Erika Felix awoke to the dreaded bell of East Hampton Military Institute destroying her eardrums. With a groggy inhumane sound that she didn't even know she was capable of, Erika sat upright in bed, somberly looking over her new bedroom. She hadn't gotten used to the grey, unimaginative decor and missed her large room back at the Felix estate with an elevated bed that she had to climb steps to reach. Her old room had been fit for a queen.

Her East Hampton dorm was made for a peasant.

Cashmere Caldwell wasn't present but her grey bunker lay open on her bed, purple Steven Alan jammies strewn around it. Did she really wake up earlier than the bell? 'What kind of No-Don't-Even-Try is she?' Erika thought in bewilderment.

Although maybe that was a good thing...

A wicked smile spreading across Erika's face, she got out of bed and sauntered over to Cash's open bunker. The institute didn't have proper closets as the cadets wouldn't "need them" and thus, everything Cash owned was laid out for her roomie to see - or tamper with.

Erika was still fuming over her destroyed phone, her only hope that someone would rescue her from this filthy place. Not to mention Trash Caldwell and Addie roots-unkempt Anderson had the nerve to try to intimidate her. Her. She would be destroying them whilst on a shopping spree on Rodeo Drive if they were back at Alabaster Prep, playing on her turf.

But Erika was about to make Trash realize she'd messed with the wrong bitch.

Erika dug through Cash's bunker, pulling out pajamas that were either as purple as her hair or had anime characters printed across the fabric and clothes that looked as if they were made for the islands. How had she been able to smuggle her wardrobe into the school but Erika could only get away with the clothes she'd been wearing upon being kidnapped? Which were her precious Balmain jeans that were now marred with grass stains.

Underneath the heaps of clothing, Erika was even more outraged to find that Trash still had her wallets, jewelry sets, and even Polaroid pictures from lavish vacations to look at when she felt tired of the hell hole she was stuck in. Erika flipped through the pictures with a scowl, studying Cash posing on a beach in a Triangl bikini in Barbados, posing with a group of girls in front of the Eiffel Tower wearing maroon sweaters emblazoned with a Trinity School symbol, and hugging a girl with similar dark, afro-curly hair and a model skinny figure in a beach house - except the girl's face was entirely scratched out with red Sharpie and the words; 'Stupid bitch.'

'Hmmm...'

Erika ripped up the photos, tossing the remnants on to Cash's bed without a second thought. Then she gathered up Cash's bohemian-style clothes and nerdy PJs, quickly scanning the grey room for somewhere to toss them. She needed to discard them somewhere that Cash would never find them - or at least somewhere that would ruin her entire wardrobe beyond a wash. Not that you could even wash a stain out of cashmere or silk.

Then it hit her.

Setting the clothes down on the dreary wooden floor, Erika bounded over to the window above her own bed, opening it quickly to let in the bright Spring sun and the view of students dressed in the ugly camouflage uniform spilling out on to the brilliantly green field for First Quarter. If she squinted hard enough, she could make out Addie doing cartwheels across the field like a mouse in a frenzy.

Sighing, Erika picked up Cash's entire wardrobe - Hanro undies and all - and heaved them out the window, watching the clothes fall soundlessly to the grass that was still damp from the sprinklers that ran every night. There was no doubt that Cash's clothes would be as green as Shrek's ass by the time she tried to save them.

"Looks like you'll be sleeping in your uniform tonight, Trash Caldwell." Erika smirked to herself before hurrying out of the dorm with her own uniform before Cash got back.

ⓁⓊⓍⓊⓇⓎ

Erika hadn't been able to make it to First Quarter during the first day of her new Hell so she didn't know what to expect as she glanced down at the schedule in her hand, slowly pushing open the cherry wooden door leading into Room A21.

Unlike most of the school, she didn't have back-breaking labor first thing in the morning. Her First Quarter was simply; Beginner Therapy. Beginner as in there were more volumes to the class. How long did they expect her to be here?

It was only Day two in Hell and her body already ached from all the jumping, climbing, running, crying, and screaming she'd endured from every quarter of the day. She had been grateful when Brunch came around but the food had been so awful that she didn't have anything to throw up later. Thus, she hadn't really eaten and she knew that was going to come back to haunt her when it came time for Second Quarter - which happened to be climbing mountain-like obstacle courses to build strength.

Stomach growling, Erika entered Room A21.

"Erika Audriana Felix, we've been expecting you."

Erika nearly turned right back around and headed back to her dorm to cry. When she'd seen Beginner Therapy on her schedule, she'd expected a boring, grey room with boring, grey chairs arranged in a semicircle around a boring, grey woman. While there was a semicircle of chairs in the broad room, there was also a large spacious section, dark blue balls in a basket sitting in the corner. However, what made Erika feel like a pathetic ball of tears was the walking abomination who was going to take someone's eyes out someday sitting in a burgundy cushioned chair at the center of the semicircle of army-clad teens; Lakemond.

Lakemond was supposed to be teaching something annoying like 'How-To-Exercise-Until-You-Die-101,' or 'How-To-Get-Away-With-Murder-For-Beginners.' Anything but therapy.

All of Erika's fellow cadets turned in their plastic, grey chairs to look at her. Each and every person in the room looked lifeless and miserable, eyes observing her as if they were sharing some silent pity - except for the boy just at the right of Lakemond who only continued writing in the notebook on his lap. He was familiar with his light brown gorgeous waves that cascaded down to his shoulders and Erika realized he was the same boy who stood up for his aesthetic the other day.

But she could have sworn she'd seen him before...

"Ahem, Erika - I mean, Cadet Felix, please find a seat. You're late." Lakemond instructed sternly.

Erika glanced at the clock above the bowl-cut woman. "How am I late? First Quarter starts at seven-forty-five." And she was right on time.

"Well when you're in my class, you should be here by five-forty-five."

"But the bell doesn't stop ringing until-"

"Find a seat, Cadet."

Scoffing profusely, Erika scanned the group. She immediately spotted an empty plastic chair next to a freckle-faced blonde and quickly moved to sit next to her.

However, the girl moved the notebook she'd been drumming her splotchy painted nails on to the empty seat, giving Erika a spiteful look as if to say, 'Fuck off.' Erika had never seen such a look on a wannabe towards her.

She moved around the semicircle for the next free chair, settling into the seat between the familiar Hair God and a boy with an intense habit of biting his nails. The biter abruptly stood up just as Erika sat down, shooting her a harsh glower before taking the seat she'd been denied.

Whatever that meant...

"Since Cadet Felix is late, we all have to do introductions again," Lakemond announced. She was sitting firmly in her chair, bowl-cut black hair half-covering her icy, blue eyes and wearing a white T-shirt along with her baggy, army pants. "We'll start to the left." She moved to look at the honey bob cut-haired girl beside her who was looking lazily out the window behind her.

Erika didn't really give a shit about what her fellow cadets' names were but their stories as for why they were at the institute were amusing. Bob cut girl was there for shoplifting a dress at Bergdorf for the upcoming Fashion Week after being cut off by her parents, freckle-faced girl was there for dating a boy whose parents were Democrats, nail biting boy was there for Jaguar racing in the UK, and another boy admitted to being there for trashing his step-mother's mansion because she was a "gold digger."

"And what about you Cadet Felix?" Lakemond asked after the boy with the gold digger finished his story, looking Erika directly in the eye. "Would you like introduce yourself to the group?"

While Lakemond always retained a stony expression, Erika could have sworn she saw a cheekiness to her stare. It was almost as if she were silently taunting her, pleased at how ashamed Erika's father was of her. If she ever got to sue this place, she was taking Lakemond for the five dollars she was worth first.

"Um, I'm Erika Felix," Erika said awkwardly.. "And I'm here because...."

She found herself staring down at the ugly camouflage pattern that embellished her pants. Usually, she was confident in everything she said but ever since she arrived at this disgusting facility, the ounce of confidence she had gained back from her father's short-lived approval had evaporated. "Because..."

Her throat felt thick and she just couldn't get out the three words she was probably expected to say.

As if Erika had suddenly turned invisible, Lakemond turned to the Hair God beside her without a second glance. "Cadet Hayward? How about you introduce yourself since Cadet Felix is struggling."

Hair God shifted in his seat, running a hand through his wavy hair. "I'm Jared Hayward and I'm here for selling drugs to my fellow classmates."

Erika immediately looked up from her lap in shock, studying the boy beside her now; long hair, calm voice, struggling hipster gimmick. He was indeed Jared Hayward, Alabaster Prep's old drug dealer who'd been caught after someone tipped off to Headmaster Vanderbit that there was a major rich kid drug cartel happening right under his nose. After thousands of student interviews, some wannabe with too much info spilled at the beginning of the school year.

His expulsion had been a big devastation to the school. No one wanted to travel to peasant territory just to get Marijuana. Erika, on the other hand, hadn't really cared and was glad when Jared fell out of the Rumor Mill and the spotlight finally shifted back to her.

Erika could tell Jared recognized her as he continued to steal glances repeatedly as Lakemond went on. "Now that we're all acquainted. We'll get on with the first exercise of the semester," She pointed towards the large empty space behind Erika. "Pacers, back and forth, and don't stop until I say so."

"But this is a therapy session." Erika gasped. They were supposed to be working out their minds, not their legs.

Lakemond's blue eyes grew even icier than before. "Do not question me, Cadet."

Reluctantly, everyone slipped out of their seats and headed for the opposite dull wall.

Erika felt like she was in Weston Day School again as she ran back and forth from the wall to the semicircle where Lakemond still sat stonily, blowing a navy blue whistle that hung from her neck every time they finished an interval. She hadn't eaten much since arriving and as Erika expected, it was coming back to bite her in the ass.

She stopped in the middle of the run at least a trillion times, Lakemond storming up from her chair each time and blowing her whistle in Erika's face until she was able to run again. Beginner Therapy had turned into a torture fest and once the ear shattering bell rang, signaling the five minutes they had to get to Second Quarter, Erika was relieved.

She practically flew for the door and just as she pushed it open, freckle-faced blondie came shoving into her, not even apologizing as she moved down the busy, tudor hall. Erika scoffed. What was up with the wannabes here?

"You pissed off Cash Caldwell, didn't you?" Erika nearly jumped, turning to see Jared Hayward following her out into the crowded hall. Jared Hayward still looked similar to the last time she'd seen him at a Venice Beach Party during the Summer where he supposedly professed his love to Jac - only for the dark-haired beauty to dump him as soon as she'd gotten tired of being mad at Damon Felix for cheating.

He was still tall, and while his hair had grown at least two inches, he was still a magnificent-haired, overly pretentious hipster. He just didn't have one of his Allsaints beanies and polaroid camera to fit his "aesthetic".

Erika stopped directly next to a wall of pictures dating all the way back to 1890 when the school was supposedly created, displaying the faces of every Principal the institute had ever had. "Jared Hayward," She said sharply, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "Why am I not surprised to see you here?"

Jared sighed as if she were making his head hurt. "Maybe because it's common knowledge that I've been expelled, Erika."

"And now you're here. And Mommy and Daddy are pretending they don't even have a son. How does that feel?" Erika taunted. Mr. and Mrs. Hayward had practically disowned their son after he was shipped off to military school. If anyone asked about a 'Jared,' now, they pretended they only knew of a 'Jared Leto'.

Jared Hayward, however, only shrugged. "It sucked at first but my parents were always overly dramatic," He smiled then. "But considering the fact you're here too, how do you feel?"

It was Erika's turn to frown.

Jared ignored her obvious discomfort. "Well, with the way Tawny walked through you like a ghost just now, I'm guessing you've pissed off Cash Caldwell."

"Cash?" Erika tsked, quickly finding her voice. "What does she have to do with anything-"

"Walked through you like a ghost," Jared murmured more to himself instead of the auburn-haired girl in front of him. "God, that's such a good line. I need to remember to write that down-"

"Ugh, I knew I found you annoying, I just forgot why," Erika scowled, crossing her arms and this time, returning a glare that was as evil as she could muster towards nail-biting-boy who finally slipped out of Room A21 behind her. "What do you mean by 'pissing off Cash'?"

"You know who Cash is, right?"

"Purple hair, mediocre on the outside, crazy on the inside? Yeah, I think I know her. She's my roommate."

"So you're the roommate who threw all her clothes out the window?" Jared questioned although it sounded more like a statement. "She's pretty pissed about that. She's been going off about you bullying her and Addie and when Cash is pissed, she gets the whole school pissed."

Erika couldn't help but smirk. So her subtle revenge did work. Maybe now she'll realize who exactly she was messing with and back off. She may have frightened her the day before but that was only because Erika had still been recovering from the fact she was even there. "I don't really care about a bunch of rejects getting pissed. I just want to get out of here."

"Well, that's not happening anytime soon. East Hampton Military School is the new Alcatraz, it's impossible to escape."

"Have you even tried?"

"I've been here for a year. What do you think, Erika?" Jared asked calmly with a sigh but then a strange glint appeared in his light, brown eyes and he slowly beamed. "Actually, I think there might be one more way."

Erika practically stopped breathing. "Tell me." And as if some unknown force were trying to force her to carry on, the shrill bell rang at that moment, startling the very few cadets still trying to find their classes into any door around.

Great, now she was going to be late for Second Quarter.

"Meet me in the dining hall tomorrow morning," Jared said. "And seriously, watch your back. Cash Caldwell is crazy."

"Please, the most she can do is break a phone."

"You wish that's all she could do." Jared remarked before strolling down the hall as if he weren't late to Second Quarter and disappearing around a corner.

ⓁⓊⓍⓊⓇⓎ

Erika Felix cautiously stepped out of the white-tiled shower of the Girls dormitory after her final class. Her face had been caked with dirt from being forced to do 500 push ups at the sound of a horn. After twenty push ups, she'd started to fall face first into the mud due to how shaky her arms became. Then, as if that hadn't been enough to make her miserable, she had to crawl through towering ropes, completely destroying her uniform - not that that was a tragedy.

Fully dressed in the PJs she'd been given by the administrators - a boring grey t-shirt with the school's title and matching sweats - Erika ambled over to the nearest mirror. The Girls' showers weren't the slightest bit private. The only thing keeping a girl from getting her ass exposed was a thin black curtain hanging on the bars of each shower. However, all you had to do was simply peer at the mirrors to see inside from the slits of the curtains.

Not that Erika had tried.

Erika brushed her teeth furiously before staring at her reflection, examining the hazel eyes she'd inherited from her father and auburn hair that still felt mucky despite how many times she'd washed it. How could Matthew send her here? Here. A place where PE was nearly every class and the students were simply delinquents who had no idea what to do with themselves in the outside world.

'I am not a delinquent, I am not a, I am not, ' Erika loosely tied her damp hair into a low ponytail, sighing miserably at the mirror. 'I am.' Erika felt a tear fall but she quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand. She was here because she had kissed a girl and liked it - and as far as her father was concerned, that was a crime.

Just as she was about to get out of her pathetic feelings and storm to her dorm, the bathroom door opened and in came Cashmere Caldwell and her fellow 'No-Don't-Even-Trys; Addie Anderson and the freckle-faced blonde girl from Beginner Therapy that Erika now knew was Tawny.

Cashmere was now dressed in the same boring PJs as Erika, purple hair in braids that hung to her shoulders. Erika spotted a butterfly tattoo on her ankle that she hadn't noticed the day she met her. It was a soft shade of purple, decorated with pink and glittering blue wings.

To Erika's surprise, she smiled kindly towards her, actually looking ridiculously pretty before producing a pink MAC compact mirror from the pockets of her sweats. She leaned on the sink counter as she started dabbing contour all over her face. "Hey, Leaving, how was classes?"

Erika smiled back. She knew exactly what game the in-the-closet anime lover was playing. "I heard about your clothes decorating the field this morning? So unfortunate." She locked eyes with Cash in the mirror, whose smile slightly diminished.

Addie and Tawny moved forward as if they were jittery from anticipation.

"I bet you found that funny." Cash said, smile rigid. She started dabbing contour on her lips.

"I did," Erika agreed with a giggle for maximum irritation. "You should consider wearing the clothes. It'd be a waste if you didn't and I'm sure grass stains will bring out your eyes. You might want to get green hair to match though."

Cash's smile completely disappeared, replaced by an oddly peaceful expression. "Of course, someone like you would find that funny," She said accusingly. "I see you haven't changed at all since your Alabaster bitch days." Behind her, Addie shook her head as if she were soulfully agreeing.

Erika rested a hand on her hip. "If you had just learned to mind your own business and not destroy my property, your secondhand clothing wouldn't be ruined beyond repair. But I'm sure you've learned your lesson now."

"Lesson?" Cash queried, whipping out a dark shade of eye shadow and applying it to her face.

"No one fucks with Erika Felix." Erika replied haughtily.

However, Cash only simpered. "Actually, Erika, there's a lesson here that you need to learn," She turned to Erika at that moment, giving her a clear view of her makeup handiwork. Cash no longer looked like a fresh face just out of the shower. She looked like she'd just been punched; lips and cheeks looking slightly purple and bruised.

Erika gasped. 'What. The. Fu-'

At that moment, Cash broke into hysterical screams, cowering on to the floor.

"Cash, what-what-what are you doing?" Addie stammered but Cash didn't answer her, rolling around on the floor like she had something up her ass and screaming so loudly that she was almost as shrill as the bell.

"Jared Hayward said you were crazy," Erika managed. "I didn't think he was right." With that, she hurried for the door, ready to find whoever administered the dormitory and ask for a room transfer ASAP. However, just as she was about to open the door, she was nearly hit in the face with it as a woman with wispy brown hair tied into a bun and carrying a manila folder burst into the room, free hand hovering over something in her back pocket. Behind her, nearly the entire dormitory was peering into the bathroom.

"What is going on here?" The woman exclaimed, her name tag reading; 'Dorm Supervisor.'

Addie and Tawny looked at each other and back at the crying girl on the floor, clearly unsure of what to say.

"It was her!" Cash suddenly cried, her voice so hysterical that it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Erika thought she was pointing to the dorm supervisor but her jaw nearly dropped when she realized Cash was pointing the finger at...her. "Erika Felix hit me! I was just trying to brush my teeth and do my hair but she went psycho and hit me!"

Gasps erupted like a balloon finally being popped.

"W-what? I-I did not!" Erika stuttered, not sounding the least bit innocent.

The dorm supervisor's face went pale and she looked to Addie and Tawny. "Cadets, did you see what transpired?"

"Miss-whatever-your-name-is, I would never hit her!" Erika cried more persistently, trying to grab the supervisor's attention but her eyes were locked on Addie and Tawny.

"Look at me!" Cash whined on the floor, gesturing to her makeup-caked face. "I look fucked up! What if my face never heals?"

"What are you talking about? Those bruises are just concealer!" Erika screeched but her voice seemed to be lost over Cash's wails of "pain".

"Cash, can you please be silent?" The supervisor shouted, looking flustered. She turned back to Addie and Tawny. "I'll ask again. Did you see what happened here?" The bathroom fell deathly silent then, all eyes turning to the two wallflowers cowering near the showers.

Addie gulped, looking between Cash and Erika - who tried to give her a smoldering glare that screamed, 'Don't lie or I will find a way to end you.' "Um..well...um...I wasn't...um...I was...well-"

"Erika hit her," Freckle-faced Tawny spoke up,  brown eyes boring into Erika's hazel ones. "We were just minding our own business. Erika tried to pick a fight and socked Cashmere in the face. "

All eyes immediately turned on Erika then, each girl peering into the room looking as if they hated her guts.

There was no way in Hell she was going down for this.

"Miss-whatever-your-name-is," Erika started, taking a step towards the disheveled Cash. "They're lying. She came in here and started bothering me with her presence. Then she proceeded to put on makeup to prepare to frame me. Let me show you." She reached for Cash's face, trying to smear the makeup,  and quickly realizing she'd fucked up.

As soon as she reached for Cash, the girl started to scream again, and Miss-Whatever-Her-Name-Was tore Erika away from her, hauling her out of the bathroom as if she were a criminal on her way to prison.

However, despite the hysterical screaming from all the girls as the dorm supervisor practically dragged Erika away, she could still see Cash slowly lift her head up from the floor with a chilling smile as if to say, 'Gotcha'.

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A/N:

To be honest, this was one of the most fun chapters I've ever written. I don't even know why :p

I'm really curious to see what you guys think of Jared Hayward (there were several references to him in the 1st book) and just what's going on overall in this chapter! 

Thank you so much for reading <3