Oakridge City.
Calm from the outside.
Rotten on the inside.
In its schools, strength was currency, and fear was tradition.
Aarvin Hale stepped off the bus with his shoulders slightly hunched, jacket too big for his frame, and eyes glued to the ground.
Average face.
Bulky-but-untrained body.
Fear written in every movement.
He hated crowds.
He hated noise.
He hated this city.
But he had no choice.
His older brother — Riyan Hale — studied in the same school.
A boy whose name alone made people move aside.
Cold, brutal, unreadable.
The unofficial gangster of Oakridge High.
Aarvin was the opposite in every possible way.
Soft-hearted.
Introverted.
Scared of even loud voices, let alone fists.
"You're here?" Riyan's voice cut sharp when they met at the gate.
Aarvin nodded silently.
"Listen. Everyone here is strong. Don't be weak."
Riyan slapped his shoulder — not painfully, but hard enough to remind him of the difference between them.
Aarvin flinched.
Riyan noticed. He exhaled.
"If you have any trouble… just tell me. Come on, class is about to start."
And like that, Aarvin stepped into Oakridge High for the first time.
New city.
New faces.
New fears.
He already felt out of place.
In class, he quietly took a seat near the window.
A girl next to him — Elena Cross — looked up with a gentle smile.
"New student?"
Aarvin nodded.
She giggled lightly.
"Relax. Nobody bites here."
If only she knew.