By the time Li Jie arrived at the school gates, morning classes had ended.
Rebuilt through a partnership between the Wayne Foundation and the East End Police Department, the school's painted exterior gleamed softly. Children played on the grounds, their laughter mingling with the thud of balls hitting the pavement.
In the old East End, this would probably have been unimaginable. Some children struggled to grow up in the cracks, though there was no telling what they would grow into.
Most never grew up at all.
He greeted the officer on duty at the gate, then quietly crossed the campus toward the classroom building. Plenty of new student artwork hung on the walls. Watercolors, crayon drawings, collages...
Most depicted dream homes, cartoon characters, and peaceful communities, but there were also cowboys, battlefield heroes, and... masked bandits??
Oh, whatever. Plenty of people wore masks. It was still an ambition, wasn't it?
He stopped in front of an abstract painting dominated by black and purple. It showed a silhouette standing at the edge of a tall building, with a shattered moon and countless eyes behind it. The signature in the bottom right read: Ninth Grade, Raven.
"Quite talented, isn't she?"
Anna emerged from around the corner, a folder in her arms. "But the art teacher says her work is always... too heavy."
"So what? Leonardo da Vinci spent years painting eggs," Li Jie said nonchalantly. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?"
Anna glared at him. "All active officers have to take turns on school duty. You made that rule yourself. Did you forget? Of course, I don't think you've ever shown up."
"Oh, ha ha... ha ha..." Li Jie looked up at the ceiling and laughed. "How could I forget? I've just been too busy. Anyway, have you