My mom transferred me to the worst high school in the city. All for a $10,000 bonus. On my first day, I was cornered. Jax, the school's biggest delinquent, pinned me against a wall demanding protection money. I emptied my pockets. I only found half a stale bagel. "I don't have money... but do you want half a bagel?" He stared at me for a second. Then he exploded. "Who the hell do you think you are, messing with me?!" The next second, my world went black. I fainted from hunger. Right in front of him. When I woke up, the bully tossed a breakfast burrito at me. He threatened me: "From today on, your meals are on us." "We're covering your food." "But listen closely." "If you dare fail your exams..." "Or if you breathe a word of this to anyone..." "I'll beat you to a pulp." The "Mean Girls" forced me to drink protein shakes. "Your skin is terrible. Don't ruin the class aesthetic!" They even formed a patrol squad. Just to ensure I safely took the SATs. They were rotting in the mud themselves. Yet, they clumsily lifted me up to touch the stars. On the eve of the big test, Jax took his crew and beat up my harassing parents. "Heard you guys wanted to disturb our star student's studying?" He looked back at me with a smirk. A wild, yet gentle smile. "Hey, brainiac." "Go get into Harvard for us." "Just for kicks." 01 I got the highest score in the city on the junior year PSATs. My mom beat me for it. She said my little brother was upset. He felt I stole his nutrients in the womb, which is why his grades were so bad. To make it up to him, Mom made a decision. She transferred me from the city's top magnet school to the worst public school in the district. That school promised her a $10,000 bonus. Just for enrolling a high-achieving student. With that ten grand, she immediately transferred my brother. He went to a private prep school. My brother was thrilled. He called me useless for just being book-smart. He said going to prep school to meet rich kids was the real path to success. He said maybe one day I could even work for him. I didn't want to transfer. But a beating from my stepdad changed my mind. Being locked in my room without food changed my mind. When I was too hungry to think, I agreed. At that moment, I only had one thought: I didn't want to die here. Even the worst school was better than starving. At least there were books to read. Before I left, my brother filled me in on my new reality. "That class is full of psychos," he sneered. "They'd kill you without blinking." "Don't even think about fighting back. They're monsters because they have money and power backing them." "Just rot there." "Let's see who dares to compare you to me then." I didn't reply. But I secretly vowed one thing. I would live a better life than this piece of trash. 02 My new classroom was at the very end of the hallway. The door hung crookedly on its hinges. As I got closer, the noise inside sounded like it would blow the roof off. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The room instantly fell silent. Every gaze shot towards me. Like they were looking at a monster. I guess my washed-out magnet school uniform was pretty conspicuous here. I didn't make a sound. I kept my head down, looking for an empty seat. Before I could sit, someone grabbed the back of my collar. It was Jax. I'd heard his name. The king of the school's delinquents. He cornered me. His shadow loomed over me. "New kid?" A cigarette dangled from his mouth as he squinted at me. "Know the rules here?" "Gotta pay the protection fee." I didn't speak. I silently turned all my pockets inside out. Empty. Finally, in my pants pocket, I found something. Half a cold, hard bagel I'd swiped from the kitchen counter that morning. It was rock-hard. I placed it in his open palm. "This... this is it." He stared at the pathetic thing in his hand. Stunned for several seconds. His expression went from shock to a furious rage at being mocked. "What the f*ck!" He violently threw his hand out. Bagel crumbs scattered everywhere. "Who the hell do you think you are?!" His roar was huge. It made my ears ring. But I hadn't eaten a proper meal in two days. Since that sip of cold water in the morning, my stomach had been burning. His shout was the last straw. My vision went black. My legs turned to jelly. I fell straight forward. My last conscious thought was that my head hit something. It didn't hurt much. I just had absolutely no strength left. 03 When I woke up, I found myself lying on a cot. I was in the nurse's office. The smell of rubbing alcohol mixed with something else. The delicious scent of sausage and eggs. I turned my head. Jax was standing by the bed with a scowl on his face. He held a still-steaming breakfast burrito. He rudely shoved it into my hand. "Here. It tastes like crap. Lucky you." His eyes darted elsewhere. His tone was hard. "Listen up." "From today on, we're covering your meals." "Your food... tsk, guess it's our bad luck, it's on us!" He paused. He leaned in a bit, deliberately putting on a fierce expression. He lowered his voice. "But if you dare fail your exams..." "Or dare to breathe a word of this to anyone..." He shook his fist. "I'll beat you to a pulp." "Hear me?" After speaking, he grumpily slapped a stack of papers onto the table next to me. I picked it up. My heart skipped a beat. It was a mock SAT exam. From the city's top tutoring center. Complete with detailed answer keys and explanations. I had been worrying about this. After transferring, I wouldn't have access to these materials anymore. I wouldn't know how to solve the problems I got wrong. I heard the teachers at this school didn't really teach. "Thank you..." My eyes immediately reddened. Jax bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Thank my ass!" "Just write it well for me!" "If you don't finish... you're not allowed to go home and eat!" He ordered fiercely. But the tips of his ears seemed a bit red. Just then, a chubby guy ran in. He looked a bit goofy, panting, holding a huge stack of papers. His forehead was covered in sweat. "Jax! Jax!" "Look at these, are they okay?" "I just stole... no, borrowed them from the principal's office!" His voice was loud. Full of excitement and a desire for praise. Jax was startled. He grumpily ruffled the guy's hair. "Quiet down, Fatty! Want the whole school to know?" He took the pile. It looked like past exams and practice tests. He glanced at them, then disgustedly shoved the whole lot at me. His expression was totally unnatural. Forcing a tough-guy act. "Uh..." "Study these waste papers too!" "Hurry up, don't dawdle!" 04 I returned to my new classroom holding the stack of papers. I smelled like breakfast burrito. The room was chaotic. Like a marketplace. By the window, a few girls were gathered around Serena. The school queen bee. They were applying glittery gems to her nails. Next to them, two guys were holding their phones, gaming and cursing. I found an empty seat in the corner and put the papers down. Someone shoved my shoulder hard. I looked up. It was two of Serena's wannabe-gangster lackeys. "Yo," one said. "Isn't this the brainiac who got scared into fainting by Jax this morning?" A girl with green-streaked hair pinched her voice. She looked me up and down sarcastically. Another girl with short hair poked my arm with her exaggerated acrylic nails. She tsked in disgust. "OMG, why are you so skinny?" "Like a bean sprout." "A gust of wind would blow you away, right?" "My teddy bear eats more meat than you." I shrunk my neck in fear. Not daring to breathe loud. Trembling all over. Serena sat there, slowly blowing on her freshly done nails. She winked at the side. The green-haired girl immediately pulled a carton of milk from her desk. Expensive. Organic. She popped the straw in and practically shoved it into my mouth. "Drink it!" she said viciously. Someone next to them immediately raised their phone. Started recording. The camera was almost in my face. The class clown, Richy, leaned in grinning. He was decked out in designer logos. He made a peace sign at the camera, then called his dad on video chat right there. As soon as the call connected, he yelled. "Dad! Look!" "That organic milk you wanted to promote, I found someone to taste-test it!" "A bona fide Harvard prospect! Number one in the city!" "Look how much she's enjoying it!" He jerked the camera toward me. Threatening me with his eyes. The straw was still in my mouth. I was forced to take a big gulp. I almost choked. I could only make a vague "Mmm" sound and let out a small milk burp. Richy was incredibly smug. "Hear that, Dad! She said it's good!" "Hurry up and send me money. This was hard work, you know." "Oh yeah, by the way, cover her milk for the whole year!" "When she gets into Harvard, this will be 'Harvard Milk'!" Soon, his dad sent him ten grand. Someone quickly delivered a month's supply of milk. Richy raised his eyebrows at me. "You must drink this milk every day." "One carton a day." "Otherwise... otherwise we'll bully you!" Serena finally deigned to speak. She glanced at me. Faintly. "Yeah, you need to nourish yourself." "Your face is sallow." "It's lowering the average attractiveness of our class." 05 It didn't take long for me to gain weight in Class 2. Richy was always bringing me all kinds of food to try. One day it was free-range chicken. The next it was a new gourmet protein bar. "Star," he'd say. "If you say it's good, I'll have my dad start production immediately." "The slogan will be 'Highly Recommended by Harvard Bound Brainiac'!" He even gave names to the things I'd eaten. Harvard Chicken. Harvard Egg. Harvard Milk. He had a little notebook specially for recording what I ate and how I did on tests afterward. Then he would seriously analyze it with his dad. "Dad, look!" "After drinking this milk, she got a 1580 on the SAT practice!" "After eating that chocolate, she only missed one point on the English section!" "This investment is worth it!" In the following days, I slowly figured out the background of these people. Jax was raised by his grandmother. She collected recyclables. He was poked in the spine a lot as a kid for not having parents. His fists were forced to become hard. So he despised bullying the most. Especially seeing people like me who didn't cause trouble being pushed to the brink. In his words: "My fists are hard." "But I never hit anyone who's already down." A weakling like me who only knew how to study... Somehow became the one under his wing that no one was allowed to touch. Once, a few guys from the class next door cornered me outside the bathroom. Making sarcastic remarks. "Good students come to this kind of place to use the bathroom too?" "Heard you're pretty arrogant, huh?" They even tried to grab the phone in my hand. It was Serena's old one she'd just given me. Before I could react, a thunderous roar sounded from behind me. "F*ck!" "Touching someone from my class?!" Jax appeared out of nowhere. Eyes red. Without a word, he grabbed a spare wooden chair by the wall and charged. He looked like he was really going to smash it onto them. "Jealous, huh?" "Envious that our class has a Harvard prospect, right?" "I'll open your eyes today!" Those guys were bullies who only picked on the weak. They'd never seen this kind of life-threatening battle array. They were so scared they pissed themselves and ran. Jax threw down the chair. Panting heavily. He turned his head to glare at me. "What are you standing there for?" "Go back and study!" "Stop wandering around here causing trouble!"
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