The morning sun, an enormous but nearly blinding field of light shone through the school front entrance and created long flickering shadows on the pavement. The day was full of schooly chaos, very much like the buzz before school started - little basketball thud, noisy schoolyard conversations, repeated squeaking of barefoot shoes... So Max and Trisha walked past the noisy crowd of students in perfect, leisurely harmony and together their hands swayed gently.A little further away, beside the rusty blue lockers at the main entrance, Roland sat on the cool steel and skimmed across his phone away unawarely. Sarah, sitting on a bench next to him, carefully distributed her backpack, a cluster of highlighters pouring out from a small pocket on the other side. Their familiar routine for the first thing in the morning.They just said agape. That was it. Roland had his thumb stopped. He jumbled up his head. With his eyes wide open, Sarah caught him right on top of his highlight. Just for a se

It was an energy packed feeling. Heavy and buzzing in a way like a crazy beehive. As usual the mass of pupils that made them go home was gone. This time all of them were trying to get to one place, a standing to one oak tree at the end of the football field. There were murmurs everywhere as curious, curious ones, running through the room. “Is it really happening? ”“Jerry is going to kill him! ”“No. Max is way too calm. ”Everyone’s eyes pointed at the stage, phones held high up, ready to shoot the next thing.Jerry, getting the glow of everyone's attention, hurried past the crowd and all his usual cavalier patters followed his lead like pilot fish. He moved with a show of extreme pride, his chest puffed out and a big goofy smile plastered over his face. He took off his backpack, dropping it carelessly on one of his friends. He turned his shoulders in what seemed like a display of massive strength and then cracked his knuckles, like the sharp teeth catching on the music of the crowd.“A

Still without saying a word, without giving Max a seat, or even making the pretension of an inquiry, Dr. Solomon began. His voice was low and choked with suppressed anger. “Lesley – I have heard enough – by now – about your barbaric display yesterday – of unprovoked violence against a fellow student – on my son – ” He took one deliberate step forward, his eyes burning into Max’s. “This institution lays down a zero tolerance policy for violence. And for disrespect. ”Max stood before him, calm and composed, his hands loose at his sides. His expression was unreadable, his eyes unblinking, meeting Dr. Solomon’s furious gaze without flinching. He didn't speak, didn't interrupt.Dr. Solomon’s face twisted even further, his rage boiling to boiling point, and he raised his hand in the most abrupt, deliberate motion imaginable, raising his hand at Max’s cheek with an intense and tickling *crack* that made a menacing echo in the soundless doc., a huge shock in that silent office.Max stumbled

Dr. Solomon was reaching the absolute peak of his tirade. His face was a mottled purple, veins throbbing in his temples, and spittle flecked the corners of his mouth. He paced frantically behind his desk, gesturing wildly with the phone still clutched to his ear, though it was clear no one was actually on the other end.“You think you’re so clever, don’t you, Lesley?!” he shrieked, his voice cracking. “Playing your little games! But I’ve been doing this for fifteen years! I know every trick in the book! And you, young man, are about to learn what happens when you cross the line! When you disrespect authority! When you lay a hand on *my* son!” He slammed his fist on the desk, making a stack of papers jump. “I’m calling the police right now! You’ll be in a holding cell before your precious ‘superintendent’ even knows your name! You’re going to jail, Lesley! Jail!”Max turned mute, pressed his face to the principal's stern face, blank face. The red mark on his cheek that had clogged his

They all knew that the fallout from Dr. Solomon’s public firing and Jerry’s humiliating expulsion had blown through the school. The air that used to be teeming with anxiety and the subtle hierarchy of privilege had grown thinner and breathable. But Max knew, that simply getting the heads off a snake didn’t cut off its venom.He sat with Trisha, Roland and Sarah in an alcove in the library, encircled by tall bookshelves that gave him some sense of privacy. The whispers had begun to take on a more concrete form — rumors of a hidden club, from which the entitled children of the city's elite could carry on the small squabbles in peace, whereas teachers and the now vigilant superintendent could be seen.“So what are we listening to? ” Max asked, his voice low and staring over at his friends. He had a piece of paper crumpled up with a randomly drawn diagram of the vast collegiate facility.Roland leaned forward and put his elbows on the table, “It’s called ‘The Inner Circle. ’ Seems like it