Detention was weird.
Not bad. Weird.
The room had high windows that let in late-afternoon light, dust floating in it like the place hadn't been used since last semester. Desks were bolted down. The clock on the wall ticked loud enough to be annoying.
And nobody cared.
Adrian spent the whole hour talking, joking, and dodging paper balls. He got hit twice. Didn't stop him from flirting with Payal between hits. Payal rolled her eyes every time, but she didn't move her chair away.
Sato sat in the back, earbud in one ear, sketchpad open. Pencil moving. Quiet. Like none of this touched him.
Connor was sulking. Actually sulking. Arms crossed, jaw out. Getting one-tapped by SK in front of the whole cafeteria had left a mark, and it wasn't on his face.
Hakim was on his phone, scrolling TikTok. Cars. Engines. Things with horsepower.
Bianca and Austin were near Mark. Talking. Laughing about something that happened in middle school. Mark heard them, but he wasn't in it.
He was off to the side, back against the wall, thinking.
Austin slid into the seat next to him. Didn't say anything at first. Just sat. Glasses on. Hands folded. Calm in a way that made the room feel quieter.
"Hey, Austin. I've been meaning to ask you something," Mark said.
Austin adjusted his glasses. Habit. "Sure. Go ahead."
"You said people here are ranked by strength, right? Smaller number, stronger person."
"That's correct," Austin said, nodding.
"Then why," Mark leaned forward, elbows on his knees, "are you ranked number four… when you were beaten by someone ranked number ten?"
Austin didn't answer right away. He smiled. Small. Like he'd been waiting for someone to ask that.
"Ah… I see what you mean. Let me make it clear for you."
He stood. Walked to the back of the room.
Sato looked up from his sketchpad. Eyes sharp. No bored now. Just watching. Like a cat deciding if the thing moving was worth chasing.
"Hey, Sato," Austin said, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. Thin wrists. No muscle. "Would you care to spar with me?"
The room went still.
Even Adrian stopped mid-flirt. Lollipop paused between his teeth. "Oh?"
Payal blinked. "Wait — he's serious? Is Austin going to be okay?"
Adrian didn't take the lollipop out. "Don't worry, love. Austin doesn't pick fights he can't win."
Sato closed his sketchpad. Soft thud. Stood. "Sure. Why not?"
They faced each other in the middle of the room. Desks pushed back to make space. Nobody told them to stop.
Sato's expression was calm. Almost bored. Austin's was different. Sharp. Calculating. Like he was doing math nobody else could see.
From the sideline, Mark's jaw was tight.
"You worried about him?" Bianca asked, sitting down next to him.
"Yeah, I am… Sato's strong, after all," Mark said.
Bianca smiled. "Relax. Austin's got this."
Mark didn't relax. His eyes didn't leave them.
Sato scanned Austin. Head to toe. Slim. Glasses slipping. Stance that looked nervous. He came to a conclusion. Fast.
_Textbook nerd._
"To make this fight fair, I'll give you a rule," Sato said.
Austin blinked. "Uh, okay… what is it?"
"If you can touch me even once — you win."
"...Okay, deal," Austin said. Voice shook a little.
"Good." Sato cracked his neck. "Then let's begin."
He moved.
No tell. No wind-up. A punch, straight and clean, meant to end it.
Austin stepped. Not back. Side. The punch missed by an inch. Austin's hand came up mid-motion and pushed his glasses back into place. Like he had time for that.
Sato frowned. Threw another.
Miss.
Another.
Miss.
"How's he dodging this?" Sato thought. Irritation started to leak in.
Front kick. Snap. Fast.
Austin twisted. Full body rotation, like he was dancing, not fighting. The kick cut air. Austin's hand came out and tapped Sato on the stomach. Light. Two fingers.
Silence.
"I win," Austin said. Smile small. Breath uneven.
Mark was on his feet before he realized it. "How did you do that? It's like you knew every move he was going to make before he even made it!"
"That's because he did," Sato said. There was no anger in it. Just a faint smile. Curiosity.
"I could tell — he saw through all my attacks."
He crossed his arms. Actually interested now. "Now the real question is how. You were dodging before I even threw my hits."
Austin rubbed the back of his neck. Grin sheepish. "Well… I saw your fight with Adrian and memorized your patterns."
Sato blinked. Once. "Wait, you're telling me you learned my habits from that short match?"
"Yeah," Austin laughed, awkward. "Crazy, right?"
"That's insane," Sato muttered.
"I know, right? I said the same thing when I fought him," Adrian said, walking over with Payal on his arm. He threw an arm over Austin's shoulder. "But my friend here has one fatal weakness."
"Let me guess — weak constitution," Sato said. Calm.
Adrian's eyebrow went up. "How'd you know?"
Sato nodded at Austin. "Because he's been breathing heavily since our little exchange."
Austin gave a weak laugh, chest still moving too fast. "Yeah… if it weren't for that, he'd easily be the strongest first-year," Adrian said.
"No question there," Sato agreed.
"Now you're just exaggerating, guys," Austin said, smile shy.
Mark stood there, quiet. Watching Austin. Mind racing.
_Wow… he's amazing._
---
Mark started thinking. Really thinking.
Everything since Brookhaven. The taxi. The house. The school. Adrian. Sato. Hakim. Connor. Austin.
Everyone here was strong. Not just fists. Strong in a way that had shape. Adrian had speed and instinct. Sato had precision and power. Hakim had boxing fundamentals so clean they looked easy. Connor had aggression you couldn't teach. Austin had a brain that turned fights into equations.
Mark had… what?
He didn't know if he could survive. That was real.
But there was something else. Under the fear. Under the ribs that still hurt from Tom's kick.
Excitement.
He actually enjoyed it. The danger. The edge. Knowing that at any second someone could test you. It made everything sharper. More real. He'd never felt awake like this in Zimbabwe.
But he wasn't stupid. You didn't enjoy Brookhaven if you were dead.
So he decided. Right there. Desk bolted to the floor. Late light coming in.
_I have to get stronger._
"I think you're going to fit in here just fine," Bianca said, like she'd heard him.
"Of course he will. There's something about the look in his eye that just sells it, you know?" Adrian grinned, seated across from them now. Lollipop rolled to the other side of his mouth.
Mark smiled. Small. Real.
For the first time in his life, he'd made friends. Real ones.
---
Hours passed.
Connor stayed pouty. Cheeks puffed out. He'd get over it, or he wouldn't.
Hakim never looked up from his phone. Another Lambo. Another engine rev.
Adrian was back to flirting with Payal. She was back to pretending she was annoyed.
Sato had both earbuds in now. Dead to the world. Sketchpad closed.
Mark, Bianca, and Austin talked. Actually talked. Stories. Middle school. Zimbabwe. What Bianca's brother was like. Austin's mom. It felt normal. It felt insane that it felt normal.
Time didn't crawl. It ran.
At exactly 1700hrs, the door opened.
Teacher. Old. Tired. "Alright. Go home."
Beat.
"Try not to get into trouble again," he added. His voice said he knew that was a waste of words.
"Will do, teach," Adrian called, already out the door.
Quiet Sato followed. Then the rest. Single file. Like they'd done this before.
"That was quite the first day, wasn't it, Mark?" Adrian said once they hit the courtyard. Sun was low. Gates open.
"It was definitely… eventful," Mark said. "Is every day like this?"
"It's not usually on this scale," Bianca said, falling in beside him. "But yeah. That's kind of the norm here."
---
Outside, they split.
"Bye, Mark… see you tomorrow," Bianca said. Bright.
"Yeah, stay safe," Payal added. Softer.
"Don't worry, I will," Mark said. He turned, looking for a taxi.
---
On the roof of Silver High, two shapes watched.
One big. Broad. Shoulders that blocked part of the sky.
One small. Smaller than Austin. Legs dangling over the ledge like he wasn't worried about the drop.
"Looks like the guys from 1A and 1C," the big one said. Voice was deep. Quiet. "Shall we join in too?"
"Nah," the small one said. Voice was younger. Light. Like he found everything funny. "Let's observe first… we need to make sure they're fun to play with."
1B.
The big one: Class 1B's #2.
The small one: Class 1B's #1.
The wind moved across the roof. Carried the smell of concrete. Carried the smell of something starting.
The sun went down.
---