turn and flip the kid off, which starts a new barrage of laughter. Good job, Rose. They all hate you.

I run up into the dorms and back to my room, where I angrily toss my backpack back onto the bed. Stupid. This is all so stupid. I should be at home right now, watching American Horror Story and going to soccer practice. Why am I here?

What’s in my backpack answers my question.

The first thing I pull out is an assortment of spray cans. Last used when I spray painted Vote Pedro on the wall of my old school's gymnasium. Harmless fun, really.

I then pull out a couple boxes of matches and my MP3 player. Both are always good to have.

And now, finally, my lighter.

But I don’t smoke.

The last time I used this bad boy, I basically burned down an entire house. Not my finest hour. And that’s why I’m here. Because I set things on fire. A lot.

It’s not always intentional, sometimes it is an accident. But at the end of the day, the ashes are all that’s left and someone has to pay.

I click the lighter on and watch the flame dance, mesmerizing me. It’s so beautiful, so forbidden, and so powerful. I take my thumb of the lighter and slip it into my pocket, its familiar weight comforting me in this unfamiliar place.

I pray, pray to anyone who's up there listening, please help me. I'm just a kid. I shouldn't be here

Eddie, Courtyard

I turned and studied the girl. "Not a good thing having people out for you on the first day of school." She said. I smiled at her."most people here don't think about a pecking order. But there's always a pecking order. And luckily for me, I'm somewhere near the top." She sat down on the bench next to me and grinned." So your calling yourself the top dog?" I grinned back."not in so many words. There plenty of people in this school. Some a little bit crazy, some smart. Some idiots as our friend just proved himself to be. I don't go looking for fights. But if become involved in one, I'll be quick to assert authority." She wiped something of her shirt." So your telling me like to be in charge?" She asked, winking as she said so. I smiled."Sweetie, I am in charge. I know what goes on. I know who my enemies are and who my allies are. There's no such thing as friends here. Only allies...and partners." I tap her on the nose. She looks so startled I let out a laugh

She rubs it ruefully, as if annoyed with herself by her reaction."So tell me rich kid, what's your story?" I smile and wink as I get up to leave." Well you'll just have to discover that put yourself." I wink at her and head for the vending machine. Using some spare change I purchase an apple (no sugary foods or drinks for the delinquents [i had goodies stashed as well for the chunkier populace] so the place was on a health binge) I sit back down by the girl and take a bite. After I do, she takes it out of my hands and starts munching on it. I grin." I don't even know your name." She swallowed her mouthful and said,"Samantha." Before resuming her snack... At my expense."

I smile." I'm Eddie. Edward Hamilton at full." Her eyes widen, and she struggles to swallows." I assumed you were rich... But not that rich. Your family owns and runs Hamilton industry's?" I smirk." As well as stocks in basically every overseas idea that's making money." I pick up a rock, and start playing with it in my hands. "It's really here I learned money doesn't buy you everything. Not a nicer bed, not leniency, not a girlfriend, not even friends.

"She smiled." You've never had a girlfriend?" I grin." Not one." She throws her head backs and laughs." And I bet it means your a virgin as well." I shrug. She grabs my arm." You have to tell me." Catching the eye of a security guard she lets go. She places the apple core in my hand and stands up."Thanks for the snack Richy-rich... Maybe I'll see you around... Eddie." With a smirk she turns and saunters off. I smile to myself. Maybe this year won't be so bad after all.

Samantha Hawthorne

Sammy headed towards where the dorms were processing everything that had happened. It irritated her that he felt he had the right to touch her, but then again if she was going to be here for a while she needed allies. Course she didn't plan on being here for long, but to not have a back up plan was asking for problems.

So richy-rich is a Hamilton. She clenched her jaw a little at that. She had never seen anything good come from the Hamilton name. Course she would've never figured they would lower themselves by putting one of their own in a place like this, so there was a slight possibility that he wasn't like the rest of his family. Doubt that.

She turned down the hall towards her dorm as she thought about what he had said about the hierarchy in this place. Obviously there would be one. If it was a school just for the mentally impaired then it would be one thing. She was proof that it wasn't though. She was there for fighting, for being a 'bad kid'. When you throw a bunch of 'bad kids' together there has to be a top dog. Everyone had their place, it was just about finding where exactly that place was.

Maybe it was just the fighter in her that saw things that way. Everything had to be black and white. Ally or enemy. Toughest and weakest. It wasn't that she looked down on people, but she always knew where she stood. She knew that she could never beat Eddie's goons in a fight, but other than them there wasn't anyone who looked like much a threat.

Disappointing really. She thought. What good was being in a place where the only people that could give her a run for her money was the two people she couldn't fight without risking pissing off what could be a potentially good ally. All of this being if she got stuck here, though she wasn't finding a quick out just yet.

She pushed open the door to her dorm and spotted a young girl sitting on the bed across from hers. She didn't even look like she was a teenager yet. What the heck kind of trouble could someone get into at that young of an age.

You weren't but ten when you picked your first fight. She reminded herself as she moved over to her bed a sideways glance telling her that her new roommate was smart and hadn't touched any of her things.

"You look like you are facing death square in the face, Pixie." Sammy said looking at the girl as she lowered herself on her own bed. The girl's petite frame, young face, and short hair (whoever said pixie's had to have a pixie cut was crazy) reminded her of the small little creatures. Plus, nicknames made it easier to distance herself from others. Yeah, she may call them by their given names most of the time, but in her mind everyone had a nickname.

Katarzyna Curus

"Let's start all over," suggested with a smile.

Ruby was sitting on her bed, eyeing me from her book. She placed it down next to her and turned to face me. I couldn't lie, I was jealous of her soft red hair, it was a color I could never pull off with my pale complexion.

"I'm Katarzyna, but call me Kat." I said.

"I'm Ruby," she smiled.

"How'd you land yourself in this hell hole?" I asked.

"Well, I was dragged here actually..."

I shifted on my bed, shocked that the bed didn't squeak. Ruby was an attractive girl, but I couldn't do much with it, we were all crazy.

"Against your will?"

She nodded, self conscious. A tension set in between us the moment she came into the room naked. I didn't even know we were going to have roommates, but when I walked in and saw two beds, I suspected.

"I was sent here sorta against my will... my dad thought I needed urgent help, and, honestly, being here is better than being there." I said.

If I was going to make any friends, it should be with my roommate. She will be here everyday with me.

"That sucks, no one would want to be here." she said.

Eddie

I continued to watch the sheep for a bit before I headed back to my dorm. The girl, Samantha, she was cute. And seemed she knew a thing or two about being a criminal. But that's not what we were now was it. According to the law we were juvenile delinquents, not criminals. I picked up a tennis ball from my suitcase and began bouncing it up and down as the clock ticks. Tick tock. I kept count in my head. Minutes turned into hours and finally over the intercom the annoying squek of that she devil who served as the school secretary. "Children, please meet in the Cafeteria for dinner." When it clicked shut I stopped bouncing my ball and placed it back in my bag.

Making my way to the place known as the cafeteria, I studied the hall and inhaled." There it is. The wild." I muttered to myself. Than I noticed Samantha entering the hall. Smiling to myself I made my way to her side in the lunch line. She still hasn't seen me as she surveyed the hall. I tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around fist cocked. Ignoring my initial reaction to jerk back, I merely raised an eyebrow." Expecting someone?" I asked. She flushed than glared at me." Why were you sneaking up on me?" She demanded. I winked at her." I would never!" I said, acting as if it was the thing farthest from my mind. She eventually grinned." Liar." She said. I shrugged. I pointed around.

"Welcome to the Hall. Over there is the Jock table... Or the closest to it. You see, even as delinquents, apes still cling to apes so any sports u person sits at that table. Theyre fun to screw with and it's easy to make money off them for getting their homework done. And over their is your nerds. Surprised we have a group of them, so it makes me wonder what they did." I shifted to my left." And over there is my table. It includes me, my two pals, Todd and Greg, I'm sure you'd like them, and they're chikas. Apparently they all wrote letters. Makes me sweat and my stomach churn." I grinned as Samantha chuckled.

I turned around to look at her." And approaching us at 12 o' clock, is the the slut squad. The girls who will sleep with anyone. They even sleep with teachers and some of the guards, but you'll never here them admit it." Sam's eyes narrowed, as if she had experiance with these kinds of girls. As the S.S approached, I set my shoulders and smiled." How unsurprised I am to see you here again." I drawled. Sam hid a smirk as the girl in front, Gina, flushed angrily. She put on a smile." Hey Eddie. Just wanted to see if you have anything I may need for the school year."

I cocked my head." What things? I do not recall these things you speaketh of. No hablo. Ohhh wait. You mean those twinkies you bought from me last year? No sorry, none for you this time. Your looking a little more plump than usual. Or maybe it's because your prego? You sure hide it well." This time Sam let out a full blown laugh as Gina flushed beet red. She glared at Sam." I'd watch yourself. Eddie probably plans on selling you around like the slut you seem to be." Sam took a step forward, fist cocked. Grabbing her other arm I pulled her into me, my arm wrapping around her waist. She froze completely.

"Trust me, not worth it." She nodded and I let go. Gina smirked." See you around Hamilton... Or not by the looks of her face." With a wave she sauntered off, probably to harass some other poor soul. Sam turned towards me." Don't touch me without my permission ever again." She said. I bowed all gentlemanly like and said," your wish is my command." With a wink I pointed towards the serving area." Now vamanos woman, I want my terribly disgusting Refried beans and worm noodles mixed with red sauce." With a wide smile she started walking. "And take a left when you leave. You can sit by me." I added.

Ruby

"Let's start all over." Kat had said and I wasn't sure how to react. I was glad she had said that but at the same time, I didn't know who I could and couldn't trust in this place.

As Kat began to unpack her things I made up my bed and then put my hair in a long braid over my shoulder. Braided, my hair went down to the middle of my stomach. Normally it would reach my belly button. I liked to play with my hair when I got nervous, the soft red waves had a strange calming sensation for me.

We sat in our room until the middle of the day, deciding to see what the food options were. I hadn't eaten since dinner time the previous day and my stomach was rumbling, gnawing at my insides.

Campus was composed of five buildings, all within one campus surrounded by barbed wire. There was a small administrative building, where we'd been checked out by security and where I imagine the security detail worked out off. Then there were the boys and girls dorms, both on opposite sides of campus, a little over a quarter of a mile apart.There were two buildings between that, on the left near the girl's dorm was a library, a cafeteria and I guessed maybe a gymnasium. That building was fairly small. The other one was just a bit bigger and was probably where all our classes would be.

Overall, it was laid out like a tiny little college. Except colleges usually had a cheerful atmosphere with green grass and trees and students milling about the lawn. This was much different. The grass was brown and the trees were bare, their skeletons reaching towards the sky as if grasping desperately at their last bits of life. The buildings were a dark, dismal gray color, the paint chipping in some places with bars on every window. The most depressing part of the whole place was the large chain link fence lined with barbed wire. I felt so trapped just looking at it, feeling like a bird within yet another cage. I'd been in cages all my life and this was no better than all the other ones I'd endured.

Kat and I walked to small building with the cafeteria. The walls everywhere we went were a stark white, the tile on the floor was beige. The florescent lights threatened to give me a headache as some of them flickered. There was a stairwell leading up to a library and we passed a door that connected to a tiny gymnasium. One that badly needed repairs by the looks of it.

The cafeteria was across the hall from the gym and it was just as depressing as everything else. There were lines that were railed in with tall, silver bars, I imagine to prevent riots from cutting in line. There were white folding tables placed in rows around the large room with brown metal chairs set out with them. There must have been over 50 tables and it looked like the cafeteria took up most of the lower floor. There were kids beginning to walk through the separated lines and we followed suit. My stomach clenched at the foul smells of food, it was very similar to food you would find in a high school cafeteria. I was by no means a food snob, but even I didn't want to live off school lunch 24-7 for every meal.

As I walked through the line, I stared suspiciously at the guards lining the room. Some were male, some female. Some were fat, others thin. Most of them were pretty different. But they all had one thing in common and that was the expression on their faces. They were unfeeling, indifferent. Just there to keep us from killing each other and to collect a paycheck every week. They didn't care who we were or where we came from, we were just criminals to them. They saw us like dogs, animals they wanted to control.

I grabbed the closest thing to a healthy meal I could find, noodles and salad drowned in dressing with fresh-frozen fruit that appeared to still be cold and mushy. It didn't look appetizing at all but I knew I needed to stay healthy. Kat took noodles and refried beans, grabbing a cookie as well and we walked through. The lady at the end made us say our names and she gave us numbers to tell her next time we went through the line, I supposed it was to keep people from getting more than one helping.

As I reached the end of the line, telling the lady my name, some rich guy swaggered in. His collar was turned up and his brown hair was spiked ridiculously. I instantly wanted to punch him although violence wasn't in my nature. He kept winking at the buff girl I'd seen under the tree at first and I thought maybe he was epileptic. The thought made me giggle slightly and as Kat gave her name she looked at me.

"What?" she asked.

"See that kid with the brown hair over there, who keeps winking at that girl?" I asked her,

"Oh yeah, that's Samantha."

"You know her?"

"No I heard her name when she was getting her bags checked in security." Kat said.

"Ah, anyway, the kid, he keeps winking at her and he looks like he's having a seizure." I pointed at him and we both laughed walking by.

"What a wannabe," I said and Kat laughed.

"Wow, I thought I was sarcastic," Kat said, "Redheads really do have tempers."

"And no souls. Don't forget that." I said quietly, trying not to smile.

"You made that joke. Wow, Ruby, wow." We laughed sitting down just as the kid in the line started pointing out tables to the girl, Samantha.

"Those are the jocks....nerds...." I caught parts of what he was saying.

"He's seriously pointing out all the 'cliques'. Is he insane? This is a school for troubled kids, not effing Hogwarts," Kat said. "Nobody knows each other and even if we did this isn't Mean Girls. Even my high school didn't have definite cliques."

"I mean, mine did but we didn't have jocks or nerds and stuff like that," I told her, "People just kinda hung out with who they wanted to. That's how cliques were defined." After that I was quiet for the most part, Kat was talking about her old life and her anxiety disorders, why she came. Sometimes she would make sarcastic comments about people she hated, she had a really biting sense of humor.

"So why did you come here, Ruby?" Kat asked me and I just looked at her.

"Um." I murmered, "Shoplifting." It was a really bad lie and I think she saw through it but I didn't know what else to tell her. How to make her believe something else. I didn't want anybody to know the truth, not ever.

"Oh, I see," Kat said, "Sticky fingers." We both laughed at this and we dumped our trays before leaving the cafeteria.

"Do you mind if we go up to the library?" I asked, my voice barely audible over everybody jabbering in the cafeteria.

Kat huffed mockingly, "Finee." she said before grinning at me and trudging up the stairs.

When we got to the top of the stairs, I gazed around the small library. There was a small religious section with a few Bibles, Torrahs and Qur'ans. There were also a few devotionals and self help books. The fiction section was composed of two full shelves, maybe 70 books max, and most of them had bent spines and faded covers. I exhaled, disappointed. The nonfiction section had an encyclopedia and a set of books on careers plus a some books on different colleges. They were untouched except one of them looked like it had the pages ripped out.

Nobody sat at the desk in the library and the room was empty and filled with dust. I guessed nobody had been up there in a while. There wasn't even a computer.

I wandered over to the non fiction section as Kat sat down at one of the rickety wooden tables. They were mostly classics. Jane Austen, Nathaniel Hawthorne, F. Scott Fitzgerald, those guys. There was a battered set of Harry Potter books, the 4th and 7th ones were missing.

"Those were the best ones," I muttered to myself, looking down at some of the Shakespeare volumes. I saw my favorite, As You Like It, and I pulled it. It was falling apart and the page with the publishing information had been ripped out. I guessed the books had been donated, I highly doubted anybody coming through these halls read all that much.

I walked over to the front counter, taking a box with index cards and I sorted through it, finding the one with the right book title. I wrote my name and the date on it before putting the card back in its place, closing the little box and leaving it on the counter.

"I'm good," I told her before she got up and we walked out, back down the stairs.

"Shakespeare?" Kat asked, looking at the book.

"We read it in class at school. I can't read Shakespeare on my own but since I get the gist of what happened, I can follow along I suppose."

"Okay," she shrugged and we headed back to our dorm, avoiding tattooed and pierced girls and guys who looked as if they thought the world was out to get them. I settled in bed, reading the play until it was time for lights out. And then I turned on my back, away from Kat, trying to endure my first sleepless night at Stablewright Boarding High School for Troubled Teens.

Rose Carroway

"You look like you are facing death square in the face, Pixie."

My roommate had entered the room. She glanced around, her eyes landing on her bag shoved under her bed. Thank God I hadn't touched it.

She was now sitting on the bed opposite me. I still didn't speak, although my hand fluttered up to my hair, cropped in a, you guessed it, pixie cut. Damn those hairdressers. I told them a few inches. Not nearly all of it.

"Not so bad yourself, Weed."

The girl scrunched up her face. "Weed? Where do you even come up with that stuff?"

I hadn't expected a response, and my answer came out in an ill-concealed stutter. "Y-Your bag wheels. The r-right one looks like it's been messed with. My brother used to hide weed all the time in weird things and I thought--"

"Please shut up. I'm not here to hear about you're pothead brother."

There's an announcement about dinner over the intercom and she stands, barely giving me a glance as she leaves.

"So why are you here, then?" I ask, not being able to stop myself before the words tumble out.

The girl stops in the doorway and turns to face me. "Long story. Not in the mood for it."

She leaves and I jump up to follow her to the cafeteria. She doesn't look back at me, but I stick closely behind as the students leave the dorms. When we get to the cafeteria, however, she disappears, and I am left alone to find a seat. My hand slips into my pocket, where my lighter is. It's my one source of comfort in this unfamiliar place.
I take a deep breath, and enter the cafeteria.

Samantha thought about her roommate as she headed towards where the cafeteria was. The girl was sharp, no doubt about that. She was following her a little closer than Samantha would’ve liked, but it was the first day and Pixie didn’t seem very old at all.

When she got to the cafeteria she glanced around taking in the large group of students. She was about to see if Pixie wanted to sit next to her when she felt someone touch her shoulder. Her instincts kicked in immediately her fists balling up as she spun around to face whoever it was.

When she saw Richy-rich she relaxed a little. He then proceeded to droll on about all the other students that were at the school pointing out the different cliches like it wasn’t painfully obvious already. She had never really fit with any of the normal cliches. Though she put in a chuckle or a nod whenever she deemed it necessary.

The group of girls that walked out fit exactly what he pegged them as, though she had no interest whatsoever in speaking with them. It was then that she realized talking with Richy-rich and being a newbie may not have been the best thing. He may be towards the top, or maybe at the top, of the food chain here. Though the perception of her could very well end up exactly as the skank in front of her put it.

She had been called a lot of things in her life, slut was never one of them. Her anger over being called a slut was quickly shifted when she felt an uninvited arm wrap around her waist. She fought to keep the cold anger that washed through her veins at bay as he let her go taking a slight step away from him. There was one thing Richy-rich needed to understand, that was he didn’t get to touch her whenever he damned pleased. Though she wouldn’t phrase it like that, the first time.

“One more thing, Hamilton, don’t call me woman.” She said ignoring his comment about sitting with him and his group. She wasn’t sure if she quiet wanted to yet or not. Though she did have a feeling there were going to be ground rules that Richy-rich needed to learn and fast. She didn’t feel like accidentally beating the shit out of him, course accidental would be a stretch.

She watched as the food was dished onto her plate her appetite slowly going away as more food was piled on. She had a feeling after today she was going to stick to a salad, or anything other than the crap they called food here.

Once she got her food she glanced around and spotted Pixie a few people behind her in line. The kid looked nervous, almost scared. It wasn’t any of her business though.

She turned and headed towards Richy-rich’s table. Dreading it slightly, but at the same time he would be a good connection. If he could learn personal space that was.

Jasper Mendoza

I guess the one bright side to all this was that I didn't need to wear an orange jumpsuit.

I sat down on my bed, the bedspread was a cold, gray color. The mattress felt hard and lumpy beneath me as I picked up the student handbook from on my pillow.. Here, I would be treated like a criminal. I could already see that based on the rules.

I opened the closet and I saw that there was a painted red line moving down the wall of the closet and on the floor. There were seven pairs of black slacks, 7 white long sleeve collared button down shirts, a few blazers and a few sweaters. Hanging on the bar where hangers went was a tie and some extra hangers for my clothes. There was a small dresser on either side of the closet for our belongings and I began to unpack my suitcase, putting pairs of jeans and sweatpants away that I would probably not be wearing for a while.

I peered out my window from between the bars. The windows were nailed shut and dust mites gathered along the windowsill. Everyone else seemed to be in regular clothes, wandering the lawn or talking to people they knew or had just met. I even saw one blonde girl (who was pretty buff) sitting underneath a tree. The expressions on their faces were mostly the same. They were either pissed off or they didn’t care. I cared. I didn’t belong there, I just wanted to be with Ian.

I decided to change into a pair of black jeans with a red shirt, it was my favorite shirt and I wouldn’t be able to wear it after today. It was the one splash of color in this gray, dismal place and for whatever reason, it brought me comfort.

I walked out of the neatly arranged room, running my hands through my dark brown hair. I usually spiked it but it was falling flat from the long bus ride. There were lots of people passing me in the dorm hallway and I felt a little subconscious. How did they see me? Did they see me as a threat or as prey waiting to be pounced on? Or maybe they saw me as another nameless face, just one more person to ignore until they got out.

I made it outside and headed to the Cafeteria for dinner, standing in the line to receive what passed for food in this place. Just as I stopped to give the lady my name, I felt something bump into me and I turned around. To see a somewhat short asian guy standing behind me. I raised an eyebrow.

“Uh. I’m sorry. My bad. I didn’t mean to…” he looked at my blank stare and I thought he mistook it for a glare. “Please don’t hurt me, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Relax,” I said, “Why are you so nervous?”

“Um.” he didn’t elaborate but gave his name to the lady at the register.

“Elliot Himura,” he said, somewhat quietly.

I stood there, not quite sure where to sit. And oddly enough, he stood there with me.

“I don’t really know anyone.” I said and he turned to me.

“Me either.”

“I’m Jasper,” I told him, the corner of my mouth turning up into a half smile. “Now you know someone.” I found an empty table and gestured for him to sit.

“So, what are you here for?” Elliot asked, twisting noodles around his plastic fork. I take a bite of food so I don’t have to answer. I don’t want anyone to know about Ian. I need to keep my head down and get out of here because in this place, it’s every man for himself.

“Shoplifting.” I told him, the lie glided smoothly from my mouth and he suspected nothing. “You?” I asked after I swallowed another bite of soggy lettuce.

“Anxiety.” he said, “I have panic attacks a few times a week and they weren’t sure how to handle it. And I think they resent the fact that I’m gay. They’re very traditional Japanese parents, I think they see it as a dishonor to our culture.” So he was here for the same reason I was except I liked girls as well. I debated on whether I should tell him or not. But the words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“Yeah. I lied. I’m here for the same reason you are. Because I’m gay, I mean.” He looked as if he wasn’t sure what to believe, but he didn’t question. I wasn’t sure if he was too scared to ask or if he simply felt it was none of his business. Maybe it was a bit of both.

Regardless, I knew I’d at least found somebody to talk to in this hellhole. And I knew I needed to use that if I were going to get back to Ian in one piece.

Cal Zabrecki


“Carla?” I looked up from Maggie’s letter. A woman with a clipboard was walking towards me. The dark slacks and blouse she wore made her gold watch and bright, painted, smile stick out like a sore thumb. “I’m Ms. Harris. I’m one of the secretaries here.” She paused and looked at me expectantly. I suppose she was waiting for a reply, but when I didn’t say anything she quickly began to fill up the dead air between us.

“I have your schedule here,” she said, handing me a piece of paper. “You’re only a week late- you should be able to catch up just fine. But we’re going to stop by your room first so that you can set down your things. Your roommate is currently in class, but I’m sure she’ll be able to help you find your way around.”

I slipped the letter and schedule into into my coat pocket and stood. Somehow, Harris’s smile managed to get even bigger. “Right this way!” She chirped. I quickly grabbed my bag and my satchel, slinging the straps over my shoulders as I struggled to keep up with her quick pace.

The lady couldn’t seem to shut up. You’d think I was on nothing more than a college tour for the way she carried on about each of the buildings. “We’re going to be heading to the dormitory.” Ms. Harris explained. “Girls and boys do share a dorm, but are placed in their own wings of the hall. After that, I’ll take you across the courtyard so you can see where the cafeteria is. I’m fairly sure your English class is also located in that building- let me check here… Ah! Yes! And…” she paused to glance at her watch she wore. “Yep, you should be able to spend a few minutes organizing your things.”
“Are you new here?” I asked, cutting her off.


Ms. Harris stopped; her smile faltered. “Pardon?”

“You seem nervous.” I said, tugging at my dark braid.

“Yes, well…” Ms. Harris found her smile once more. “I’m not quite as familiar
with the students here; so I suppose you could say we’re in the same boat.” I snorted, and a smirk crawled onto my face.

I guess that was enough to subdue her bubbly spirit, as we walked the rest of the way in silence. She led me across the courtyard and into the dormitory. We made it almost to the end of the long corridor before she stopped in front of a door. She opened it for me, and then stepped to the side as I walked in. The room was terribly drab, and the simple set of drawers and bed looked old and like they were on the verge of collapse.“Home, sweet home.” I muttered to myself.

I set my old duffel on the empty bed. The other one still had a suitcase on it, and its contents were half-spilled onto the sheets. So did my roommate just get here too, or is she simply a slob? I took a closer look. All the brands were designer, and expensive. More likely a diva. I slipped into the the bathroom and groaned immediately at the sight. All sorts of makeup containers covered the sink. There were like, five trays of powders that I assumed to be eyeshadow and three different foundational creams. The door to the cabinet under the sink still hung open, and a tangle wires were half-falling out of it. To top off the entire scene, a fancy little tree covered in jewelry was delicately balanced on the back of the toilet.

I was about to retreat from the scene before me, but a one of the glittery pieces by the tree caught my eye. A silver and green pendant rested next to the tree. The chain was much too long for the tree hold it up. Before I could even think, I had reached over and picked it up. The green in the pendent was a soft, smooth green. Jade, I suspected. The silver design holding the stone in place was beautiful and intricate, like tiny, spindling shoots of ivy. Very earthy compared the the rest of her style, I noted.

“Carla?” Ms. Harris called. I hastily pulled the pendent off of the jewelry tree and shoved it in my pocket. She poked her head in the room. “We’ve got to get going, you can finish unpacking after class.”

“Coming!” I say, ducking out of the bathroom.

Ms. Harris was smiling yet again. “Right this way! I think you’re starting off English with some Shakespeare…” I let her ramble on as she led me to the classroom. My mind was much too occupied with the thoughts of what other interesting things my classmates may have brought with them.

Isabelle Lee

Unlike everyone else that was here, I was kind of excited to be in a new place. Being in one place for too long can be a drag and being here I planned on making a name for myself. Things were too easy at home and my mom just never told me no, I guess she knew I would do it anyways.

I sat in a class that was supposed to be English. The teacher yapped on and on and I just let my mind flow. There were so pretty people here, why must all of us bad people be so darn gorgeous? Including myself. I had no problems in that department. My clothes were expensive and I only wore the real jewelry and as for my perfume? I only wear the strong coconut smell. The fruit wasn't as good as just the smell by itself.

"What famous book did Shakespeare write that is a tragedy?" the teacher asked.

"Uh.. there are actually more than one.. so could you be specific?" I interrupted.

She looked at me like I had lost my head.

"Well Ms. Lee if you would have been listening to the lecture we have been going through then you wouldn't have to ask that now would you?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes.

"Please leave my class. You are disturbing everyone else." she told me.

I laughed.

"I don't give a shit about this place anyways." I stood up, got my bag, and walked out. I needed to go to my room and put some stuff away anyways before my room-mate got there.

*~*~*
I got to the room and inspected my stuff.

"You bitch!!!" I said aloud.

The jade pendant that my grandmother bought for me before she passed away was gone. By the looks of it, my room-mate had just started a war she was going to regret. I do not think highly or kindly of thieves.

That's one thing someone should never do. NO ONE steals my shit.

I sat on her bed and waited for her arrival. She'd be here soon.

Eddie Hamilton

I leaned back in my seat, and watched as Ms. Richards kicked out another kid. Someone the Vulture saw me move and glared in my direction." Mr. Hamilton. Perhaps you could enlighten us with the answer to my question." I raised an eyebrow than straitened in my desk." The answer to your question. That would be Romeo and Juliet. By far one of the most famous of his tragedies, as its reappeared in several remakes, such as West Side story." Appearing to be comfortable with my answer, she continued in with her lesson.

I took out my pencil and began to play with it. I got the glare of one of the news, Raul Menendez. He was one of the guys who thought it would be profitable to start dealing here. I was going to show him not to mess with me. My thoughts were interrupted as Samantha kicked me under the desk. I began to glare at her but she raised her eyebrow as if the idea was amusing. Rolling my eyes I leaned towards her." What do you want." She smirked." Someone's hostile today. I need to borrow your eraser." I handed it to her than turned back to class. Soon the bell rang and students began to disperse. Todd and Greg flanked me as we made our way towards History, the next class for us three at least.

"Wonder who's going to get kicked out first." Todd said. I shrugged." This place is a lot like a tank of gasoline. The only question is this. Who's going to throw the match into the tank?" They nodded in unison. I grinned." Well gentleman, it seems like this year's the year. We're going to form an underground Fight club. I've done some research and there's a lot of drainage pipes under here, and theres a really large space that I have yet to discover. We'll clean it out, than start making cash. I just need to find a bookie..." I trailed off into my thoughts as we found our seats. Todd and Greg were already smiling broadly at the idea. They were good fighters. We could make a lot of extra cash. I started smiling too when in walked our teacher, Mr. Tajik. A man from the Middle East. Quite the inspirational story. I also knew that he was addicted to cocaine. Not a real junkie, he took it in good amounts, but I knew that as soon as I had proof, the blackmail would begin. My smile for wider at the thoughts running through my head.

Cal
“I don’t give a shit about this place anyways.” The diva rises from her desk and saunters out the door.
I guess this ‘Ms. Lee’ is my roommate. Her clothes and earrings matched the style on her bed, but the real tell is the smell of her coconutty bodyspray that lingers in the entire classroom even though she’s gone.
I try to focus on the teacher’s lecture on ‘the star-crossed lovers’ sonnet, but my thoughts keep going back to ‘Ms. Lee.’ I tap her pendent with my finger. It wasn’t like I planned on keeping it. Well, it’s not like I planned to take it either. But still, I hadn’t anticipated her leaving class early. What if she went back to our room?
I pull my hand out of my pocket and lean back in my seat. The only thing I can do now is hope she hasn’t gotten back yet. It wouldn’t do any good to try and plant the pendent on someone else, she’d know it was me, and if I do get caught, I suppose I deserve it. I promised to do better here than I did back at home, and I didn’t even make it a full day before breaking that promise. And it was a sloppy job at that.
Finally the bell rang, releasing me from class. I sling my bag over my shoulder and try to dart out the door, but three boys get their first, and decide to take their sweet time while walking. I clench my fists and swallow a growl, but follow behind the guys a few paces away.
The one in the middle smile to his friends and starts talking. I miss the first part, but my ears perk up when I hear ‘fight club.’
“I’ve done some research and there’s a lot of drainage pipe here…” The boys turn into a classroom before I can hear anymore.
Still, good to know. I store those bits of information away as I quicken my pace. That boy in the middle- he pulls too many strings around here for my taste. I’ll have to keep my eyes out for him, but right now there are more pressing matters at hand.
Once outside I begin to sprint to the dorms. I try telling myself that there’s a chance that my roommate went to the library, but it does nothing to soften the knot forming in my stomach.
I stop outside of our door and try to steady my breathing. Damn it, Cal. My hands are shaking. Why do they always have to shake when I get nervous? I fumble with the doorknob before finally getting the door open a crack. I glance at her bed before entering, and it’s empty. Oh thank God!] I breathe a sigh of relief as I swing open the door fully.
But that relief is instantly shattered. There she is, sitting on my bed, arms folded and legs crossed. “I’ve been waiting for you, you little bitch.” She sneered.
I stare at her, completely frozen. Say something you idiot.
“I know you took it, now give it back!” says, rising from her seat. I can’t even move before she advances upon me. She slams the door shut and then pins me to the wall with her forearm. “My grandmother’s pendant, now!” Her face is inches from mine. I reach for my pocket, but once she feels me move, she sticks her hand in herself. “Oh, what’s this?” Along with her pendant, she pulls out Maggie’s letter.
Somehow my heart begins to beat even faster. “Please no!”
“Hm? Is this something special to you?” Her eyes light up she grins maliciously.
“I’m sorry.” I whimper. Please just let me go. “I-I didn’t plan.. I wasn’t gonna...” I grasp for something, anything to say. “I have problems.” I add. Really, Cal? That’s what you go with?
Ms. Lee laughs in my face “No shit you have problems! And guess what, now I’m one of them.” Her freehand balls into a fist and then swings into my mid section. I can’t even yelp as the wind is knocked out of me. She releases her grip on me, and I sink to the floor immediately.
I huddle into a ball, anticipating another blow, but nothing happens.
“Seriously?” The diva taps my side with her foot. “I didn’t even hit you that hard.” She sighs, exasperated. “Get up!”
I cautiously uncoil myself. “I’m sorry.” I whisper.
“What was that?”
“I’m sorry, I’ll do whatever you want. Just please give me back that letter!”
“Oh really?” My roommate grins, but it’s a different look than before. She yanks my shoulder and hoists me to my feet. “Whatever I want?”
I nod furiously, trying to keep from crying in front of this girl. “As long as I plan out the job, I can get you anything, you name it. But please-”
She cuts me off with a wave of her hand. “Well then…” She shakes her head. “I don’t remember your name.”
“Cal.”
“Well then, Cal, consider yourself indebted.” She waves Maggie’s letter in front of my face. “And you’ll get this precious scrap of paper back after I decide how you’re going to repay me. But it’s lunch, and I’m going to hold onto it for the time being.” Ms. Lee carelessly folds it and tucks it in her pocket before walking to the bathroom to hang up the pendant.
She’s about to walk out of our room before I realize something. “Wait!” I call. “I never got your name!”
She halts momentarily, but doesn’t turn around. “Isabelle.” she says. Then she walks out the door, leaving me completely alone.

Ruby

I woke up the next morning to hear a Security Guard knock on my door. Kat sat up, looking groggy as she pushed her purple hair out of her face. I crossed the room and opened the door.

"whasamatter?" I rubbed my eyes, looking at the female guard.

"It's 6:00, your school day starts at 7. You get a wakeup call every morning for a week but after that you're on your own. And if you're late or you skip class more than twice you get detention. So I wouldn't dilly dally if I were you." After she left Kat burst out laughing and even I chuckled a bit. Who uses the word dilly dally?

We both got up somewhat slowly, Kat had to take a shower because she hadn't the night before and she made a joke about not forgetting her towel, which made me laugh a little. I was shy and reserved but Kat was bringing out this wild, rambunctious side of me that I wasn't quite sure if I liked or not. It made me nervous.

We headed downstairs, each of us wearing a button down collared shirt with a tie, a pleated skirt and a blazer. Although Kat was wearing thigh high socks with heels and her tie was loose and the waistband of her skirt was rolled up to make it look shorter. The look was adorable, though I didn't have the courage to copy it when she offered to lend me clothes.

We ate cereal from those tiny plastic boxes with the tear off lid and milk from the tiny cartons. It wasn't the greatest breakfast but it was breakfast. So we pulled out our schedules and headed to the academics building.

"I swear to God," she said, "If there wasn't barbed wire and guards everywhere I'd say we were at private school." I smiled, not showing teeth and she flicked her purple hair over one shoulder.

We continued on the courtyard, the chainlinked fence with the barbed wire loomed over us as we continued to the building. Kat and I only had English together and that was at the end of the day. I wasn't quite sure what to do once we parted ways so I just went to my first class and sat in the back of the classroom.

I had a lot of classes with that kid, Eddie, it seemed. I hated him. He thought he was so smart and clever and badass. He thought he owned the place. I wanted to punch him on a daily basis for his cockiness and I'm not a violent person. When the teacher called my name he laughed with all his friends saying Ruby is a stripper name.

"The only whore in here is you," I'd muttered under my breath but he'd heard me. He shot me dirty looks for the rest of the day.

I finally got to English, slogging my way through teachers who were either afraid of us or didn't care. Many of them were very obviously high, hung over or still drunk. This disappointed me somewhat. I actually wanted to learn something which would be difficult with teachers who didn't care. I just brought along my copy of As You Like It and read through most of my classes. Nobody carried bookbags, all our supplies were either in our rooms for homework or in the classrooms. There was too much of a risk of people carrying weapons or banned substances. Girls were allowed purses for what the school not so subtly called 'hygene toiletries' but nobody carried a bag. That was social suicide. If you needed something you kept it in your bra.

"Hey," I said, sitting down in the desk next to Kat.

"Hey Ruby," she said, flicking my shoulder playfully before shifting in her seat. The teacher stood and taught and Eddie gave some answer about Romeo and Juliet, mentioning West Side Story thinking it made him sound like a genius.

"Can anybody tell me what year Shakespeare was born?" I was reading my book which was quite obviously a Shakespeare play.

"No, and neither can you." I muttered.

"Excuse me?" The teacher looked at me and I lowered my book, not saying anything.

"Repeat what you said."

"I said no, and neither can you." She looked pleased with this answer and I was surprised.

"And why is that?" she asked.

"Historians know that Shakespeare was born in April of 1564 but that's about it. We also know the exact date he died but this is only because it was documented by the protestant church but it's widely believed he was secretly a Catholic even though Queen Elizabeth Tudor ruled during that time and it was illegal to not practice Roman Catholocism. Many people doubt Shakespeare's existence, actually, so exact dates for things he did are unknown. In fact, it's unlikely Shakespeare wrote all the plays he's given credit for and Historians think there are some that remain undiscovered." Kat's mouth hung open so low I thought it was going to drop to her desk.

"How do you remember all this?" the teacher asked and I held up my book, which, for the record, I had not been looking at.

"It's written on the back of every one of these. I've read every play Shakespeare has been credited to writing." A couple of the kids started whispering and I immediately regretted my word vomit along with admitting I'd read all of Shakespeare's plays.

"Then what happens at the end of As You Like It?"

"Orlando stops being an idiot and realizes that Rosalind is a girl even though she's been disguised as a man and they get married."

"Romeo and Juliet?"

"They kill themselves, duh."

"Taming of the Shrew?"

"Katherine is tamed and gets married."

"Julius Caesar?"

"He gets stabbed."

"MacBeth?"

"Lots of people die in that one."

"Hm." the teacher crossed her arms and stared at me and Kat kicked me underneath the desk, shaking her head. If I could've kicked myself I would've, instead I settled for sinking low in my seat and hiding my face with my hair.

Thankfully, the teacher shut up and she continued with the lesson.