Entering through the main doors Ethan found himself in a large hallways a cluster of folding tables set up in front of a grand staircase leading to the upper levels of the building. Sitting at the folding tables were a group of adults with computers and hanging from the front of the tables were letters indicating where a student should go. At least that’s what he thought they meant.

Finding the one labelled O - S he approached that table and sat down in the chair in front of it.

The middle aged woman sitting there smiling at him and asked, “Name?”

“I’m Ethan Russell,” he responded hoping he was in the correct place.

“Let’s see, Russell,” the woman mumbled typing something in on her computer. “Ah yes, here you are. “Ethan Russell from Fresno, California. Here on a financial scholarship yes?”

“That’s right,” Ethan answered wishing she didn’t say the last part so loudly.

“Excellent, let’s get you registered for your classes,” she said not really listening to Ethan at all. “According to the results of your test scores as well as your previous schooling you’ve been placed in Algebra I for math, English I for English, and Biology for Science. In addition to these all freshmen are required to take Physical Education I, Health I, Computer Science, US History before 1861, and US History 1861 - 1941. Those history classes will be split over the fall and spring semesters with the latter starting in January but otherwise you’ve got it pretty simple with a bunch of two term courses.”

“Okay, I guess that works,” Ethan said struggling to follow her rapid pace.

“It looks like you get to pick out one elective per term this year,” the woman carried on oblivious to his confused expression. “I’d recommend picking something in Arts, which your required to take three terms worth, or Religion, which you are required to take two terms worth in order to graduate. So what will it be?”

“Um,” He said not really sure how to respond to this. “I guess either is fine.”

The woman blinked at him, looking confused for the first time and asked, “Well what classes are you picking?”

“I don’t really know what my options are,” Ethan replied feeling embarrassed. “I never got a chance to look at the course catalog.”

Sighing she said, “Tell you what, pick Arts or Religion and I’ll see what’s available with your schedule.”

“Arts, I guess,” he muttered.

“Okay, let me see here,” she replied adjusting her glasses and typing hurriedly on her computer. “It looks like we could slot you into Drawing and Painting which is a two term course, does that work for you?”

It didn’t sound particularly enjoyable to Ethan. He’d always been terrible at drawing and he couldn’t imagine enjoying it very much.

Still he didn’t want to draw any more attention to himself so he said, “Yeah sure, that’s fine.”

“Excellent, I knew you’d be easy,” she said staring at the screen in front of her instead of looking at Ethan. “Let me just print out your schedule for you real quick here.”

She made a few clicks and then a printer set up behind her whired to life. Spinning around she stood up walking over and grabbing a couple pieces of paper before handing them to Ethan.

Ethan Russell - Fall Term

Monday - Sunday

Lunch 11:20 - 11:50 A.M.

Dinner 5:00 - 6:30 P.M.

Monday - Saturday

Homeroom 7:05 - 7:15 A.M.

Hinan Hall Room 307

Mon, Wed, & Friday

English I 7:20 - 9:15 A.M.

Hinan Hall Room 202

Algebra I 9:20 - 11:15 A.M.

Tanaka Hall Room 113

Computer Science 11:55 A.M. - 1:50 P.M.

Tanaka Hall Room 200

US History Before 1861 1:55 - 3:50 P.M.

Hinan Hall Room 110

Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday

Biology 7:20 - 9:15 A.M.

Tanaka Hall Room 204

Physical Education I 9:20 - 11:15 A.M.

Gymnasium

Tuesday & Thursday

Health I 11:55 A.M. - 1:50 P.M.

Tanaka Hall Room 211

Drawing & Painting 1:55 - 3:50 P.M.

Hinan Hall B09

“Hang on,” Ethan said having glanced over the top sheet and noticing one glaring issue. “This schedule says I have classes on Saturday.”

“Yep, you will have classes for a half day on Saturday,” the woman said. “It’s part of what sets Hinan Academy apart from lesser schools. We find that the extra schooling gives our students a leg up compared to their peers.”

What, Ethan thought trying his best and failing to keep a scowl off of his face. Handling four years at this school was going to be a whole lot more difficult than he thought. This school wasn’t just going to be full of pretentious rich kids, it was also apparently being run by monsters.

She must have noticed the sour look on his face because she said, “Don’t worry you’ll get used to it pretty quickly. Now a couple more things and I’ll let you go.”

Oh God what else, Ethan thought dreading what she could possibly add to this already lousy situation.

“First here’s your dorm key,” the woman said handing him key. “You’re in room 406 of Salamander House. If you go out the back of this building it will be to your right. It’s pretty easy to find don’t worry. There’s a public phone in the common room of your dorm if you ever need to call anyone assuming you don’t have a cell phone.”

“That sounds simple enough,” he said taking a hold of the key.

“Just a reminder but boys are not allowed in girls dorms and vice versa,” she said putting on a slightly stern face. The girls dorms are to the left of this building and are Rabbit, Crane, and Wildcat respectively. The boys are to the right and are Salamander, Fox, and Raccoon. Don’t break that rule or you’ll be in big trouble.”

“I uh won’t,” Ethan said trying not to laugh at the idea of him bringing a girl into his dorm. It was absurd and surely would never happen.

“Oh and do try to get along with your roommate, cause you’ll be stuck with him for the next four years,” she said with her smile returning. “Now take this card, it will allow you to get food in the dining hall since you’re a financial scholarship student. The dining hall is located behind Crane House just so you know and of course you’ll need this slip in order to get your books at the bookstore which is right next to the dinning hall.”

Ethan’s head was spinning at this moment and he barely noticed himself accepting the plastic card and the slip of paper. This was a lot of information to take in and he knew there was no way he was going to remember it all.

“One last thing and then I’m done I promise,” she said smiling at what must have been overwhelmed look on his face. “There is a mandatory welcoming ceremony tonight in the theater at 7:00 P.M. so make sure you are there. That’s all from me and welcome to Hinan Academy.”

“Thanks,” he muttered standing up and moving around the table toward the back of the building.

He passed the stairs before walking down an empty hall lined with doorways before exiting out the much less grand rear entrance. Upon leaving Hinan Hall he got his first view of the campus and man was it nice.

Concrete walkways ran back and forth over the perfectly maintained lawns of a quad that sat between a large assortment of buildings. In the center of the quad was a statute of smiling Japanese man with the name Hiro Tanaka, Founder underneath it. All around the statue were flower beds and benches making it ideal location for students to relax in between classes or at the end of a long day.

To his left Ethan saw the three girls dorms and on his right the three boys dorms including his own, Salamander House. Straight ahead was a tall academic building labelled Tanaka Hall which he recalled being the location of quite a few of his classes.

Maybe his time here wouldn’t be so bad, he thought starting to walk down the rear steps of Hinan Hall. The campus was certainly a pleasant location to be and he definitely liked the idea of spending time sitting out in this quad where he saw plenty of other students chatting with friends or lazing about. There was definitely a nervous energy in the air. The kind that only came with the start of a new school year imminent.

Tearing his eyes away from the quad he strolled purposefully toward Salamander House. It was a narrow five story tall brick building that looked identical to the other five dorms. So this is where I’m going to live for the next four years he though grabbing hold of the front door and opening it.

The first floor of Salamander House as it turned out had no dorms but was one gigantic common room with TVs, arm chairs on one side and a pool table and ping pong table on the other side. Directly across from the front door was a front desk staffed with an older man who was staring directly at Ethan.

“Hello, are you a freshman?” he asked.

“Uh yes,” Ethan replied.

“I thought so. My names James Hutchens, but you can just call me Mr. Hutchens or James if you’d like.”

“I’m Ethan,” Ethan said walking up a little closer to the desk.

“You must be Ethan Russell one of our new house members,” Mr. Hutchens said smiling.

“That’s right,” Ethan answered.

“Well you’ve joined a great house,” Mr. Hutchens said gesturing at a flag next to the desk bearing a large red salamander on a black background. “Only a couple rules you’ll need to hear from me. Curfew is at nine and lights out is at ten-thirty on weeknights. Midnight for both on Saturdays. I’m sure you already know but no girls are allowed in the dorm. If you ever need anything don’t hesitate to ask, I’m here most nights.”

“Uh sure,” Ethan said thinking that nine seemed a bit early.

Hell he didn’t even have a curfew back at his mom’s house. She just trusted that he would go to bed early enough to get up for school the next morning. This was going to suck.

“Elevators are on your left while you’ll find stairs at both ends of the building,” Mr. Hutchens said pointing them out. “We’re glad to have you and welcome to Salamander House.”

Thanking Mr. Hutchens he walked over to the elevators and hit the up button. Once it opened he pulled his luggage inside and hit the button for floor four. It was a slow elevator ride to get up to the fourth floor and Ethan made a note that if he was ever in a hurry the stairs were probably a better idea.

Finally to doors opened letting him out into a narrow hallway lined with simple wooden doors on both sides of it. Following the numbers, which were labelled clearly on a small plack on the doors themselves, he located 406 on the opposite side of the hallways.

He was just pulling the key out of his pocket when he heard a noise from inside and realised the door was already slightly cracked. He guessed that must be his unknown roommate. Hopefully the kid would be nice like Bella or this was going to be a long four years.

Entering the room he found himself in a small area with a sink, a table, and another closed door to his left. Checking the door briefly he found it was a small bathroom with a toilet and shower. We get our own bathroom, he thought. This is fancy.

Shutting the door softly he moved back out past the table and through a small opening that led into the rest of the room. This area was rectangular in shape with two windows opening on the opposite wall overlooking Tennis courts and sporting fields. The room was roughly split in half with a wooden desk, twin bed, and wardrobe on both sides of the room.

The side hidden from the opening was currently occupied by an asian boy who was sitting at the desk chair playing video games on an enormous TV he’d set up in front of the windows between the two desks.

His desk had a laptop on it as well as books, notebooks, and other materials all neatly organized. A christian cross sat prominently on top of the desk, which Ethan thought was a little odd for an asian, but he wasn’t going to ask about it. It looked like he’d swapped out the standard pillow and blanket for much nicer ones on his bed and stashed the originals on the side of his wardrobe. Four suitcases were stacked neatly beside his bed indicating that he didn’t travel lightly.

In contrast the other side of the room, Ethan supposed his side, was empty aside from the light baby blue blanket and single pillow on the bed. Walking over to the bed Ethan pulled his backpack off and tossed it lightly down before lifting up his single suitcase and placing it their as well.

“You must be my roommate,” the boy said without turning away from the game he was playing. “I’m Alex, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Ethan,” Ethan said. “Nice to meet you too.”

“I hope you don’t mind I set up my TV here in the middle,” Alex said while his character fired a gun wildly on the TV. “James said there wasn’t a lot of space in these rooms but I didn’t really believe him until I got here.”

“It’s not a problem,” Ethan said thinking he didn’t even have enough things to fill up the desk and the wardrobe.

“I’m from Kansas City, where are you from Ethan?” Alex asked still not turning to looking at him.

“I’m from Fresno,” Ethan answered starting to unzip his suitcase.

“Fresno?” Alex asked surprised finally pausing his game and turning to look at Ethan.

This gave Ethan his first good look at Alex who looked to be about the same height as Ethan if maybe a little shorter. One thing he definitely had over Ethan was that he was solidly built, especially for a freshman. Messy black hair hung over parts of his ears while his bangs were uneven and wild though Ethan was fairly certain this was a deliberate choice.

After looking over Ethan for a minute his brown eyes narrowed and Alex asked, “You’re not a shipper are you?”

“A what?” Ethan replied completely confused.

“Oh my god, you are,” Alex exclaimed. “Wait until James and Ben hear this. They’ll both laugh themselves stupid. They’re always going on about how I’m the spoiled one.”

“I’m sorry I still don’t understand what a shipper is,” Ethan asked starting to feel a bit annoyed at how he was being treated.

“A Scholarshipper,” Alex said emphasizing every syllable like he was speaking to an idiot. You know someone on a financial scholarship.”

“Oh,” Ethan said blushing furiously.

“Just don’t steal or touch any of my stuff,” Alex said turning back to his game. “I’ll know it if anything is broken or gone.”

Anger flashed under Ethan’s skin and he clenched his fist before he realized what he was doing. Ignore it, ignore it he told himself over and over. You knew this is what most of them would be like. Your family needs you to tough this out so you can’t go getting into fights on your first day.

Instead of punching Alex like he wanted to Alex unclenched his fist and busied himself with unloading his suitcase and backpack. Out of his suitcase he pulled a couple more sets of his uniform, sneakers, and some casual summer clothes, and some casual winter clothes. He also pulled out toiletries which he placed in the bathroom and a digital alarm clock which he placed on the desk.

In his backpack he pulled out notebooks, pens, pencils, and other school materials which he stashed in the desk. Lastly he pulled out a framed picture of His mom, his sister, and himself and set it prominently on the desk where it would be easy to see. It was a good reminder for him of why he was here in the first place.

After this he placed his suitcase near the base of his bed, threw his empty backpack on his desk, and left the room. He didn’t have anything to do in the room anyways, but there was no way he was spending any more time in the room with Alex than absolutely necessary.

For the next hour Ethan found himself wandering around the campus finding and locating most of the other areas of note that he hadn’t seen from the quad. Directly behind the Boys dorms were the athletic fields he’d seen from his dorm window and they were in much better shape than any of the fields he’d ever played on before.

On the far side of Raccoon House was the library which was remarkable in that it was its own multistoried building. He’d never heard of a high school that had a library this large. To the left of the library and behind Tanaka Hall was the theater. It was also huge and posh from the outside, but really what else did he expect? This school just oozed money.

Across a large parking lot from the theater and butting up against Ocean Avenue was the gym. From the gym he could make out the back of the girls dorms with the one closest to it being Wildcat House. To the side of the Gym and located directly behind Crane House were the dinning hall and bookstore.

Figuring that he should probably pick up his books before the store closed he made for the store which opened both from Ocean Avenue and the side facing the dining hall. Once inside he was surprised to find that two-thirds of the store was taken up by school branded clothing and other Hinan Academy merchandise. There were even items themed with various houses.

Ethan spotted a black Salamander House hoodie he particularly liked with the red salamander blazed across the back but then quickly shook away these thoughts moved towards the back where the books were. It's not like he could afford the hoodie anyways. His mom had given him a debit card for use in the case of emergencies, but a new hoodie hardly qualified as an emergency for him and certainly would not for his mom.

Making his way to the back of the store he found himself in front of a long desk with bookshelves stacked all the way to the ceiling behind it. Several clerks sat along the desk typing at computers.

“Did you hear about those two campers in Misty Oaks state park?” one near the end was asking another clerk near him.

“Yeah, completely vanished,” the other one answered. “Found their tent and all their supplies, but the two of them were gone.”

“Here to pick up your books?” a kind-faced young man asked drawing Ethan’s attention back to the area in front of him.

“That’s right,” Ethan answered pulling out the slip he’d received at registration.

“Name?” the man asked.

“Ethan Russell,” Ethan replied.

“Let’s see here,” he said typing into his computer. “Ah here you are, a freshman. Welcome to Hinan Academy. If you’ll give me just a few minutes, I’ll go gather all of your required books.”

With that he printed out a list and began to roam the bookshelves pulling down various books and coming back to the desk every once in awhile to set them down. When he was all said and done there was an intimidating tower of books sitting on the desk in front of Ethan.

“And how do you want to pay for these?” The clerk asked. “We take Visa, Mastercard, Discover…”

He cut off as Ethan held out the slip of paper to him hoping that no one else around was paying attention.

“Ah of course,” he said snatching the slip from Ethan’s hand. “Let me just plug in a couple numbers here and you’ll be on your way. Would you like a couple bags for those?”

“Yes, please,” Ethan said relieved as he was trying to figure out how to carry them all back with him.

After the clerk bagged the books for Ethan he left the bookstore not wanting to look at any other items he couldn’t buy. He was just thinking about dropping his books back off at his dorm room when a delicious smell caught his attention while he was passing the dining hall. His stomach rumbled in response while his mouth started salivating. He really should get something to eat, it had been a long time since he ate before boarding the train from Fresno.

Changing directions he headed for the dining hall where he entered through the sliding glass doors. Once inside he could see that it was bustling with activity as students made their way around various stations containing different types of foods. Directly in front of him was a register with an elderly won standing at it staring at him.

“First time in the dining hall?” she asked gently.

“Yes,” Ethan answered walking up to her.

“Well once you pay you’re welcome to eat as much as you’d like until you leave,” she said with a smile.

“Oh I have one of these,” Ethan said pulling the card out of his pocket.

“That works just as well as money,” she replied, taking the food card and swiping it at her register. “Grab a tray and some silverware and get whatever you’d like.”

She guestered behind her to a stack of trays and stand where silverware was set up. Ethan thanked her and did as he was told before moving behind her where all of the different stations were set up.

There were so many options he didn’t know where to start. There was a station for itailian food with a pasta bar and pizza, there was a burger and french fry station, there was a create your own sandwich station, there was even a breakfast station with every type of cereal he could imagine. Asian, Mexican, and special of the day stations rounded out the rest while a salad bar sat off to the side.

Deciding to play it safe the first time he headed for the burger station and grabbed a plate. He then grabbed a cheese burger which was wrapped in tinfoil underneath a heating lamp and asked the attendant behind the counter for some friench fries. The man then placed a generous portion of fries on Ethan’s plate. Wow he could get used to this.

Ethan then turned around and began heading for the tables on the other side of the dining hall but not before spotting the drink and condiment station right in front of it. There was a giant soda fountain on it as well as chilled milk, juice, water, tea, and coffee. Not questioning it too much he grabbed a plastic cup, got some ice, and then hit the button for coke. This was awesome. This dining hall was definitely the best thing about his new boarding school.

After setting his drink on his tray he grabbed some ketchup and headed for the tables where the anxiety of finding a place to sit washed over him as he saw groups of friends clustered around tables. Crap, he didn’t know anyone, and had forgotten about that in his haste to get some food.

Luckily for Ethan it turned out he did know someone because Bella’s voice called out from his left, “Ethan over here.”

Turning he found her seated by herself at a table by the window with several large slices of pizza on her plate. She looked happy to see him and Ethan knew by the relief washing over his face that he was happy to see her.

“Hey Bella,” he said moving over to her table and placing his tray and bag of books down on her table before sitting down across from her.

“Looks like you just got your books,” she said looking at the bulky bag next to Ethan.

“Yeah, thank god I didn’t have to pay for them,” he whispered smiling at her.

“No kidding,” Bella said taking a large bite of pizza. “My parents would probably need to sell their car to afford all my books based off of the numbers I saw the clerk ringing up before I pulled out the slip from admissions.”

“What classes are you in?” Ethan asked between shovelling fries into his mouth.

“Hmm let me see,” Bella said swallowing. “Advanced English I, Integrated Mathematics, Computer Science, US History Before 1861, Health I, PE I, Advanced Biology, and Christianities.”

“Oh,” Ethan said frowning and feeling a bit disappointed.

A Lot of her classes were at a higher level than his. He was hoping that since she was also a scholarship student and a public school kid she’d be in all the same classes as him but apparently this wasn’t the case.

“How about you?” she asked him apparently having not picked up on his facial expression.

“Algebra I, English I, Computer Science, US History Before 1861, PE I, Health I, Biology, and Drawing and Painting,” Ethan replied feeling stupid.

“Algebra I?” a familiar mocking male voice asked from somewhere to Ethan’s left.

Alex was walking toward the two of them with a couple of other boys behind him. Ethan scowled seeing the unwelcome face of his roommate.

“I didn’t even know they taught that to high schoolers,” Alex said reaching into Ethan’s bag and pulling out the Algebra I textbook. “But here’s the proof. Oh wow it’s just color by number.”

He opened up the book and mockingly laughed at this.

“Shut up Alex,” Ethan hissed angrily.

The dining hall around them had gotten quiet and Ethan could tell that his face was flushed with both anger and embarrassment. Why of all people did he have to get the world’s biggest jerk for a roommate.

“It’s like a shipper’s convention over here,” Alex said appraising Bella and setting the book back on the table. “Look at this one, not just a shipper but also an illegal immigrant. What is Hinan Academy coming to?”

Bella flushed at this and stared down the table while Ethan just got angrier and angrier.

“Shut up Alex,” Ethan repeated standing up.

“Or what?” Alex asked smiling at him. “You going to hit me and get yourself thrown out on the first day?”

“I just might,” Ethan growled at him.

“Ethan,” Bella said quietly. “Don’t, it’s not worth it.”

“Oh look, now his piggy little girlfriend is standing up for him,” Alex said causing several of the students around to laugh. “I’d be careful about getting too close to her if I were you Ethan. If she gets hungry enough, she might eat you.”

This caused a louder round of laughter while Ethan balled his hands up into fist. He was going to beat the snot out of this smug kid.

“Alex, enough,” a stern voice called. “Quit being a jerk and come eat your dinner.”

Turning Ethan found a taller older version of Alex standing up a nearby table staring at Alex. It had to be an older brother he guessed though upon closer inspection there were actually two of them. Another older version of Alex sat calmly at the same table sipping soup seemingly oblivious to the commotion going on around him.

“I don’t know what you’ve been doing for the last year, but this behavior is beneath you,” the standing one lectured.

“Fine,” Alex sighed. “I was done here anyways. I’ll see you later Ethan.”

Having said that he turned around and marched back over to the other table where the one sipping soup said quietly, “God loves all his children, even the less fortunate. Remember judge not lest you be judged Alex.”

“I know the scriptures Ben,” Alex snapped at the soup sipper who remained calm. “I don’t need you to try and teach me.”

Sitting back down Ethan stared at his half eaten burger and realized that his appetite was gone. Not even one day at school and he was already going to be unpopular. Just great.

“Who was that?” Bella asked attacking her pizza ferociously.

“My roommate,” Ethan said sighing, “unfortunately.”