Chapter 1

John had been expelled twice. The first happened all the way back in elementary school, when he accidentally stabbed his classmate with a pair of scissors. Well, ‘stabbed’ was a bit extreme. In truth, he only wounded him, a cut on the right arm. It did cause a bit of blood to flow out, but it wasn’t life-threatening in any shape or form.

The second was two weeks ago, when he fought the bullies who bothered his crush. Unfortunately for him, the bully’s father was a close friend of the principal. Unlike before, there was more blood this time. A punch to the chest, then smashed his face straight into the wall. The police got involved.

Many people forgot about the first expulsion, but the second brought it back into the spotlight. A troubled kid, a delinquent. Despite not looking or acting like one. Whispers turned into rumors, rumors turned into exaggerations.

Being this far from home, no one knew about the true nature of the crimes. Some said he committed assault, others said robbery. Some even claimed murder. Of course, none of that was true. Yet, as the one under the spotlight, John could say nothing to ease his fellow students' worries.

As if things hadn’t been bad enough, the school required him to be a part of a club. One week, that was all he had to find one. Someone to watch over him, make sure he wasn’t spending his time doing crime in some random alleyway after school. Someone to score him based on his activities. Those scores made their way to the final report, so not joining one would damage his score. Something he couldn’t afford right now.

“Sorry, we're not accepting new members.”

“Oh, maybe you should try the Soccer Club.”

“As much as I wanted to accept you, we don't have space for a new person.”

“We only accept members at the start of the school year. You'll have to wait until next year.”

Rejection all around. He couldn’t afford to show the slightest bit of flaw, or else his parents might get involved. Yet the other students didn't make that task easy. 

His parents didn’t want to send him here, not because they loved their child. They wished he hadn’t been born. Still, without a school near their town willing to accept him, they were forced to send him far away. He remembered how much they apologized to his uncle when he took John in.

John scratched his head. He had high hopes that the History Club would accept him. They had matching interests, and based on what the club posted on social media, they seemed relaxed. John went to them first, expecting it would be easy. He was so wrong. His basketball skills made him think he had a chance at his second choice, but they didn't even give him a trial. The Soccer Club refused him, and the Science Club pretended he didn't exist.

What else?  John massaged his temples.

John had considered the Scouts. Unlike other clubs, the school ran the Scouts, it being an obligatory club for the first years. That didn't prevent second years like him from joining, but he didn't quite enjoy his time in the Boy Scouts throughout elementary and middle school. It'll be his absolute last choice, only if he couldn't help it.

But surely, surely there's at least a club that hadn't heard about the rumors, or had heard about them but didn't care. Or maybe, he could just start his own club. He needed to find members, and paperwork could be troublesome, but that beats being part of the Scouts for another year.

As John walked through hallways lit by the afternoon sun, his eyes caught a glimpse of a piece of paper hung in front of a classroom door. Classrooms used for club activities all had this to show which club currently used the room.

“The Archive Club?” he murmured.

He had passed this clubroom before, but had zero interest in it back then. This was before he even attempted to join the History Club. The Archive Club worked with the library to create an archive of all schoolwork made by students. Things like posters, articles, or anything similar.

It sounded like a bunch of boring tasks. Scanning documents, then uploading them to a website, taking pictures, and then writing simple articles about them. Maybe a bit like the News Club, but way more tedious. Still, with all the interesting clubs refusing to take him in, this might be his last choice.

John knocked on the door, half expecting another rejection. The door didn’t open. He knocked again. Still no response. He tried peeking through the window, but there wasn’t a classroom to begin with. There was nothing. Pure white.

Did they cover the windows with paper?

Could whatever the club was doing require so much secrecy? Curiosity got the better of him, and John pushed the door open.