I went back to the dorm building and let myself into the room. Jordan looked over at me and I swallowed my pride, hating that I had to do this.

                "You win, asshole," I said. Hey, I didn't have to be nice about it.

                Jordan raised an eyebrow. "What?"

                "They said something about meeting at the computer lab tonight. I don't know what that means, I don't even know if it means anything. That's your problem to figure out. You wanted information, there it is," I said, glaring at him. "Will you stop treating me like I have leprosy now?"

                Jordan smiled. "So, you're going to help us?"

                "If it means you'll quit avoiding me like the damn plague," I said, sitting down and rubbing my bad leg. I winced at the pain in it, cursing Jin. He didn't look heavy, but he still managed to take out my leg.

                "Come to dinner with me and my friends," Jordan said, standing up. "We can talk more."

                "I don't want to," I said. "You'll probably have them blocking off the elevator again."

                "That wasn't me," he said, shaking his head. "Look, I'm sorry we did that stuff to you. But we needed your help. You can't side with them."

                "I'm not siding with them. I didn't want to side with anyone. I'm saving my own ass here," I said.

                "Come to dinner," he said.

                I knew I better just play along until I could get him to believe me. So I reluctantly got up and followed him out of the room.

                He slowed his pace to match my slow one. We walked the path in silence, Jordan looking thoughtful.

                We reached the dining hall and I felt relieved that the elevator was free. I took it up, meeting Jordan at the stairs. We grabbed food and he led me over to a table where Lenny and Kate were. Ryan was noticeably absent.

                "Kai," Lenny greeted, looking at Jordan for answers.

                "He's going to help us," Jordan said. "Tell them what you heard Jin's group say, Kai."

                "Not much. Just something about meeting in the computer lab tonight," I said. "You wanted me to tell you what I heard, and that's what I'm doing. It's your problem to figure out what it means."

                "The computer lab?" Kate furrowed her brow. "What could they want with that?"

                "They have Amelia Bertrand with them," Lenny said. "She could do a lot in the computer lab. I heard she knows how to hack."

                "But would they need to go to the computer lab for that?" Jordan said. "She could hack from her own computer. It would probably be easier."

                "I don't know. I don't know anything about hacking," Lenny said with a shrug. He turned to me. "Did they say anything else?"

                "No," I said. "That's all I heard about it."

                "Most people clear out of the academic building by eight," Jordan said. "We should keep an eye on the computer lab tonight in case they do try to break in."

                "Are we bringing him?" Kate asked, nodding at me.

                "I have a name," I said. "It's Kai. And Kai is not going with you. You wanted someone to tell you what they talk about during the Peer Program. That's all I'm doing for you. Don't drag me into anything else."

                "If he doesn't want to go with us, he doesn't have to," Jordan said. He offered me a smile and I wanted to whack it off his face with my cane. "I'm just glad you're going to help us. If we take down Jin's group, Mr. Constance will reward us for sure."

                "Good for you," I said. My leg was starting to ache again and I just wanted to go back to the dorm room and lie down.

                "Don't you care about the future at all, Kai? If you get in good with the Constance family, you can have connections others can only dream of," Lenny said.

                "No, I don't care about the future at all," I said, my patience slipping away thanks to the pain of my leg. "I don't care about getting invited to some end of the year party. I don't care about pleasing a guy with a nice façade. I don't care about this stupid Academy. I'm only doing this so you people will leave me the hell alone."

                I stretched my leg out, rubbing it. Everyone told me I was lucky to be alive after the accident. But what the hell was lucky about this? My leg was permanently wrecked. Surgery couldn't fix it, but it still worked just enough for me not to need it amputated. I wasn't bad enough to be wheelchair bound but I wasn't good enough to walk much. I'd never be the same.

                "Do you need pain medication, Kai?" Jordan asked. "You can call the health center and they'll have them for you by tomorrow. I can take you to pick them up before class."

                "I can do it myself," I said, standing up. "I gave you the information you asked for. Leave me alone."

                I limped back to the elevator and took it down. I left the dining hall and sat on a bench outside, torn between wanting to rest and wanting to stretch it out a bit. I don't know why my parents thought it was a good idea to send me to an Academy where I had to walk everywhere.

                "You keep saying I don't have any expressions, but I've only ever seen you angry."

                Jin sat next to me on the bench. I opened my mouth to complain, but he held up a hand.

                "I'm not sticking around. Just getting air," he said, pulling a half of a straw out and putting it between his lips.

                "Former smoker?" I asked.

                He gave a small nod and pushed the straw to the corner of his mouth. He looked content to sit in silence, but I had way too many questions to let him sit in peace.

                "How long do you actually think this will work for? They'll figure it out and come after me," I said.

                "No, they won't," he said. "I'm giving you accurate information. They'll find us in the computer lab tonight. That's fine. It doesn't ruin any plans."

                "So you feed me fake plans to make them think they're winning," I said.

                "You're not as slow as Karson thinks you are," Jin said.

                I scowled. "I don't like him."

                "No one really does," he said. "You'll get used to him."

                "Well it's no wonder people abuse him," I grumbled.

                "No one deserves abuse," Jin said, the slightest edge entering his voice. He relaxed back on the bench and the edge left his words. "Everyone has a history. Karson taunts you, but he doesn't say you deserve abuse. I think you're angry, but I figure you have your reasons."

                I looked down at my bad leg, feeling that anger seeping through me again. A flash of rage hit me and I couldn't help myself as I snatched the straw from Jin and flicked it away from us.

                "People like you piss me off," I snarled. "You're healthy and you wreck it."

                He glanced at the straw on the ground. "Wreck it? I quit smoking."

                "Why would you even start?" I said. "Why do people use substances that they know wreck their bodies? I'd kill for my body to be normal again."

                "It is normal," he said.

                I gestured to my leg. "Yea, my body's fucking great."

                "That's one part of your body," he said. "I'm lactose intolerant. Does that mean my body isn't normal? One thing wrong doesn't mean your body isn't normal."

                "Lactose intolerance and being permanently crippled are a little different," I said, trying to get up.

                "So it's recent," Jin said, watching me struggle to my feet. "I'm not here to judge how you cope with your injuries." He pulled another straw out, sticking it between his lips and chewing lightly on it. "But if you stay angry for too long, you'll burn out."

                "I don't need your fucking advice," I snapped, limping away from him.

                I reached the dorm building and got up onto my bed, making my leg as comfortable as I could. I propped it up on a pillow and leaned back, closing my eyes.

                I would never understand how someone could use a substance that they knew would hurt their body. I'd do anything to be the way I was before the accident.

                Exhaustion washed over me and I pulled the covers over me. My mind slipped away into sleep.

                                                                                                ***

                A loud noise had me sitting up in bed, heart slamming. My dreams mixed together with reality, and I could hear the sound of tires squealing, the sound of sirens and screaming and ragged breathing. I could feel the pressure on my leg.

                I yanked the covers off and pressed my hands against my leg. It was sore from shifting around in my sleep, but it was there. No blood, nothing pinning it down, no pain agonizing enough to make me scream.

                "Sorry, Kai."

                The voice was guilty and I looked up as Jordan turned the lights on. He was picking up whatever he'd knocked off his desk.

                "I didn't mean to wake you." He checked the time and I followed his gaze. It was late, and I was surprised he was just getting back. "You were right, though. We hid in the computer lab. Jin and his friends came in. They claimed they were just there to work on an essay, but we know they were hiding something. They wouldn't tell us anything."

                "So how many of their bones did you break?" I said, rubbing my eyes. There was cold sweat on my face and I tugged my vest and shirt off, trying to shake off the nightmare.

                Jordan laughed as if I was joking. "We just knocked Jin around a bit. Karson, too. They never want to cooperate. We don't know what they're up to, but with your help, we'll find out."

                "Joy," I said flatly.

                I shifted my pillows and made myself comfortable again, pulling the covers over myself. I was too tired to change into my pajamas, and I didn't feel like testing out my stiff leg.

                "Hey, you said you heard Jin was in a gang," I said as Jordan changed and crawled into his bed.

                He nodded. "Yea, that's the most popular rumor about him. I don't know how true it is, but it does seem like the most credible. I heard that's what got him sent here."

                "Most popular? So there are other rumors?" I said.

                "Sure. There are rumors that he was in a gang, that he was a drug dealer, that his whole family is in shady business. No one knows much about him. Him and Karson are probably fags together, though." He shrugged.

                "Dude, seriously, is this the 1960s? People are gay. You'll be okay if two men have sex, I promise," I said, too tired to deal with this.

                "It's wrong," he said in disgust.

                "Let me guess, you're one of those people who feeds their pets vegan diets and thinks vaccination causes autism, huh?" I said.

                I rolled over before he could answer, drawing the covers up to my shoulders and closing my eyes. Just my luck that I get stuck with someone like Jordan.

                Jordan turned the lights off, plunging the room back into darkness. I opened my eyes, staring at the wall, my dream still lingering at the edge of my mind.

                I reached down and ran my fingers along my leg, feeling angry tears coming to my eyes. Why did it have to be me? Why did I have to pay for someone else's mistake? Why did I have to spend the rest of my life with nightmares and a crippled leg?

                I pressed my face against my pillow, wiping the tears away there. I wished I could just go to sleep and wake up in my bedroom back home, stretching my legs and going for a bike ride. I wished I'd wake up and this would all be a bad dream.

                But I knew the truth, so I stared at the wall all night and let my anger drown my exhaustion.

                                                                                                ***

                The next day of classes was a relief. The Blues didn't isolate me or talk shit about me. Everything was back to normal, and the teachers picked up on it quickly. The elevator wasn't blocked off at lunch, and no one scattered when I sat at a table near them.

                Jordan tried to get me to sit with him and his friends, but I told him to fuck off. I was tired and I didn't want to deal with any of them today.

                By the time classes were over, I was ready to just skip the Peer Program and take a nap. But I didn't want to be assigned an escort, so I forced myself to limp down the hallway and into the classroom, ignoring Lev as I took my seat.

                Jin and Karson came into the room, Isaac trailing behind them. Jin came up to my desk and slid a piece of paper to me.

                "If anyone asks, I borrowed your textbooks during the Peer Program and you're coming to get them back," he said before sitting down.

                I looked at the paper and realized it had a dorm name and a room number on it. "Saturday, Noon" was written under it.

                "What, we're hanging out now?" I said.

                "We have things to discuss. Don't let Kean catch you with that paper. Don't let anyone catch you with it. And give me your textbook," Jin said.

                Before I could respond to that, Karson grabbed my bag and pulled a textbook out, handing it to Jin. Karson kicked my bag back to me.

                "Don't exert yourself, crip," Karson said, grinning.

                I picked up my cane and whacked him in the ankles with it. He yelped and nearly fell out of his chair, glaring at me as he swung his legs away from me.

                Isaac laughed. "Do that again!"

                "Shut it, bastard," Karson growled.

                Isaac stuck his tongue out at Karson. Mr. Kean entered the room with Amelia following after him. She hurried to take a seat next to Lev, shaking his shoulder eagerly as she showed him something on her phone.

                "Phone's away," Mr. Kean said sternly. "Jin, Isaac, get your lists out. Karson, you're going to need a list soon if you keep skipping your English homework."

                "What, you really think I'm going to write about myself? Those bastard's will just use it all against me," Karson said dismissively.

                "But everyone already knows your mom didn't want you," Isaac said, innocent curiosity on his face.

                "And everyone already knows your mom didn't expect you," Karson shot back.

                Mr. Kean smacked Karson with a ruler. "Don't talk to him like that, you disgusting waste of space."

                "This is a double standard," Karson said indignantly.

                "You'll never win here, Karson. Just shut up for once," Jin said.

                "You'd be much better off giving up like Jin here," Mr. Kean sneered. He snatched Jin's list from him and went up to the front of the room.

                The group fell into silence as Mr. Kean got everyone to start their work. I had hidden the paper in my bag, wondering why Jin even wanted me to come to his room tomorrow. Then I'd have to deal with his roommate and whoever else he had involved in these midnight schemes.

                When Mr. Kean released us for the day, we started packing up. Mr. Kean left the room and Jin stood up, coming over to my desk.

                "Don't be late," he said. "And don't be followed."

                He left the room, Karson complaining about his homework as he followed Jin out. Amelia and Lev were distracted by their own conversation as they left.

                Isaac passed by my desk and smiled cheerfully. "I like you. You're funny."

                With that, he left the room. I stood up, pulling my bag over my shoulders, my mind on the paper tucked away inside. Honestly, the most stressful thing about this whole situation was that Jin expected me to be awake by noon on a Saturday.