I had no desire to go back to my dorm and face Jordan. How was I even supposed to face him after what I'd seen today?

                I hid out in the academic building, finding a quiet spot to sit and finish my homework. I took my time on my homework, but once it was done, I had nothing to distract myself with.

                So I got up and stretched out my bad leg, leaving the academic building, my thoughts spinning wildly. I had no idea what the hell was happening here, or what I was supposed to do. Should I tell one of the teachers? Should I tell Mr. Constance? Should I tell my parents?

                But those thoughts quickly fell away from me. It seemed like Mr. Constance and the teachers didn't stop the fighting here. And my parents would either think I was exaggerating as a way to convince them to bring me back home, or they'd think it was just a fight that the school would handle.

                "Kai!"

                I froze and turned to face Lenny. He was coming down the path, but his expression was calm and casual.

                "Hey, have you seen Jordan?" he asked, coming up to me. "I checked the library for him. I was just about to head to your dorm."

                "Nope, haven't seen him since he was punching people in the face," I said.

                Lenny laughed like that was actually funny. "It was just Jin Amano. If you're heading back to your room, I'll walk with you."

                "I'm not. Walk by yourself," I said.

                He shrugged. "Suit yourself." He glanced at my leg. "Jordan figured you wouldn't want to join in the fighting. Jin's a dirty fighter. He'd go for your leg."

                My face paled at the thought of anyone going after my bad leg. I'd once run into a counter with it and hadn't been able to leave my bed for the rest of the day because of the pain.

                He noticed my expression. "Oh, don't worry. We were going to keep them away from you! It's nice to finally have someone who can keep an eye on them, though. No one knew which Peer group they were in. It's good we've got a guy on the inside now." He grinned. "Catch you later, Kai."

                He continued on down the path and I leaned heavily on my cane. Guy on the inside? Was that how they were planning to use me now?

                "Sounds like you're making friends already."

                I jumped in surprise at Jin's voice. I turned and just barely managed to spot him off the path. He was sitting against a tree, hat pulled low over his eyes, partially hidden by a bush.

                "Eavesdropping?" I said, glaring at him, feeling my face heat up a little.

                Jin tilted his head back so I could see his eyes. "Just taking a break outside. Hard to find peace and quiet around here with the Blues hunting me down."

                "What is happening on this campus?" I demanded. I needed someone to tell me. I just didn't understand all this craziness.

                Jin sighed and gestured at me to sit. I limped over to him, sliding down against the tree next to him.

                "It's a new policy," Jin said. "An experiment, really. Social punishment."

                "Social punishment?" I said.

                Jin nodded. "Four years ago, Headmaster Constance's youngest son, Leon, pushed through changes at the Academy when he came out as gay and started dating a Maroon. It was a ripple effect. Kids felt safer coming out, Blues and Maroons started mingling, and Maroons pressed the advantage to take blows at the Academy for its abuse. Leon was in his father's ear about taking it easier on students. Leon Constance caused some big changes in the Academy."

                "I see that last long," I grumbled.

                "Adam Constance started working at the Academy the next year. His changes were slow, but calculated. Effective." He pulled half a straw out of his pocket, putting it between his lips and pushing it to the corner of his mouth. "He's a smart man. Picked out a few Blues and fawned over them, earned their loyalty. Then he put the ideas in their heads to keep the Maroons in line. He sent them back to their friends and the idea spread nice and slow."

                "It couldn't have been that easy," I said. Surely this whole thing couldn't have been set off by a few kids the headmaster's son had flattered.

                Jin shook his head. "He was careful. He picked Blues from different classes and different friend groups. He picked ambitious, charismatic students who would have a good influence over their friends. Headmaster Constance turned a blind eye to Blues attacking Maroons, but Mr. Constance gave subtle encouragements for it and rewarded those students with his favor."

                "Sure, he seemed like a great guy, I'd punch you in the face for a high-five from him," I said.

                Jin touched his fingers to the bruise on his face. "A recommendation letter from the Constance family carries a lot of weight. They run a prestigious Academy, and they have a strong influence with good colleges. That's how he lured the Blues in. They do his bidding in hopes he'll write them a recommendation letter. That's why he chose the ambitious ones."

                I opened my mouth and then shut it. That did make a lot of sense. That was a smart way to go about it.

                "People have to know it's wrong," I said, not meeting his eyes.

                "Mob mentality," Jin said. "Social punishment. It's Mr. Constance's experiment. He has the Blues bully anyone who goes against the abuse until they either join or become too afraid to speak out about it. It's trickled into the Maroons, too. Some of the Maroons have become so afraid of the Blues that they'll bully other Maroons who don't keep their heads down and play by the rules."

                "And you're the rebel," I said dryly.

                "I'm not a rebel," Jin said simply. "I'm a man who doesn't care for people like Adam Constance."

                "What does Constance plan to do if the abuse goes too far and someone gets hurt?" I asked, remembering the way that boy had been prepared to break Karson's nose.

                Jin shrugged. "The Blues have their rules. Any serious injuries to the Maroons will result in the Blues being put in the Maroon classes. They can rough us up and bruise us, maybe split a few lips and give some bloody noses. But anything that requires a trip to the health center puts them in danger of losing that prized blue vest."

                I looked down at my blue vest. "This is..." I struggled for a word. Insane? Unbelievable?

                "It is what it is." He pulled the straw out of his mouth, holding it between his fingers like a cigarette.

                "And Isaac?" I asked. "There seems to be a fuss over him."

                "Isaac is a Blue from a prominent family," Jin said. "They don't want him around scum like us." He glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes. "They'll go after you, too. Either you join them or you become their victim. Headmaster Constance ruled this Academy for years on strict authority, respect, and fear. Mr. Constance wants to rule with loyalty and fear."

                "How long have you been here?" I asked. He seemed to know a lot about this place.

                "Long enough." He put the straw back in his mouth and chewed on it. "You should go. They don't like Blues and Maroons mingling."

                I stood up, catching my balance as my leg throbbed a bit. I got myself steady with my cane and started to walk away from Jin.

                I stopped and turned to face him again. "I didn't...He asked to see my Peer Program paper. He didn't say why."

                He looked unbothered by it. "You'll hand it over willingly if he asks again. Fear is a strong way to control a crowd."

                I left, heading down the path and back towards my dorm. It was starting to get late and I was nervous about staying out by myself with all the tension on campus.

                I reluctantly made my way back to the dorm building, going to my room. I expected Lenny to be there, but it was, thankfully, just Jordan.

                He looked up at me as I entered. He was sitting on his bed, watching something on Netflix. He paused it.

                "Don't pause that. I don't want to talk to you," I said, dropping my bag and sitting at my desk.

                "I forgot you don't know what goes on here," he said, ignoring me. "We have to keep the Maroons in line. I probably should've warned you."

                "Yea," I said. "You probably should have."

                "Jin and his group are one of the few that keeps acting up," Jordan said. "We can't take it easy on them."

                "They were going to break Karson's nose!" I said. He was an asshole and I'd love to break his nose too, but damn.

                Jordan shrugged. "Karson is the worst of them all." He got a disgusted expression. "I even heard him and Jin are hooking up. Maroon scum and fags."

                Oh god. Oh, god, no, please. Okay, okay, note to self, don't bring a cute boy back here to have a fun time. My roommate was a homophobe. Could this Academy possibly get any worse?

                "Does Mr. Constance let you do this?" I asked, wanting to see how true what Jin told me was.

                Jordan nodded. "Of course he does. He knows Headmaster Constance was letting the Maroons get too out of hand." He got a proud look on his face. "There are a few of us he turns to for Academy status reports. He knows he can trust us to keep them in line and make this Academy a better place."

                So he was one of the ones getting fawned over by Mr. Constance. Great, and he intended to use me to keep an eye on Jin and his group.

                "Well, aren't you a special boy," I said. "I couldn't care less about this Academy. Leave me out of all of this."

                "You're the closest we can get to Jin's group," Jordan said, frowning. "We need you to keep an eye on them and let us know if they're planning anything. We think they plan their stunts during their Peer Program time. We also think that's when they try to pull Isaac into their group."

                "Then you join the Peer Program. I'm trying to get out of it. I'm not here to be a spy," I said.

                "Just think about it," he said. "We could really use your help, Kai. And I'm sure Mr. Constance would really appreciate the help."

                "Wow, great, just what I want. The appreciation of a man who encourages abuse against students," I said.

                "We just keep them in line," Jordan said. "You'll see how necessary it is. They act out a lot. And with Mr. Constance around, he stops most students from repeating rebellious acts. They act up, he cuts them down, and they don't rise again."

                "That doesn't sound violent at all," I said.

                "He knows what he's doing. Headmaster Constance had a firm grip on this Academy until about a decade ago. He'll retire soon, and Mr. Constance will have things under control," Jordan said.

                "Well, good for him. I'll be graduating this year and never thinking about this wretched place again," I said.

                Jordan smiled, but there was none of his earlier kindness in it. "You'll come around. Once you spend more time at Constance Academy, you'll come around and know why we do what we do."

                "Okay, yea, you're creeping me out," I said, standing up. "I'm going to leave and pretend we never had this conversation."

                I hurried out of the room before he could say anything else. I didn't want to be out and about when there was so much tension between the Blues and Maroons, but I also didn't want to sit there and have Jordan subtly threatening me.

                So I left the dorm building and started down the path towards the library, grateful for the lampposts that lit the path. A few kids were out, talking with each other as they walked the path to various buildings. They, thankfully, paid no attention to me.

                I reached the library and stepped in. There was a café inside the library that I slipped into, ordering tea and finding a seat in the back of the café.

                It was quiet inside, a low hum of music drifting out of speakers. Kids sat reading, doing homework, and typing on laptops. It was cold in the café, but at least no one was ranting about keeping the Maroons in line.

                I pulled out my phone, wishing I'd grabbed my laptop. Instead, I pulled up the Constance Academy website and went to the page about the Constance family.

                George Constance was the current head of the Academy, and he'd been in charge for quite a long time. Adam Constance had been at the Academy for three years, preparing to take over when his father finally retired. The Academy had been passed down through the Constance family, though I saw no mention of anyone named Leon on the site.

                Was Jin telling me the truth about the Academy? This whole place just seemed so messed up. God, I wanted to go home.

                I looked up and ducked low as Lev and Amelia entered the café. Amelia was showing something to Lev on her phone and talking rapidly, looking excited. Lev nodded along enthusiastically.

                The two ordered drinks and took a seat together on the other side of the café, keeping their excited conversation going. I tucked my phone into my pocket, grabbed my tea, and left the café.

                I walked the path of the campus, feeling a little safer with the way it was lit up. I sipped my tea and tried to clear my thoughts.

                Social punishment.

                I hadn't wanted to believe Jin, but the look Jordan had given me was clearly a warning. I was either with them or against them, and they wouldn't react very well if I chose the latter.

                I groaned, leaning against a lamppost. Great, just great. Of course my parents couldn't ship me off to a normal school.