Miller’s voice droned down the hall.

“BLT Academy is a structured boarding school dedicated to reforming dysfunctional behavior—”

Theo barely heard the rest. He could still feel Loren’s breath at his neck from the inspection. 

Loren walked beside him, not noticing the gap Theo left between them. He was fixated on Miller’s clipboard, only turning away when he caught Theo staring.

Empty classrooms slipped by. Old security cameras hung above stairwells, sweeping the floors mechanically.

At the end of the hall, the doors opened into a stone breezeway, connecting itself to another newer building. 

Evening light spilled through the archways across the sun baked pavement. The courtyard next to it looked almost serene with potted plants lining wooden shelves.

Theo drew a deeper breath until he reached the next doorway. The air inside the dorm building smelled of body odor, wet socks and beans.

Noise spilled from the cafeteria to the left of the entryway. It dipped when someone said Miller’s name too loud.

Miller led them to the stairwell beside the study hall and up toward the dorms.

The clipboard swayed with Miller's steps. Theo caught his photograph clipped to the page. Beneath it, stamped in thick red letters:

EXPELLED — BULLYING

Theo gripped the railing. He couldn't read the rest of the page.

“You let this happen.” 

He missed a step, catching himself before he fell. Loren paused beside him.

Their eyes locked briefly.

Did he see what was on the clipboard?

Theo pushed past Loren quickly, needing the space.

Gates lined the stairwell at every floor, open for now. By the third floor, the crowd had thinned. They entered one of the corridors, into the West Wing.

Students made way for Miller when they approached.

“Give him a week,” someone whispered. A low snicker followed.

Theo kept his head low. Scuffed footprints marked the baseboards all the way down the corridor.

They passed the doors to the toilet and shower room, stopping two doors from the end at Room 8. 

Inside, Theo’s focus went to the perfectly made bunk bed. Underneath it, books sat neatly arranged on the desk, organized like a display.

The other side of the room wasn’t just bare, it was forgotten. Only a cheap mattress and a thin blanket thrown over it carelessly.

“You’ll be rooming with Brian Carter,” Miller said, glancing at the clipboard again. “Lights out at 10.30. Morning bell at 6. Classes begin at 7.30.”

Theo nodded.

Miller's eyes lifted from the board. 

“Any questions?”

Theo shook his head. What's the point?

“The proper response is ‘No, sir.’” Miller held the clipboard against his belt with both hands.

Theo was used to this shit. Miller is just like the teachers back at his old school. Only they were less patient.

Theo’s jaw flexed. “No, sir.”

“Good.”

Loren stepped out of the room to let Miller pass.

“Learn the system,” Miller said. “It’ll make your life easier.” 

When his footsteps disappeared down the hall, Theo opened the wardrobe by the window to find three sets of uniforms. 

He flinched when he saw Loren leaning against the doorway. Like he didn't bother standing straight anymore.

“Lights out at 10:30,” he said. “No one comes out.”

Theo tilted his head. Miller had already told him that.

Loren stared him up and down once, his brows furrowing slightly. 

Then he turned to leave.

Theo closed the door, his back to it. He swept the room for a camera and a smoke detector to find none inside.

He dropped into the empty desk chair across from his roommate’s. The desk’s surface was surprisingly clean of dust.

Metal bars on the window cast long pillars of shadow across the floorboards.

His roommate hadn’t shown himself. Theo wondered what he’d think of him if he’d learned why Theo was here.

Hate? Fear?

The fucking label.

If Loren could see it that easily, it would only be a matter of time before everyone else found out.

Call it naivety, but Theo really thought he’d get a second chance with this place.