Variant

I was wrong when I talked to Becky. It wasn’t seventy-four anymore. It was seventy-two.

I walked slowly back up to class on the third floor. At least it wasn’t going to be as hard to stay awake this time; I had something to think about. Why kill people in detention? It wasn’t as a warning to others-if that was the goal then wouldn’t they display the bodies? Wouldn’t they call it something other than detention?

Or maybe the school liked that it was all rumor and hushed conversations. Maybe that kept people more scared than a dead body ever would. A dead body might make people mad, make them rebel.

Back in Pittsburgh I’d always been around gangs. Real gangs, not these cocky wannabes. There was always fighting, always violence. But it wasn’t until a kid got shot in the grocery store parking lot on a Saturday afternoon that the community really rallied. People had been dying for years, but it was always in alleys and back lots, in the middle of the night. When people actually saw it with their own eyes, that’s what made them want to stop it.

Maxfield Academy wanted us to be afraid. They didn’t want us to ever know why we were here.

I’m going to find out.

I was almost to the classroom door when I heard my name.

“Benson!”

I turned just in time to see Jane inches away. She threw her arms around me.

“Oh my gosh,” she said. “Are you okay?”

Confused, I hugged her back. I didn’t want to tell her that the only thing causing me pain right now was her squeezing my bruises.

“I’m fine.”

She pulled back and looked into my face. She was smiling, but her eyes were red like she’d been crying. “I heard what happened. What were you doing out of your room?”

“Just looking around,” I said.

It took a minute for me to realize we were standing in the middle of the hall holding each other, and I quickly let go of her.

“Don’t do that again,” she said, shaking her head and laughing nervously. Her voice hushed. “What if Isaiah caught you?”

We turned toward the classroom door.

“There’s nothing in the rules about being out at night,” I said.

“Unless he thinks you’re trying to escape.”

I nodded. She grabbed my arm and gave it a squeeze. “Just be careful, okay?”

“Okay.”

Laura was teaching again, smiling as brightly as she had before, but she never made eye contact with me. We halfheartedly discussed the aesthetics textbook that we were supposed to have read, although no one-not even the Society kids-really got into it. I hadn’t even thought about the book since I’d gotten it.

As the bell rang for lunch, Laura read a note from her computer.

“We have an announcement from the school,” she said happily. “There is going to be a dance in ten days. As contracts will be renewed next week and points awarded, please note that dance attire is available for purchase. You will also be able to purchase music that you wish to have played during the dance. Whoever gets the janitorial contract this month will be responsible for setup and decoration.”

Lily slumped in her seat. “That’s more work for the V’s.”

“The contracts are being changed?” I asked.

“They’re being renewed,” Jane corrected, turning back to look at me. “Nobody negotiates anymore. We have a truce.”

I nodded, listening to the rest of the room chatter about the dance. After my conversation with Becky, this all felt so wrong. I understood what she had meant-that it was safer to follow the rules-but could I really go to a dance knowing what I did about the school? That the same people who were letting us buy tuxes and music were also murdering kids in the basement?

“You okay?” Jane asked. Shaken from my thinking, I realized that most of the other students were on their feet and heading out the door. She was still sitting in front of me.

“Yeah,” I said. “I guess.”

“The first week is always the hardest,” she said. “Everyone has trouble.” Jane put her elbows on my desk and rested her chin in her hands, grinning mischievously. “You’re a little more vocal about it than some, but everyone thinks like you at first.”

I looked at the people filing out of the room, chatting excitedly about the dance. “How long does it take to get brainwashed?”

“Listen,” she whispered. “You’re in the V’s, and we agree with you. A lot of terrible stuff happens here.” There was something in her eyes, some hurt that I couldn’t identify. “But have you ever stopped to think about where you’d go if you left? You don’t have any family. No one here does.”

“I’d have my freedom.”

“Freedom to do what? Get a minimum-wage job and live in a run-down apartment-if you’re lucky?”

I snatched my textbook from my desk. “So you’re here because you like it.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“What do you mean?”

Jane pulled back from my desk and took a breath. She tiredly ran her fingers through her hair. Finally, she stood and extended her hand to me. “Let’s go get some lunch.”

Chapter Nine