Developing some fun Wilderness School AU stories got me in the mood to write this chapter. Finishing a dreaded and stressful half-credit summer course that means I finished my major got me in the mood to publish it.

This was inspired by What I Lost by Alexandra Ballard.

Story #23: "Welcome to the Wilderness School, Piper McLean"

Piper's dad didn't look at her. She didn't blame him. Ever since she stole the BMW, he could barely look at her. When he would glance her way, it would be with longing eyes full of disappointment that wonder where he went wrong with her as if he didn't know. The ostracizing got to a point where Piper wasn't sure if she would rather have her father's ashamed expression or the cold shoulder. Was any attention good attention?

She only regretted stealing the car when her father told her he was sending her to some reform school. Wilderness School. Piper thought Jane made up the name because of its location in the middle of the Arizona desert, but that was its real name. A school for troubled kids who were rejected by foster homes, their homes, the court system, or all of the above.

No wonder Jane suggested and encouraged the place. Piper bets his father's assistant had the school's website bookmarked on her computer, waiting for the day Piper screws up bad enough to warrant her packing her bags.

The days Piper spent packing and heading to the school blurred together. She felt numb, in a limbo. Her body moved automatically when walking to the car and into the Wilderness School, so much so that she didn't even realize they arrived.

"Mr. McLean and I need to get back to work," Jane says without looking up from her phone.

Piper's heart lodges in her throat.

Time finally caught up to her in this cold, stuffy building. On the way here, she stared out the car window at the empty areas and dry roads, hoping her father would stop the car and change his mind. They'd turn around, throw Jane out because why did she even had to come, and they could stop at some roadside diner on the way home and laugh over milkshakes about how she was almost sent away to a juvenile correctional boarding school.

Instead, her dad took her by the shoulders. When their eyes lock, Piper notices that he's not disappointed in her because he's ashamed. He's sad to let her go. Piper isn't even sure when she'll see him again. Are they allowed to go home on holidays? When was the next holiday? Truth be told, she should've said goodbye to her father before she stole the BMW since that was the moment she last saw the real him. Even that she isn't sure if that's true. They didn't even play three questions on the way here.

"Pipes, I'll miss you so much. I love you."

Jane straightens her pencil skirt and gives Piper a sour smile and a finger wave, happy to see her finally here. "Do you need anything else?"

Piper shakes her head, same malice-filled smile, holding the urge to talk smack. She should've let her tongue go since she's already at the Wilderness School.

"Okay, then, don't forget to call."

A saying only because it's customary. Jane would probably send her to voicemail or never give her father a message she'd leave.

"Ready?" Someone else asks.

Piper turns and didn't even notice someone else was in the room. It didn't help that the man was incredibly small. After her father gives her a final hug and disappears from the school with Jane, Piper follows the small man and his giant megaphone.

"I guess…" Piper mumbles. She wasn't sure what the question entailed but she didn't think she had a choice.

"Coach Hedge," he introduces, "let's find your other cupcakes."

"Cupcakes?" Piper questions. As much as she likes the dessert, her stomach tightens.

Piper follows Coach Hedge through the bleak hallways. Everything from the ceiling to the floors are neutral colours. Nothing catches her attention except the sound of chattering starts growing in her ears. They walk into a student lounge that Piper only knew was a lounge because of the dilapidated sign with scratched-off letters and kids inside. At least it looked like a lounge with some old couches and tables.

Nobody paid attention to her when she walked inside with Coach. Honestly, she loved not being looked at. The other kids minded their own business as they sat in the cliques. She's too busy looking at who else is here despite knowing nobody that she didn't realize Coach stopped in front of another student with dark hair who was sitting alone on a couch fiddling with a pipe cleaner.

"I'll leave you with Leo Valdez," Coach tells her. "He's in your cohort."

"My what?" Piper asks.

"Cohort is the group of kids you'll have most of your classes with. Same age range, stuff like that. Valdez, this is Piper McLean." Coach nudges Leo's head to get his attention. "Take care of her."

Leo smiles up at her. "Welcome to hell."

Coach frowns. "Valdez!"

"Sorry." Leo grins. "Welcome to the Wilderness School, Piper McLean."

-o-

Leo gave her a rundown of how things operate in the Wilderness School. He explained the class schedule in layman's terms and how Coach worked. To her surprise, they were the same: show up on time or run extra laps in the blazing Arizona sun. Leo explained how the cliques were basically like every high school on television: populars, jocks, loners, and then outcasts like him. Then there were the showers where she had to be the first one in there at all time if she wanted the hot water.

"Oh and hoard up on snacks Monday night to have for Tuesdays," Leo adds.

"Why?" Piper asks.

"Mystery meat taco Tuesdays." Leo gags at the mention of that weekly tradition.

"I'm vegetarian."

"Oh, I'm so sorry…" Leo pats her shoulder with a small laugh. "The vegetarian mystery meat is even worse."

"Yeah, nobody comes here for the food," Leo says with a small laugh, "or the rooms or academics. Truthfully, nobody chooses to come here."

Piper groans, sliding down her cushioned seat making the torn leather squeak. She runs a hand over her face, peeking through her fingers when she notices a clique of the popular girls with cheap and poorly done makeup, crop tops, and tight yoga pants hoard around their seats. They sense the new girl with unevenly chopped hair and a puffy windbreaker with torn jeans that she tore with time, not fashion. Piper glances at Leo who goes back to twiddling a pipe cleaner, pretending the popular kids aren't there.

"Relax, Leo," one of the girls teases as her posse snickers beside her, "we're not here to make you feel bad. We're here to make you cry."

"Not surprising," Leo mutters, sinking into his seat and digging into his pockets. There's a jingling ruckus which makes Piper wonder what he could have in there. "Right on time too."

Piper stands up in her seat and smiles with closed lips at the girls. "I'd like to see you try."

The girls eye Piper before going their own way. Piper rolls her eyes as she sits back down, hearing their snide comments about her hair and clothes since they weren't making an effort to whisper. It wouldn't be the first time she's had strangers talk about her. Perks of being an actor's daughter.

"Oh, they hate you now," Leo says, playing with his thumbs and not meeting her eyes. "But thanks for that."

"If you dug yourself in a hole too deep, might as well keep digging." Piper shrugs. "What are the symptoms of being so screwed up that you'd wind up here? No offence."

Leo cracks a smile. "None taken. It's when life screws you up so badly that you wish didn't happen and not being good at dealing with it. Nobody in this school is that great that they're that worthy of self-obsession. We're all flawed, destroyed half-people. Why else would we be here? None of us are complete or worthwhile."

Piper nods. "You know what, Leo?"

"You'll abandon me now because everyone does at some point? Why else do you think Coach dumps the new kids on me, cohort or not? I'm always on my own with nothing to do."

"That won't be a problem anymore since I'm sticking with you."

Piper smiles when Leo meets her eyes again. They're stuck in this screwed-up school together, hoarding snacks and running laps in the burning sun.