Do not blame the boy who sins

By stealing apples from his own kin

When they were the first to steal from him

They made his life into a curse

Left him alone to hunger and thirst

Turned his childhood into the worst

It is an eye for an eye

They made the good in him die

If he copies their acts

And stabs their backs

Who do you blame?

The boy or the ones who slandered his name?

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A maid came in with a tray carrying a lavish china tea set. She placed it gently on the small glass table where Randall had sat Jules down when he brought her into his room.

"How else may I serve you Mr. Williams?"

Jules thought it was strange for an adult to talk to someone younger than them in such formal language.

"This is good for now. Thank you." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

The lady bowed before exiting the room.

He picked up the steaming teapot and poured the tea into one of the dainty cups, struggling slightly since his other arm was still in a cast. A citrus aroma filled the room.

"This is Earl Grey tea. They say it is Queen Elizabeth's favorite."

Jules took a sip. It tasted floral with a slight hint of oranges. She found it soothing.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you."

They continued to sip their tea and relish in the quiet. Jules was grateful that Randall did not interrogate her about the breakdown she embarrassingly had right outside his room. She wouldn't even know how to explain it. It sounded absurd to tell him she had a vision of his trauma. That didn't seem possible but it aligned too well with recent occurances so she couldn't completely shoot down the idea. For now, she would accomplish what she initially came here for.

"Randall, I'm really sorry for harming you. I was irresponsible. I shouldn't have let the new janitor assume the rules when I saw her spill coffee on it with my own eyes. If I was smarter about it, you would have never had to suffer."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a light reassuring squeeze.

"I don't blame you at all but I know you'll keep on blaming yourself so I accept your apology."

Randall was very jittery. He couldn't stop shaking his leg and repeatedly rubbed his thumb over the top of his tea cup.

"Is something wrong?"

He then closed his eyes and clenched his fist.

"I just," He cleared his throat, "I keep having the urge to take another shower but I know I shouldn't. I've already taken ten and I don't want to make my skin fall off." He took a few deep breathes and his fidgeting declined. "You must be confused about this whole situation. Skye told me you came here to learn more about us. I don't usually talk about this but after everything I've done to you, you still came to my door with open arms. And for that, I want to share my story with you if you would like to know it."

Jules nodded her head. She was terrified of the truth but she didn't come here to run away from it.

Randall adverted his eyes. "I know you're Catholic so I hope this doesn't change your view of me," he refilled his cup with tea before continuing, "When I was a young lad, I was bullied for my attraction to boys. At first, the harassment only consisted of name calling, isolation, and silly pranks. The teachers and my parents always told me the same thing: 'Its your fault for making people uncomfortable. You shouldn't be a sissy about small things and man up to your inevitable consequences.' I was young back then and believed anything that came out of an adult's mouth. Therefore, I lived each day enduring the torment."

Randall shifted in his seat to look out his window. His fidgeting was picking back up.

"Then I got my first boyfriend and things took a terrible turn. The name calling evolved into rumors filled with awful lies to make more people despise us. Silly pranks were replaced with physical abuse. I'll spare you the details, but one day...they were finally successful." Randall paused and his whole body tensed. His leg shaking increased. "I broke. By taking my dignity away they convinced me I was vermin. They made me feel so disgusting that I grew a hatred for everything I was." Randall turned to Jules with glossy eyes. "It was when they threatened to do the same to my boyfriend that I lost it. Every fiber of my body wanted to kill them and watch them suffer."

Jules placed her hand in his, scared that he might hurt himself by digging his nails further into his skin.

"I was completely consumed with the thirst for blood when Satan appeared. He offered me revenge so that I could save my lover and get my dignity back. Making a deal with Satan is a whole different process. The contract doesn't form through your words; it forms with your actions. He gave me the power to torture my enemies and I accepted the job. I was given money to send them to jail and pay prisoners to do to them what they did to me. At the moment, I thought they deserved what they got. As every day passes, I am becoming less happy about my choices. However, the past can't be undone so now I must live the rest of my life with a debt to the devil."

Randall retreated his hand, moving it away from hers.

"I've grown a fear for humanity. Humans can be monsters so I choose to love myself above all things."

"Randall--" Jules paused. She thought of the advice Jack had given her while they spent hours in the infirmary.

"I feel like you're someone who genuinely has good intentions so let me give you some advice before you provoke someone enough to punch you in the face." Jack looked directly at the Bible in her hands. "You are extremely passionate about your religion and there is nothing wrong with that, but you can't go around shoving your beliefs down people's throats. I know it is a part of your faith to preach but you need to learn how to do it respectfully and correctly. You need to learn how to open conversations and convey your beliefs in a way that could be understood to the person you are talking too. Quick hint: quoting the Bible a dozen times a day is only going to make people dislike your religion even more."

With Jack's words in mind, Jules decided that now was not the time to talk about Catholic teachings. Instead of telling Randall that God never stopped loving him or that he could never lose his human dignity, she decided on showing him the best way she could.

"Wait here," she instructed before getting up. Jules went to the intercom by the doorway and made a request. A few minutes later, some maids brought in a bowl of warm water, a plush towel, and gentle milk soap. She thanked the maids and asked them to place everything by Randall who was becoming more restless at every moment.

He was utterly shocked as Jules kneeled down, placed his feet in the water, and began to wash his skin gently.

Randall's fidgeting stopped at once. All the thoughts of being dirty vanished. He no longer felt disgusting. Instead, he felt a warmth in his chest.

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"Where are you at now?" Abby asked.

"I'm on the seventh floor. I went to check up on Randall. He's feeling better and went to bed."

"Okay, stay put. It's not safe for you to be by yourself. I'll come up to get you."

The call ended and Jules sat herself on the steps of the stairway.

Abby had not come alone. She was accompanied by Jonathan and a man Jules recognized as one of the guys who held her down during the party.

"Hey Jules," Abby waved, "this is David. He's one of the Dealers."

Jules took a few steps back. "I've met him before."

David scratched at his head awkwardly. "Ya...about that...I'm sorry for holding you hostage at the party. I was just following orders, you know? If you had stayed put like you were supposed to, I wouldn't have intervened. No hard feelings, right?"

Jules looked at him skeptically.

Abby laughed nervously as the two had a stare down. "That was the past. Things are different now. We are all in the same boat so let's be cordial." She hit Jonathan on the shoulder to signal for help.

"Oh yes," Jonathan agreed, "And David will not be allowed to lay a finger on you this time. His only purpose is to pretend to be your Dealer."

David was no longer Jules' number one concern so she broke eye contact and turned to the others.

"Why?"

"It's for your safety," Abby answered. "Social hierarchy is remarkably toxic among Peccators here. They are like power hungry wolves, always at each other's throats to be at the top. The student council thought it would be in your best interest to stay as low as possible on the radar. If people were to know your connection to Dixon they'll try to use you, manipulate you, and drag you down."

Jules gulped. "But there were some Peccators with us on the night that Dixon arrived so don't they already know?"

Abby gave a short laugh. "Oh, them? Those were sloth Peccators who were too lazy to go to their rooms. We simply told them it was a dream and they easily believed it."

"How about the Dealers who know?"

"They won't be an issue either," Jonathan replied, "They're usually too scared to talk about Dixon in the first place. Besides, the student council released a strict order to keep these things a secret ever since Dixon showed up at the party."

Jules thought it was suspicious they would go through such lengths just for her safety. Then it hit her. This wasn't for her safety. This was for the safety of the academy. The student council still did not trust her. As a precaution, they wanted to disguise her as someone else's Peccator so that if she were to spill the secret on Dixon's offer, no one would believe her. This realization didn't bother Jules much because she never expected to gain their trust in one day. However, it was her morals that she was worried about.

"I can't lie."

David groaned. "This girl is impossible to work with."

Abby stomped on David's foot to shut him up. Jonathan winced internally. He personally knew the strength of her stomps.

"Don't worry Jules, we kept that in mind. We'll do the lying for you. Here is the story we came up with: Randall rejected you at the party and you ended up being claimed by a low level Dealer instead."

David interrupted. "Hey, you don't have to make me sound so pathetic. I'm not that low."

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Let's be honest buddy, you and I are at the bottom. Now shut up and let her talk."

"Anyway," Abby continued, "David's name also starts with the letter D so no one will question your mark. Just stick by me and I'll do all the work for you."

"Okay," Jules agreed hesitantly.

When Skye had warned Jules about coming to the academy, she thought the warning referred to the Dealers. She was wrong.

If there was one thing she learned from Randall's past, it was that your own people can become your greatest fear.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hello readers!

Many of y'all have asked me about a cast list. I don't have one. If you want to know how I imagine Dixon, here is one of the pictures I used as inspiration on his appearance:

-Readsleeprepeat88