T/h||e Na\vy L/eg

Harley

You know, it seemed like no one wanted me to leave. I didn't even want to leave, and that really, well, it really isn't saying much. People have to leave things behind a lot. I keep reminding myself that as I walk the line to the Academy: the place that my brother promised me was safe.

But this particular thing, I didn't want to leave behind. I had a choice, but sometimes it doesn't feel like it. Hicks says otherwise. He says that I made the right choice and that it's because we're siblings! Siblings stick together!

Everything that happened before hand...the fire.

That doesn't mean I don't love them! I just want everyone to be happy together! We had a store that we took care of, we had fun every time I sang to a random crowd with my guitar!

Uncle Jackson said he'd say goodbye to me the day after I made that choice. Everyone said they'd say goodbye today. I think I know that goodbyes are hard. It wasn't so bad when they'd leave for their Odysseys, because I knew we'd be back.

But Uncle Jackson said that this is forever.

It's not even fair! Hicks says we'll just be a in a different sector, not fifty thousand miles away!

They were arguing about it our last night, and I cried. I remember Uncle Jackson saying, "You know, shit like this happened a lot before in the day. You remembered, didn't you? This thing will resolve itself, just please don't go!"

"No! Look at Harley!" Hicks whisper-yelled. My door was opened a crack and he pointed to me. "Look at her face! No kid should ever look like that! Especially not at her age!"

"I know, and I am sorry! I will always be sorry! But do you really think you two will stand a chance out there? Do you really think that it's any better out there?"

Hicks nodded, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Uncle Jackson interrupted him. "No...this isn't for her. I know it ain't. This is for your own goddamn personal needs and your obsession with the Corpals, ain't it?"

"Maybe I have an obsession with them because they'll help us have a better life! You wouldn't understand! You're convinced being hated and escaping that hate every few goddamn months is the best life there is, meanwhile my sister is burned to fucking ashes!" He started to walk away. "She made her choice. She wants out, let her out."

"She doesn't want out, you stupid kid!" Jackson cried out. "Quit manipulating her!"

"And you need to stay the fuck away from her, and the fuck away from me! We're gonna leave as soon as we can. We don't want to see you near us, and if I see Esmit I'm gonna kill him myself." Hicks grunted. He stared at me through the door, and then put his head through the crack.

"Hic-"

"Sshh..." He shushed and tapped on the door. "Listen, go back to bed. Get your things ready, and don't cry."

"Wait, but-" He didn't even let me finish. He closed the door and locked it from the other side.

I cried that night, because what else was I supposed to do? It didn't seem like there was a third choice for that matter.

Of course, Uncle Jackson picked the lock. I saw him stand next to my bed and then he just stroked my head. I actually had no idea how long he was there, and I'd just like to point out if it was anyone else...well...I would've yelled! He said, "I love you. We all love you. Just remember that, okay?"

I nodded, and I hugged him. I said, "I love you, too. Really, I do, Uncle...can I tell you a secret?"

He nodded. "Of course, baby girl, anything."

"I don't want to leave. I'm going to miss you. I don't want to say goodbye." I whispered.

He smiled and looked at me. "Then don't say goodbye...it may actually be for the best anyway. You might be safer for right now, it's just...make sure, as stupid as those dumb soldiers may be, you listen to everything they say. If you don't, then I don't know what will happen. Promise me that so I can see you again one day?"

I nodded. "I promise with my heart and my soul and my whatever else there possibly is to promise, Uncle!"

"Oh, Jesus..." I thought I saw tears in his eyes. "I'm gonna miss you so much, you know. You're not even seven. We had everything planned out, and we...we...never mind. Just, those Corpal soldiers..." He sighed

"Even if what they tell you to do is..." He shook his head. "Oh god...Harley, I wish there was someway you would for sure be safe. I don't know what's better, but come with me. If you really don't want to leave, then stay here."

I think he was begging.

I nodded. I mean, come on, why would I leave? I love everyone so much! I thought, maybe, if I stayed then Hicks wouldn't go. I mean, there'd be no way that he'd leave me. He loved me, I was was his little sister! The only close-related family he had left. No mother, no father, just me.

I took my backpack that Hicks told me to pack earlier. Then, Uncle Jackson took my hand and we ran for it, making sure we didn't run into Hicks or Esmit. Of course, luck is a horrible horrible thing. If luck were a guy, no one would like him.

Hicks was there, standing by the door way. It seemed like he was about to get fetch me himself. I held onto Uncle Jackson closer, but then Hicks didn't really seem to care about hurting Jackson.

"Where are you going?" He growled at Uncle Jackson. "Trying to take my family away from me!"

"I am your family! We're all your family, you're the one that's taking yourself away from us!"

"Quit trying to turn this around. You are just trying to take what's mine away from me! This isn't fair."

Uncle Jackson gripped onto me more. "Listen to yerself, boy! Yer' even starting to talk like those soldiers. Your sister is not yer fucking property!"

"I'm not afraid to fight you. Let my sister go!" Hicks cried out, taking out his machete.

I knew he was going to try to hurt Uncle Jackson. I wanted to stop him at that point. I wanted to scream for him to stop.

I'm not going to say that I couldn't do anything just because I was kid.

I was weak. All kids are weak. I wanted to change at that moment. No one changes instantly, though. It only seem like it because the change is so gradual.

Uncle Jackson let go of my hand, but he pushed me back. He said to him, holding his hands up, "I ain't gonna fight you now, son. Please, make this easy for me."

"You didn't seem to have a problem fighting earlier." Hicks reminded him. "Let Harley and I go."

"I'm telling you, son! She doesn't wanna go anywhe-"

Hicks jumped at Uncle Jackson, but Uncle Jackson pushed me back in time. "I didn't ask for your goddamn opinion!" Hicks said. "I want to make this easy, I really do. So let us go!"

"Listen to Harley...just listen." Uncle Jackson said.

I gulped. Hicks finally had an open ear, but I didn't really know what to say. I looked at Uncle Jackson and reminded myself why I had chosen to go with Hicks in the first place. He promised a better life. He promised it'd just be the two of us.

But Uncle Jackson's family, too. I had what I wanted. Why did I want more?

I shook my head and ran towards Hicks. I hugged his leg and then I said, "I'm not gonna see them anymore, am I?"

"No, thank the lord."

"Not ever?" As he took my hand and walked me out.

"Not ever."

"But what if I want to?" I asked him. We were at the door.

He closed the door and he said, "I wouldn't let you."

But that's when I realized I didn't get to say goodbye yet. I really hoped they heard me when I shouted as loud as possible goodbye to them.

I knew that I had to go back and see them again someday.

He gripped my hand tight when I asked him, "What about my friend?"

"What friend?" He asked me. "You have lots of family!...Er...had."

"I don't know. It just came out I guess." I shrugged.

"If you're talking about that one, you won't see 'em ever again, even if we stayed, Lord help us." He gripped onto my hand. Wait, who was he talking about? "Don't worry, you still have me. You'll always have me. And soon, you'll have me and tons of new friends."

I smiled. I admired my older brother so much and I still do. It seems like from four years ago, my admiration grows larger.

It was a long time before I reached the North Sector. It's much colder, but there's no snow like Uncle Jackson told me about from all of those other places in the Outlands. Hicks was never the type of person to actually believe in the Odysseys even though he's been on one.

The moment we reached our new home, I didn't really like it. It was small, dusty, and it only had one room. One room total. No separate kitchens like there was at my old home, but rather a separate bathroom outside that's covered with a curtain.

"What do you think?" He asked me.

"It's nasty." I say to him.

"Oh, come on, it's our own place." He said. "You can basically do whatever you want."

"I don't believe you."

He looked at me confused. "Why?"

"You're old. Old people like to take charge." I said, dusting off the mattress on the floor. "What will I be doing now?"

He sat down next to me. "Well, you'll be my errand girl."

"That sounds incredibly boring." I said.

Now that I think about it, I really wish I hadn't said that. I'd rather be an errand girl than have to stand here in line for ages. My bags were taken from me. I didn't like that part one bit.

Still, being his errand girl was annoying. He'd make me do every little thing, but at least he wanted me to do something...and talk to me. I remember that time he brought that Corpal soldier home...well...a lot of soldiers. They all had dinner with him, and they all seemed to like him, but not really me.

And I was trying to be nice, too! Hicks said they're all nice, they just need to warm up to me. That's why they like him, because he invited those soldiers to dinner.

I don't think my brother lies. Maybe he's just confused.

Hicks was already way up in his line to this Better Place. Maybe it's because he's older he can get into places quicker. I really wish I was older. But, then again, I don't think he's in line. He's just talking to the people that are working the line inside the Academy.

That was something Uncle Jackson had said to me once...but I don't really want to think about him, right now. I can't be rethinking choices.

Everyone here's so different. Everyone waiting in line are people waiting to be interviewed...well...some. Hicks says we've already ensured our place. That's why I'm in this line, but it still is taking a long time.

But I really don't want to stay in this line, any longer. I look to Hicks. They told me to be quiet, but they've gotta make an exception for us little girls. "Hicks!" I whisper-shout.

He doesn't hear me. I yell again, "Hicks!"

"Shut up!" A Corpal soldier looks at me. "Shut your mouth, Kid, or I'll fuck you up, myself!"

What? He can't just say that to me! But, for some reason, I just can't move. That was the first time anyone had cursed at me!

Just like Uncle Jackson said...oh stop it! You'll see him again. I hope.

"You're an idiot." The boy behind me says. He's much taller, and we all move up in the line.

"I'm not." I say to him.

"Then what was that?" He grunts. "How'd you get here?"

"How'd you get here?" A girl, I'm thinking older than him, snaps at him. "We're all here, now, and that's all that matters."

"Do you know what's taking so long?" I ask her. That girl...she has really pretty short, blonde hair.

She shrugs. "Oh, I'm guessing, maybe the assortment of items. They've gotta get us all roomy, you know." She smiles at me.

Well, at least someone here's nice...even though she seems pretty weird. Maybe the Corpal soldiers don't like me because I'm weird.

They made me read something once. I'm not that great at reading, but afterwards they took the book and left.

I smile at her, back. "I'm-"

"For Christ's sake!" A Corpal soldier shouts in my ear. "Did I just hear this fucking pencil talk? Again?" He grabs my hair and pulls me to the side of the line. "Hicks! Hicks, get over here!"

My older brother runs to me. Man, oh man, I've never felt so relieved in my life. I look at him, and he looks disappointed in me. Was it something I did?

He said he wanted me to do well, but it wasn't my fault! I wish I could tell him that but this guy is holding me. He'll fix this.

"You best not be related to her, or I'll second guess your genes." That Corpal soldier let me go as I drop to the ground. "March her inside. I can't have that bird tweeting her fucking bullshit in line."

"Hicks-"

"Shut up. Let's go." He grabs me by the arm and we walk really fast into the doors. When we pass the soldiers, I finally say to him, "What's wrong with these guys?"

"Nothing! You need to learn to behave yourself. What did I tell you?" He snaps at me.

"Why does it matter?"

"Why does it matter?" He repeats. "Because I need..." He stops himself, and then he sighs. "Because you need to have a better life, and you can't have that by disobeying these guys."

"Well, they're not very nice." I tell him. "How is that any better?"

He sighs and moves me to the side. "What's more important, your feelings or food, water, clothes, education, and anything else you could possibly want in the world? Besides, you'll find someone nice to you, okay? You don't have to like these Corpal guys just respect them."

I shrug. "Well, only one girl." I shake my head. "Alright, I'm sorry, Hicks. Are they our new family?"

"Basically so, yes." He nods. "Now, come on. I've got to get settled, too, so just standby here."

"Wait!" I pull at his hand before he leaves. "Umm...will you be back?"

He nods. "Promise. I'll see you after you get settled in. Just follow someone's lead. You do that...things won't be so bad."

He finally leaves and I walk the other direction, too. The Corpal soldiers all stare at me. Their black uniforms, masks, and guns make them look like...what Uncle Jackson used to call Demons.

Is Hicks friends with Demons?

But if he's friends with demons...then what about Uncle Jackson? He has guns. They all had guns. Does that make me a demon?

Two big Corpal soldiers stop me from walking any further. The one angles his gun near me. He grabs my arm and I squeal, pulling away, but he's too strong.

"Stupid kid. What are you doing here?" He growls.

I shake my head. "I don't know, my brother dropped me off here."

"What punk thinks they have the authority to do that?" He asks the other soldier.

The other soldier shrugs. "Maybe that new guy...Hicks. Boss really took a liking into him. He's a kiss ass, but I heard someone talking about marching a kid in. Signal doesn't say otherwise. This could be the punk." That soldier sounds like a girl.

They look at each other for a while. "Are you gonna do it?"

"Tsk..." The girl clicks her tongue. "I've had enough of that already, today."

"Well, the brat thinks she can just make a ruckus and suddenly move up in line. That can't happen."

"Then you do it." The girl hisses. "You talk so high and mighty like words prove a thing."

He shakes his head. "Or...you could just not say anything."

"And have her grow brattier than she already is? That isn't happening, either."

"Fine." He grabs my shoulder. "Come here, punk."

I claw at his hand. "No! What are you doing?" Before he yells at me for doing that, I take in what Hicks told me. I just have to go with what that guy says to. It'll be easier that way, he said...right?

He takes me to the side and more Corpal soldiers walk past us. "Um..." I heave. "Okay?" I feel like I'm sweating tears.

He eyes me and mouths something. I don't really know what, but as more Corpal soldiers come to stare at us, he raises his hand.

He's going to hit me...but Hicks said it would be easier.

I turn away and before he even hits me, I scream. I scream so loud that I feel that weird wave clashing inside my eyes. Why is he doing this?

Am I really that bad of a person?

These guys are demons?

When he hit me, it didn't actually hurt. Was this guy weak or something? I look at him, the same fearful expression on my face, except when I look at him, he just looks relieved.

He clears his throat and says to me, "That's what you get, stupid brat. Listen to us or it will be much, much worse next time."

He wanted me to scream.

The Corpal soldiers that were looking at us walk away and give that soldier a nod. I still want to yell at that soldier. He said it would be much worse next time, though.

He grabs my shoulder where he hit me and presses a little harder than last time. He pushes me along to where the line is. I see the girl with the short hair and I smile at her. She looks at me, but she bites her lip.

Is that an...anti-smile?

The Corpal soldiers that's taking everyone's bags and moving them along looks at me. "Who the fuck has the privilege of being sent up to the line?"

"No one special, Captain." The soldier squeezes my shoulder more and I wince.

The Captain squints at me. "Looks pretty fucking important to me. Hicks said his sister had white hair. This Hick's sister?"

"Sure is."

"Tell Hicks that just cau-"

"With all due respect, sir, she was just up for One." The Corpal soldier tells him.

"Really?" The Captain asks. "Was that the signal? Let me see."

He lets go of my shoulder only to reveal how red it is. "You must've hit her pretty hard, soldier. Good on you."

"We're going to send her up to her room. The soldiers at the line don't want anything to do with her." The girl says.

"Go on and do whatever the fuck you want with her. She's not any of our business." He pushes me along.

These guys are horrible. Why are we even with them again? A better life?

Yeah, right.

Well...maybe?

The soldier that hit me throws me my bag. "Here, I found that girl's shit."

The girl nods. "Let's get a move on, I'm tired of babysitting."

"Same here." Ouch.

Soon, we get to where I think we need to go. Every thing that I see is so wooden and so...gross but at the same time we move past things that look so nice and comfy.I mean it first, it looks like what I think would be a building in the Interior, but as you move up the stairs everything feels so drowning-in-air-inducing. But, I don't mind it, I guess. It's like, digustingly comfy. That's what some people would say about where us gypsies used to live.

Oh.

We make it one more flight of stairs which weren't really any fun to climb. Except, these stairs were much more dusty and much squeakier. The hall in front of us is so stuffy and crumbly. Anyway, it's just a very tiny room with barely enough space for anything at all! That's crazy because I'm 'anything' and I need to fit in.

"Listen, I'm gonna go on ahead, Fitch. I doubt you need help escorting shit."

"Stay bitchily lazy why don't you, Riley?" He waves goodbye to his friend. Is that how they say goodbye?

The soldier looks at me. I can only stare at him because it feels like he doesn't want me to look anywhere else. Other students start to walk past us but they don't even look at me.

He points his gun inside the tiny room. "Go on. Move it."

I take one more glance at him, even though I can't see through his helmet, and then I move inside the room. I try to fit my squeeze my bag under the bed, but then I start to feel something. It's really thin. Hicks said he'd help me fit it in but I don't need his help at all.

I finally finish and the soldier still stands there. Should I ask him about my stuff? I look at my bag one more time but I decide not to.

He starts to turn around, but then I ask him something. "Excuse me?"

"Yes?" He turns his head.

"What do I do? I mean, what do I do now that...?"

He turns his body completely towards me and puts his gun to his side. "Stay put until called upon by your superiors. Salute them and get in a line and they'll tell you what to do."

"Do you know what they'll make me do?" I question.

He lets out a small grunt but then hesitates. "You'll just be assigned classes and schedules, that's all."

"What about Hic-"

"That's enough questions. I'm a soldier, I have things to take care of." Before he leaves he says, "Next time."

"Thank you." I say to him and he goes off.

I sit on top of my bed and just lie my head back on the wall. It's so cramped. Just like the caravan except it's less like a home and more like a prison. What happened to family?

The walls feel so thin, it's like I can hear everyone breathe and that's kind of disturbing honestly. But at least I'm not alone. It's just a wall that divides us.

More and more people start to file in the rooms. I'd say a little over some of the kids are my age and gender. The rest are different, but the only thing we have in common is that we're all new.

I keep picking at this wall and then suddenly there's a hole. Oooh boy. I sure hope no one thinks it's that big...but it kind of is. I don't want to get hit again, unless it's from that Fitch guy, but then again, he may not be that nice after all. I try to cover it, but then I see an eye on the other side of the wall.

These walls really are thin.

The eyes are really golden. I can tell that this person is a girl, I just know it. Uncle Jackson says that golden eyes like these are hazel, but sometimes they mean something else about a person. All eyes do, apparently. Her eyes widen and then she backs up in shock just like me.

I look at my door, and it's still wide open. I go on to close it, and then come back. I whisper through the wall, "Hello? Are you still there?"

No answer. Wow.

"I know you're there. I mean, we're not supposed to go out. And I'm guessing that's your room?"

It's just silence. I can't even hear her breathe.

"I don't think I should be talking to you." I hear from a distant part of the wall. "They'll catch us. They built these rooms for a reason."

"Why?"

"I-I don't r-really know too much."

"Oh...well my name's Harley by the way. Sorry for ruining your wall."

She doesn't say anything for a while. I stare through the hole and just see nothing but the same room and a bed across on the other side of the small room.

"It's okay." She shows her eyes again, but she doesn't really look at mine. "I won't say anything, and it's our wall."

"Thanks. Um...what's your name?"

"It's Be-" But then she sits on her bed. I wave at her through the hole but she's not looking at me.

"Uh...hello?"

My door slams open and then a soldier pops through the opening. "Brat! Do you think privacy is more important than hearing and following orders? Huh?"

I shake my head and immediately try stand in front of him so he doesn't see the wall. Kenya and Uncle Jackson always talked about working view angles.

"Already have a record, don't you, Miss. Galetina?" The soldier shakes his head and tsks. "It's been one day and I hear others talking about Hick's sister."

"I-"

"That was a rhetorical fucking question." The soldier snaps. He stomps off leaving me shivering. Geez, these guys are real bossy.

I sit back on my bed and look at the wall. "Hey...hey!"

"I'm sorry." The girl says, again. "I got you in trouble."

"What? No you didn't."

"I guess." She sighs. "Still...I don't know if we should talk."

"Oh. Is it because you don't want to?" I ask her.

She looks at me and then shakes her head. "No. I do! It's just, we'd get in trouble, you know? Besides, these are thin walls. What if someone hears us?"

"Then we'll just whisper! But I get it if you don't want to talk to me. You probably don't want to have the same bad rep as I do." I giggle.

"What'd you do, anyway?" She asks.

I shrug. "I didn't do anything at all. I was just...being myself."

"Everyone out!" A deep bellow echoes.

The girl next to me widens her eyes.

"What do we do?"

"Walk out and salute them." I say to her.

"But I don't know how!"

"It's easy! Just put your hand on your heart."

"How do you know?"

"My brother is...What's your name again?"

"Beth. Come on, Harley!"

The two of us run outside our room and we line up with everyone. I take a glance at Beth, and I notice that she has the bounciest, long brown hair that's blocking me from seeing her face. I wish I had hair like that.

Everyone looks so confused but I'm the only one saluting the soldier in front of us. The soldier looks at me and then checks me off from his clipboard. Others follow my lead. Then, some guy gets between me and Beth.

The soldier starts to speak, "Okay, listen up. Schedules are divided by age. Your classes by schedule will be posted but we will direct you to your classes today. You should memorize them shortly after. We will dismiss you and absolutely no breaking rules. I'm sure I don't have to remind all of you that. If we need you to do anything or take different classes, you will follow every single order, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." We all answer, although I was a little late to saying so.

"Good. We'll take you to your classes now." I look for Beth, but already she's being taken away by the other soldiers as other people are being pushed along with her.

I don't even bother calling out her name. I'd probably get yelled at, which I honestly don't think is a good thing for me, especially since I already have a record. Do I really have that bad of a record already? Uncle Jackson won't be happy.

The soldiers keep pushing me along towards a hallway intersection until I hit someone's back. I look up and see that it's the girl that gave me the anti-smile. Her hair is short, blonde, and her eyes are a stunning blue. Suddenly, I feel so relieved, good job world.

"Hey! Don't you-"

She looks sad all of a sudden. I take a step back and walk slightly slower than her. "Come on, keep up, everyone!" I hear the soldier say as we walk down our hallway. "This is where you'll all be sleeping in. You wake up at six go to bed at ten, sound clear? It should be. Breakfast's at 6:15, Lunch at noon, and dinner at 7:00. If you look th-"

I lightly ask the girl, "I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be sorry." She holds onto her arms. "I'm sorry for what happened to you earlier at the line."

I look at her. "You didn't do anything!"

She shakes her head. "I know. That's the thing...anyway, sorry. I never caught your name." She smiles.

"Harley. Oh! And yours?" I ask her.

"Um...it's kind of hard to explain. My name is...Nail...but people really know me as Nali. In fact, people call me Aantali, so I would stick to calling me Aantali."

"Wow, that's really complicated." I nod at her. "But it's also cool!"

She presses her lips together, and then says, "Sure. Ehem," she clears her throat, "anyway, how old are you?"

"I'm nine, but I'm not that young."

She laughs. "Yeah, you're not. I'm fourteen, by the way."

"Wow, you're super young." I laugh and she giggles along with me. She's so nice. It's like she just is kindness.

She sighs. There Corpal soldier's already finished talking, thank goodness. He pushes me along with another diverse group of people, except Aantali's not one of them. Instead, she's pushed along the other side where she came from. I guess I'll just follow these guys.

She just waves to me and then walks away.

Honestly, I never thought school would be so intensive like this. A bunch of Corpal soldiers stay in the room with us. They call all of our names, and when they call my name, I sit down next to a girl. They all give me a stare, especially the Corpal soldiers.

Then the last boy is called down to sit. I don't know what his name is, but he doesn't look too much older, but he's already one of the oldest.

The girl next to me is beautiful, as well. I believe she's Asian as I've seen in the old pictures of the world Jackson would show me.

One of the soldiers takes off her helmet. "Welcome, everyone. We are all glad for your sake and our town's sake that you are here. Those of you new and old will do great if you follow all of your orders. It takes orders to create Order."

I hear someone scoff behind us, but no one else seems to care. It's the boy in the back seat. I decide to look ahead again before either one of us gets in trouble.

"We were all like you once. Trust me, things will get better. You will address all of us soldiers as sir. You will not get on a first-name basis with us. Now let's not waste time, let's get a move on with learning." The soldier is busy getting out her books while I talk to the girl on the right.

"You're Asian, right?" I ask her.

She doesn't answer. Tough.

"Right?" I ask meekly again.

"Why does it matter what I was?" She asks me.

"You're still Asian, though." I tell her. "It's who you are, you can't change it."

"No, I'm a soldier now."

"You're still a kid." I say to her. "Nothing's changed yet."

"You don't really get it, do you?" She looks at me. "I am now whatever they make me to be."

"A lot of you guys don't get it, it seems." I sigh. "I know a lot more than I should, but enough that everyone should know about."

She looks ahead. "Hm...how old are you?"

"I'm nine."

"Me too." She replies.

"Oh, great! So is my friend. Uh...wanna be friends?" I ask her.

"No." She leans back.

"Sorry." I then say, and I lean forward.

The Corpal soldier continues on to talk about what it means to be a soldier and how we control the city. We keep peace by knowing exactly what to give and how much to give it. If the populace can't control it, then it is for us strong ones to use. That way, there is no waste and there is no argument. Information as well shall be held within the Corpals. That is a prized possession that the populace may rarely be able to handle.

I raise my hand. One of the Corpal soldier girls that look familiar...her name was Riley, I think, rolls her eyes. "That fucking dumpling again." The boy next to her, Fitch, is just staring at me intently.

"We will not be taking questions at this time."

"Uh...why...sir?" I ask her.

"Because-"

"It ain't that hard to understand, fuck nugget." Another soldier interrupts.

"But-"

"Shut up, now you've got the tongue-twister talking." Riley sighs. "What's with that girl?"

"Please, sirs...it doesn't really make any sense."

"Are you an idiot?" The Corpal soldier yells.

I shake my head. "No."

The girl sitting next to me scoffs. "Please, the answer to that question was yes." I glare at her, noticing that she has a name on her collar...

Ava. I think that's her name.

But then look back at the soldiers, standing up.

"If you just listen, please, sirs! The p...populace has always been able to handle the goods that the Gypsies give them. Even information, they handled it well. I really don't think that we should keep it all to ourselves when-"

"Are you a dirty-fucking gypsy?" Riley taunts.

"Why would you listen to them, anyway?" Another Corpal soldier states.

"More importantly, how dare you interrupt class for something so meaningless-" The Corpal teacher says.

"Enough." Fitch says calmly. "Jesus guys! It doesn't take a fucking genius to understand that little kids will be little kids. We're giving you a pass this time, but honestly, one more word out of you and you'll be going straight to hell. We don't take too kindly to that kind of nonsense, and if you don't start changing now you will be silenced, understand?"

"Yes, sir." I gulp.

Uncle Jackson tells me that to be silenced is to be killed. Why am I even speaking up anyway. They said it themselves, if I become like them, I'll be living the life that we always wanted to live...right? Because luxury is...everything...

"Good, now shut the fuck up, and start learning!"

I nodded. Ava doesn't take her eyes off of me but I keep staring straight. "Could you stop staring at me?" I whisper. She turns her head.

The Corpal soldiers walk out and we walk out to our next classes as well. I don't end up talking for a while, or even at all. Neither does Ava, but I really don't think she likes me too much. However, she doesn't stay in my class for long. I can't understand why none of these guys aren't willing to be more...open-minded like Uncle Jackson would say. What's so wrong about what we do? Why does everyone hate the gypsies so much, I thought we...I thought...I thought things changed?

Was it because I left that everything went from worse to better?

"You need to stop talking about the Gypsies, kid." I heard someone say, but now their gone.

When I get up and start my way out of the door I'm stopped at a door frame by the blonde guy sitting in the back.

"Who are you?" He asks me.

I say, "Harley."

"That's not what I meant."

"Why is everyone talking so cryptic? I answered, now who are you-uh-please...answer?" I quickly add.

"Walker." He smiles. "It's nice to meet you." We shake hands but then he leaves before I even get to say anything. Weird guy.

The rest of the school day was awful. In the courtyard I see a lot of people fighting. Some of them a lot older, some of them a lot younger. All of them are getting hurt except for the ones that are hurting everyone else...obviously. This is so strange me, I can't understand all of this fighting.

But that is what I told Uncle Jackson.

I guess Marco was right when he said I wasn't ready for the rest of the world. I mean, he's not that much older than me, so how come he's ready?! Really wish I could ask him, but if I were there with them I guess I wouldn't need to. He said I was too headstrong for my own good. If I'm headstrong, then at least I'm strong at something! I'm so tempted to ask about all of this fighting, but I really don't think it's going to get me anywhere.

I need to adapt. I think that's what Ava was trying to tell me, at least...right? Cryptic messages, honestly...is it because whatever I say I'm going to get in trouble for it? When did I start thinking like an adult?

Well, that's not entirely true.

It's about time for lunch as I see it. I don't really remember what that Corpal guy was talking about with our schedules because I really didn't remember.

The line for lunch is long, obviously. A bunch of Corpal soldiers cut in front of me. If I could say something, I would, but uh...yeah. One of the guys that cut in front of me is Hicks. I want to say something to him, but it doesn't even seem like he knows who I am. So close to me and yet he's too busy talking with his new Corpal friends. This entire day he hasn't said anything to me since I first got here. Man, I am so tired.

After I get my lunch, I see Aantali sitting down at the end of a long table. There are other people sitting there it just she looks alone. I look at her and she smiles motioning a small wave for me to sit down.

"Hello, Harley! How was your first day?"

"Um...it was...fantastic." I say a little louder so that no one knows the truth.

She nods and says, "Yeah, that's a word for it." And then she winks. "Make any new friends?"

"One. Not sure where she is though."

"Yeah, I'm looking for someone, but I don't know where-"

The two consecutive large doors that lead to the lunch room burst open with a group of students and a couple of Corpals. A lot of people are piling in surrounding the people that just came in. Most of those bystanders are Corpals.

No other Corpal soldier is watching us, so I get up on top of the table for a better look. Aantali gets up with me, and her eyes widen.

"That's who I'm looking for."

"Ava?" I ask her.

"Who? I mean, yes, that's her."

The middle of the circle is just a girl getting beat up. The other girl next to her is Ava, but her face is like a stone. They're all yelling at her, grabbing at her, but not beating her up like that girl. At the end of it all, Ava is released and given many pats on the shoulder and back.

The girl in the middle of the floor is Beth.

"She's who I'm looking for, too." I say to Aantali.

"Oh..." She sighs. After the masses walk away from them, I quickly run to Beth's side who's crying senselessly. No one stopped to help her. What even happened, why-

Well, I should probably ask this to Beth.

"Are you okay?" I hold onto her hand.

She shakes her head and sniffles loudly. "What happened?" I ask her.

She shakes her head again and continues sobbing. "W-Well...it's okay. I'm here. My Uncle tells me if you have someone that cares about you, you'll get better soon."

She cries a little more and asks me, "Then I guess I'm not getting any better."

"What're you talking about? I'm here!" I smile. "Let's get you off the floor." She shakes her head vigorously and cries a little louder. Other people are making remarks at her, but I don't care and I just hope she doesn't.

"I promise you you'll feel so much better with some food." I sigh. "Well, even if it's nasty." She chuckles a little.

I look at Aantali who's holding Ava by the shoulders. Ava looks like she really couldn't care what Aantali is saying, but whatever she's saying I know it's important.

"Uh...Ava, are you okay?" Beth holds onto my hand a little tighter. A lot tighter. Piercing tight, ow!

"Fine." She replies.

"I-I'm glad then." I smile.

"Yeah, I'm glad too." Aantali then says. "Listen...I'm sorry Harley and friend."

"What? Why?" I ask her, but she already leaves for a different table.

I take Beth to a lonely spot and we just eat lunch there. I give her all of my food. "You don't have to tell me what happened."

"It's my fault but I...that girl...it's really her fault this happened to me." Beth sighs. "Or maybe i-it's j-just mine."

"I don't think it is." I sigh. "What don't they understand about-?"

"No, listen to me, Harley. I think we don't understand." Beth says. "Let's just stay low, please."

"What? Come on, you just had a taste of popularity!" I joke and she chuckles, stifling a little bit of her crying.

"Thank you, Harley. Honestly, thank you." She smiles.

Lunch ends and the two of us split off. I go back to some of my classes where they talk about the same things and I don't listen. It's the last class and one of them happens to have Me, Ava, and Beth. All of us sitting relatively close to each other.

Beth looks way too scared of Ava, and Ava still looks like a stone. I don't think there's anything in the rules that says I can't confront a student.

Order? Well, there are no orders to go with this Order.

At the end of class, I motion for Beth to come with me, but Beth runs off after she sees that I'm going to talk to Ava. Alright, I can talk to a stonewall...I think.

"Ava..." I start. She doesn't look up until I ask, "What did you do? I mean, you must've done something horrible to make her scared like that."

"First of all, I don't mean to be rude, but it really doesn't take much for her to get scared of something."

"You may not have meant it, but it still came off as rude."

"At least I didn't try to be, okay?" She tells me. "This is why I said that you don't understand somethings. I did what I had to do. It's not like I wanted to, but I had to do it if it meant getting what I wanted in the end."

"So...you wanted to do it?" I ask her.

"It's not that simple. Nothing is that simple."

"No, you're wrong, being good is-"

"Not relevant here anymore. It's subjective now." She sighs. "I really hope you understand. You need to."

"What-"

"But I kind of don't. I admire you, though." She says.

"Thanks...does that mean you want to be friends?" I ask her. "I still haven't formally introduced myself."

"Maybe it's for the best." She sighs. "Because like I said-"

"Don't say 'I don't understand' again, please. I understand that I don't, but I will, trust me. Just adapt, right?"

She nods and starts to walk away.

"Uh, goodbye, Ava."

She looks back with her piercing yet entirely bored brown eyes. "Bye."

Ava sure is a difficult person.

It's time for dinner, and I find Beth sitting alone with her food, and food for me. I take my food and walk towards Aantali, motioning for Beth to come along with me. Then, I see Ava who's sitting there, too. Beth staggers back a little, but she sighs and walks with me and sits down in front of those two.

"Hey Harley...hey..." Aantali's smile lowers. "Uh, how are you two?"

"Good. You?" I answer. Beth looks like she's about to explode, like she wants to say something but can't. She's just intently staring at Ava who's looking at her with the a lot more composure.

"Uh...I'm good, too." Aantali says.

"How do you know each other?" I ask.

"I'm her aunt." Aantali answers.

I almost spit out my drink. "Really?" And she nods. They don't look alike at all. "So you must be Asian then?" I ask her.

She looks a little shocked. "Uh...let's talk about it...later. Haha." She sips her drink and it seems like none of us really want to talk.

So, weirdly, none of us do talk for the rest of dinner.

Dinner ends so I walk to throw my garbage away and when I turn around, all of them are gone. Aantali's gone, Beth's gone, and so is Ava.

I don't feel panicked, but I can't be so sure what I should do...or what I'm even feeling. Honestly, it's not like they're bad people it's just there was that incident today and...I don't even know.

What would Hicks do?

Wait, why am I even thinking about him? He hasn't done anything for me! He hasn't said a single thing to me all day!

But he did get us here and...what happened to him, honestly? I feel like I should find him so I can make sure that Beth's okay.

I run towards my room and I see a couple of Corpal soldiers, so I slow down. One of them is Fitch, and the rest of his Corpal friends have already left. Okay, he's an okay guy, I think, right? He didn't really hit me, you could say? And I guess you could count that time in the class as him standing up for me?

I walk up to him and he doesn't move. I see his eyes through his dark helmet looking at me intently. I can tell he's Arabic.

"What is it, cadet?" He asks me.

"Sir...my friend, I'm worried about her safety. She went off with another student that hurt her." I tell him. "Um...could you-"

He puts a finger to his helmet telling me to be quiet, and he looks the other direction. "Look, I don't know how well I can help you right now. If your friend isn't with the Corpals then there's not much I can do right now. If I see her in the hallways, I'll let you know but I'm not sure when. What is her name?"

"Uh...Beth...sir."

"That's it? That's way too vague." He sighs. "What does she looks like?"

"My age, bouncy brown hair. The only person with that kind of hair." I tell him. "She was the one getting beat up today at lunch."

"I see. Not that I remember her, really. Stay put in your room, okay?"

"Okay, sir...thank you sir..." I say to him.

He just stares at me for a while until he finally says, "Whatever."

"My brother-" I couldn't help but say.

"He's fine."

"When can I see him?" I ask him.

"Whenever he wants to see you." He sighs. "Listen, I need you to stop talking too much, can you do that for me?" I shrug. "Fine, now go." He growls a little.

Whenever he wants to see me? Does that mean he doesn't want to see me yet? Ohhh this first day is awful! I stay in my room even though there's still about an hour left til curfew. I see a bunch of people running to the other side of the halls. None of those people running there were Beth. I think one of them was Aantali but then again, I'm not sure. Maybe they're running towards Beth.

Do I even have enough time? Ugh, I wish we had windows. Besides, Fitch says I should stay here.

Well, I guess a hole will work. I push out a tiny piece of wood out from behind me and I see the outside world. It's really dark...and I didn't exactly think about the bugs that could get in here, but luckily it's a pretty tiny hole. I set my pillow to the side of the hole to block it and I just turn my body around facing the hole that sees into Beth's room.

From what I saw, it still isn't curfew. Oh...what is Hicks doing? Does he even know where I am? I thought it was break time for everyone?

Whatever, it's curfew now that I think it.

And Beth still isn't back next to me.

I don't even know or care about what time it is, it's late and I need to get some sleep, but that's probably not going to happen. I couldn't sleep that well anyway. Not without Uncle Jackson.

Does he know where I am?

I don't like this silence.

Suddenly, there's a little bit of light from Beth's room. The door creaks slightly and I jump up seeing that it's Beth that's next to me. "Beth?! What happened?"

She smiles and hushes me quietly. "Sorry," I whisper.

"I was walking in the hallway and there were these guys that really didn't like what I did earlier today. They called me weak but...Ava stood up for me. She said these...things to me and she apologized for what she did...I guess? But I don't know. She's nice. I'm glad I didn't get another beating."

"Didn't she beat you up?"

"That's not the story."

"She said she had to do what she had to do."

"That's what she said, too. I understand.  I want to be strong though, and she just accepts whatever comes to her. And trust me, she's strong."

"Was there where Aantali was running to?"

"What? Aantali wasn't even with us." She says. "And what?"

"Never mind." I say. "I'm glad you're okay. I had a Corpal soldier try to find you."

"I think it was for the best that whoever you sent didn't."

"Can you tell me about what happened earlier?"

"Y-Yeah...it's not hard to tell you anymore. Just kind of embarrassing."

I shake my head. "Pssh...it's fine."

"Okay, well, I didn't think we'd be going out to fight today. They were really teasing us that all of us new kids should go out to the courtyard and fight each other. I really wanted to be strong, but a Corpal soldier told this kid to hit me and they did. I was knocked on the ground in an instant, and I really saw all of those kids having the same thing happen to them."

She sighs. "I started crying. I couldn't help myself, I was really begging them not to put us in there. So, they told Ava to fight me, and they said whoever wins won't have anything worse.

"Ava was actually going really easy on me, but I still wasn't that good. They said if she didn't pick up the pace both of us would be on the ground. She knocked me out with a single hit. When I wouldn't move the Corpal soldier told Ava to knock me out for...for good. She refused to, so then they took both of us out and into the lunch room and beat me publicly, and she was tasked with saying when to stop. She didn't."

"That's awful." I say to her.

"No more popularity for us, right?"

"Right." I nod.

Let's just get out of this alive.