Royalwood School was the most intimidating place Raina had ever set foot upon.

Majestic, cold, dark and distant, the campus looked more like the offices of some automaton government than a place were teenagers supposedly attended gym class. As she waited outside the headmaster's office, Raina's feet danced under her chair, her hands lightly drumming against her trusty notepad.

She had been waiting for over ten minutes now and her patience was wearing thin. After all, she made an appointment and while she understood the headmaster surely had a busy schedule, a deal was a deal was a deal.

Taking out her phone, she scrolled through her Twitter feed, seeing the daily comings and goings of her three thousand followers. The news always succeeded in twisting her stomach and today proved no different. Cops killing brothers back home, presidents from all over the world spitting one lie after another, Hollywood studios making movies about superheroes and sappy romances.

Raina released an uninteresting sigh and put her phone down, just in time for the door in front of her to open, revealing a relatively young man in a tweed jacket, sporting the same look one might have while waiting in line at the DMV.

"Miss Franklin?" he asked, offering her his right hand.

She stood up and accepted the handshake. "Headmaster Harlan, I'm sure."

"Rector," he corrected, standing aside to allow her into his office.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Rector Harlan. Thank you."

She stepped into the cozy room and immediately felt out of place. It took her a few more seconds to understand it was the room that stood out of place. Decorated more like the family room in a cabin up north than the office of a headmaster, the office was covered in bright wallpaper and the kind of art one might find at an Architectural Digest feature.

On the shelves, a myriad of books patiently waited to be opened and Raina guessed their purpose was purely decorative. The resigned plant that usually decorated the offices of important men welcomed her with a faint breeze and as she sat in the unusually comfortable chair in front of the large, wooden desk, she understood someone had gone to great lengths to ensure this office looked like everything but an office.

"So, Ms. Franklin, I admit your call was as intriguing as it was troubling," Walter Harlan said as he sat in his green velvet chair. "Asher Colton was a very promising young man and we as an institution are appalled by his untimely demise."

Raina moved on her own seat, struggling to find a comfortable position. "Oh ya, it was indeed terrible. Very violent, very sudden."

"May I ask why your newspaper took such an interest in him?" the man questioned, interlacing his fingers while resting his elbows on his chair's arms.

"We believe there may be more to his story than meets the eye," Raina replied, opening her notepad. The familiar click of her pen signalled the beginning of the interview and she abandoned her soft smile, replacing it with an appropriate frown. "Rector Harlan, what can you tell me about Asher Colton?"

The man sighed and pouted, his upper lip almost touching his nose. "Not much, really. He was a smart young man, committed, ambitious. Good grades, a seemingly promising future. I was very surprised to hear he ended up working at a Costcutter."

"Was he popular while in here?"

"Not particularly, though he always stroke me as the sort of chap that didn't pay attention to popularity. He was shy, partly, I think, because he was here on a partial scholarship and needed to focus his attention on his studies."

Raina nodded as she doodled the man's words. "Aha, aha. Did you ever meet his mother?"

The man frowned, his dim eyes narrowing. "Once or twice, yes. She worked full-time, if I remember accurately, so she didn't make it to a lot of the school's events."

"Would you say Asher and his mom were close?" She crossed her legs and immediately uncrossed them, her big belly making it impossible to sustain the position.

"I'm not sure I could say." The man's eyes studied her thoughtfully. "Why do you ask?"

She released a rehearsed sigh, putting down both pen and paper. "Rector, I don't know if you were aware but Marjorie Colton died a couple of weeks ago. She took her own life by jumping out of the top floor of her apartment building, shortly after her son's passing."

The man's eyes became wide orbs. Taking one of his hands to his mouth, he blinked desperately, his shaky jaw making it clear he was struggling to find the right words.

"Jesus Christ almighty!" He turned around and looked in the sideboard that rested against the wall. Taking out a bottle of Scotch and two glasses, he faced her again and his own mistake became apparent to him once he saw her belly. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, but I understand if ya need to take a sip. This is distressing news for sure."

The man hesitated, clearly not wanting to drink alone. "I might have a glass once this meeting is over," he declared, setting aside the bottle. "So, Mrs. Colton... took her own life. I'm terribly disheartened by the news. She was a respectable woman who worked very hard to give her son a proper education. A real shame, indeed."

Raina bit the tip of her pen and considered her next words. "Rector, I was wondering if I could speak with some of the teachers, ya know, to try to get to know Asher a bit better."

The man jumped out of his own skin and quickly tried to disguise it, but she saw it. His face immediately turned and she realized he had just shut down.

"I don't see how that would help your story, Ms. Franklin. Our staff is very busy and I would not like them to be involved in such a sensitive matter. We are nearing the end of term, finals will begin soon and I need my teachers focused."

She had a rebuttal prepared. "I wouldn't take too much of their time, Rector, I swear. And I wouldn't interview all teachers, just a couple of them. Maybe the ones who taught the classes where Asher scored the best notes?"

"All of our teachers are masters in multiple areas. We have no defined teacher for any particular subject, they switch every new term. So I'm afraid I cannot help you, Ms. Franklin and I think it would be best if you left."

She bit her lip and squinted. Time to bring out the big guns. "Rector, does your reluctance have anything to do with what happened at the beginning of the school year? Ya know, the young man who committed suicide during one of your parties."

Any goodwill she might've earned from the man disappeared right in front of her eyes. His hands held on to the chair's arms and his face hardened, as if she was another student he was about to lecture.

"Now listen to me, Ms. Franklin, I understand that you reporters think you can sensationalize even the most tragic of circumstances because you lack the very empathy that makes the rest of us functioning human beings, but I will not let you taint this school's reputation with one of your fictional, scandalous stories."

"There's nothing fictional about this story, Rector," she stood her ground, straightening in her chair. "And I have reason to believe Asher Colton might've walked a dangerous path, one that was initiated while he attended this very school."

The man let out a high-pitched laugh. "Nonsense, utter nonsense! Eight Nobel Prize laureates have attended Royalwood. This institution has given the world renowned economists, politicians, composers, novelists, playwrights, musicians and two Hollywood actors. We are not in the business of scandal, Ms. Franklin."

"But you are in the business of hiding the truth. Why wasn't the young man's suicide reported in any major news outlets?"

Her question fanned the fire in the man's eyes. "Out of respect, of course! Something someone of your kind wouldn't understand."

"Respect to whom?" she asked, her voice steady even if her insides trembled. "To the family of the deceased young man or to the board of trustees whose interests would certainly take a hit from a news like this?"

The man opened his mouth, ready to fight back, but something held him back and she knew exactly what. He remembered that she wasn't an official authority to question him and as such, he owed her no explanations. And so, the man stood up, buttoned his tweed jacket and crossed his office in two strides, holding the door open for her.

"Someone will escort you out of school premises, Ms. Franklin. Good day to you."

Releasing another sigh that was everything but prepared, she conceded defeat. Making her way to the door, she stopped in front of the man, her cool eyes meeting his fiery gaze.

"Don't bother, I can find my own way." She took a moment, collecting her untamed thoughts. "Ya know, you claim to care about your students yet you deliberately endanger them by keeping them in the dark. Keep telling lies, Rector, and soon you'll find yourself with only your goat to listen to and agree with you."

And she left, leaving the words hanging from his lips.

********

Raina walked around campus for what seemed like an hour. Even if she indeed wanted to leave after the meeting, she would've failed. A wrong turn somewhere along the way embarked her on a journey of exploration around Royalwood School. The campus soared above her, imposing, a living, breathing congregation of stone monoliths built with the sole purpose of adding more heft to an already heavy world.

The place stood cold and lonely despite the horde of students that came and went, dressed in a grey school uniform that made them look like the government officials they would surely grow up to be. As someone educated in the public school system, Raina could not relate to them, try as she might. And they saw her for what she was: a foreigner on their lands, a critic of their ways.

As a storm of gazes fell upon her, she went back to high school. She walked along that hallway, vulnerable and mild, rare among those who had it all. At once, she became very aware of herself and realized just how out of place she must've seemed. A pregnant, black middle aged woman dressed in Zara and H&M. She could practically hear the thoughts of the children who walked next to her, their gentle slaps and barely-disguised insults slamming against her, trying to bruise her thick skin.

They wouldn't bring her down but they could kick her out and getting back in would prove nearly impossible. Suddenly, the prospect of leaving this place seemed terribly attractive.

Exiting the hall through the first door she found, she breathed the fresh air from the outside, the chill injecting her with brand new energies. Unsure of where to go, because she remained unsure of what to search for, she walked to the closest bench and sat, deciding it was a good time to gather her thoughts.

What's the next step, Raina? It was always that way. What's the next step?

"Hey!" A voice called from behind and Raina felt a twinge of fear travelling through her. "Hey, you! What are you doing slacking off?"

Fear turned to offense and she closed her notepad with all the delicacy of a punch to the throat, ready to confront her accuser.

"Excuse me?" she asked, turning to see a man dressed in a tuxedo walking towards her.

"Why should I?" He pointed a condemning finger at her, making her pull back a little. "Not only do you arrive late, but instead of going directly to your station, you choose to sit here and waste time. Do you perhaps fancy a cuppa? Some biscuits? A foot rub?"

Raina was actually speechless. She had dealt with her share of assholes in her life, but she had yet to find a random stranger who came after her out of nowhere. Was this perhaps one of those hate attacks she saw on Buzzfeed News? Was this racism rearing its ugly head? For the first time in a long time, Raina found herself at a loss for words.

The man's eyes became round plates and he raised his eyebrows, opening his mouth, daring her to say something back. When she didn't, he let out a sigh that could've also been a grunt and slapped his hands together.

"Well, get up, girl! And put on your uniform! I don't want any complaints from the school board." He grabbed her by the arm, snapping her out of her trance.

"Excuse me, don't you dare touch me!" she yelled, pulling back and bringing out the man's well-guarded confusion.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he said, raising his open hands in defeat and taking a step back, "but we really must be off. The event starts in five hours and there's still so much to do. The agency did mention this was an all-nighter, yes? See, this is why I dislike working with pregnant women. Rejecting you would've been controversial, but perhaps I should've."

Blinking as realization dawned upon her, the muscles on her face untightened. "Oh, you mean to say I'm the girl you were waiting for?"

The man looked at her as if he couldn't believe her stupidity. "Do you see any other black, pregnant waitresses here?"

She smiled, putting her notepad back in her purse. "I sure don't! So we havin' a party?"

"We are serving a party," the man corrected, holding her by the arm again and leading her out of the small garden and into the parking lot. "I trust the agency explained the details to you, right? No talking to the kids, no touching the kids. To them, you must be invisible. You give them anything, they'll take it and use it to squeeze you, and believe me, these little shits can make your life a living hell if they wanted to. Understood?"

Raina nodded quickly, almost running to keep up with the long man's strides. "Crystal."

"Good," he said, finally letting go of her. "As soon as we get to the tent, change into your uniform. I don't want you walking around dressed like that."

********

The scene in front of her jumped straight out of a Bret Easton Ellis novel.

Alcohol poured out of every corner of the room, even the places where one would least expect it. Teenagers in obscenely elaborate costumes rubbed against each other, disappearing into the darkest spaces and emerging half-clothed, makeup smeared, smiles complicit. On the dance floor, they undressed each other with their eyes, hands travelling every inch of their bodies, impatient and reckless. No one belonged to anyone. They were mere dancing partners and when the song ended, so did their connection.

Inhibition had no place in that room. The glowing neon lights made this entire thing seem like a nightmarish dream. A flash of moments, each wilder than the previous one. A series of vignettes of decadence and privilege, only loosely connected by the presence of the same people in all of them.

Despite her best efforts, Raina couldn't make sense of what occurred around her. She had never been exposed to this kind of behavior. This wasn't the sort of excess that proved too irresistible to ignore, but rather the degeneracy that turned men into beasts. The degradation of an entire generation right in front of her eyes.

The party had raged for over three hours and it didn't seem close to ending. Walking among the sea of flesh, Raina struggled to see. Even when she did, she had no way of knowing if what she witnessed was the truth or just another mirage brought about by the toxic combination of heat and booze. A tale born out of sheer desire.

It hadn't been hard to lose her waitress persona. Once inside, she simply slithered around the crowd, hinging between the swaying bodies, using the darkness as an ally.

Now, in the middle of that feverish delusion, she searched for the reason behind the madness. Alcohol could get you to do a lot of stupid shit, but these kids were on something else. Cupcakes would be too foreign at a party; instead, her eyes scouted for exchanges being made in the dark, or perhaps goodie bags like the ones Lyla mentioned.

Nothing so far. Out of the many transactions taking place at that very moment, she had not witnessed any with her own eyes. Yet Raina knew it was only a matter of time. Something would happen and she'd be ready when it did.

And then she saw it. In the far corner of the room, directly opposite her, two boys faced each other. At first sight, it might've seemed like they were kissing and it took Raina several seconds to see what was actually happening. Their movements were swift and rehearsed. This was clearly not their first dance.

Their exchange finished before it even started and in the blink of an eye, they boys parted ways. One went into the dance floor and into his trance again, but the other walked the opposite way, towards the stairs that led to the exit.

Raina wasted no more time. Making her way through the swarm of teenagers, her eyes stayed on her mark, following him all the way to the door. She stumbled out of the party and into the cold grasp of the night, Only a few stood outside, mainly couples embracing each other, perhaps seeking some respite from the heavy scene.

The now hooded figure walked away at a quick pace, his frame now barely visible in the distance. Raina sped after him, deciding that enough distance separated them. On the silence of the night, her steps were tremors. Her clenched fists held on to her own heart each time her feet crashed against the ground below. More than once she thought the shadow in front of her was about to turn back and surprise her in the act of trailing him.

As the seconds passed and she went deeper into the solitary campus, she became aware of the fact she didn't know her way back to the party. The sting of fear took over her when a myriad of possibilities began dancing around her, each as merciless as the one before. Was this on purpose? Was she being led into a trap?

She couldn't help but slow her movements, allowing the shadow to put even more distance between them. Was she doing the right thing? She immediately forced herself out of that train of thought. An imaginary slap went across her face and she picked up her pace. She had never feared pursuing a story before and she wouldn't now.

Now almost jogging to make up for the lost time, she realized the shadow was no longer in sight. Those precious seconds she spent debating on whether or not she should keep going proved decisive. Now she stood alone in the middle of an empty campus, with no idea of where to go and no clue on how to get back.

"Oh for Pete's sake," she cursed under her breath.

With the shadow now gone, and with no desire to go back to that orgy of horny teenagers, she decided it was time to leave this place and try again in the morning. Only a vague memory of where she parked her car remained, so she left the road she had been following and instead went left, towards a brightly lit area where she could gather herself.

The sound of steps startled her. She turned around, hoping to meet the shadow again, but instead found a boy in a tuxedo and a face full of skull makeup. He walked aimlessly, hands in his pockets, eyes on the sky. He didn't seem to notice her, but judging by his demeanour, he probably wasn't noticing anything.

"Hey," Raina called, but the boy didn't listen. He kept walking and, for the second time in a row, she found herself chasing after another figure.

Her calls went unnoticed and after a couple of tries, she stopped wasting her voice, understanding that her best chance was to simply catch up to him and ask him for help.

The boy entered a side of campus she had not yet seen and she wondered just how big this wretched place was. The buildings around her didn't look like classrooms and Raina guessed they now walked in the dorm section of the school.

She was just about to catch up to the boy when another voice echoed in the air. It was low and far too mature to belong to the boy, and something in its tone made Raina's skin crawl. Stopping in her tracks, she turned around but found nothing in her vicinity. The voice's ghost still floated in the air above them and Raina felt compelled to raise her eyes.

She saw them.

Two figures stood on the roof of the building directly in front of her. One, right at the edge, the other some steps behind. At first, Raina thought the second figure might be trying to prevent the first one from jumping. For a few seconds, it looked like it would work. The figure on the edge seemed hesitant, immobile on the spot.

Then the voice spoke again. One simple word that froze the night, stopped her heart and left her incapable of acting.

"Jump!" the voice commanded and the figure at the edge obeyed.

The body crashed against the floor, landing in front of the aimless boy and a splash of blood covered the ground in crimson. Stunned, the boy fell on his bottom, the event taking him out of his own world.

"Holy buckets!" she said as she hurried to the place where the two bodies laid on the ground. "She jumped! She jumped!"

The boy in the skull makeup turned to see her with empty eyes. She wouldn't get any help from him. Hell, by the looks of him, he needed help too. She took out her phone and dialled 999. Her voice broke when she spoke to the woman on the other side.

"Hello? Yes, I'd like to report a... suicide," she said, hesitation taking over her words. "Royalwood School, in Brighton. Please hurry."

She hung up and immediately raised her eyes again. The figure on the roof was long gone. Before her, there was only sky.