Chapter 2 🖤Off limits

I wasn't planning to make enemies on my first day, but Zack Wilson clearly didn't care about plans.

He didn't talk much. He didn't smile. And when he did look at me, it was always like he was trying to read my thoughts. Like I was some kind of puzzle he didn't trust.

After Combat Training, we were assigned groups to tour the academy. Zane, his twin, was in mine. So was a quiet boy named Jamie, and a tall, loud girl named Brooke.

Zane smiled easily. He didn't act like his brother at all.

"Let me guess," he said as we walked through the stone halls. "You're the strong, silent type."

I shrugged. "Just quiet."

He nudged me. "You fought Zack pretty good. He usually doesn't let anyone land a hit. That means you've got something."

I didn't answer. I didn't want to draw attention.

But it was already too late. People had noticed.

"Xander, right?" Brooke asked, walking beside me. "Where are you from?"

"Far away."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's not a place."

"It is to me."

Zane laughed. "He's got jokes too."

The academy had a strange layout. One side of the school looked old, almost like a castle. The other side was modern, filled with glass and cold walls. We passed a long hallway that had a thick black door at the end.

"What's that?" I asked.

Jamie whispered, "East Wing."

Brooke grabbed my arm. "Don't go near it. They say people hear voices if they stand too close. One guy last year... never came back."

I looked at the door again. The warning in my locker flashed in my mind.

Stay out of the East Wing.

Zane clapped his hands. "Alright! Time for lunch. And you, Xander, you're sitting with us."

---

The cafeteria was loud.

Long tables stretched across the room. Each one was claimed by a different group. Athletes. Bookworms. Magic kids. Mean girls. And then... the top table.

Zack sat at the center.

He didn't look at me when I walked in. But I felt his eyes.

Zane waved me over. "Come on!"

I sat down beside him. A girl with shiny black braids stared at me like I was some kind of insect. She leaned into Brooke and whispered something. Brooke laughed.

I focused on my tray. Bread, soup, and something that looked like chicken but didn't smell like it.

Zane tapped my arm. "Ignore them. They're always like that with new people."

Brooke leaned in. "You got fast feet. You trained before coming here?"

I nodded. "A little."

"Martial arts?"

"Street fighting."

His eyes widened. "Serious?"

"Very."

Zane laughed again. "You're kind of a mystery, huh?"

I didn't respond. That was the goal.

---

After lunch, we had History of Arcanis.l, it was aboring class. The room was dark with an Old teacher with a beard that touched his chest. But what he said caught my attention.

"There was a fire thirteen years ago. Burned down the South Library. Someone was blamed, but no one ever found the truth."

My hands clenched.

Caleb had told me about the fire. He said it wasn't an accident. He said he was close to finding out who started it before... before he vanished.

My throat felt tight.

I raised my hand. "Sir, who was blamed?"

The teacher looked surprised. "A student named... Caleb Valemont."

I froze.

"He died in the fire," the teacher continued. "Some believe it was suicide. Others think it was murder. But the case was closed."

Zane turned to me. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Just curious."

But inside, I was burning.

They thought my brother killed himself?

They lied.

---

That night, I sat by the window in my dorm, staring out at the stars.

I pulled the old photo from my pocket. Caleb's smiling face. His red scarf. The edge of a building I now recognized-Arcanis Academy.

He died here.

And I was going to find out why.

Even if it meant pretending to be someone else. Even if it meant hiding my face every single day.

I'd promised him.

And I wouldn't stop.

---NEXT DAY:

I should have seen it coming.

The whispers. The stares. The giggles when I walked by.

Girls at Arcanis weren't always kind. Especially when they saw someone like me-quiet, alone, not trying to make friends.

They thought I was weak.

And weak boys, in their minds, were made to be messed with.

It started at breakfast.

I sat alone at the far end of the hall. Jamie wasn't up yet, and the twins were nowhere to be seen. I didn't mind. Silence was easier to manage.

I took one bite of my toast-and immediately spat it out.

Salt. Pure salt.

I grabbed my water, but that had been swapped with vinegar. My eyes watered as I gagged.

I heard laughter. Soft, but cruel.

Three girls were watching me from the next table. One of them winked.

"Sorry, Xander," she said. "Must've been a kitchen mistake."

Her name was Rina. Blonde, pretty, and smug. The leader of the trio.

The other two-Callie and Bree-were no better.

I wiped my mouth, stood up, and walked out without a word.

But in my head, I was already planning and when I got to the locker room, I opened my locker, and a pile of glitter exploded in my face.

Purple glitter. All over my clothes, my face, my books.

I heard a snap. A camera. Laughter again.

"Oops," Bree said, holding her phone.

"You look fabulous!" Callie laughed.

I clenched my jaw. Walked to the bathroom. Washed it off.

I didn't cry.

I didn't get angry.

I just waited.

---

That night, I got to work.

I borrowed a few things from the supply room. Harmless stuff-food coloring, cling wrap, glue.

I wasn't going to hurt them.

Just humiliate them.

Like they did to me.

---

The next morning, Rina walked into the cafeteria with blue teeth.

She'd brushed with toothpaste I swapped-dyed with blue food color.

Callie sat down and yelped, jumping up from her seat. A loud farting noise echoed.

Rina who's been hiding her teeth could not hold back her laughter.

"Whoopie cushion," Jamie muttered beside me, hiding his laugh.

The entire hall burst into laughter.

They turned red.

But the best part?

I didn't even smile.

I kept my head down. Like I had nothing to do with it.

---

Later, in class, Rina cornered me.

"You think you're clever?" she hissed.

"I think you should stop underestimating people," I said.

She stared at me for a moment. Then smirked.

"This isn't over."

I didn't care.

---

As I walked back to my dorm, I saw Zane leaning against the wall.

He raised an eyebrow. "So. The quiet kid fights back."

I shrugged. "They started it."

He chuckled. "Remind me not to get on your bad side, Vale."

I kept walking. But I couldn't stop the small smile from creeping up.

---

Back in my room, I pulled out the photo again.

The one that strange man left me.

I turned it over.

There was writing now.

"The truth is buried. East Wing. Friday."

My heart skipped.

Tomorrow was Friday.

And the East Wing?

It was off-limits.