Chapter 153: The Bulding Of A Hard Life
Dipter had been sentenced to juvenile detention for a total of five years. The charges against him included the use of illegal substances and his role in running a particular underground organization. He wasn’t the only one, several of his close friends were caught up in it too.
Due to their age, their sentences weren’t as harsh as they could’ve been. The court had ruled they be sent to a juvenile detention center instead of prison. For now. But once they came of age, they’d be transferred, no questions asked.
Dipter didn’t know how to feel about any of it.
He’d never expected to end up in a place like this.
Back in the real world, when he’d hit a few kids his age, the teachers always brushed it off. Boys will be boys, they’d say with a shrug. Even when things went too far, the worst that ever happened was a scolding or a warning. The police barely paid attention.
At school, he’d had the principal and most of the teachers in his back pocket. It was then that Dipter realized, I’m untouchable.
Or so he thought.
The drugs? They weren’t even directly tied to him. Usually, the police went after the bigger fish. Even the low-level sellers didn’t get more than a slap on the wrist. But this time was different. He couldn’t slip through the cracks. Not with someone specific behind the scenes, pulling strings and making sure he was locked up for good.
Someone had made this personal.
What stood out was that all the people arrested with him were sent to different detention centers. It wasn’t random. The authorities wanted to keep them separated, make sure they couldn’t regroup or build a gang inside the system.
The entire process felt distant. Surreal. Dipter went through the motions like a ghost. The numbness never really left.
When he arrived at the detention center, he was placed in a room with five others. Six of them total. Ages ranged from thirteen to seventeen. All boys. All broken in their own ways.
They were scum. He knew it right away. Worse than him, even if the world lumped them together.
Dipter still believed he’d only fought to protect what was his. That he was just trying to rise up in his world. But these kids? They didn’t care about loyalty. They didn’t care about limits. They were the kind of people who burned everything just to watch the flames.
It didn’t take long for the first one to try asserting dominance.
He was around Dipter’s age. Claimed that all new guys had to prove themselves by taking on the worst jobs, cleaning the toilets, making the beds, running errands for everyone else.
Dipter refused.
They didn’t take that well.
All five tried to jump him at once.
They thought he was an easy target. Fresh meat. The new guy.
They were wrong.
Moments later, they were all laid out on the floor, coughing and clutching their ribs. Dipter had a few bruises on his face and arms, he’d definitely been hit, but he walked away standing.
Guess the guys in here are a little stronger than your average delinquent, he thought. Or maybe just more reckless. They don’t care if they get hurt.
After that, the pecking order was clear. No one in his room tried him again.
But outside? That was a different story.
Nearly every day, someone picked a fight. Some he won. Some he lost, especially when he was up against bigger groups. But he never backed down. And eventually, people started to notice.
He stopped being seen as a target and became something else. A threat. A name people hesitated to cross.
Bit by bit, he was earning their respect.
And once that happened, the constant harassment slowed. The meaningless fights died down. His days grew a little quieter.
Still, this was juvie. That meant mandatory lessons, mandatory schedules. Everyone had to go to class. Dipter followed the rules, showed up like he was supposed to.
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Everyone did.
Except for one person.
Every class Dipter went to, every single one, there was always one empty seat. Always the same seat. And Dipter knew exactly who it belonged to.
The student was tall, with an athletic build. Not bulky, but strong. Controlled. Their long, straight hair hung low over their shoulders, and their face rarely showed anything at all.
They never came to class.
Not once.
Teachers ignored it. Guards ignored it. Even the other students acted like the guy didn’t exist.
So Dipter ignored him too.
But it gnawed at him.
Why does the entire system pretend this guy isn’t here?
The question stayed in the back of his mind, even when he didn’t want it to.
As more time passed, Dipter began to see an upside to all this.
The kids in juvie were stronger. Harder. They were way more dangerous than the average thug on the outside. They didn’t have morals. They didn’t play games. If someone could actually get control over a group like that, and protect them from landing back in a place like this…
That group could become unstoppable.
Everything I lost before I got locked up, I can take it all back.
And I can use this place to do it.
He started working on a plan.
First step? Reach out to Popper.
Popper was one of the only kids Dipter had fought to a draw. They’d clashed several times before Dipter finally managed to beat him. After that, the fights stopped.
They met in the canteen.
Dipter sat down across from him. Popper had a black eyepatch covering his right eye and a constant smirk on his face like he was always planning something.
“So,” Popper said, chewing slowly. “You wanna make a group. One that starts in here, but sticks together on the outside.”
He laughed, shaking his head.
But then, after a second, he leaned forward and lowered his voice.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said. “Get him to join you…”
He tilted his head, pointing toward the kid sitting completely alone across the room, the one with the long hair and the empty classroom seat.
“…and I’ll join too. No questions asked. I’ll even bring the rest of the guys with me.”
Popper leaned back, grin widening.
“Actually, forget that, you won’t need to convince anyone else. If he joins you, everyone here will follow.”