Lunch made me feel more out of place than anything. I sat in my regular clothes, watching the tables of Blues and Maroons. I noticed that they didn't mix.

                I noticed that mean kid sitting with a small group of Maroons, babbling on happily to them. I sank down in my chair, wishing I could fall through the floor to the center of the earth to die.

                Lunch passed by too quickly for my liking and then I was back off to my last three classes of the day. I was once again introduced at the start of every class and coddled at the end of every class.

                This damn school was going to drive me up a fucking wall.

                When my last class let out, I was beyond relieved to get the hell out of the academic building. I knew I had to go meet my roommate, but maybe I could put that off for a bit and wander the campus.

                "Kai!"

                The boy who ran up to me was unfamiliar. Hell, everyone in this school was unfamiliar.

                "Sorry, I didn't hear you announced six times today," I said. "Who are you and why are you talking to me?"

                He laughed. "I'm Jordan. I'm your roommate."

                So much for putting off meeting my roommate.

                "Oh," I said.

                "I'll walk you back to the dorms," he offered.

                I really didn't want to, but I figured I should at least try to get along with my roommate. If I was too much of an asshole to him, this year was going to get a whole lot worse.

                So I packed up my stuff and followed him out of the academic building. Kids streamed all around us, talking and hurrying past. They were a blur of Blue and Maroon, a white noise of conversation filling the air.

                "So, how was your first day?" Jordan asked, matching his pace to mine so he didn't walk too fast. "What do you think of the Academy?"

                "It costs a million dollars but it's still just a school," I said.

                "It's a really great place. I'm sure you'll love it after you've spent some time here," he said. "You could join a club. They're always accepting new members."

                "I'm not a club guy," I said.

                "That's fine, too. If you need any help with your work, let me know, by the way," he said.

                "I'm sure I'll figure it out," I said.

                We reached the dorm building and Jordan led me inside. We walked down the hall a little ways and he unlocked the door, letting me into our room.

                I looked around as I entered. My parents had completely set up my side for me, my mom leaving a framed picture of our family on my desk.

                I scowled as I spotted my bed. It was obnoxiously high up and my parents had set a little cluster of stairs next to it so I could get up into it. God, fucking stairs. I hate stairs. I wanted to become president just to make stairs illegal. I'd deport all the stairs and build a giant wall around them so they could never get back into the country.

                Jordan moved over to his side of the room and set his schoolbag down. "There are two students who live at the end of this hall. They're called the On Duty Residents, or ODRs for short. If you need any help and I'm not around, go to them. They're super nice. Mr. Hanson's office is just past the lobby if you need him."

                "Good to know," I said, barely paying attention. I pulled open my closet and looked at the blue vests hung up neatly in it. Great.

                I went over to my bag and pulled the manila envelope out. I hooked my room key onto my I.D. card and tucked them both in my pocket. I took out the map of the campus, looking it over.

                Jordan sat at his desk, taking out a notebook. "I'm going to work on my homework. Want to do it together?"

                "No," I said, dropping the map to my desk and heading for the door.

                "Where are you going?" he asked curiously.

                "Out," I said, leaving the room and shutting the door behind me.

                God, he was going to be like living with my mother. Why couldn't he just introduce himself, show me the room, and leave me alone?

                I left the dorm building and started down towards the market on campus. I'd grab myself a snack and find a quiet place to sit. I just wanted to be by myself for a bit.

                I found the market and went inside, heading towards the back and letting my eyes scan over the shelves. I reached a snack shelf and searched for something that would last me a few days.

                A younger boy ran up next to me, eyes scanning the shelves as well. He reached for a snack, but he was too short. He jumped for it, but his fingers only brushed the bag before he fell back to his feet with a pout.

                He turned to me and I felt horror surge through me. No, god, please, no. Hadn't my life been miserable enough already?

                Evidently not, because the kid talked to me.

                "Hey, mister!" he said. "Can you grab that bag for me, please? I can't reach."

                "Come back after you have a growth spurt," I said.

                His pout got deeper. "Please?"

                "If it'll make you go away," I said, snatching the bag and tossing it to him.

                He managed to catch it and beamed me a smile. "Thank you. My name is Isaac."

                "I didn't ask," I said.

                "Why aren't you wearing your uniform?" he asked, cocking his head to the side curiously.

                "Because I'm a rebel," I said.

                "Are you new here?" he said.

                "Is this twenty questions?" I said in annoyance. "I gave you the bag. Go away."

                "You ARE new, aren't you?" He sounded excited. "So am I! This is my first year here. I'm in the fifth grade."

                "I literally did not ask, and literally do not care," I said.

                I glanced at him. He was wearing a blue vest and dark shorts that didn't reach his knees. I knew students were allowed to wear shorts or slacks, but since the buildings on campus were cold, most kids opted for the slacks.

                "How old are you, anyways?" I asked. He was short, with a very young face.

                "Nine!" he said. "How old are you?"

                "Way too old to be talking to you," I said, snatching a snack and leaving the kid behind me.

                Human interaction was something I had no desire for, especially not if it involved a bubbly child. Kids never shut up.

                I grabbed myself a drink and got in the line at the register. There were a few kids ahead of me in line, so I took out my phone and pulled up a digital map of the campus, wishing I'd brought the paper one with me. This campus was pretty big and I still didn't know where anything was.

                "Oh, you again!"

                I resisted the urge to punch myself in the face as Isaac smiled at me. He peered around me.

                "Excuse me, I just want to grab candy," he said, gesturing to the candy lined up in front of the counter that led to the register.

                But someone shoved Isaac away from me. The boy stumbled back and caught his balance, pouting at his attacker.

                "Just wait until the line moves forward," a bored voice said.

                I turned to face the speaker, my eyebrows shooting up at the sight of him. He was normal enough, except for the hair spilling out from under his hat. It was dyed white, spilling in his eyes.

                He wore a maroon vest, which had me turning right back around. I wanted nothing to do with the Maroon students.

                "I just wanted candy!" Isaac said.

                "Wait until the line moves forward," the boy repeated.

                "Fiiiiiine," Isaac said, dragging the word out dramatically. He hopped into line behind me, standing next to the white haired boy.

                I stepped forward as the line moved up. Isaac reached out, snatching up a candy bar and handing it to the white haired boy.

                "Pay for your own candy," the boy said. "I'm not your wallet."

                Isaac stuck his bottom lip out. "Please? We have the day off. We should celebrate!"

                "You're not suckering me into paying for your stuff. I don't find you adorable," the boy said. His expression was impassive.

                Isaac switched tactics, a sweet smile on his face. "Sometimes I get distracted easily. Candy helps me focus!"

                The white haired boy smacked the candy bar out of Isaac's hands. "Don't try to threaten me."

                Isaac just gave a cheerful laughter. I hurried to move up with the line, basically throwing my stuff at the cashier. I paid and hurried away from the line. Man, Maroons were shitty people, huh?

                I limped through campus until I found an empty bench. I sat down and opened my snack, taking a bite and pulling my phone out of my pocket.

                I had a missed call from my mom. Dreading dealing with her but knowing she'd just keep calling, I hit her contact and held the phone up to my ear as it rang.

                "Kai!" mom answered. "Hi, I tried to call you."

                "Wow, is that why I had a missed call from you?" I said in surprise.

                "Don't give me that. How was class? Are your teachers nice? Did you make any friends? Did you meet your roommate yet?" she asked.

                "Hey, try taking a breath," I said. "Class was boring, my teachers introduced me so many times I doubt there's a person in my class who doesn't know my name, I have no interest in befriending any of these people, and my roommate is way too social for someone like me."

                "Kai," mom said with a sigh. "You have to try to be social. How's your leg?"

                It was still sore from me dragging it up the stairs. I knew by tomorrow I'd be limping worse than usual.

                "It's dead to me," I said. "You'll be dead to me soon if you don't take me out of this Academy."

                "Kai," she said sternly. "You're there to have a fresh start. You need to smile and be nice and try to be social."

                "Yea, no, not going to happen. Bye." I hung up and put my phone on do not disturb, tucking it away in my pocket.

                I leaned back on the bench. I hadn't asked to switch schools and get a fresh start. I didn't need or want a fresh start.

                I stretched my bag leg out in front of me and looked at the campus of Constance Academy. This is where I was going to be stuck until I graduated.

                Annoying Blues and shitty Maroons. Neither side appealed to me, but I was stuck with both of them.

                Well, at least I could mostly avoid the Maroon students. The Blue students I was trapped with, though. God, I didn't ask for any of this.

                My parents could force me to attend school here, but they couldn't force me to care. I had no interest in socializing or doing the rigorous course work at this Academy.

                I sighed and took another bite of my snack. I'd have to try to avoid Maroons so they didn't try to bully me for my leg. I was too easy of a target. All they had to do was kick my leg and I'd be down and defenseless.

                Great, fantastic idea mom and dad. Drop your crippled son at an Academy with delinquents. Genius idea, nothing could possibly go wrong.

                I pictured that white haired Maroon kid from the market. His impassive expression was almost scary. Just what kind of kids was I going to school with?

                I groaned and sank down on the bench. This was going to be one hell of a long schoolyear.

-----------------------------

A.N.- Thank you guys for the awesome response the first chapter got! Since the first few chapters are a little shorter and slower than the rest of the story, I'm going to upload them pretty quick, so please be patient with me and this story this week!

(Also if you sent me a cover on Twitter and you want me to post it here, please just let me know a way to credit you!)