Cat paced the dorm room, back and forth, again and again, waiting - willing - Max to return home. Oh god, she really had fucked up earlier today. Where was Max? Where did she go?! Where was she hiding?!? What was she doing?!??

She shrieked and leapt in the direction of her bed as she heard a loud BANG come from the direction of the closet. She was just about ready to bolt and flee from the room when she heard a second loud THUD and Max emerged from their closet.

“Oh my god, holy shit,” Cat breathed, clutching at her chest. “I fucked up, Max. I really, really fucked up.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, Catty Cat! Hello! Nice to see you again too, my dear, what did we fuck up this time?” Max was so effortlessly cool, calm. Where the fuck had she been?!?

”The dean!” Cat cried, “I thought he’d sequestered you away somewhere in secret, was torturing you somewhere after what happened…” she choked on her own words and shook her head as if to clear her head, “Where have you been, Max?”

”The tunnels, silly, obviously,” Max replied.

“But the dean didn’t KNOW that!” Cat protested.

Max’s face changed instantly. “Wait, what?”

“Oh my god, Max, I am SO sorry!!”

“Cat. Back up. What exactly happened? What did you say? What did the dean ask you?” Max questioned.

At that, Cat burst into tears. Huge, wracking, entire body sobs as tears streamed down her cheeks.

”Whoa whoa whoa! What happened?!” Max rushed to her friend, threw her arms around her, and pulled them both down to sit on the edge of the bed.

Cat practically snorted as she took a deep inhale and without even intending to, everything spilled out of her in a great rush.

“I had sexual education today with the dean. I was worried he was going to do something weird to teach me about sex-sex. Like actual sex, not all these weird roundabout lessons he’s been teaching me so far. He mentioned something about a winter formal in a couple of weeks and how you should have told me about it, except I haven’t seen you since… since… yeah, so I just assumed that he had you locked up away somewhere in the dungeons or something crazy like where you always go for long stretches of time. But then he gave me this… look… I don’t know, I think I fucked up Max. I think I ratted you out? But I have no idea where you go or what you’re doing. And then he started to like… oh my god. Max, he has been SO weird and creepy with me all semester and I think… I think… I don’t know, but he wants me for something that I don’t think I want to be any part of…”

Max simply stared at Cat in mute silence. Then she let out a long, exasperated exhale and ran a hand over her face.

“Catty Cat…” she said quietly, “Whatever punishment I face for where I go is mine and mine alone. Don’t feel obligated to take the blame on that one. I’m sorry. I should have told you long ago.”

“Max?”

“I’m friends with a lot of the dean’s receptionists these days. They have a secret network down in the tunnels. Safe zones, kind of. They are the only ones who hold the keys to certain doors within the All Saints network. Places I don’t even think the dean knows about. But they’re only accessed through the laboratories. You only get into the laboratory if you’re invited there - or sent there - for something. Tests. Examinations.” Max swallowed hard, “I’ve had things done to me, and I’ve witnessed things done to other girls… Cat, he’s barbaric.”

Obvious statement of the year, but Max looked positively haunted as she said it. Cat remained quiet.

“But after the tests, after the examinations, after the utter torture he subjects the female scholars to…” she swallowed again, “He leaves before anyone else. Assumes someone else will pick up the mess. Someone else will take the girl to the recovery room. If the girl is still there lying lifeless on the table after an hour, two or five, maybe he’ll come back to make arrangements for her care but that never happens. We just go deeper into the maze. Recover - physically and mentally. We make plans - we HAVE plans, Cat.”

“What’s his plan for me? Do you know?” Cat dared to ask.

”Virginity,” Max said quietly. “You were right. What you overheard Christmas Eve. Every year, a first year - usually first year - scholar is selected for some sort of sexual initiation. From what I’ve been told, it usually involves a very painful de-virginizing of sorts. Sometimes there’s sex, sometimes it’s just simulated with items, objects wielded by multiple people - special invitation only. They are highly selective of both the virgin and the group of individuals who get to witness and participate.”

“Me??” Cat whispered. Max nodded sadly.

“I don’t know if I can prevent it. We will do everything that we can to try, but…” she shook her head, “We’d be lucky to get away with just expulsion for what we have planned.”