THE MAFIA KING OF BLACKWOOD HIGH

Chapter 4: The Hidden Hierarchy

Marco let Ava out of the car a couple of blocks away from school, instead of dropping her off right at the entrance. He didn't give her a reason why, and Ava didn't ask him either. She was getting used to how things worked in Damian's world - people just told you what to do, and you were supposed to do it without asking any questions. It was like, you just had to trust that they knew what they were doing, even if it didn't make sense to you. Ava was still trying to figure out how to navigate this new world, but she was learning to just go with it, even when things seemed weird or confusing.

As she rushed into her second-period class, she was already running ten minutes behind. Mr. Halden, who was busy scribbling notes on the whiteboard, barely acknowledged her tardy arrival with a brief glance in her direction.

"Ms. Bennett. Nice of you to join us."

"Sorry. Doctor's appointment."

She was taken aback when he simply nodded and let it go - Halden always made a big deal about being late, making you stand by the door until he felt you'd been punished enough. But this time, he just waved her over to her seat and kept scribbling away at his equations, which made Ava wonder if it had something to do with the person she'd been with earlier that morning. Maybe he was being more laid back because of who she'd been out with, or maybe something else was on his mind. Whatever the reason, Ava found herself feeling a little curious about what was going on with Halden, and why he was being so unusually calm about her tardiness.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, trying to concentrate on what was being taught, but her brain just wouldn't cooperate.

---

By the time lunch rolled around, she had begun to notice certain things, little things that most people wouldn't even think twice about, but once she started paying attention, she couldn't help but see them everywhere. They were the kind of details that blended into the background until you were actively looking for them, and then suddenly, they were all you could see.

Like how the seniors at the corner table went quiet whenever one of Damian's friends walked past, even when he wasn't there himself.

It was like when a teacher's aide in the front office almost fell over herself to get a hall pass signed for some boy Ava kinda knew from Damian's group - no one asked any questions, no one needed an explanation.

Like how, when a sophomore accidentally bumped into Marco near the vending machines and spilled his own soda down his shirt, he apologized three times before Marco had even said a word back.

It felt like there were two separate schools existing side by side, one that everyone knew about and another that was hidden from view. They shared the same hallways, lockers, and flickering fluorescent lights, but behind the scenes, a different set of rules was in play. This underground world was rarely discussed openly, and it was as if everyone was in on a secret that nobody wanted to acknowledge. The same familiar surroundings that were supposed to be a place of learning and growth were actually home to a whole different reality, one that operated quietly and unnoticed by most.

Ava was sitting with her friends Priya and Jordan at lunch, the same group she always sat with. They were the only ones at Blackwood who really knew her, and they had been friends since their freshman year. That was before everything changed. Now, Priya was talking a lot about a group project they were working on. Ava was nodding her head and pretending to listen, but she wasn't really hearing what Priya was saying. Her mind was somewhere else.

"You're doing the thing again," Jordan said.

"What thing?"

"Hey, you've been zoning out all week," he said, waving a french fry in her direction. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Just tired."

Priya gave her a suspicious look. "You've been acting really strange since Monday," she said. "Even stranger than you usually are when you're tired, Ava. What's going on, did something happen?"

Ava's chest felt like it was going to collapse. Memories of the stairwell, the gun, and the loud noise that still haunted her came flooding back. Every time she heard a loud clatter, it was like she was back in that moment. She remembered the rule - you're not supposed to talk about what you saw, not even to your closest friends or family members. So, she forced a smile on her face instead, trying to push the thoughts away. The rule was clear: keep quiet, no matter what. But it was hard to shake off the feeling of fear that lingered inside her.

"Nothing happened. I just haven't been sleeping well."

Priya didn't look convinced, but she let it go, the way good friends do when they've decided pushing harder will just make you shut down further. Ava hated lying to her. She hated it more than she expected to.

---

The test came in sixth period.

A girl named Kayla — junior, on the dance team, someone Ava had maybe exchanged ten words with in three years — cornered her at her locker between classes, arms crossed, voice pitched low enough that nobody else would hear.

"Hey, I couldn't help but notice you getting out of Marco Delgado's car earlier," Kayla said, her voice low and curious, "it was by the side lot, wasn't it?"

Ava's pulse spiked. " So?"

Kayla glanced around the hallway, making sure no one was paying attention. She leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper. "People don't usually hang out with them unless they have a reason to," she said, her eyes locked on mine. "I don't know what's going on between you and Damian Russo, and to be honest, I'd rather not know. But I'm warning you, be careful around them. Getting close to the Russo family can be... complicated. Let's just say people who get too close don't always stick around for long." She paused, studying me for a moment before straightening up and continuing down the hallway, leaving me to wonder what she meant.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kayla's lips tightened, as if she had already revealed more than she intended. "What I'm saying is, you should ask people what happened to the last girl he was with," she said, her voice low and cautious. "Then, you can decide if you still want to be associated with him."

She walked off before Ava could ask anything else, disappearing into the crush of students between classes, leaving Ava standing at her locker with her heart hammering and a name she didn't have yet — the last girl — sitting heavy in her chest.

Ava closed her locker slowly.

She thought about rule two. You go where I tell you to, without asking why.

For the first time, she understood that following the rules wasn't just about staying safe.

It could also mean stepping into the unknown, just like the girl who came before her, without any idea of what had happened to her.