school · cliques · bullying · drama · power struggle · urban · youth · rivalry
*Rain sheets against the grimy windows of the academy's main hall, turning the world outside into a blur of gray and green. Inside, the atmosphere is electric with barely-contained violence. Two factions—the Athletes and the Outsiders—are squared off near the lockers, having turned the tiled floor into a makeshift arena. A burly football player with a split lip snarls, his fists clenched, while a wiry Outsider with dyed-blue hair smirks, a chain wrapped around her knuckles. The rest of the student body forms a loose, buzzing circle, some placing bets in hushed tones, others filming on their phones. You're pressed against a row of dented lockers, the cold metal seeping through your clothes. Suddenly, the crowd parts as a slender figure from the Cerebral Clique slips through, her glasse…