"What the fuck”.

What the boys saw was like at the club with the bright lights and loud music, but it was much worse this time. More extreme. People were spraying alcohol and smoking weed; people were unconscious on the floor; people were sniffing cocaine, had needles in their arms, and consuming pills, and there were pills scattered on the floor. It was a mess. What kind of party was this? It was definitely a Halloween party, as everyone was dressed up. The costumes ranged from clowns, killers, ghosts, cops, bunnies and characters from shows. No one was dressed boringly. Despite the boys being told it was at a secret location, it looked like everyone knew the secret. There were a lot of people; it looked like there were around 200 people or more. However, they weren't all students; some looked older like they were in their late twenties. Remember, the campus wasn't only open to students; it looked like some strangers got word of the party. The boys stood there speechless; this was nothing like the previous party they had been to. Lucas went to the club the most out of the group and would sometimes bring William; that was it. None of the other guys went to the club. The only time they went was that one time after the first challenge. Lucas and William expected it to be like the club, while Malakai and Benjamin didn't know what to expect.

"You lot still wanna be here?" Malakai asked, looking at their shocked faces.

"I don't think this is a good idea", Benjamin replied with uncertainty and his eyes all over the place.

"Wait, isn't that a teacher?" Malakai asked, squinting his eyes and pointing at a table.

"Yeah, it is", William replied. "Why is he sniffing the table?" he questioned, squinting his eyes to see in more detail.

"He's doing cocaine lad", Malakai answered like it should've been obvious. Shock was written all over William's face. He'd only ever seen stuff like this in TV shows.

"Yeah, this isn't a good idea, let's go", Benjamin decided, turning around.

"We just got here, we can't leave", Lucas disagreed, grabbing Benjamin's arm and wanting to stay.

"He's right, we got invited", William added in favour of staying.

"We didn't get invited; you were told about it", Malakai said in favour of leaving. More people started walking into the building, forcing the boys to move forward.

"Let's stay for a bit", Lucas said. "We came all the way here", he had a point, walking this distance to just turn around and go back would be a waste. Not to mention the fact that they spent time on their outfits, well half of them did.

Malakai and Benjamin looked at each other, knowing this wasn't a good idea. Malakai didn't know what to say, so he waited for Benjamin's answer.

"Only a little bit", Benjamin agreed.

"Yess, let's goo!" William said, marching forward.

"Wait", Malakai said, yanking the back of William's costume, causing him to stop.

"What?" William asked, turning around so Malakai stopped yanking him.

"You're not doing any drugs. If you do, I'm smacking the shit out of you", Malakai clearly told him, pointing at him.

"But", William tried to protest.

"No!" Malakai replied with a scary look in his eyes.

"Why're you only telling me?" William said, feeling like a younger sibling being told off for something he never did.

"I mean everyone. If I see any of you doing drugs, I'm smacking the shit out of you", Malakai said, looking at Benjamin and Lucas.

"Don't need to tell me", Benjamin replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Drugs is a no-go for me", Lucas replied with his hands up.

Malakai let go of William’s costume.

"You said no to drugs but said nothing about alcohol", William cheekily said, walking away to the bar.

"You might need to watch over him", Lucas said, walking in another direction towards some girls.

Benjamin and Malakai stood there and watched their friends go separate ways.

Benjamin looked at the people partying, "What're you gonna do?" he asked Malakai.

"Fuck up the party", Malakai replied.

"How?" Benjamin said, looking at Malakai.

"I don't know, imma make these kids stop taking drugs", Malakai replied, scoping the place.

"Kids? I guarantee everyone here is older than you", Benjamin said. "And if you're gonna mess with people, you'll get caught".

"I got my bally (balaclava/ski mask) on; no one can see me", Malakai replied, pulling up his ski mask so only his white eyes showed.

"Right. You have fun", Benjamin said, not understanding what Malakai was going to do. "Watch Will", he said, leaving Malakai behind as he walked ahead. When Malakai said he was going to 'fuck up the party,' Benjamin believed him, but he didn't know how he was going to do it. One thing for sure is that he didn't want to be near Malakai when that happened. Benjamin wandered through the party, stepping on substances that were on the floor and passing barely conscious people. They were like zombies. He wasn't comfortable, but this wasn't the first time he had been in a situation like this. He didn't know where he was going; he was hoping he'd find someone from another class he knew. Staying with his friends was out of the question. He didn't want to stay with Lucas while he flirted, William while he drank, and Malakai while he was being Malakai. If David or Ray were here, it would've been perfect; he'd have someone he could stay with. Regret was always a thought when he was getting ready for the party, but he felt bad after seeing Lucas put in so much effort.

Bump!

“Sorry I wasn’t paying attention”, Benjamin was lost in thought.

“Watch where you going man. Wait, Benji?”

“J?” Benjamin replied, squinting his eyes. “It’s really you!” He excitedly said. Benjamin accidentally bumped into an old friend.

“Benji!”, J embraced him. J isn’t his actual name; it’s his nickname. “Why’re you here man?”

“I should be asking you that. You’re not even a student here”, Benjamin replied, stunned to see him.

“There are a lot of people here that aren’t students”, J said, pointing fingers at strangers.

“I know, but I still didn’t expect you to be here”, Benjamin replied, feeling his mood rise.

“It’s not only me here. Everyone’s here”, J said.

“Really?!” Benjamin replied, looking around, trying to spot them. He was like an excited kid.

“Yeah, let me show you”.

Benjamin followed J through the crowd until they reached a somewhat quiet spot near a wall. The spot had a few chairs, and that's it, no table. When Benjamin got closer, he saw four other familiar faces—faces he had seen throughout his childhood.

“Aye, Benji! Is that you!?” They recognised Benjamin before he even reached them. Benjamin approached them with a smile, a smile those guys couldn’t forget. Three of them sat in chairs while one leaned against the wall.

"what you wearing, man?" Tevon laughed, looking at Benjamin's outfit and leaning against the wall.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"It's my costume. I'm Franklin Saint", Benjamin happily replied.

"You look like him, but you're nothing like him," Tevon joked, his teeth showing.

“When did you get grills, Tev?” Benjamin asked, seeing Tevon’s teeth shining.

“Got 'em last week”, Tevon replied, showcasing his teeth.

“Yeah, you needed them. Even a dentist couldn’t save em”, Benjamin dissed

“Still cheeky, aye, young g”, Tevon said, grabbing Benjamin. Kofi, Dante, Jamar (J), and Monty all watched, laughing, feeling the nostalgia. Six boys laughing and fooling around like they were back on their block. Benjamin broke free from Tevon’s grasp.

“Man, I missed you guys”, Benjamin said, smiling ear to ear.

“We missed you”, Dante replied after taking a hit from his blunt.

“How’s your new life, man?” Kofi asked, smiling at Benjamin.

“It’s good”, Benjamin replied in short.

“We ain’t seen you for four months, and the only thing you can say is good?” Jamar said.

“No, it’s just. I’m confused. Why’re you here?” Benjamin asked, still shell-shocked, why all his old friends were in front of him.

“For the party”, Tevon answered, spreading his arms.

“You came all the way from Nashville for this party. You expect me to believe that”, Benjamin replied, knowing they weren't serious.

“A couple hours in a car is worth it for this party, Benji”, Monty said, smoking his joint.

Benjamin smirked, “I know when I was a kid, I used to believe your stories, but I ain’t a kid no more”, Benjamin said. “I’m taller than all of you except Tevon and Kofi”. He was waiting for them to say they came to surprise him.

“Looks like you’re all grown up, huh? Benji”, Tevon said. “You know why we’re here”, he said, lowering his head, he was embarrassed to look in his eyes. Benjamin looked clueless. He looked towards the other guys; they didn’t give him any hints. Tevon sighed. “Look around”, he told him. “We’re the reason why this party is a party”.

Benjamin looked around the party, and everything clicked. “No…”, he mumbled. He looked at his friends again. “Cocaine? You guys are dealing cocaine now?” He asked, pissed off. “Weeds fine, but cocaine and heroin is too far”. He told off his friends. His friends didn't reply; they wanted to let Benjamin rant.

"Benji you used to deal too", Kofi replied.

"Yeah, weed. You guys used to pay me for helping you", Benjamin snapped back.

Short backstory time. Benjamin comes from a rough neighbourhood in Nashville. All his childhood friends are older than him by 3-4 years. He was one of the youngest kids on his block and used to help them sell weed to get money.

"Let me ask you this. Why did you help us?" Tevon asked Benjamin.

"To help my family", Benjamin replied like it was instinct.

Tevon raised his eyebrows, shoulders, and hands, basically saying that what they're doing here is the same.

"No, no", Benjamin said, shaking his head. "You can still get money selling pot. Why cocaine? You know how dangerous this shit you're doing is. Look at my outfit. All of you are doing the shit Franklin was doing. Tch, you can't write this shit, man", Benjamin ranted; he was speaking at a million miles per hour. He had to let it all out; he wanted them to hear this.

"You don't understand Benji, and you don't have to", Tevon said to him.

"What does that mean?" Benjamin replied, not liking how they were treating him like a kid.

"You're not in our situation anymore. You escaped the cage", Jamar said. Benjamin didn't know what to say; he felt like a child being sympathised by adults. It was like they were talking about something he wouldn't understand, but Benjamin knew full well he could understand.

"Look, you're in this academy. I don't know shit about this academy, but I know that it's hard to get into, and it's a massive achievement if you do. You don't need to worry about us if you're here. You're in a different world to us", Tevon said, trying to break it down.

"And if you're worried about your family, we got 'em. Whatever they need, they can have it. You don't have to worry; just do your best here", Monty added.

This was a lot to process for Benjamin. "You're doing it again! You're treating me like a kid!" Benjamin snapped. "I'm not just worried about all of you; I'm worried about everyone else. Do you realise how fucked up this shit is!?" he asked, clearly pissed off now.

"Benji, this shit is life-changing for us, man", Tevon replied to calm him down. "It's the same as you for this academy. This shit changed your life. Do you know how much money we all got man? 10 times more than when we sold weed".

"But".

"Benji!" Tevon cut him off before Benjamin could interrupt. "Listen to me! There are winners and losers. You have to trample over other people to win. This is life. No matter how brutal it is. Not everyone can win. We might be selling this shit that fucks up people to get money, but if we aren't, someone is. It's us or them. Be grateful you escaped this. You're free; you escaped the cage. That's what we mean by you don't have to worry about us".

The other guys quietly listened to Tevon lecture Benjamin. Benjamin clenched his fist; he hated the directions his friends were taking. Winning? What's winning? Getting rich? Providing for your family? Helping people? What's winning in this life? Benjamin could've unleashed all these questions, but,

"He's right, Benji", Jamar said. "You've got your own problems to worry about. You don't have to help us with our problems anymore". Jamar scoffed, "We're probably the reason you're acting like this right now".

Benjamin's eyes were fixated on the floor; he didn't want to look at them.

"If anything happens to us, it's our fault. You don't have to feel responsible. We won't feel a type of way towards you. It's just how life goes when you come from our hood", Monty said. It was clear Benjamin was upset; he didn't want to talk.

"Why're you acting like we're your only friends? You've got your other friends here with you", Kofi said, trying to cheer him up.

"Forget that we're in a party right now", Monty said, shoving a bottle in Benjamin's face.

"I don't drink", Benjamin quietly replied.

"So, you are still a kid", Tevon said, shaking Benjamin's shoulder, causing him to smile a little. Tevon put his arm around Benjamin and dragged him closer. After that, the six of them began to talk about what had happened in the last four months Benjamin had missed. They also spoke about the good old days. This seemed to raise Benjamin's mood again, but their situation still played in his mind. He realised he couldn't do anything now, but it burned him.

"Who's that?" Jamar said, looking at a guy approaching them. All the boys looked where Jamar was looking, and none recognised the figure coming closer; only Benjamin did.

"Yo Ben, we need to go".