The Only Faith [boyxboy]

The Only Faith

                "Stop giving me that look," Ted said, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel.

                "I didn't give you any look. My eyes were locked on the sight of the boring buildings up ahead," I said. "Or maybe I was just checking out your receding hairline. I'm still trying to figure out which sight is more terrifying, honestly."

                "Your actions have consequences. Don't blame me for them," Ted grumbled, turning onto the campus that housed my new school.

                Constance Academy loomed in front of us as Ted searched for a place to park. I slumped against my seat, wondering if it was too late to chug bleach.

                Ted parked the car and got out. "Hurry up. You shouldn't be late on your first day."

                I reluctantly got out of the car, school bag slung over my shoulder. Ted and I walked into the admissions building and over to a desk with a woman seated behind it.

                She looked up as we approached. "Hi, may I help you?"

                "You're a big boy. Speak for yourself," Ted said, giving me a shove forward.

                "I'm Brennan Kipling. I'm the newest prisoner of this school," I said.

                "Maroon?" she said, already typing on her laptop.

                "Yea, that one," I said. Maroon meant I was a maroon vest.

                See, Constance Academy separated its students by vest color. Blue vests were the intelligent kids sent here for the best education. They were the upstanding citizens, treated like gods gracing this earth.

                Maroon vests, not so much.

                Maroon was the color they branded you with if you were a trouble maker. They were the kids who were here to have their problematic behaviors corrected.

                "Just out of curiosity, how many kids have gotten stabbed on their first day in a maroon class?" I said.

                "Just one." Her voice was so monotone I wasn't sure if it was a joke or a fact.

                I looked at Ted in despair, but he just stared at me with no sympathy. What a guy.

                "Here." The woman handed me several papers. "Sign those first three. Is this your father? You'll need a parent or guardian to sign too."

                "I'm not a parent but I'm here on behalf of them," Ted said, stepping up and grabbing a pen off the desk. "We called yesterday to sort it out. The headmaster said my signature will do."

                I signed the papers and passed them off to Ted. The last paper was a copy of my schedule, which I folded up and tucked into my back pocket.

                The woman got up and dug through some locked cabinets before turning back to me and holding out a manila envelope. "The keys to your dorm and your I.D. are in there."

                "Wow, I was expecting to be stripped of my identity," I said in surprise, taking the envelope from her.

                "Ignore him," Ted said.