The morning bell had barely rung at Lincoln High when the cafeteria began to fill with noise, laughter, and the clatter of trays. It was just another start to an ordinary school day — until Marcus Johnson walked in.

Marcus was sixteen, quiet, and new to the city. His mother had moved them from Atlanta after she got a new nursing job, hoping to give her son a safer, brighter future. Marcus had dreams too — to study engineering, to make her proud, and to finally feel like he belonged somewhere.

But life at a new school is rarely kind to outsiders. He’d only been there a week when he drew the attention of Tyler Brooks — a senior known for pushing people’s buttons. Tyler had a reputation: if he saw you as weak, you’d become his next target.