Broken (a novella)

1

Kylo Ren opened the front door of his high school. It was the largest private school in upstate New York, and it was, quite simply, hell for him. The vast, wide hallways teemed with shallow, self-absorbed students who only cared for themselves. The gothic architecture echoed with the gossip of selfish, immature girls who spoke about Kylo as if he were a disease: an emo, brooding piece of flesh who spoke to no one, and who no one should ever speak to if they knew what was good for them. The gargoyles who guarded the rain gutters on the outside seemed to point at him and laugh as he walked past, whispering that his hair was too long and messy, his nose was too large, and his body too skinny to be attractive.

Kylo pulled his black, leather jacket tighter around his body as he walked, ignoring the whispers and giggles he could plainly hear as others talked about him behind his back. He could not afford to pay them any mind. He had work to do.

He walked through a courtyard, where there as a rushing fountain, whose bubbling waters hissed, "Loser," as he walked by. Around the harsh, cold stone walls he walked until he was out of sight behind the school. He stopped there and took a carton of cigarettes out of his pocket, lighting one up and putting it between his lips. He continued to puff on it as he waited, looking for his morning appointment.

Timid footsteps echoed around the corner, and he took in the sight of a young girl, freshman by the looks of her. "Maggie?" he asked, throwing down the butt of his cigarette and stomping on it with a black, leather boot to extinguish it.

Her hair was bright red, her eyes an intense blue. She looked frightened, and he didn't blame her. Everyone was scared their first time buying drugs. She nodded when he said her name and crossed her arms. "You're Ben Solo?" she asked quietly.

He nodded, smiling at her discomfort. He could tell by looking that she was one of the preppy ones, like the girls in his own year who teased him. By the time this girl was a senior like him, she would be just like the gossips who mocked behind his back every day. He could feel it. "I go by Kylo Ren," he informed her. "I hate the name my parents gave me."

She nodded. "Do you have what I asked for?" Her hand reached into her pocket and she pulled out a crisp wad of money. Kylo took it and counted it, making sure it was all there before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small bag of weed. It was prime cannabis, imported all the way from Mexico.

"That stuff'll make you feel so good you'll need more as soon as you smoke it. You have my number. Call me when you need more," he instructed her, turning on his heel and making his was back around the school, through the courtyard with the gossiping fountain, and straight into his first class of the day, biology. He sat in the back, next to his best friend, Hux. Hux had flaming, red hair and a thin face that some would call attractive. Hux's feet were on top of his desk, and he was picking at his fingernails absentmindedly.

"Took you long enough," the ginger hissed as Kylo sat down. "You get in a sale this morning?"

"Yeah," Kylo replied standoffishly. "Some freshman bitch with rich parents and too much time on her hands."

Hux shrugged and opened up his biology textbook. "They all have too much time on their hands. I sold some of Snoke's cocaine to the quarterback of the football team today. Dumb idiot didn't realize this is drug testing week. I sincerely hope he waits until after they collect his urine to snort it because I think the principal and her staff suspect that these kids are getting their drugs from someone at the school. After that sophomore overdosed on the crack I sold him, they've cracked on security."

Kylo shrugged. "I don't understand why Snoke doesn't put a stop to this. He owns the law enforcement in this county. He could have this matter cleared up in a matter of hours."