The blaring sound of the alarm clock sliced through my room, jerking me awake and out of my dreams. I sat up hastily, my eyes wildly darting around the room; and finally realized that I was still sitting at my desk, my Receiver right in front of me, glowing with the indication of a new message. Rubbing my tired eyes, I opened it up, and my breath caught when I realized who the message was from. Raiker. At exactly 1:27 AM. Scanning the message, I felt my cheeks heat up. How quickly we had gone from being complete strangers to casual friends. Just a day ago, I was using all the proper formal tones and language when I spoke to him. Should I let myself trust him this much? What if he was just taking advantage of me?

But he didn't seem like the kind of person who would do that.

I rubbed my temples, opening up the message. "Hey. You must've been tired; you fell asleep while we were saying goodbye. Just wanted to remind you that the Opening Gala is coming up. You might want to prepare for that. Sweet dreams, Aisa."

I ran a hand through my tangled, morning hair subconsciously, as if he could see me right now. I fell asleep? In front of Raiker?

You've really made a fool of yourself this time, Aisa.

I sat up straight and massaged my stiff limbs. This was not the time to worry about what Raiker thought of me. I had finally came to my senses yesterday, and decided to stop avoiding him. There honestly wasn't a point to it, and I wasn't going to start again. Besides, he's Raiker Denlow. He lied to me about his own family. I shouldn't be feeling this way about him.

Pushing all thoughts of Raiker from my mind, I got up and walked to the bathroom to get ready. I couldn't afford to do badly today.

***

After french-braiding my hair neatly, even taking care to put on some lipstick, I emerged from my dorm room, already dreading the day ahead. My first lesson was beauty, followed by etiquette. Intelligence was last. I just hoped I didn't run into Zander today. After the way he talked about Inferiors yesterday, and especially after the way I had decided to agree with him, I wasn't ready to face him again. I could still remember him yesterday, lounging against the wall in his bedroom, eyes glinting with pride as he stated, "Aisa, Fatima- she's lesser than us. It's a good thing you've found a friend, but still, do you want to willingly tarnish your reputation by befriending her?" In a way, what he said was true. But Fatima was so open and outgoing, I couldn't help but talk to her. I knew I should stop, but I didn't want to.

Finally, I arrived at beauty. Opening the door reluctantly, I headed for my usual seat; in the back, where I was almost unnoticed, but spotted a girl with a head full of dark brown hair sitting in the seat right next to mine. Fatima. I approached her, wondering if she knew how horrible I was at beauty. Surely she wouldn't want to partner with me after this class. And I shouldn't be partnering up with her either...

"Hello Fatima," I said, plopping down into the seat next to her. She looked up from studiously studying her nails, and flashed a smile.

"Hello Aisa!" She said, almost like she was overjoyed to see me. We had been sitting at lunch together every day since the intelligence class a couple of days ago, but I didn't think she liked me that much. We always sat as a group; her, Zander, Raiker, and me. But I'd never seen her in beauty before.

"I apologize if this sounds rude, but I'm afraid I've never noticed you in this beauty class before."

"Ah, about that, there were some mistakes in my old schedule. I have beauty with you now too!" She tossed her silky brown hair over her shoulder, grinning at me. I smiled back. Maybe we wouldn't have to work in pairs today. I could still try and avoid her. I opened my mouth to respond, but was immediately cut off by Professor Sienna, who had started to explain what we were practicing today.

"Today, girls, we will be practicing a skill called a cut crease." She held up a picture of an eye. I could tell, even from a distance, how beautiful and elaborate and stunning the makeup was. The artist had used hues of pink, brown, peach and gold to create a cut crease on model's eye. The area beyond the crease of the eye used a nude brownish-pink as a transition shade, with the crease itself using more vibrant colours that gave a slight smoky eye effect. The winged eyeliner and lashes were also perfect, the slight sprinkling of glitter near the tear duct finishing the look glamorously. My eyes widened, and I slid down in my seat. The make-up in the picture looked so elegant and effortless, but if I tried to do that, I'd make the person look like a clown. I stole a glance at Fatima, who seemed to almost vibrate with eagerness, smiling in a knowing way. I wondered why she was so excited. Sure, she was good enough to get into a Superiot, but she was, like Zander said, still from an Inferior town. She'd definitely not be as experienced.

"You may get to work," said Professor Sienna, gesturing at a table crammed with makeup products. "There are enough for each of you here, and each of you have thirty minutes time to complete this make up skill on your partner" With that, she turned around, leaving me to stare blankly at the makeup, wondering how on Earth I was going to do this. I saw Fatima get up and rush over to the makeup area, expertly picking up the products she'd need. She hurried back in a flash, her arms full. I hadn't even gotten up. She seemed to notice, and turned to look at me.

"Aisa? You might want to get your makeup products."

I sighed, getting up. "I know."

She bit her lip, staring at the makeup products as if trying to decide something."Maybe we could work together? As partners?"

"Oh!" I exclaimed, taken aback. Should I say no? I probably should. But the table full of makeup was so daunting that I couldn't decline her offer. It was either do it with Fatima, or do it alone. "Sure."

Her eyes lit up. "Great! I'll go first. Now sit still."

I sighed. There was no getting out of this. I forced another smile and leaned back, ready to watch the magic happen. The next few minutes were a blur; a flurry of poofy brushes and various palettes covered in sparkly colors, and full of her tutorial-like voice spouting instructions. I tried to follow but eventually gave up. She was going too fast and I didn't have the patience to tell her to slow down. Finally, after the overly complicated procedure, she leaned back and smiled, handing me a mirror. "What do you think?"

I gasped. It looked as if she had literally copied and pasted the example onto my face.

And this was the work of an Inferior.

"It's really pretty Fatima." I bit my lip, staring at the makeup. "I hope I don't completely mess it up on you."

"Nah, not if I'm helping you." She grabbed the product that she started with, handing it to me. "Use this first." She sat back relaxed, closing her eyes as she waited.

Just do it, Aisa.

Before I knew it, almost the whole process was over, with Fatima pointing at different products and spouting extra tips on how to use them. And by the end, I didn't make her look like a clown. Somehow.

"Girls! I hope all of you are done now. Class is about to end." Professor Sienna walked around the room, judging each person's makeup, either wrinkling her nose or smiling slightly at everyone's attempt. But once she reached me and Fatima, her eyes widened.

"Aisa! I had no idea you improved so much. This is beautiful work." I glanced at Fatima, momentarily confused, but she just stared straight back at Professor Sienna with a closed mouth, her fists clenched. Then it hit me.

"Um, Professor, it wasn't all me. We both did it." I added a smile for good measure, watching as Professor Sienna's own smile stayed the same, but her eyes narrowed slightly.

"That's nice of you to say, Aisa." And with that, she moved onto the next pair, leaving Fatima with her passive anger and me with my jumbled emotions.

***

"Raiker?" I called after dinner, rapping my knuckles on his door. "Are you still showing me

around?"

The door swung open, and Raiker stood behind it, a half-smile playing on his lips as he looked at me in my plain purple skirt and white top.

"Dressing casually now, I see," he observed. "Finally over those fancy dresses?"

"Well, if we're going shopping together, I can't exactly fit in by wearing a long sparkly dress now, can I?" I asked, gesturing at his simple white T-shirt and black pants. I had over-dressed many times on our little tours, and I wasn't going to make the mistake again.

"Indeed. And since when are you the one to come to my room? Better yet, how do you even know which one is my room?"

"If you get to be mysterious, I do too," I replied, smiling back. He didn't need to know that I had searched up his dorm number on the registry to check if he was lying about his name or not. It hadn't come as much of a surprise when I discovered that his last name was in fact Denlow, not Dein. I didn't think he would go that far just to keep our parent's political drama out of the way. So why did he do it?

Suddenly, something changed in his expression, so quickly I wasn't sure if I'd imagined it. Within a moment he had plastered a smile onto his face again. "Well then, let's get going, Aisa. There's a lot you need to see."

***

As soon as we stepped out of the stuffy Superiot, I was immediately hit by a cold blast of evening air. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself as I followed Raiker, who, as usual, was already very ahead of me.

"Cold?" He asked, slowing his pace so I could catch up. My eyes widened slightly in surprise. In the couple months we'd known each other, he pretty much never waited up for me.

"A little." I looked around me. Rows of pristine shops lined the spotless sidewalks, each filled with different varieties of clothes, beauty products, and accessories. Superiors dressed in casual outfits were milling around while the Inferiors were brooming and mopping floors and washing windows of the already clean shops. It was a just another usual Superior shopping complex. I glanced at Raiker, who'd been surprisingly quiet this entire time, staring at something.

"Raiker?" I asked, following his gaze. My eyes landed on the window of the clothing shop right next to us, through which I could see an Inferior worker hunched over a mop, staring at the floor while another man towered over him, eyes blazing furiously.

"I thought I told you to clean the ladies section! What are you doing? Can't you understand simple instructions?!"

"Sorry," the Inferior mumbled, defeated, dragging his mop as he left. I sighed. Things like this happened all the time, everywhere. I looked up at Raiker, who was staring at the Superior man with an expression of utter disgust and loathing. I'd seen him in a bad mood before, but this was completely new. If I were under his stare right now, I'd definitely wilt like a flower without any sunshine.

"This sort of thing happens all the time, Raiker," I said cautiously, watching his expression carefully as he turned to look at me. His expression softened slightly, but the anger was still there.

"Does that mean they're right?" He asked, eyes boring into mine, almost daring me to argue. I kept my mouth closed. I didn't know what would increase his anger in this state, and I didn't want to find out. After a few moments, he took a deep breath and sighed. "Let's just keep going. I don't want you to miss your curfew."

"We still have an hour," I told him, but before I could look back at him, he was already gone.

***

"Floretta's Beauty Shop," Raiker read, raising his eyebrow at the bolded words at the top of the store. "How creative."

I rolled my eyes. "Doesn't matter. I just need the products for tomorrow's lesson." Raiker had seemed to have cooled down a lot since the incident with the Inferior, and he was back to being sarcastic, which I highly preferred over his angry state. But I had the feeling he was still wound up a lot, and would spark again at the smallest thing that he thought was unfair. I'd never seen any Superior get so worked up over an Inferior being scolded. Then again, he wasn't like any Superior I'd ever seen.

I walked up to the door, looking behind me to see if he was following. "Are you coming in?"

"Me? In there? Of course not," he laughed, taking a bite of a steamed dumpling we had bought on our way. "I would never be caught in such a shop. You find your beauty products; I'll be waiting here."

"Alright," I replied, deciding it was best not ask what he meant by 'such a shop.' I stepped in and was immediately offered assistance by a petite Median lady, with dark brown, red-rimmed eyes and brown hair that framed her tired face. An 'M' with a feather was tattooed on her wrist, an indication that she was of Median caste. "What are you looking for, ma'am?"

"I'm looking for some foundation," I answered politely, waiting for her to lead me there. She nodded and turned around, beckoning for me to follow, when suddenly, the image of Raiker's fuming face as he watched the Inferior worker being scolded popped into my mind. Was it necessary for me to make this tired worker walk all the way to the end of the huge shop just to show me something I could easily find by myself?

"Um, actually, I can find it on my own," I told her impulsively, smiling at her for reassurance.

"Are you certain, ma'am?" She asked, most likely out of courtesy.

"I'm sure I'll be able to find it."

"Of course, ma'am." She said, and hurried away. I made my way through the seemingly vast store, stopping once I got to the section that read "Beauty Products." It only took me only a bit to find what I was looking for, and within a few minutes, I had paid and reached the door. I was about to push it open but what I saw outside made me stop in my tracks.

Raiker was kneeling down next to a small black dog, holding some whitish-brown food out in his palm. The dog was eating something off of the ground, with the manner of something who hadn't eaten a proper meal in days. As soon as the dog finished, Raiker tore open the skin and placed the stuffing on the ground, watching the dog eat. He was feeding the dog the stuffing of the dumplings we had bought.

I didn't know what to do. Should I open the door and walk outside openly? Or should I wait for him to finish inside here?

I settled for putting on a blank expression and going outside. I'd pretend I didn't see anything. As soon as the door swung open and the bells jingled from above, Raiker paused and looked up at me. The dog immediately scurried away, leaving not even a scrap of the food on the ground.

"I hope I didn't scare it away," I said, at a loss for what to say. I had just seen Raiker feed a random street dog the food we bought. Superiors generally scared stray dogs away, even if they didn't do anything. This was something I had never seen before in my life.

"I think it was done anyway," Raiker said, getting up and checking his watch. "It's 10:37. Less than half an hour before curfew. We should get you back."

I nodded, trailing behind him as we walked back, silence quickly joining the coldness in the air. There was nothing really left to say.