School without Exit

There are many laws, rules, agreements and political games in this world.
But there is one rule that absolutely everyone knows:
DO NOT GO OUTSIDE THE GATE.
You may violate school regulations.
You can skip class.
You can steal.
You can argue with teachers.
You can make enemies for yourself.
You can become a rich man.
You can become a member of the student council.
You can become the leader of the group.
But it is impossible to cross the black steel gates.
Because there is no second chance for them.
School just ends there.
And you end there.

In fifteen to twenty years, the school turned into an independent society.
Here exist:
official power;
political elite;
economy;
shops;
professions;
earnings;
rich and poor;
corruption;
groups;
entertainment;
education;
medicine;
local media;
underground market;
rules;
social norms;
own story.
Some students perceive school as a temporary prison.
Others want to finish eleventh grade at any cost and leave.
Some are trying to investigate the nature of the anomaly.
Some people consider school to be their real home.
Some people don't want to return to the outside world at all.
And some were born here in a social sense: they appeared as a new person after the death of the previous inhabitant and never saw the outside world.
For all of them, school has long ceased to be just a school.
She became the whole world.

Going to school is at once a duty, an opportunity, and a means of salvation.
The student can attend classes.
He may skip school.
Can work instead of studying.
May completely abandon school life.
However, there is only one known way to leave the anomalous world.
Necessary:
Complete all eleven grades;
attend every lesson;
not get a single pass;
do not disrupt the continuity of learning.
Anyone who fulfills all the conditions gets the opportunity to leave the school and return to the outside world.
Nobody knows exactly why this works.
But this is the only official way out.
Therefore, the school community as a whole considers the desire to complete eleven grades to be a valid goal.

Despite the lack of aging, humans are still capable of dying.
After death, the body remains inside the school.
Then he is carried out of the gate.
Once the body crosses the border, it disappears.
That's why there are no cemeteries in the school.
Death is a natural part of life in this society.
However, due to an anomaly, after a person dies, a new newcomer appears the next day.
Thus, the school constantly replaces the dead with new people.

On the third floor, in the first corridor, there is a school clinic.
She is capable of providing comprehensive medical care.
Here they treat:
colds;
injuries;
infections;
various diseases;
serious internal problems;
perform surgical operations.
Medicine is at an average level.
It is not miraculous and cannot fix absolutely everything.
However, for everyday life it is enough.

Despite the existence of criminal gangs, serious crimes are relatively rare.
Murder is considered one of the most serious offenses.
If a person kills another, society is capable of dealing with the criminal itself and depriving him of the right to remain inside the school.
The criminal can be seized collectively and taken out of the gate.
After crossing the border, he disappears.
That's why even the most influential people try not to cross certain boundaries.

There are numerous groups at school.
Some are just ordinary groups of friends.
Others turn into full-fledged gangs.
Some of the most influential groups actually resemble mafia organizations.
However, they do not own separate territories.
Their power is based not on control of premises, but on reputation, money, connections and fear.
Ordinary students try to avoid conflict with influential groups.
However, the school is not a permanent war zone.
Most people just live their lives.

The Student Council is not a democratic organization in the full sense of the word.
Some places are associated with the power of certain groups.
If the leadership of a large organization changes, the board seat may go to the new leader.
In addition, influence can be purchased for money.
A rich student is able to pay a large sum and gain political position.
Corruption also exists within the official administration.
Influence, positions and various advantages can be acquired informally.
Thus, the school has its own political elite.

Formally, the school is run by a principal.
However, the actual power structure is much more complex.
Board of Directors
It includes the director and teachers.
This is the official authority of the school.
The board of directors makes major decisions, determines rules and oversees the work of the institution.
Council of Students
This is, in fact, the political elite of the school community.
It includes the most influential students:
rich students;
leaders of large groups;
representatives of mafia structures;
people with great social influence;
other influential figures.
The student council has enormous political power.
He is capable of organizing a mass boycott, a strike, and the virtual paralysis of school life.
For example, if the administration suddenly shuts down the internet, the student council may declare an open conflict.
Students will stop attending classes, begin to violate school rules en masse, and create chaos.
Therefore, the administration is forced to take into account the opinion of the council.

In one of the gyms on the first floor, an underground casino operates at night.
It exists illegally, but many people know about its existence.
Prohibited goods can be found in certain hidden places.
The school has its own underground market, although its scale is relatively small.
The administration periodically confiscates prohibited items if they are discovered.

Students can earn money in other ways as well.
Can:
carry out teachers' instructions;
assist staff;
do minor repairs;
work as a salesperson;
work in the canteen;
help other students;
complete other people's academic assignments;
provide various services;
engage in trade;
work in play classes;
deal with technical tasks.
Therefore, some students actually have their own profession and a stable income.

One of the most unusual parts of economics is the school grading system.
Students are effectively paid for their learning outcomes.
Approximate system:
2 - minus 100 rubles.
3 - plus 300 rubles.
4 - plus 400 rubles.
5 - plus 500 rubles.
Therefore, a test can be more than just a test of knowledge for a student, but a literal source of income.
Grades have become part of the school's economic system.

Despite the fact that the school is an anomalous space, a full-fledged economy exists within it.
The main currency is the Russian ruble.
Instead of banks, special ATMs located in the school are used.
They are capable of issuing virtually unlimited amounts of money.
However, money itself does not make a person rich.
The economy is limited by what can actually be purchased inside the school.
Prices are approximately in line with modern Russian prices.
For example, a bottle of milk can cost around 100–130 rubles.
The richest students have hundreds of thousands of rubles.
A million rubles is already considered a huge fortune.
Wealth is one way to gain influence.

The Internet is a part of everyday life.
Students use phones and computers.
In the computer labs you can do your usual school work.
On the fourth floor, in the fifth corridor, there are two specialized playrooms.
Computers and gaming devices are installed there.
Their use is paid for on a time basis.
Televisions are located in the hallways and are used for entertainment and local announcements.
The principal is technically capable of shutting down the internet throughout the entire school.
However, doing this without a serious reason is dangerous.
The student council is capable of exerting such strong pressure on the administration that an unjustified internet shutdown could lead to a large-scale conflict.

Food doesn't appear on its own.
It is prepared by chefs.
The first floor houses the dining rooms of all five corridors, and it is there that food is prepared daily.
However, food preparation products are inexplicably not running out.
Flour, meat, milk, vegetables, ingredients and other products are available again and again.
The same applies to various sweets and snacks in vending machines.
Nobody knows where food comes from.
That's why agriculture within the school never developed: there was simply no need for it.

One of the most inexplicable features of the school is the virtually endless supply of basic resources.
Water exists constantly.
Cold and hot water comes from the taps.
The electricity is working.
The Internet exists.
Each corridor on each floor has its own router, located in a specific room.
Why all this continues to function after decades is unknown.
There is no connection with the outside world.
TVs only show local content:
school news;
announcements;
movies;
entertainment programs;
information about events within the school.
External news is impossible to obtain.
Parcels from outside are not arriving.

The upper floors contain mainly ordinary school premises:
classrooms;
offices;
toilets;
specialized premises;
various staff rooms.
However, some rooms are only found in certain sections.
For example, on the third floor in the first corridor there is a school medical clinic.
On the fourth floor, in the fifth corridor, there are two computer gaming rooms, equipped almost like a full-fledged cyber club.
The school has gradually transformed into a space where each room can have its own function, known to all residents.

The first floor is the center of social life.
Here are:
main hall;
canteens;
sports facilities;
primary school classrooms;
technical rooms;
shops and various retail outlets;
meeting places for students;
numerous utility rooms.
The five corridors on the first floor actually form a huge public area.
This is where much of everyday life takes place.

From the outside, the school looks like an ordinary four-story building.
From the inside it is impossible.
Each floor is divided into five huge, consecutive corridor sections.
Residents conventionally call them:
first corridor, second corridor, third corridor, fourth corridor, fifth corridor.
For example:
"Go to the first floor, fifth corridor."
Each section is almost a complete copy of the previous one.
If you go through the first corridor to the end and open the right door, you can get to the second one.
Then in the third, fourth and fifth.
After the fifth corridor there is a dead end.
The school does not continue further.
All five sections of each floor have long been explored.
They do not copy their state perfectly.
For example, if a desk in one corridor breaks and is replaced, the old desks in the other corridors will not disappear.
If the ceiling has turned yellow in one place over time, it may remain white in another.
Therefore, each section gradually acquires its own history.
The school does not grow over time.

People are not born inside a school.
Pregnancy is not possible here, regardless of the circumstances.
However, the school population does not disappear completely.
When one person dies, a new person appears inside the school the next day.
The newbie doesn't remember how he got here.
He simply finds himself in a school, after which the other residents explain to him the rules of this world.
Therefore, the school's population is preserved thanks to the unknown mechanism of the anomaly itself.
Nobody knows where the newcomers come from.
Nobody knows why exactly after the death of another person a new one appears.
And no one knows what happens to a person before he ends up here.

Inside the school, people don't age.
If a person arrives here at the age of fifteen, he can live another ten, twenty or even more years, remaining outwardly fifteen years old.
At the same time, his consciousness and memory continue to develop.
So a person may look like a teenager but actually have decades of life experience.
However, there are few people who have lived inside the school for particularly long periods of time.
The first five years of the school's existence became the most tragic period in its history.
This period was called the Grave Times.
It was at that time that people still didn't understand the rules of the anomaly. Many tried to escape, and numerous deaths and disappearances occurred. Consequently, most of the school's original inhabitants perished.

General concept
Fifteen to twenty years ago, on the first of September, an event occurred that forever changed the lives of people who were inside one ordinary school.
That day, students, teachers, and staff entered the building, as they did every school year. However, once everyone was inside, the school changed.
Externally, it remained an ordinary four-story school building.
Inside, the space turned out to be much larger than it should have been physically.
And most importantly, people discovered that it was impossible to leave school.
Outside the school grounds are tall, black steel fences and massive gates. If a person, animal, or object crosses the boundary beyond the gates, they instantly disappear. This happens completely and without the possibility of return.
No bodies, traces or debris remain.
The rule became known to everyone:
Don't go outside the gate.
This isn't just an administrative law. It's a fundamental rule of the school's existence.
Over the years, the school's existence has seen numerous attempts to test the border and disappear. Over time, attempts have virtually ceased.
People are free to roam the courtyard, which features horizontal bars, a sports ground, and a soccer field. However, no one likes to get too close to the border.