Chapter Text
The black car reached Bullworth too quick for your liking. The sign you just passed reminded you painfully of your destination: “Welcome to Bullworth: Keeping tradition alive,” it said. You could laugh, if you had the energy in you besides the anger that simmered inside; your family knew nothing about tradition. Jimmy, next to you, hadn’t said a word since that day when your new stepmom and dad revealed that you two would be sent to Bullworth Academy, together, for the next year. It had been a mess of a dinner when they told you; you could still taste the tears on your lips from the sheer frustration.
“I don’t need a damned boarding school for psychopaths!”
Bullworth didn’t have the best reputation. It was strict, to say the least. You had your problems, sure, but it wasn’t anything new to the kind of family you had been until your mom died.
On the same line, you heard Jimmy had been expelled from seven schools. When you met each other, he didn’t even make the effort to look at you in the face. Not that you wanted to be best friends, either. You knew from that moment the type of guy he was. He constantly got in trouble, and he was the reason for most of the fights at home. His permanent frown only deepened when your dad opened his mouth, and it seemed his mom was done with him too, since she made you take care of his scratches and bruises every day he came home late.
It had been a couple of months into the summer when Jimmy and you started to make “amends,” yet he still didn’t seem to care about anything but himself, and you were too busy with stuff to get upset about it. You were the same age with just a few months' gap, but it felt as if you were ages older. Your parents treated you like “the responsible one” because Jimmy still acted like a child to them, and not just because of your height difference.
The ride had been quiet the entire way there, the tension only alleviated by the music in your headphones and the occasional complaints when Jimmy took too much space. Only when his mom spoke up, begging for a word from his son, did he open his mouth to spit an insult at your father, which you weren’t too mad about. You clicked your tongue when they reminded you of the future that was ahead of you while they went off on a honeymoon on a cruise ship. “I hope they drown,” you thought, and slid off your seat when Jimmy stood up.
You took care of your stuff at the back of the car, your father helping you take the luggage out while your stepbrother took interest in muttering insults under his breath. You were about to leave after a whispered goodbye when your dad stopped you with a hand on your shoulder.
“What now, Dad?” You couldn’t help but groan, already expecting the worst, but were surprised when you encountered the softest look you had seen after a long time.
“Please, take care of Jimmy.” Your eyes rolled as you shifted on your feet, and he stopped you again. “His mom is worried about him. I’m sure you’ll help him stop getting into trouble.”
“Whatever,” you finally shrugged, trying not to let the frustrated lump in your throat get out either in the form of tears or something you’ll regret later.
With a final wave, you walked towards the boy with your things in hand and watched how your parents got away as fast as they could. An eerie silence surrounded you. You would’ve said something to shake the uncomfortable tension away, but you were interrupted by a woman before you could.
“You must be the Hopkins brothers.” Jimmy and you turned to face her, shocked by her stealth.
“Where did you come from?” He said.
Mrs. Danvers, as she presented herself, welcomed you both into the academy with an exaggerated devotion, and Jimmy and you couldn’t help but share a quiet stare. “This isn’t getting any better,” it said.
After that small interaction, you walked towards the building, where the headmaster was waiting for you both, and you realized the kids running up and down campus were actually being chased and yelled at. You cursed your dad quietly for the nth time that day. Finally, the doors to the headmaster’s office appeared in front of you. You were about to enter with Jimmy when Mrs. Danvers stopped you.
“Him first,” she ordered, and made you wait outside.
You heard a bit of the conversation from afar, probably talking about his reputation jumping from school to school. It took a while for him to come out, and his expression hadn’t improved much from what he had before. The headmaster didn’t even bring you inside and introduced himself as Dr. Crabblesnitch.
“I hope you are not as troublesome as your brother, miss.” He said it in hopes of being appealing to the new student and keeping his menacing reputation at the same time.
“Stepbrother,” You corrected. You gave him your best smile and got dismissed.
From the center of where the paths were divided, you turned towards Jimmy. You felt like giving him some kind of truce for the rest of the day. It would be exhausting enough as it was.
“See you later?” You said, sighing a bit under your breath.
“Whatever,” he shrugged and turned around to leave you to do your stuff. He was visibly calmer, but it was obvious he was hating everything from his very core. “At least he didn’t spit on the ground.”
At your arrival at your designated shared room, you changed into your new uniform. Skirts weren’t your cup of tea, and green wasn’t really your color either, but you focused instead on unpacking. As you did, you tried to not let your emotions get the best of you. Your dad did this for your own good, and he had spent money for your best education. The only issue, for now, was to “take care of your stepbrother,” as your father said, before he left with that tramp of a woman. You took a deep breath. Jimmy wasn’t cruel. That was the best thing you could say about him. He never bothered you besides the few insults that escalated at dinner. He was in the same situation as you, despising it as much as you did. “I suppose I can make the effort,” you settled at last.
Your new shoes walked you towards the boys’ dorm. While you walked, you noticed some jocks muttering things you were above worrying about. Inside, the boys’ dorm was entirely different from yours. It was visibly packed, with guys running up and down with bananas scattered for everyone to slip on and blinds broken over the windows. Luckily, Jimmy’s room was just around the corner, so you didn’t have to stay out there for long. It didn’t take you long to realize, though, that he wasn’t alone in the room. Stopping just behind the door, you couldn’t care less whether you were eavesdropping or not.
“... What’s your problem? I’m just being nice to the new kid as he passes through Bullworth on his inevitable journey to prison!” Was he getting into trouble already? You hadn’t even been there for longer than five minutes, and he was already making friends. Or enemies, judging from what the condescending voice was saying.
You made your appearance from behind the door, meeting Jimmy and two other guys halfway into their “conversation.”
“All fine over here?” You spoke up, arms crossed over your chest as you skimmed over the new guys.
The tallest had a scar across his eyebrow. The scar clearly got your attention, and, as you supposed, he was the author of the voice you heard earlier. The other boy, shorter and tan, didn’t even seem to know what he was getting himself into.
“And who’s this chick?” The guy with the scar asked, confirming your earlier suspicions. He didn’t waste any time; his arm slid around your neck swiftly, sending a small shiver down your spine at the contact you hoped he didn’t notice. “Gary Smith, Gary to you.” His voice was a whisper; it made you furrow your eyebrows if not smile in disbelief.
“She’s my stepsister,” Jimmy spoke before you could, getting between you, much to your surprise.
“Oh yeah? You look nothing alike.” He gave you a long stare, which you matched almost in defiance and curiosity.
“Look, I gotta unpack. Would you guys mind getting out of here?” He walked towards the open door, inviting both to get the hell out of there.
“Oh, now look at what you’ve done, Pete! Jimmy can’t stand you already.” Gary complained as they both obliged.
When Jimmy closed the door, you sighed.
You didn’t think much of that weird first interaction, since this entire place was weird in itself. Instead, you took your time to look around the room; it was as shitty as the outside, and Jimmy’s bag remained untouched.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t get too close to him.” Your stepbrother spoke, taking his bag to start unpacking as he said before. “He has some shit going on, and I don’t want him to drag you into it.”
You raised your eyebrows and relaxed your stance, walking towards the bed and taking a seat in it. “Wow, Jimmy, this place has an effect on you already.” You couldn’t help but tease him: he had never shown his care for you at all, much less as a brother. This was a surprise.
“I’m serious,” He shook his head and fixed the collar of his uniform, eyes fixed on yours. “I’m not the best one to speak about discipline or following rules, but he has something I don’t like.”
You shrugged and nodded, still slightly shocked about his behavior. It hadn’t been long when you were still fighting, but it seemed he made the same mental process as you; you had to team up somehow until people respected you at the worst academy in New England.
“... Okay,” you said at last, giving him a small, genuine smile he was too sheepish to return.
You two would see, together, what this year at Bullworth Academy had prepared for you. Just for now, you only had each other’s backs.