Crowded Hallways Are The Loneliest Places for Anyone Who Dares to be Different
Between the social classes of District Four, the people show affection towards each other at differing degrees. Throughout the District, all of the older adults tend to keep their affections to themselves, but the differences are still there. They are most prominent within the older teenagers and young adults. The upper class is more covert: holding hands, giving a slight kiss on the cheek, an arm wrapped around someone's waist. They keep their behavior proper, under control; they're poised and well mannered.
The lower class contrasts them in every way. Open relationships in which there is no hesitation to show public affection at all. People kissing, laughing, giggling with one another. Hugs and open sexual remarks and actions are a common thing for us. Though it's common throughout the entirety of Four, the lower class is more open on the matter of sleeping with multiple people before marriage.
The upper grade school dances are one of the only places in which the shows of affection mixes together so much so that, if everyone was dressed the same, upper class kids could be mistaken for lower class.
It's a common sight then when Reed and I embrace in the school's courtyard during lunch. I press a kiss under his jaw and one of his hands run through my hair before we pull away. "How's class going?" he teases me and I just raise my eyebrows at him.
"Pointless as always." I clip and he lets out a short laugh, wrapping his arm around my waist and I bump my hip against his. We get looks from the other kids around, but ignore them, his lips pressing against the narrow bridge of my nose.
In front of us, the rest of our group is headed to sit atop the raised concrete curb that encompasses the courtyard. The upper class kids claim the middle of the courtyard, sitting under one of the only elm trees in the entire District.
Cephas, Ebb, and Fred have already gotten our lunches, today being their turn in the rotation we formed years ago. I grab a sandwich from the pile before I sit down, Reed pulling me into his side. The boys chatter on about mundane topics, the work they have been doing the past few days, and what we should do this coming Saturday night.
The weekends are all we have off; even then, we only have Saturday afternoon and Sunday. Once we start working full time, that is decreased to only Sunday.
My gaze travels around as I drown out their voices, already knowing they'll decide on the same thing we do every Saturday night. Party down on the beach just outside of the lower class towns. There're no docks there, since there are large, ragged, boulders that reach up out of the water in so many places. Though part of it is just smooth sand, an almost cove really. On the other side of the rock masses, just past a cluster of mangrove trees, the waves roar freely; crashing against the shore with more force than almost anywhere else in Four. And almost no one else except for the Taig kids go there.
My eyes lock on a face of one of the upper class girls who is a year younger than I am. Annie Cresta I've overheard is her name. She's the fishing doctor's daughter, and I met her last year after I got my foot caught in one of the fishing wire traps. It cut an inch deep incision through my foot and I had to stay off of it for two weeks. She's quiet, more so than the other upper class girls, but she's nicer than them. She treated me as if we were equals, not as though I was dirt beneath her feet and she genuinely cared about how I was doing. Or she was just so terrified of me she was nice, but I think she's just one of the few nice people left in Four.
The girl beside her catches my eyes and her face scrunches up in disgust, as though I am a slug. I send her a wry grin and her frown deepens before she looks away.
"Stell cheeked off Ms. Fillips earlier." Crest grins at me when I look over at him, my attention caught when I hear my name.
"Bitch deserves it, the lot of them do." I shrug and Cephas raises his eyebrows at me. "You'll grow to understand." I explain with a smirk. It melts into a soft smile when I feel Reed press a kiss to my neck.
"You two are ridiculous." Ebb groans and I just wink at him.
"All they did was get off with each other last night," Crest interjects.
"So?" I challenge him and he shrugs.
"Surprising considering you're a puss face."
"That's a compliment and ya know it." I sing, my voice naturally rising and falling. Lots of boys have told me it's my best feature. It draws them in, and I know it does. My father says it is like the ocean itself; beautiful and plentiful one moment, deadly and destructive the next.
"No one cares if she's a puss face Crest." Reed says, resting his chin on my shoulder.
We're not dating, not by a long shot, we're just…friends. In a way, though Cephas reminds me that I don't stay out late getting off with everyone else from our group of friends. I usually just remind him that I already have with Riptide and Crest. It never lasts for long, Reed and I have been the longest together out of the three of them. And besides, I know he goes off with Erica O'Donner some nights, he knows I know too and we don't have a problem with that. I could go out with another man as well, and he knows there is nothing he could do about it.
Our lives are too stressful to worry about little things such as chastity. Our parents do not even mind, knowing and understanding it is one of the few ways we can try to forget about everything else.
Though we still cause trouble around the District anyways.
Once the lunch bell rings again, signaling that we all need to get back for the last class of the day, we all get up and go our separate ways again.
I waste the next hour of my life starring out the window for the most part, listening to the different types of fishing that goes on out at sea. When the final bell rings, I'm one of the first out the door and stuffing my notebooks into my locker.
I'm one of the first outside, and I pause mid-step on my way over to Cephas when I hear Casey Nibark's high-pitched voice. "Come on Ann, just let me copy them down!" she's whining and when I look over, I see her with a hand around Annie Cresta's forearm. Annie shakes her head, and I understand why she does. She never cheats in school, everyone knows that about her. My eyes look to the notebook Annie holds away from Casey.
"No." she tells her and I watch Casey's grip tighten.
"Come on Annie!"her voice grows harsher, "It's not a big deal at all, just give it to me!"
I'm already on my way over when Annie shakes her head again. "No." she says again.
"Come-" Casey doesn't finish her sentence because I roughly grab her shoulder and rip her away from Annie. She whirls around, her light green blouse flowing in the wind. Her face turns to disgust when she sees me. "Ew! What do you think you're doing!? Let go of me!" she squeals and I raise my eyebrows at her.
"Leave her alone." I say calmly, jerking my chin towards Annie and Casey snorts at me.
"You can't tell me what to do." She challenges, ripping her shoulder out of my grasp and putting her hand on her hip. I give her an incredulous look.
"I can make you." My words come out harsher, and I notice the crowd around us. I'm not supposed to be taking to her, to an upper class girl, let alone telling her what to do. She shrugs her shoulders.
"Fine, I'm done. You don't know better." She sings it slightly and I turn to walk away, I am just passing her when she opens her mouth again. "You're mom just didn't teach you manners since she doesn't love you." She says it under her breath, but I hear her anyways, I think she means for me to hear.
My elbow connects with her throat in the next moment and she crumples to the ground, her hands clutching around her throat as she struggles to get her breath back. I bring my foot up, my boot slamming straight down on her shoulder and driving her back into the ground. She does not make a sound, mostly because she does not have the air to, but her mouth opens in a soundless scream.
My hands clench into fists at my sides and I glare down at her. I hear someone start yelling in the back of my head. "She said no. So leave her alone bitch." My words are like venom when I spit them out, and I glance up at Annie, who just looks at me wide eyed.
I look up at the crowd, dozens of kids starring back at me; the Taig ones have grins on their faces. I turn on my heel and quickly walk away from the school courtyard area, grabbing Cephas's wrist as I walk past him.
"Hurry." I urge him, and I don't need to say more. Someone has most likely already alerted the peacekeepers by now, and I need to be far away when they arrive.
I just need to get Cephas home first. I glance over my shoulder, and I just see a pair of green eyes watching me go. I recognize the boy from the grade above me; he is in class with Reed and Riptide, though he is two years older. An accident of the fishing boats when he was young caused he to miss a year of school. The sun reflects off of his bronze hair and I scowl, knowing he will point the peacekeepers in the direction we are going since he is a Pogue kid.
I only have to put my hand on Cephas's shoulder to push him into a run until we reach our home.
I show up at the docks for work ten minutes before the scheduled departure. I changed quickly at home before leaving to keep myself hidden from the peacekeepers.
My work clothes differ from most other jobs in the District, since I go directly into the water itself. A Capital issued wetsuit is all I wear to work, my hair pulled up in a ponytail so that it stays out of my face.
I keep my feet bare, not only because I swim barefoot, but because I prefer not having anything on my feet regardless.
I catch sight of Ebb and Riptide, both preparing to push off from the docks on their respected work vessels, and send them both a quick wave before jogging across the planks to boat 936. I can feel my body relax as soon as I am on board, jumping on the port side of the ship, and I pat our Captain on the back as I pass him. "Evening Stell." He greets me and I look over my shoulder to give him a grin.
"Evening Macs." Boat 936 is not the one that I plan to hire at once I drop out of school, but I have worked here enough times to know all of the regular employed crew. Macs is also one of my favorite Captains, seeing as he is from the Taig as well. The owner of the boat, Mr. Spikier, is from the Pogue, but he runs the ship from his office at home, crunching numbers all day.
I have only met him once.
I head towards the aft of the ship, hauling myself up on the ladder that is bolted into one of the masts. According to the history textbooks, ships used to look differently than they do today. Now, I have the whole top of the boat practically to myself, the narrow walkways that connect the three masts all together. From each crow's nest that is located at the top, wider platforms go out.
Those are what I dive from.
It is one of the more dangerous jobs, involving hand signals, and timing in order for it to work. Our ship will pull up alongside another at the major nets that had been set out this morning, and together both crews will work to pull the nets up.
If they had spotted something, I am signaled too and I dive in when the net is halfway up.
My knife fits easily into the pocket of my wetsuit, and I lean against the solid wooden mast as we pull away from the docks, our ship letting out first a short blast and then two prolonged ones to signal our departure.
As I look back to the docks, I see the distinct white figures of two peacekeepers at the docks, and a man pointing at our ship as it pulls away.
By the time I return home, the rest of my family is already seated at the table for supper. I kiss my father's cheek quickly before heading upstairs to change my clothes and wash my hands in the washbasin I share with Cephas.
I join my family at the table wordlessly, my mother passing me the bowl of salad without as much as a smile in my direction.
"How was school?" my father's deep voice asks me.
"It was good sir." I answer in a respectful voice. From a young age, he has drilled manners into Cephas and I. "Work was fine as well, how was your day?"
"Enjoyable." He tells me and I nod. My mother, father, and Cephas all finish before me, and soon I am left to finish my dinner alone. By the time I am done and have cleaned and dried my dishes, Cephas is already in bed.
I head upstairs after saying goodnight to my father, slipping under the thin duvet.
I am almost asleep when I hear the door to our home be kicked open downstairs. Seconds later, I hear their pounding feet rushing up the stairs and the door to our bedroom is flung open. Two peacekeepers scan our room as Cephas and I both sit upright in our beds. Moments later, I am grabbed by my arm and dragged out of my own home.
I do not have to guess what has happened.
Someone has told them what I did.
And now I am going to the square.
Cheek: Disrespectful/talk back
Get off with: to make out with
Puss face: a bad tempered person
Thank you all so much for the follows and favorites! All comments and criticism is greatly appreciated!
