ELEANORA MARTINEZ KNEW HER surname tasted like blood between the principal's teeth, a sharp reminder of her brother and parents all the same. Being a legacy kid at most schools was a good thing, but here at St Joseph's Institute for Troubled Children, the place where only the worst of the worst were sent to, it only meant trouble. It didn't help that her brother was here either, the both of them sitting in the principal's office like children about to be scolded. He had insisted to bring her so he could see her off and her mother had hugged her at the entrance, after having made her promise not to burn the school down.

Both her parents had attended, and ruled, this school once, but she knew her mother was only reminded of her father when she stood in front of the prison-like building. She too missed him, but this was no time to let grief course through her veins, so instead she focussed back on the principal. He was a burly man, with a full moustache and thick eyebrows knit in a frown. Honestly, she actually missed seeing Clarkson, the loud vice-principal had at least been funny in his bitterness.

The principal cleared his throat then, eyes wandering from her to her brother. "Sebastian, I hadn't expected to see you here."

"You know I missed this place too much to not come back," Sebastian grinned, leaning his arm across the chair and spreading his legs," I had a great time here, so I'm sure my sister will too."

"That's what I'm worried about," the principal sighed, shaking his head," I actually was hesitating about accepting you in St Joseph after your family's... reputation. But Bas convinced me that the whole purpose of St Joseph is allowing each student to come here, no matter who they are."

"Bas?" Ella frowned.

"Excuse me, I meant vice-principal Clarkson," the principal corrected himself," you have to thank him if you see him."

"The man adored me," Sebastian smiled at Ella," we bickered fondly almost every day."

"I don't remember anything fond about me scolding you, Sebastian."

They turned towards the door, where Clarkson was standing, in a fluorescent yellow tracksuit and with his dark hair messy as always. Despite being somewhere in his forties and the fact that he was the tallest, most muscular Korean man she had ever seen, he looked quite young, were it not for his stern expression. He closed the door behind him, heading towards the principal and nodding at them.

"Sorry for being late," he said," Farrow jumped on my back halfway through my walk here because he said he missed me."

"These criminals always bother you so much, Bas," the principal said with a solemn shake of his head," how you deal with it is beyond me."

"I mean, you were voted most likeable teacher several years in a row, Clarkson," Sebastian said," I'd choose to bother you as well."

Clarkson's scowl softened immediately, a faint blush coloring his cheeks as he looked at Sebastian. "I was?" He cleared his throat, composing himself immediately. "I mean, why are you all voting to begin with when you should be studying instead?"

"I see the conversation is going off-track again," the principal interrupted," I just wanted to call you all here so I could tell you personally to behave, miss Martinez. I know you have a tendency not to do so, but I'm trying to reform St Joseph as the new principal and have no time for whatever trouble you will cause. My current students are a handful already." He turned to Clarkson. "Will you keep a close eye on her, Bas?"

"Sure," Clarkson nodded, slowly pointing two fingers at his own eyes and then at hers.

"Take good care of my little sister, will you?" Sebastian said as he got to his feet," I'll be counting on you, Clarkson."

The principal waved them off with a hand. "Anyway, I have said all I needed to say. Can you show her the dorms, Bas? I've had enough of a headache for today."

Sebastian laughed, joking around the whole way back to the entrance. Though Clarkson looked grumpy, he didn't do anything about her brother teasing him. First period had already started, but the hallways were still crowded, Clarkson chastising and scolding each student he saw about skipping class. Most ran off, but all of them stared at her and Sebastian, the whispers starting immediately. When they stood outside St Joseph, the tall, gray building having way too many barred windows for a school, her brother ruffled a hand through her hair, a grin on his face.

"Good luck, brat," he said," let me know if they give you hell."

"I think you're wishing good luck to the wrong person," Clarkson frowned.

Sebastian did a dramatic bow then, before leaving. His boxing championships were starting again soon, so Ella knew he had taken the time off training specially to see her off. Most of the time he annoyed her, especially at home, but she supposed she would miss him somewhere. She looked up to the school, letting it sink in that she would spend almost every day save for the weekends here and in the dorms, before locking eyes with all the people staring out of the windows.

"I feel like a circus attraction," she chuckled to Clarkson.

"We don't get transfers here often," he shrugged," most problem children arrive here from the start of either high or middle school. This year we even have three in total, but you're the most notorious one by far."

"I suppose Sebastian's appearance didn't help with that either," she said.

She got shaken out of her thoughts by the loud thumps against a window and when she looked up she saw Will and Alex waving and shouting from the third floor. They both seemed happy to see her, unbothered by their teacher pulling them back from their collars. In the window next to them she spotted Levi, who pointed at her and then mouthed something. She had no idea what the hell he was trying to say, but mouthed something incoherent back anyway. Somehow he looked like he was understanding her, nodding solemnly at whatever he thought she had said, before gesturing again.

"Is Peterson threatening me?" Clarkson said slowly.

"I have no idea," Ella said, her smile staying in place," just wave and nod."

It was nice to see the boys again, even though it only had been a week. She had grown closer with them than she had thought possible so quickly and at this point actually was looking forward to attending class. Things with her and Levi were going smooth until now, way easier than anything else had ever been with a guy. This year was going to go great, she had a good feeling about it.

Buildings the size of flats rose up on either side of the broad school building and Clarkson led her to the one on the right, halting at the entrance of the third one. She let her eyes wander across the rows of windows, before settling on Clarkson when she realized he wasn't going in. With a raised eyebrow she gestured at the door, but he shook his head.

"I have no good experiences in the female dorms," he said," it's a lawless zone there."

"It's fine," she said, taking the key from his hand and glancing at the room number pasted on top of it," 3-14?"

"Third floor to the right," Clarkson said.

"Thanks for the tour," she smiled," and for defending me to the principal."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clarkson huffed, but a smile still tugged at his lips nonetheless.

The dorms were relatively quiet, though she supposed there was way more noise than there should be keeping in mind that it should have been completely empty instead. She passed no one though on her way up, glad for the fact her luggage had already been brought here before she had to carry her suitcases up all these stairs. The house reminded her a lot of a sorority building, pictures of parties and girls laughing on the walls, books and clothes somehow scattered across the hallways as well and the stairs sprawled under brief sentences in various colors. She passed a "I HATE THIS SCHOOL" multiple times, a chuckle leaving her lips as she finally arrived in her hallway.

The crème and white theme of the walls gave her a hotel vibe, but the whiteboards with names on them decorated every door made it more schoolish again. Once she reached her door she noticed the name Isis in big swirls, her name yet to be written down underneath it, and she unlocked it, curious to see what kind of person her roommate was. Their room wasn't that big, with a bed, desk and closet on either side, though Isis' side was decorated already.

She had painted the white walls black, different pictures hanging underneath the fairylights she had strung up and covering the side of her closet. Her desk was cluttered with papers, loose computer parts and her laptop, the code written down on the papers way too complicated for Ella to decipher. She looked around the room, letting herself fall on her bed after, a sigh leaving her lips. It was then she noticed something, a heart with initials engraved in her bedside drawer with what looked like a knife. She frowned at it, wondering who had decided to commemorate childhood love in this room.

"I and L," a girl's voice drawled," lovely, isn't it?"

Ella's gaze snapped towards the voice, surprised to see a girl emerge from a door she hadn't paid much attention to yet, right beside her roommate's closet. The girl she presumed to be Isis had stepped out of it, the sight of a bathroom visible behind her for just a moment before she closed it. Curtain bangs framed her face and golden skin, almond eyes lined thickly with black, making the gray of her iris pop even more. She was pretty and well aware of it, her red lipstick almost seeming like blood.

"Eleanora, right?" she said, voice sweet," I heard a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you," Ella smiled.

"I don't think it will be," she said, leaning against the door and looking her slowly up and down," but anyway, let me introduce myself, I'm Isis Salah, your new roommate and Levi's ex."

Ella blinked, unsure if she had heard her right, but the next moment Isis bent forward, stretching out her hand and letting a soft giggle escape her lips.

"And I'm going to make your life here a living hell."