Psychopaths Can't Love

CHAPTER 74

Early in the morning, there was a loud buzzing sound and then all the cell doors opened. All the inmates, or as Anise had called them, juvies, stepped out of their cells and got in a single file line. I did the same, even though I was extremely tired. I didn't know where we were going but I followed the line anyway.

Turns out, we were going to the cafeteria to get breakfast. I stayed in line and got my food when it was my turn, then I sat down at one of the tables. It seemed that we could sit wherever we wanted, but since I didn't know anyone, it didn't matter where I sat.

Four guys and a girl came over to the table I was sitting at.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Was this your table? I can move," I said.

"Nah. You're fine," one of them said. "We actually came over to meet you."

I stood up and held out my paw. "I'm Karve! It's nice to meet you... Oh. You didn't say your name yet."

"I'm Bruiser. These are my guys, Tank, Cash, and Snoop. And that's my girl, Athena."

I put my paw down, seeing that none of them were gonna shake it. "I didn't know we could have girlfriends here."

"I never said she was my girlfriend."

"Oh. Okay."

"I can tell he doesn't belong here," Athena said. "He's too agreeable."

"Thanks," I said.

"It's not a compliment," she said. "It means you're a pushover."

"What can you expect from a twelve-year-old?" Cash said.

"I'm fourteen," I said.

"Really? You could've fooled me."

"I'm sure it's not hard to fool you," I said.

He growled.

"Ooh. He's emotional too."

Cash jerked toward me, but Bruiser stopped him. "Not here, Cash. We'll get him later."

Cash smiled. "You're out of your element, newbie. This is our turf. You should watch your back."

"Thanks for the tip," I said. "Might I remind you that you don't know who you're dealing with either."

Cash laughed. "I'll take my chances."

The group left my table.

"See, Dad? I'm already making friends," I said.

After breakfast, I was brought to a classroom with some others. The quintets weren't in my classroom so I didn't have to worry about them for the next few hours.

Anise was our teacher and she was very strict. We weren't allowed to make any noise or even look at the other students. If you did, you were slapped with a flat stick. I got slapped a few times before I learned that. I had no choice but to quietly do my schoolwork all morning with no breaks.

During lunch, it took all my willpower not to bother the quintets. It was so tempting, especially knowing they couldn't do anything about it without getting in trouble, but I decided to just focus on my food. I didn't need enemies. I needed to get out of here ASAP and the only way to do that was to stay out of trouble.

We went back to our classrooms to get lectured about the importance of good behavior. It was all stuff I had heard before from my dad and other teachers.

"For example," Anise said, "if you saw an old lady trying to cross the street, what should you do?"

Everyone raised their paws, except me.