I was beyond relieved when Mr. Kean stood up, checking the clock in the room. He'd moved around the classroom, patiently helping Isaac and impatiently snapping at the Maroons whenever they had a question. I'd kept to myself, struggling my way through my work.

                "That'll do for today's session," he announced. "We'll meet again tomorrow. Jin, Isaac, have your lists."

                Everyone leaned back in their chairs and began packing up their things. Mr. Kean made his way over to me.

                "You were quiet, Kai. How did your work go?" he asked.

                "It was fine," I said. "I'm crippled, not stupid."

                He looked flustered. "Oh, no, I wasn't implying..." He cleared his throat. "I'm here to help you with your work. Any questions at all, don't be shy to ask."

                "Yea, I'll be sure to do just that," I said.

                Mr. Kean hurried back over to his desk to gather his stuff. So he was one of those people who didn't know how to react when I brought up my leg.

                He glanced back at us before leaving the room. Isaac peeked out of the door before letting out a relieved sigh.

                "He's gone," he said, turning to Jin.

                "I have eyes," Jin said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He pulled his hat down over his white hair. His eyes, a piercing blue, fell to me. "First time seeing how the Maroons are treated, huh?"

                "Jin, let him leave," Lev said.

                "I was just making an observation," Jin said. He swayed on his feet a bit and leaned against his desk. "He'll know the truth of this place soon enough anyways."

                "The truth of this place?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

                "That the Maroons get the shit kicked out of them," Karson said helpfully. "You pampered little Blues wouldn't understand. There's a reason the Maroons call this place Conversion Academy."

                Isaac gave a sweet smile. "We're allowed to get away with stuff like this." He pulled his foot back and let it fly, making rough contact with Karson's shin.

                Karson yelped and jumped back, glaring at Isaac. "You rotten little bastard. I'll shove you in that trash can where you belong."

                Jin kicked Karson's other shin. "Shut up."

                "You can't gang up on me!" Karson said, glaring at Jin. "That's not fair. You have the little bastard on your side."

                "He's nine, Karson. If he hurts you that badly, you're pathetic," Jin said.

                "Look this is great and everything, but I'm out," I said, heading towards the door.

                I lost my grip on my cane as Karson kicked it out of my hands. I wobbled but managed to catch my balance on a desk as my cane fell to the floor.

                "Just thought I'd get a shot in before the Blues have you using that thing as a weapon on us," he said with a sly smile.

                He winced as Jin punched him in the back of the head. "Knock it off. You're such a pain in the ass."

                Jin picked up my cane and handed it to me. I glared and took it from him, whacking Karson in the legs with it.

                "Ow!" Karson let out a groan. "Amelia, Lev, you two are the only ones who haven't beaten the shit out of me today."

                "I'm going to if you keep giving him problems," Lev said, glaring at Karson. "He's just a student. He's not an enemy. Quit making him one. You can't hurt people and then whine when they do it back to you, Karson."

                "Don't waste your breath. He doesn't listen to logic," Jin said. He steadied himself on a desk again, chewing on the straw in his mouth.

                "Do you think Karson has a victim complex?" Amelia asked, looking excited at the thought.

                "I don't have a victim complex!" Karson said, glaring at her.

                "You're all the worst," Lev said hopelessly. "Come on. Let's go get dinner."

                "Go without me. I have things to do," Jin said.

                Lev gave him a stern look. "Jin, you're going to come with us."

                "Don't act like you can tell me what to do, Lev. I'm busy." Jin pushed himself off the desk and headed towards the door.

                "I'm not going to sit with someone who thinks I have a victim complex. I'm going with Jin," Karson said, following after him.

                "I wanna go with Jin too!" Isaac said.

                "Of course you do," Karson grumbled.

                Jin stopped as he moved past me. "It's a mob mentality at this school. You join them or you become their target. Good luck, newbie."

                He left the room, Karson and Isaac following him. Lev let out a sigh and shook his head.

                "Come on, Amelia. We'll get dinner and bring food to Jin's room," he said. He glanced at me and gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry about them. They're not all bad, I swear."

                "Karson is totally all bad," Amelia said. "But it's never boring with these messed up guys around."

                Lev tugged on her arm and led her out of the room, leaving me standing alone. I waited a few moments before limping out, leaving the academic building and heading back towards my dorm.

                Okay, so, this Peer Program was a shit show and today had been absolutely bizarre. I can't believe I was caught up with these people because of my parents. I was going to add them to the list of things to fight, right under stairs.

                I made it back to the dorm building and went down the hall to my room. When I stepped inside, Jordan was at his desk typing out an essay. He looked up as I entered and offered me a smile. Didn't his face get tired from smiling all the time?

                "How was the Peer Program?" he asked.

                "A shit show," I said, giving voice to my thoughts.

                I sat down at my desk, dropping my schoolbag to the floor. I'd managed to get most of my homework done. But this was a rigorous Academy, and the homework load was not a light one.

                "Do you know a guy named Jin?" I asked.

                Jordan's smile dropped off his face and he got a disgusted expression. "Yea, most Blues know that Maroon trash and his group. They like to cause trouble around the Academy." His eyes widened. "Oh, no. I heard Mr. Constance put them in the Peer Program so they weren't roaming campus after classes. Are you in their group?"

                "Unfortunately," I said. "The only other Blue is a kid named Isaac."

                "I heard they're trying to get him to go along with their rebellious plans," Jordan said.

                Well, Isaac had certainly seemed more than willing. It didn't seem to be taking much convincing on Jin's part.

                "Is Jin sick or something?" I asked, thinking of the way he swayed on his feet.

                "I heard he was in a gang before he came here," Jordan said. "Wrecked his health with drugs and booze. I don't know how true it is, but I wouldn't put it past him."

                I thought of the straw in his mouth. He was probably a former smoker, at least. But a gang? He looked about the same age as me. Could he really have been in a gang?

                But, man, that apathy of his sure made it seem like he'd seen some shit. Maybe he really had been in a gang. Cool, awesome, good job mom and dad. Stick me in a group with a gang member.

                "Hey, if Jin and his friends give you trouble, let me know," Jordan said. "Jin is the silent type most of the time, but he's always hanging around that Karson bitch. Karson is disgusting. He thinks he's tough but he's just a shitty bully with no conscience."

                Didn't have to tell me twice.

                "Mr. Kean was hitting him when he acted up," I said, watching Jordan carefully for his reaction.

                He didn't seem the least bit surprised. "Karson deserves it. That whole group does."

                "So that's just...a thing?" I said, still unable to believe it. "Teachers can just hit students?"

                Jordan laughed. He actually laughed. "Just the Maroons. They need stricter punishments. It's the teachers' duty to keep them in line. But it's our duty to help them since the teachers can't watch them all the time."

                "Oh, good to know this whole school is insane," I said.

                "Look, Headmaster Constance started getting way too soft on the Maroons. I heard his youngest son was convincing him to take it easy on them. The Maroons took advantage of that and started acting up. When Mr. Constance came to the school, he wasn't going to tolerate it. He brought the teachers and the Blues together to keep the Maroons in line. He's a lot more capable than the headmaster." Jordan glanced at the door, as if worried he might be overheard. "A lot of people want Headmaster Constance to retire. They think he's getting too old and too lenient for the job. Mr. Constance would do a much better job of controlling the Maroons and helping the Blues succeed here."

                "Alright, this is too crazy for me. Forget I asked," I said.

                I didn't care about the power struggle between the headmaster and his son. I didn't care about the war between Blues and Maroons. None of that was my problem. I'd be here for the schoolyear and then I'd never have to think about this Academy again.

                I got up and left the room, ignoring Jordan as he called after me. I left the dorm building and made my way down towards the dining hall.

                I couldn't believe the Constance family knew what kind of stuff happened on this campus and they didn't stop it. What kind of Academy abused students?

                My mood somehow got even worse as I spotted the two figures walking up the path. Lev and Amelia were walking, each with a take-out container in their hands. Amelia was talking excitedly, Lev nodding along with what she was saying.

                Lev spotted me and smiled. "Oh, hi."

                I ignored him, starting to walk past. But Amelia stepped in my path, talking in the sight of me.

                "You're a little short," she said, more to herself than me. "You also limp. So the problem is with your legs. Is it recent? Were you born with a problem? Did you-"

                Levi put a hand over her mouth and dragged her out of my way. He let out a sigh and gave me an apologetic look.

                "Sorry about her," he said.

                "No, it's fine, I love being analyzed by complete strangers," I said. "Please, don't stop."

                "Come on, Amelia. Let's just get food to Jin and Karson," Lev said, trying to tug her away.

                "Wait!" Amelia slapped her hand against his arm until he stopped tugging on her. "If this boy is a Blue, maybe we can use him to help with Isaac!"

                "I have no interest in helping you people," I said.

                "Hey, let it drop," Lev said to Amelia. "Come on, before the food gets cold."

                "Cold mac and cheese isn't very good," Amelia agreed.

                "Mac and..." Lev shook his head. "Amelia, Jin can't eat that."

                Amelia slapped a hand to her forehead. "Oh, shoot, I forgot again. Great, now he's going to give me that moody look and tell me to shut up when I apologize."

                "You know him so well," Lev said, laughing. "Give it to Karson instead."

                "Hey," I said and Lev looked at me. He seemed to be the sanest of the Maroon group. "What's the deal between the Blues and Maroons?"

                Lev frowned and shifted uncomfortably. "Well, Mr. Constance likes to get in the Blues ears. He thinks the headmaster let the Maroons get too out of control. It's...you'll see. I doubt you'll make it through your first week here without seeing just what Mr. Constance has done to the Academy."

                "What, so, a power struggle between the headmaster and his son that the whole Academy got caught in?" I said.

                Lev shrugged. "Sort of. Headmaster Constance has three kids and any of them could've taken over the Academy, but his oldest son was the most capable. The only problem is, well..."

                "He's even worse than Headmaster Constance," Amelia said. "I wish the little Constance took over. He's cute. And not a total psychopath. Someday we'll knock Mr. Constance off his damn high horse and-"

                "Enough out of you," Lev said, a little too hastily. He covered her mouth and glanced at me. "Kai, right?"

                "Does it matter? Seems like this campus only sees vests, not names," I said, walking past them. "I want no part in any of this madness. I was just curious."

                They didn't try to stop me as I left. I walked the rest of the way down the path until I reached the dining hall.

                I took the elevator up, got my food, and found a table in the corner to sit at. I picked at my food, my thoughts going wild. What did he mean I wouldn't make it through my first week without seeing what Mr. Constance had done to the Academy?

                Just how bad was this place? I set my fork down, my appetite slowly leaving me. This was going to be one hell of a week.