When his mom's car pulled up to the large building, Kayden unbuckled his seatbelt, staring up at his new school. It was huge. Made out of light stone with beautifully shaped roofs over top a green field and a forest that stretched out behind it. It looked like victorian architecture and Kayden was trying to remember why he was so opposed to going there, but then he realized it was, in fact, a school guaranteed to be filled with pretentious rich kids who did nothing but drink tea and fake-laugh at jokes that weren't funny. They probably have a whole class on how to stare judgmentally. He snickered at that thought and his mom gave him a weird look.

"We should be meeting with the headmaster soon, he wanted to personally see to you. His office is..somewhere. This is a big campus, I'm not sure where we're supposed to go." His mom said with a soft laugh and he took in a breath, but just nodded, not wanting to start another argument that wasn't worth fighting. He knew he wasn't going to be able to get out of this. 

They eventually found their way to the headmaster's office and Kayden's mom knocked on the door, waiting with a smile plastered onto her glossy pink lips. 

"Come in." A voice called out and Kayden's mom quickly opened the door, walking in. A man sat at a dark wood desk. He had graying brown hair slicked back and dark eyes, his expression serious as he sat with his hands folded on top of his desk. He looked over Kayden in his black The Wrecks hoodie, ripped jeans, and vans with disapproval. "You're Greg's boy?"

"I'm not owned by Greg, no," Kayden said and the headmaster let out a brief chuckle. 

"Bit of a literalist, isn't he?" He said and Kayden's mom laughed politely, nodding. "Please, take a seat," he said and they both sat in the uncomfortable wooden chairs. "I do this with just about every new student. We only get a handful every year; most kids going here have been in Antisto for the majority of their education so it can be a bit of a difficult transition for a junior like yourself," He explained. Kayden didn't catch whatever he said next, zoning out and nodding every once in a while as he talked about school policies and the expectations for their students.

"Great, can I get my dorm number and stuff now?" He asked in the middle of one of the headmaster's sentences and the man paused, his calm demeanor breaking for just a second to narrow his eyes at the boy. Kayden just raised his eyebrows as if challengingly. 

"Kayden, you shouldn't interrupt people, it's rude." His mom said. 

"Sorry." He said without remorse and the man looked at him another second before handing him a plastic bag with a silver key that had a number on it and his student ID as well as a 'welcome' pamphlet that he didn't plan on reading. 

"It's quite alright, I'm sure he'll calm down after he settles in. Will you need help finding your room? I'm sure I can call for someone to-"

"Nope, I'll be fine," Kayden said, taking the bag and stuffing it in his hoodie pocket as he walked out. His mom stayed back to apologize for his not saying goodbye, but he didn't care, he was just focused on finding the dorm building and getting to his room. His mom ran to catch up with him and he wondered how anyone ran in heels that high.

"Kayden, you get back here," She said as she walked next to him, a scowl on her face. "That behavior was unacceptable!"

"Yeah, well you sending me to some stuck-up pretentious prep school without even asking me first is unacceptable."

She looked like she wanted to say something else but she bit her tongue as a few students passed. It was a long, quiet walk around campus to find the dorm building. They eventually did and soon also found his dorm which was up two flights of stairs. His mom stopped him at the door before he could go in and took his hand. 

"Kayden, I don't want to leave on bad terms."

"Then don't, I'm sure you could sleep in one of the closets or something." He said sarcastically and she looked at him. 

"Kayden...please." She said in a quiet tone and he looked up at her, closing his mouth as his eyes softened. "I'm not going to see you for months. I know you don't like this, but I'm trying my best here. I just want you to get a good shot at life, I want you to have opportunities, I want you to be a good person." She said, taking his face in her hands, looking like she might start crying. He pulled away a bit. 

"I love you, Mom," he said genuinely, he knew he'd miss her. 

"I love you too, Sweetie." She said, pulling him into a hug and he hugged her back a moment. She left after another quick goodbye and he watched her walked down the hallway to the stairs. He was officially all alone in a place he didn't understand. 

He sighed softly and opened his door, his eyes first catching the number of potted plants sitting scattered around the left side of the room. On that side, there were pressed flowers and butterflies in frames on the wall, each frame perfectly placed. The beds were neatly made and tightly tucked in with beige sheets. The other side of the room was almost completely bare and he guessed that was his side. There were two beds, two desks, and two dressers along with a side table at each bed and a little bookcase next to each desk. Only one bookcase was filled, the books seeming to have some sort of color code. There were also another two potted plants sitting on top of it. The desk, bookcase, and dresser on the other side were all empty. A large window took up much of the far wall, letting light cast in. 

He set his suitcase and cardboard box down next to the bed. He walked to the other side of the room, looking over some of the potted plants, particularly a little cactus that had caught his eye. He picked up the plant without thinking, holding it carefully to look at it closer. 

"What are you doing?" He heard a voice and looked up. A boy in a dark green sweater looked at him as if Kayden had offended him and quickly took the plant as Kayden recoiled. He set it down on his desk again, turning it a few degrees, then turning it again, and three more times before he looked at it next to the other plants and seemed to calm a bit. 

"Sorry, I didn't...I mean, I didn't think you'd care, I should have asked first before touching your stuff...I'm Kayden." He said, stuffing his hands in his hoodie pockets and the boy looked back at him. 

"Theo." He said with a soft breath out. "It's not really your fault, I'm just precise about my things. You're new here?" He asked and Kayden nodded. "Keep the room clean, don't break uniform rules, and don't skip classes or stay out after curfew. There are some rules that they're lenient about, but not those."

"Are they going to kick me out if I break them?" Kayden asked with a small smile.

"They don't kick people out unless you do something really bad, they'll make you clean the bathrooms or give you extra work, I've also seen a kid who dropped a full letter grade in Latin because he skipped class one too many times," Theo said and Kayden nodded.

"Got it." He said and then an announcement came over the loudspeaker in the hall. 

"Students of Antisto Academy, please report to the auditorium for an assembly." 

"Also, don't skip assemblies," Theo said, heading out the door and Kayden followed. 

"How long have you been going here?" He asked as they walked. 

"Since I was ten, so...six years in total." He said.

Kayden was about to ask another question when he heard another booming voice behind him. 

"Hey, fresh meat?" He looked up to see a tall, dark-skinned boy in a black turtle neck next to another boy closer to Kayden's height walking next to him. "I'm Grant, nice to meet you." 

"Kayden!" He said with a small smile, running his fingers through his hair. 

"I'm Ezra." The other boy said in a quieter voice, giving Kayden a shy wave. 

"Don't worry too much about the assembly, we do it at the beginning of every year. Say the pledge, sing the song, Walker talks for a while about the school while everyone tries not to fall asleep, and then new students get their emails, and we all chill for a while before lights out at 11." Grant explained and Kayden nodded, trying to take it all in, it was a lot to process. 

They took their seats at the assembly and did in fact say the pledge and sing the school song during which Kayden stood awkwardly, and then the headmaster had them all sit down for his speech. Apparently, his name was Dr. Walker, Kayden had just forgotten to check the nameplate on his desk when they first met.

"Students and faculty, new or returning, thank you for joining us this year in our pursuit of knowledge and education." He started. "I will remind everyone again this year of the meaning of Antisto Academy for Boys. Antisto means to excel, to surpass, to be superior. Gentlemen, we here at Antisto strive to excel, to surpass all others, we are superior!" He said with a smile and Kayden really did try his best not to roll his eyes, but that was probably the most elitist thing he'd ever heard in his entire life. 

Grant leaned over to him and whispered. "If you think that's bad, just wait until he starts talking about the school golf club." Kayden quietly snickered.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad staying there after all. he'd thought that he'd be immediately outcast, but maybe he was wrong, or maybe he'd gotten lucky. Either way, he wasn't so upset anymore.