The school rested on the outskirts of the city, right on the border between urban and rural. This meant that a lot of gritty, non-civilized kids whose parents couldn't afford the fancy city schools went there, creating a very drab place. It was inside an old tenement building, about three stories high with concrete walls of glittering white. The Austin Boarding School for Children had moved there several years ago because it was cheap and a convenient location. It was also very run down, based on cracked concrete that was overrun by wild plants. The windows of the building itself had no glass, allowing for it to be completely overtaken by heat or cold. The school had originally just been elementary, but after the move they decided to expand and add a high school on the upper floors, while the grade school portion remained on the first.

The environment was stark and hardly ever friendly. The teachers watched their classes like vultures, waiting to pounce on anyone failing to keep up or distracting from their work. The elementary students all lived in fear, acting tough with stiff composures and clenched fists so no one would bother them, wanting to suffer through their years as efficiently and painlessly as possible. The high school students above them were at various stages of not caring about their education, and had taken on the responsibility of making their instructor's jobs as miserable as possible. Ralph Sawyer was the ringleader of the miscreants. He was a tall, burly kid with semi shaggy burnt red hair and eyes of the palest gray. He boasted loud and proud about how much he owned the entire school, and any person who didn't see things the way Ralph did would be subjected to mean spirited pranks meant to get them in detention.

Unfortunately, William was one of Ralph's frequent victims that he loved to torture and humiliate. Thankfully though, William lived close enough that he could walk to and from the school, which spared him from having to board there. He didn't think he would survive one night if he did. But this week, he was coming to school prepared. This time, as he stood on the edge of the gloomy property, he thought about how he would walk away from today victorious. It was chilly this morning, and his hands were stuffed in the pockets of his overcoat; in his left he clutched the handle of his straight razor. William didn't care if it would get him expelled; he wanted today to be the day he stood up for himself. Besides, he was smart enough on his own that he didn't need public education to grant him permission into adult life.

A pack of kids half his height went tearing by as the loud trill of the school bell went off, and those congregating in the cracked schoolyard flowed into the building with surly grumbles.

Taking a deep breath, William took the first step forward and made his way into the school. Some regular bullies were perched like wolves on the front stoop, waiting to prey upon unsuspecting victims. They recognized William instantly as he came close, starting the usual racket of howling and name-calling, but this time William didn't hear them. He was on a mission. Granted it was a mission that would have to wait until after his classes had finished. He didn't see Ralph until the second half of the day. And so he waited, patiently. While he began the day nervous, William found he was becoming more confident about his plan the longer he turned the razor over in his hand.

"William!" his teacher shrieked at him, startling the teen out of his wits.

Everybody around him laughed at his embarrassment.

"Take your hands out of your pockets and focus on what I have been paid to teach you!" she yelled again, threatening to whack him with a ruler.

Face flushing and turning hot, William folded his arms and stretched out his legs, sulking with a growl. The only thing that gave him comfort was the reiterating thought of what he had in store for Ralph. Finally, his first two of five classes concluded a couple hours later, meaning that the students were turned loose for lunch. The cafeteria was huge, and it was here that once a day every day all grades would gather to eat whatever piss poor food had been prepared. And it was here that William and Ralph would meet. Only there was a problem, Ralph Sawyer was nowhere in sight. William had been leaning against a flat pillar from the start to end of lunch period, but he never caught a glimpse of the infamous ringleader. This had him very concerned.

By the time the bell rang for everybody to return to their sessions, William strayed from the herd, and took a shortcut through a sealed off hallway. It was shut down for the time being while maintenance was in progress. It was dark, and the only light coming in was from the few windows along the wall. It reeked of mold and plaster. William's fists were clenched hard inside his pockets, raging silently to himself as he walked angrily down the hall.

"Hey there, runt. Rumor has it that you've been lookin' for me." A smooth voice said behind him.

William froze and turned on his heels, looking up into the eyes of Ralph Sawyer. The senior student grinned devilishly, with one hand held behind his back. William had to force himself not to shake.

"Yes, I…I have been waitin' all day to see you," William made himself sound as unafraid as possible.

"What would a mangy, flea-bitten kid like you wanna have to do with me?" Ralph said, accent slow and thick as molasses.

"I wanted to tell you that I am through with you always hangin' over my shoulder and gettin' me into trouble," William replied. "I am standin' up for myself."

The laugh that belted out from Ralph's lungs shook the hallway. "Kid, you haven't got a clue who you're dealin' with!" He slapped his knee. "You think you gonna stand up to me!? Hah! I am gonna make you hurt so bad!"

In a matter of seconds, William threw down his backpack and withdrew the straight razor from his pocket. He held it out and flipped it open, the blade gleaming. Ralph's laughing cut short.

"Ah, gettin' mighty interesting now. You have some death wish, boy." He grinned, and took the hand out from behind his back. Held securely in his fingers was a butcher's knife, stolen from the kitchen. "I also came prepared. You see, somebody has to make sure that the sick and the weak ones obey their superiors."

"Are you gonna actually fight me or just bore me to damn near to death?" William asked, his hold of the razor tightening.

"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get, boy."

Ralph made the first move, lunging with the knife pointed for William's heart. He dived to the side, lifting up his hand and grazing the razor against Ralph's leg. It was enough to shred his pants clean through, but it missed his skin. Ralph hit the ground and rolled back up. This time William went for it, moving faster than either of them anticipated, and he opened up Ralph's side, deeply. He yelled with the pain, but didn't allow it to slow him down.

"I'll kill you mongrel! I'll kill you!" he screamed, lunging again, though this time with his foot. He made contact with William's face and he kicked hard, sending the blonde teenager spilling onto the floor.

Ralph stopped his assault for a minute to regain his strength, a hand clamped to his side. William painfully got to his feet, rubbing blood from his mouth, and suddenly, Ralph thrust the knife forward. William contorted to avoid it, but the silver blade slid over his shoulder, cutting down to bone. William bit his tongue to keep from screaming, and now he was getting angry.

Rage burned hotly in his emerald eyes. He used the pain as a means to fuel his next attacks, and he lashed out with his razor without showing any sign of stopping. Three times he cut into Ralph's flesh, spilling blood over both of them. His own wound burned, but the pure sanguinity he felt during this fight could stifle any pain. William pivoted around on his heels, just as Ralph was upon him, and in a single move drove the blade of his razor deep into the bully's heart, yelling with rage.

Ralph gasped for air, looking at William in surprise and shock, but the blonde lad was smiling back at him. He finally removed the razor, letting the other tumble to the ground, where his blood ran out over the floor. William stood over him, soaked in both their blood, never having felt so alive and free.

A shriek was heard from the opposite end of the dark hall, as several students whom ditched class to light up saw the whole fight, and now they were running to go alert the staff. William could care less about the repercussions. He picked up his bag, pulled it onto his back with a grunt of pain, and strolled casually out of the school. Ralph Sawyer, the toughest person he knew was dead, murdered by the outcast of two worlds. Still grinning to himself, William knew he would sleep easy that night.