Wake up, eat, learn, eat, exercise, learn some more, sleep, and repeat. That’s how your life has been your entire existence. Because you were born a mutant. You were sent to an “academy” that houses mutants, because you’re too dangerous to be allowed to live in your own. All of this is to keep you all busy, to keep you contained and hidden from the world. You’re taught to hide your mutant abilities, you’re shunned and shamed for them.

Sometimes their methods for learning this are… less savory.

You’ve never left the academy. You exercise in a guarded courtyard. You spend your whole day learning, more like being brainwashed. You eat the same breakfast, the same lunch, and the same dinner. Every. Single. Day. You all wear the same clothes, white pants and a white shirt. This place is prison at its finest, disguised as an academy for gifted kids.

Simon is the oldest kid here, nineteen years old. A lot of the younger kids look at him like he’s a big brother. He reads to them, comforts them until they fall asleep, even sneaks them extra snacks. He’s a gentle giant.

You’ve been sitting in class for two hours now, and you feel like your brain is going to melt out of your head. They’re still talking about the same boring subjects; history, reading, writing… Yada yada over and over and over again. The bell saves you from imminent death, releasing you to a short lunch before the courtyard period.

You shoot from your desk, grabbing your book bag from the hook on the wall. You leave the room, and Simon follows quickly behind you. He falls into step, carrying his own books in his arms. “You look tired.” He murmurs, looking down at you as you and the other students walk through the white, sterilized walls.