[UNEDITED]

I felt fresher the next morning. Indeed, there was a pain inside my chest that I was trying my best to ignore, but it kept resurfacing again and again.

I wish there was a button for turning off all the emotions, because that was what I needed the most at the moment.

Nevertheless, I felt a little good inside, firstly, because I had warned the people about the war I cared about, and secondly, I did not have to feel weird about the whole Dylan incident. Yes, I had started to feel something for him, and yes, the feeling was mutual. But the stark reality behind this infatuation was the fact that he was already committed to someone else, and he could not satisfy one of us without hurting the other. I figured that I was the extraneous element of this weird, semi-paranormal love triangle, and that Dylan and Naomi had been together for quite a few years. I had created the problem, and I stepped out of the way; problem solved.

I was trying hard to convince myself that it was just like it had been with Simon. I wanted him around me, wanted to have fun. But then he backed away and I got over him and moved on to another boy. I hoped that it would be the same this time. But the problem was that I couldn't stop thinking about Dylan at all.

At times I even rebuked myself for being such a dumb and shooing him when he was obviously there pouring his heart out to me. But then he had said that he wasn't sure where his life was going. He was confused, and that spoke plenty about his condition. He couldn't think about leaving Nicole, but he kinda liked me. Then I concluded that I had made the right decision by turning him down.

Good. I was okay. If I wasn't, I would be okay in a few weeks.

I just needed to see Adam, I guess.

At breakfast, Uncle Benjamin was giving me one of his cruelest looks, and I wondered what had ticked him off. Was he angry about the blood test? Was he being suspicious because I came home devastated last evening? Did he hear Dylan talk in my room last night?

I shivered a little when I thought about the possibility of the last one. If that was the case, he was probably planning to lock me up inside the house. It was a good thing that he did not know the specifics about Dylan's identity.

After breakfast was over, I quickly got up and got dressed. I had a biology test today that I had not prepared for at all. I did not want to take the exam at all, but I guessed I would have to. I used to visit Dylan on all those days, but I simply did not have anywhere to go now. I had school only.

As I hopped down the stairs, shining in my pink top and dark blue jeans, I saw that dad had already left.

"Where's dad?" I asked mom, who was instructing the cook for lunch.

"He left," Uncle Benjamin said from behind me, "I'm driving you to school today."

The fear pressed harder on my windpipe.

He did not say another word as he went out of the house, and I followed him after saying a hasty goodbye to my mother.

We drove for a while, and just when the car hit the main street, my uncle fired off.

"So, how was it at Amaya's yesterday?"

I froze in my seat. He never asked about all the things.

"It was good," I lied, "We hung out, and talked...about stuff."

"Hmm. The chauffeur said that you were late to come out?" he probed.

"I was eating some snacks, and couldn't just leave it that way," I said, trying to be reasonable. But I was pretty certain that I was giving stupid, lame excuses.

"But I heard the chauffeur saw you enter the house from outside," he looked at me.

Uh-oh.

"Did he?" I had started to sweat, "No, of course not. Why would I go out at all?" I asked him back.

Uncle Benjamin went quiet for a few minutes. Then he spoke again.

"Remember one thing, Naomi," he said coldly, "Whatever is happening, it's happening for a reason. Never doubt your own blood, never doubt our motives. We are trying to make this world a better place for you, so that we can die in peace thinking that you will be safe when we will be gone."

I swallowed hard. He had obviously guessed something.

"Also, I hope you know that aligning with the enemies is a punishable crime in our law?" he laughed.

I gave him a nervous smile, "Why are you telling all these things to me? It's not like I have broken any law or something."

"You are smart enough to understand, I guess," he smiled, "Our family has the nicest genes..."

Then I heard him mutter something that included the word mother, but I did not hear all of it. Was he implying that my mother did not have nice genes?

I ignored him altogether. Maybe I was doing horrible things by going out to meet Dylan and his family for the past few days, and I did it quite often. But now I barely had any reason to go there in such short intervals. I only needed to inform them if I found something important, and would definitely have to find an alternate way to inform them.

***

The day at school was very boring, and I wrote a bunch of random answers to my Biology test. I knew I would get a zero, and probably less if the teacher could afford it.

The principal called me after recess.

"Sit down, Miss Wilkins," he told me.

I obliged, and looked at him with innocent eyes.

"How's school?" he asked me.

"Good, I guess," I offered a smile, which he did not return.

"I hear that you missed yesterday's classes, all of them, and the same happened last week yesterday," he checked a blue file which could be nothing but our attendance file.

"May I know why?" he closed the file and clasped his hands together, giving am ominous look.

My palms started to sweat.

"Your uncle came here to talk to me yesterday," he said without giving me a chance to defend myself, "It seems like you have been telling them an entire wrong story this whole time."

Fear gripped me with all its force, and I struggled to remain seated on the chair and not fall off.

"You bunked you classes, but you told your parents that you were attending school. What have you been doing this whole time, Ms. Wilkins?"

I just looked at the paperweight on his table. I did not have any answer to offer him.

"We have a reputation to uphold, and this type of behavior, where our institution is being marked as an irresponsible one, will not be tolerated. There will definitely be consequences for what you did, but let me ask you one more time," he paused a little, "What have you been doing all this time?"

I still did not answer. He knew. Uncle Benjamin knew that I was spending an awful lot of time doing something outside the school. I guess he wasn't just sure about it.

I tried to recall the words he had said to me in the car, something about not judging what he was doing and believing that whatever he was doing was for the best.

"Is it about drugs, Ms. Wilkins?" he probed, "Is it related to a boy?" he asked.

His eyes bulged when his brain pushed it to the limit.

"You are not mingling with a Rank Three boy, are you?" he asked, "Why else would you need to lie so much about it?"

My head snapped up, "Of course not," I told him, "Why would you even think about it?"

I wasn't lying. Dylan was someone who I could never fit into any Rank. And if the rule established by my uncle counted, then Dylan – and his entire family – would be Rank One. They were the first ones to come to Aneida.

He shook his head, "Just tell me the reason."

I told the first thing that came to my mind.

"Well, I was seeing Simon – he is a student here, too, but then he broke up with me, saying that it was too much for him to take. He did not want the risks associated with my family, and therefore, me."

"I understand," he said, and took off his glasses.

"I have been kind of depressed ever since. I skipped school because I couldn't stay near him all the time," I tried to pour some emotion into my words, "Seeing him, crossing him every now and then at campus hurt me."

My principal did not say anything.

"I guess I wanted to be away from him, but my parents wouldn't understand, so I had to do all this."

Principal nodded, "I understand. I have been through heartbreak as well...Nonetheless, I would request you to clear everything with your parents, and uncle too. They have been worried about you."

I nodded, waiting for him to bring up the matter of making up a false medical test at campus, but he did not utter another word.

He dismissed me, and I ran out of the building, feeling all shades of fear come alive within me.

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