prologue
It was quiet at March Academy. Despite the rush of kids coming back to school, the sound of the crisp autumn breeze was a lonely whistle. the high schoolers in pastel uniforms had not quite emerged, as most of them wouldn’t arrive at the school for another hour or so.
The whole of Clytemnestra March Academy sat picturesque in front of the snow-capped mountains. a city of stone buildings, looking proud and regal in their grandeur, orchestrated what the four-hundred some students called home. March was a rather expensive boarding school for only the most capable students. from the outside, it seemed a glamorous life to live. but as the freshman would soon come to find out, the rigid social system laced between the school’s populous would prove rather difficult to escape.
The school was set up into factions of a sort. Every student was organized into one of eight cliques, each with its own rules, struggles, responsibilities—and dangers.
The first and most relevant of them, the Cheer and Dance clique—or the Plastics to most people—was composed almost entirely of high school divas. it seemed as though their only worries were making it to the shopping mall, not running out of hairspray, and this week’s game. But divas have a sort of desperation attached to them, and, as their clique leader Hera Valentine would soon find out, being the head Plastic came with a heavy cost and an even heavier bounty on her head.
The Athletes were a large and fairly simple clique. They didn’t really have any shape or stature, which made election season difficult but the rest of their existence relatively painless. Most of them were well-liked and unassuming, but little did Luke Masterson (clique leader by chance) know, a powerful enemy would sooner have him dead than in charge.
Student Council was a political system in itself. An altogether evil and corrupt entity, council’s leaders came in and out of power as quickly as they could be replaced. The populace of Council could never be satisfied. the only way their leader, Alexander Bishop, stayed in their favor so long was never getting attached to anyone. but as he would find out, there were some things he would do absolutely anything to protect.
The Artists managed to slip out of relevance by being undramatic. Most of the self-motivated Artists didn’t mind staying under the radar, so it might have come as a bit of a shock when their Adele Sherwood had something of a nasty secret.
The Thespians may have been drama kids but they did not consider themselves involved in the drama of the academy as a whole. Gentle, kind, and beloved by almost everyone, their leading lady Fiona D’Angeli was as talented as she was graceful. But misfortune does not see innocence.
The ROTC kids were organized and unoffensive. Their Eva Mae was prepared to live a life dedicated to protecting others, but she was unaware she would have to begin her role as warrior so soon.
The Band and Orchestra kids were divided into their own little subgroups. Despite their many parties, they somehow stayed under the radar. but unknown to their Hope Brookson, Clique Leader by a small miracle, the real struggle would be much closer to home than she thought.
The last and littlest of the cliques, the Academics were so insignificant that most people who were important forgot they existed. It was better that way, so no one knew just how dangerous it was for Natalia Kendall to hold the position of their leader. But Natalia was capable of firing back twice as hard at her own people, for she had a powerful ally.
The students of March Academy were so infatuated with taking down each other, that they barely noticed any sort of adult presence, and the adults chose to turn a blind eye as they so often do. So when tragedy among the school turned into something much more sinister, the students found themselves alone, up in arms against one of their own.
