Resistance, resistance, resistance is key

Only look but don't touch

And you'll live safely

It may look soft, it may look tame

But you will lose an arm

if you dare touch its mane

Yes, I know it's injured

But there is nothing we can do

Try to save a lion, and he'll devour you

Where are you going?

Come back here this instant!

What did I tell you? You need resistance!

Child, what have you done?

Why go inside the cage?

Hurry! Run, run, run!

Oh no, you're stuck.

You should have listened, tough luck.

Your life has been reduced to hours.

Once he wakes up, it will be you he devours.

I'll go ahead and be on my way.

To tell your parents you died today.

You can't help a monster without becoming its prey.

How unfortunate for you to learn the hard way.

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On Monday, no one could have predicted that something so mundane could be the cause of so much turmoil and disarray at Dalmellington High.

It all began when the new janitor spilled coffee on a list of instructions meant to guide her on her first day of the job. Jules was walking to her locker when she witnessed the sticky mess ensue.

The janitor, who was probably in her early thirties, began to curse to herself. She had a messy bun that was barely holding her hair together and old coffee stains already scattered on her shirt. The new stain blended right in.

"Excuse me miss, I have some tissues you can use." Jules held up a pack that she always carried in her backpack.

The lady smiled in relief. "Thank you so much. I am just so clumsy sometimes." The janitor rubbed roughly on the paper.

Jules was going to recommend she dabbed lightly on it to prevent further damage, but the lady was quick with her actions and it was already too late.

"Oh no. I scratched at it too hard and can't read the first part. You're a student, ya? Maybe you know some of the rules around here. Do you think you can try to help me read this? I really don't want to ask for another set of instructions and leave a bad impression with my boss."

The lady was so disheveled that Jules couldn't say no.

The soggy, scratched paper was placed in her hands and she squinted nervously.

It was hardly possible to read if possible at all.

The beginning of the first line was scratched out and the ink had spread.

--ops are PROHIBITED at Dalmellington Academy. AVOID having it around academy students.

"Um...pops...flip-flops...crops...mops? I'm not sure. the first word is too damaged."

The janitor chuckled, "Ah, it's definitely flip-flops. Ugh, how pretentious. The rich kids can't handle seeing some toes so much that they had to prioritize banning flip-flops. This place is ridiculous but I guess I can't complain since it pays well."

Jules felt unsure about the assumption but didn't know how to suggest to the confident janitor that she might be wrong. It would probably be better to be safe than sorry--especially when it came to rules that were written in all-caps.

"Thanks for your help. What's your name?"

"No problem ma'am. I'm Jules."

"How lucky for me to meet such a polite student. I'm Emma Marbach. I'll see you around kid. I gotta run and change into my uniform!"

The peculiar janitor walked away quickly and Jules was pretty sure there was a piece of gum stuck on her pants.

Jules shrugged her shoulders. Ms. Marbach would be changing into a uniform anyway. There was no need to tell her.

Throughout her morning classes, everyone--especially the girls-- seemed more giddy and riled up than usual. Jules' suspicions were confirmed while she was getting books out of her locker and overheard two friends speaking loudly besides her.

"Did you see him?"

"Who?"

"The new academy student."

"Um....no."

"How have you not heard?"

"Amber, I am failing chemistry right now. I don't really have time to be keeping track of the hundreds of students that attend a different school."

"Girl, everyone has been talking about it! Someone saw him in the courtyard this morning and posted a picture on the student forum. Everyone thought it was fake at first and that someone just photoshopped a celebrity to troll, but more people have been confirming that it's real. Common, you need to see the picture. He's totally my type!"

"Holy sh*t."

The friend grabbed the phone to get a closer look.

"I know right! He is so hot, it is insane."

"This man can't be real. I'll believe it once I see it."

"Ugh, I can't wait any longer for lunch! The anticipation is killing me!"

"Common, lets go touch up our makeup just in case it is true."

"Good thinking."

The two girls looped their arms together and marched towards the bathroom excitedly.

Jules remained frozen at her locker. She knew he would be here, but was still hoping the world would give her some mercy and make it not so. Occurrences in Dalmellington have not been in her favor and this time was no different.

She placed a hand in her pocket and squeezed the rosary that sat inside.

I will just avoid him.

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Students were usually eager to go eat lunch but they had never been eager enough to shove each other roughly to get out of the classroom first. Today was different.

"Hey stop pushing each other! Walk out single file!" The teacher yelled to no avail.

Jules was the opposite and wanted to stay in the classroom to hide but she knew that wasn't an option. She was the last one to walk out and decided to wait for Abby to come. She started to feel anxious when five minutes had passed and she was alone in the empty hallway.

Was Abby mad at her for not immediately responding to Dixon's offer?

Jules remembered how angry and upset the student council was when they assumed she was going to let them die.

Abby was probably avoiding her for the same reason.

This made Jules very upset. Facing obstacles with someone besides you made things so much more bearable. She held on to her backpack straps tightly before walking alone to the cafeteria for the first time. When she reached the cafeteria doors, she hesitated, not really wanting to enter the rowdy room.

She looked through the door window. Almost everyone's heads were turned in the same direction. She followed their gaze.

Jules' breath caught in her throat. She had seen him a couple of times by now so she thought she was prepared. She wasn't.

It wouldn't have been a stretch to say that the Dalmellington Academy uniforms were designed for Dixon because it complimented his looks entirely. The unbuttoned collar, the loose tie, the black and red blazer--all of it. It made him more enticing. He was the personification of temptation. Everything about him dared others to desire.

And so they did. They stared shamelessly like moths to a flame. No one was paying attention to anything else, not even their surroundings. This led to one of the students tripping and spilling spaghetti all over the floor next to the table Dixon and the student council sat at. The girl who fell got up quickly and turned green, mortified at what she had done. She bowed many times to apologize before running out.

Jules stepped to the side as the doors bursted open. The mortified girl walked quickly away. Jules was going to follow her to the restroom and help her clean up the sauce on her clothes, but then the girl passed the restrooms and kept on walking.

Where is she going?

The question was forgotten when someone suddenly appeared in her peripheral vision. It was Ms. Marbach. She was pushing a cart of cleaning supplies angrily down the hallway with a scowl plastered on her face. However, the janitor's demeanor switched when she spotted Jules.

"Jules! I am so relieved to see your face. Oh how times have changed since I was a young booger like you. Kids these days get way too excited for lunch. I thought I must have transported into the wild because I got trampled several times by herds of crazy children!"

Ms. Marbach most likely wasn't exaggerating because she looked more disheveled than she did this morning.

"Anyhow, I was told there was a food spill so I gotta go clean it up. I hope I make it out alive again."

Right when the janitor was going to walk in, her phone began to ring.

"Ah sh*t, it's my boss." She groaned before answering and putting it on speaker.

"Emma, I need you to come to my office right now. One of the students has puked all over the carpet. She is covered in spaghetti sauce and is getting it everywhere!"

Jules recognized the man's voice as the principal. A girl's pleads could be heard in the background.

"Please Mr. Enano, I need to transfer to a different school right away. I can't possible show my face here ever--"

"Georgia, take this student to the nurses office before my eardrums pop. Emma, I need my office cleaned before this putrid smell makes me vomit myself."

The girl's cries could be heard in the background once again before the call ended.

Ms. Marbach rubbed at her temples.

"I think first days on a job are just always cursed. I can't clean two places at once. They already told me the food spill had to be cleaned immediately and now mister boss man wants me to teleport over there."

Jules looked sympathetically at the stressed janitor.

"I can clean the cafeteria. It's just a small spill. I'm going in there to eat lunch anyway." Jules offered.

Ms. Marbach looked at her with great gratitude.

"Jules, you are an angel sent from heaven. Thanks for saving me today."

She handed Jules a mop and bucket of cleaning soap. She then gave Jules a quick pat on the shoulder.

"I'll repay you for your kindness one day." With that, the janitor zoomed down the hallway.

Jules took a deep breath before entering the room. One good thing about Dixon's presence was that no one paid much attention to her.

But she had let her guard down too soon because hell was just about to break loose.

Jules was just about to mop the spaghetti when Randall's horrified scream filled the room.

"Stop! Get that away from me!"

Randall looked at Jules as if she had a knife at his neck. He had a crazed look in his eyes.

When she came closer to check what was wrong, he yelled even louder.

"Please stop! It hurts! It hurts! I'll change! Please just stop!"

Before Jules could even react, Jack was suddenly in her face, blocking her view of the distressed Randall.

"What the f*ck do you think you're doing?" Jack spat.

Jack snatched the mop from her hands. A few students screamed and ducked when he threw it behind him. It hit the wall with so much momentum that the wood snapped in half.

"You already messed up his hand, are you still not satisfied? I never thought you would stoop so low."

Jules wasn't quite sure just when Jack's hand made contact with her face but at one moment she was staring at his resentful eyes and the next thing she knew, she was on the floor holding her cheek.

"You're an evil bi*ch. A disgusting piece of scum that deserves to rot--"

Jack did not get to finish his sentence. Someone had punched him.

The powerful sound of the hit made Jules look up and blink the tears out of her watery eyes.

Dixon was towering over Jack with a maddened look in his eyes. He was furious.

Jack barely got to recover before a pair of tenacious hands wrapped around his neck and stopped his breathing completely.

"Dixon stop! Please! You're going to kill him!" Jules' pleads got lost in the sea of screams.

Jack was turning more and more blue as every second passed.

No matter how many people screamed at him or how hard the student council pulled at his arms, Dixon would not budge and his eye remained completely trained on Jack's suffocating face.

At that moment, Jules realized there was no way to stop him. He was a lion and lions live off instinct. Once a lion has caught their prey, their fate is sealed.

Oh no.

Jules could feel one of her panic attacks surfacing. Her breathing was increasing rapidly with the pain rising in her chest. Everyone was too distracted to notice.

Amidst it all, she heard the sound of a familiar squawk. Jules seemed to be the only one to notice it. She followed the sound and finally scouted out her crow friend--the one that had been keeping watch outside her room--at one of the cafeteria windows. Without hesitation, Jules shoved past the students that were trying to get a better view of the fight and ran to the window. When she opened it, the crow flew in immediately and went straight towards Dixon.

Jules ran back to the circle. She wasn't sure if she saw right, but the crow flew right into his back and disappeared into his body.

Dixon let go. Everyone had become silent. All the students around him flinched when he got up, his face completely emotionless.

"If anyone dare touches her again," His voice bellowed with such venom that people began backing away, "I'll fu*king kill them with my bare hands. This is a warning."

Everyone, including the teachers that were unable to get close enough to the fight, made a path as he stalked nonchalantly out of the cafeteria.

Jack remained alive. Splattered blood was now on the floor in addition to the spilled spaghetti.

Jules was still completely perplexed about what exactly just happened. She was only able to connect one of the dots: mops are prohibited around the academy students.

Ms. Marbach had assumed incorrectly.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Happy Holidays! :)

-Readsleeprepeat88