You must live in someone else's shoes

To fully know what they go through

So do not judge for you'll never understand

The life and hardships of another man

You see with your eyes and your eyes only

Never truly knowing if they're happy or lonely

So do not judge for you'll never understand

The life and hardships of another man

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"Here, you should be fine after icing it for thirty minutes." Jules thanked the nurse and placed the icepack on her reddened cheek.

The nurse then turned towards the stubborn Jack with pursed lips and hands on her hips.

"You on the other hand my boy, should go to the hospital and check to see if that nose is broken."

Jack was sitting on the the infirmary bed next to Jules with his head titled up and tissues stuffed up his nose.

He rolled his eyes. "With America's health care system, I might as well buy a whole new nose. No thanks lady. Paying for college is already going to make me broke. I'm not about to give someone all my money just to poke my crap and give me a two second answer. Instead of trying to make me fall for a scam of society, why don't you go make yourself useful and call the police on the psycho b*tch who almost killed me. I can grab an icepack myself, thank you very much." Jack replied sarcastically.

The nurse shook her head and left with an annoyed grunt.

"You should be nicer to her. She's only trying to help." Jules pointed out.

Jack did not reply. Instead, he turned his back to her.

"Jack, you can be mad at me all you want. Please, just tell me what I did wrong. I am genuinely worried about Randall."

She saw his shoulder's visibly tense.

"Don't f*cking pretend like you're innocent. It makes me sick. You know exactly what you did."

"I really don't know what you are talking about!"

She felt even more frustrated when Jack continued to ignore her. She was just about ready to give up trying to talk to him when the principal barged in. His face became sour when they made eye contact.

"Jules Moore, I am so disappointed in your misbehavior today. I will have no choice but to suspend you."

"What?" Jules couldn't believe what she was hearing. "To be honest sir, I don't even know what I did wrong. I was just trying to clean food from the floor."

"We do not tolerate bullying at this school." The pitch of his voice got higher and seemed to rise with his anger.

"Bullying?" Jules began to stutter, "Mr. Enano, I would never dream of harming anyone."

"I don't tolerate blatant lying either. You have greatly harmed the whole school by causing emotional abuse to Randall Williams. Mops are absolutely prohibited in front of academy students. This was strictly said on the list of rules outside the janitor closet. Because of your actions, this school will most likely lose a lot of funding from the William family."

Jules didn't even know what to say. Everyone kept telling her she did something wrong but no one would explain exactly what was so wrong about it.

"I'll be calling your mom right now to send you home for the day."

"Wait!" Ms. Marbach ran in, almost tripping over a box of icepacks. "It was my fault, not hers!"

"What are you talking about Emma? This student has evidently violated a school code."

"It's not her fault, I was the one who caused this."

Ms. Marbach explained everything. She confessed about the coffee spill and how Jules had absolutely no idea about the rule when she offered to help the new janitor clean the cafeteria.

Jules got ready to cover her ears. Mr. Enano had a vein bulging out of his forehead.

"Fired! You are most definitely fired! That is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard from an employee!" At this point, he sounded like a mouse.

"Sir!" The nurse ran in worriedly. "There are students in this room. Please take this matter elsewhere."

Mr. Enano grit his teeth.

"Emma. My office now," He demanded curtly before stalking away. Ms. Marbach cursed under her breath before following.

"I'm sorry about that Jules," The nurse purposely ignored Jack's presence. "I'll go ahead and let you rest for a while."

The nurse left and the room became awkwardly quiet again.

Jules began praying for Ms. Marbach. She was surprised when Jack suddenly spoke to her.

"Look, I'm sorry. I was a sh*thead--" Jack noticed Jules' face scrunch. He had forgotten her dislike for cursing. He took a deep breath. Talking to his Bible obsessed classmate would be harder than he thought. "I was a doo doo head for assuming your intentions." Jack internally rolled his eyes. It sounded like he was talking to a five year old.

Jules felt touched. That was the first time he actually held back on cursing.

"I'm also sorry for slapping you." He looked away and rubbed the back of his head.

Jules smiled. "It's okay, I forgive you."

"Of course you do." He whispered under his breath.

"But can you please tell me why academy students can't be close to mops?" No matter how much Jules thought about it, she couldn't understand.

Jack's demeanor changed. He stared at the floor with a distant look in his eyes--remembering a memory that was filled with anger and drowned in sadness and lost.

"Randall." Jack turned away so that Jules would not see the slight tremble in his bruised hands. "The rule was made specifically for Randall."

Jules stayed silent, letting Jack speak at his own pace. Whatever this was about, it was defintiely a sensitive topic.

"Funny enough, Randall and I used to be...best of friends in middle school. I know what you're thinking: how could the school's pessimistic jerk and the charismatic rich kid ever get along? We were different people back then. Randall was not so full of himself and I--as shocking as it sounds--did not hate the world."

Jack heard the sound of beads so he turned around for a second to see Jules fidgeting anxiously with her rosary. He realized that it was best to not tell her everything.

"Something really sickening happened to Randall in middle school and he was never the same afterwards. I was the unfortunate one who found him after it happened. It was the first time I truly witnessed humanity's cruelty. That guy annoys the fudge out of me but even I'll admit that he didn't deserve what happened to him--no one does. All I can really say is that mops give him PTSD. The school only prohibited mops at Randall's request since his parents donate so much money. No questions were asked and it has been a sacred rule here ever since."

Jules began to feel even more worried about Randall. She felt guilty, remembering the sheer look of terror in his eyes. It gave a hint of just how horrid his relived memories were.

"Now I have a question for you." Jack turned back around to face Jules. His curiosity took priority which resulted in his nose being long forgotten. Blood was dripping down his chin and onto shirt but he paid no mind to it.

"What happened to Randall's arm at the party? Word has it that you were the cause. I don't want to assume again so I'll just ask you directly."

"Um..." Jules was unprepared for the sudden question. Jack would think she was mad if she told him Dixon made fire spontaneously appear as Randall's punishment. However he would think she was even more mad if she tried explaining the whole Dealer and Peccator concept. Jules decided it was best to leave out those details.

"Someone got angry at Randall for trying to take something that didn't belong to him. That person hurt his arm as punishment."

Jack stared at Jules, trying to see if his intense gaze would get her to reveal more. The answer was obviously vague. Then he tried to detect if she was lying, but figured a person like her wasn't capable of that anyway.

"I know Randall can be a douchebag, but don't judge him. Sometimes when the world turns its back away on someone, it can lead a good person into making bad choices. But don't get me wrong, some people are just straight up evil biotches."

Jack's words struck a thought. Jules wondered if she had judged the academy students too hastily. Nothing justified making a deal with the devil, but maybe the Dealers weren't as evil as Jules assumed. If there was one thing Jules learned today other than the dangers of a mop, it was that assumptions never led to anything good.

The bell rang disrupting Jules' thoughts.

She got up and picked up her backpack. She noticed that Jack remained on the bed.

"Are you going back to class?" she asked the unmoving boy.

"Heck no. I rather not have everyone stare and gossip about me. I think almost dying was good enough suffering for today."

Jules put her backpack down instantly and laid back on the bed.

Jack smiled. Church girl wasn't so unbearable as he thought.

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Jules ended up staying at the infirmary for the rest of the day. When she went to get her books, she was surprised to see Abby waiting at her locker.

"Jules, I can't believe what happened. Are you okay?"

"I'm alright now. My cheek doesn't hurt anymore. It's just swollen."

"Oh...okay. I'm glad to hear that."

Both girls stared at each other, unsure of what the other was feeling. Abby was usually talkative but seemed to be cautious and reserve at the moment.

"Um, I gathered the materials you missed today from your teachers."

"Thank you." Jules took the stack of paper from Abby, already dreading all the things she would have to teach herself.

"Ya, no problem. I'll get going then." Abby waved awkwardly.

"Are you mad at me?" Jules blurted before her friend could walk away.

Abby widened her eyes.

"Mad at you? Why would you think that?"

It had just crossed Jules' mind that the student council may have kept her conversation with Dixon a secret. It would explain why Dalmellington Academy hadn't exploded with chaos yet.

"I didn't see you after class today. We always go to lunch together so I thought something may have been wrong."

Abby diverted her eyes.

"To be honest with you Jules, I thought you were upset with me. I was a coward. You put your life on the line to save us from becoming crow appetizers and all I could do was run away and hide. I was ashamed. I didn't even have the guts to check up on you." Abby fidgeted with her fingers. "Also...it's not normal for us to interact anymore. You are the Peccator of the highest Dealer on the hierarchy while I'm the opposite. I'm only connected to a commoner. I thought you would prefer to sit with the student council and your Dealer at lunch."

Jules embraced her friend before she could say more.

"Everyone makes mistakes and everyone has their own battles. I chose that battle for myself so you were not obligated to fight it with me. There is no hierarchy in my mind. All I know is that you are my good friend whom I cherish very much."

Jules could feel Abby begin to reciprocate the hug.

"I truly don't deserve your friendship, thank you Jules. Ever since I was thrusted into the world of Dealers and demons, I always thought that I would live alone in fear for the rest of my life. It's still scary but it feels like I can face anything with you by my side."

Jules felt the same. Abby had helped her tremendously with her transition into Dalmellington High. She was by her side after the disastrous academy party, she was by her side the night of her birthday, and she was by her side now. Abby had become a comfort in her life.

Abby blushed. "Sorry for sounding so cheesy and getting all sentimental."

"Do you want to sleep over at my house today?" The question slipped out of her mouth before she could think much about it. It was a spur-of-the-moment question. Her heart felt full and she wanted to become closer to her companion. Plus, Jules did not want to be alone.

For a moment, Abby looked really touched but then her smile died.

"I'm sorry Jules. I wish I could but me and the other Peccators have to stay at the academy every night. Though it is rare for demons to come out if it is not Sunday, some rogue ones manage to appear here and there. I've been sneaking out before midnight every day so that Jonathan can take me to the academy." Abby noticed the fear rising in Jules' eyes. "Oh, but you don't need to worry about that since they can't hurt you. I forgot about it before but demons can only possess a person who has done one of the seven deadly sins. I still can't believe this fact went over Jonathan, the student council, and my head. We scrambled to pick you up that night thinking we were knights in shining armor but really all we did was kidnap you for no reason at all. Though I must admit, it was quite funny to watch the student council scramble crazily like headless chickens. They were so worried that if a demon so much as touched a hair on your head, Dixon would roast them for dinner."

Jules giggled. At moments like these, the student council just sounded like a funny group of friends--rebellious adolescents that stood together when facing the consequences of their youthful immaturity.

"Anyways, I better get going. Jonathan is waiting for me. Thank you for inviting me over Jules. It means a lot."

While thinking about the student council, Jules could hear Jack's words from earlier whisper into the air.

Sometimes when the world turns its back away on someone, it can lead a good person into making bad choices.

When it came down to it, Jules did not know anything about who the Dealers and Peccators were--she didn't know their story, their intentions, or their reasons. She only knew what they were. It didn't feel right for her to have their lives in her hands. She had slapped the label "evil" onto all of them but had never made an effort to understand them as individuals.

Furthermore, something inside her knew that avoiding Dixon was only a temporary option. They were bound in a way she didn't quite understand but she knew it was a bond that would not perish away itself.

Jules Moore made up her mind. She would not avoid the problem any longer. She was going to face it head-on.

"Can Jonathan also pick me up later? I would like to stay with you at the academy tonight."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Happy New Years!

-Readsleeprepeat88