Divided.

Divided (Part 6)

The beatings in class went on for the next 3 years of Daisy's life. That is how strict the world had become over the last 50 years; since the advanced's came in to existence and the government had enforced their latest laws.

As the years went on the beatings were less frequent but still Daisy would be still be caught out for the littlest of things; she felt as if sometimes the teacher was using her to set an example to the rest of her class.

"A sailor went to sea sea sea

to see what he could see see see

but all that he could see see see

was the bottom of the deep blue sea sea sea"

They were in the playground singing nicely like little 10 year old girls should when Daisy spotted little Jimmy shuffling his feet past the school gates. She automatically stopped clapping along to the song they were singing and nudged her friend Charlotte's shoulder and they both peered over at the metal black gates on the far side of the junior playground.

"It's Jimmy," Charlotte said and the other 5 girls stopped clapping and playing and turned their heads to look.

"I haven't seen him in a long time," Daisy whispered as they watched his feet budge forwards as the advanced's dragged him a long the path. He looked older than the last time Daisy had seen him which come to think of it; must be at least a year.

There was no doubt that it was him, he was taller than before but he still wore no shirt on top and the scars on his back seemed to gleam in the sunlight amongst the fresh red roar wounds that Daisy thought looked even sorer than her legs had last week.

He still wore a noose around his bare neck and his dark hair hung so low now it almost covered his face that was constantly looking down at the ground.

"I can't look," Daisy said scared that the teacher would catch her staring. The wounds on her legs had only just stopped stinging from the episode last week; she couldn't face another agonizing session with 'the whip.'

Jimmy wasn't an advanced but the boys that were dragging him around town by the rope around his neck were. They were the worst kind of advanced's, they were the children who took joy in teasing poor unfortunate Jimmy Jackson.

Nobody knew the full story about Jimmy, only that he'd be seen around town for years, always without a shirt and always being called nasty names by the boys who teased him.

Why they were allowed to do this Daisy didn't know .It wasn't fair. She didn't know if the Advanced's had the same rules as they did because she'd never been able to talk to any of them; her mother had told her that it was the Advanced's who chose not to talk to them, she didn't know for sure but she was certain that they were authorized to speak if they sought to, they just didn't desire to; they were better than us.

Jimmy's parents ceased to exist; no one knew anything about poor Jimmy's family only that Jimmy had a setback, a trait that the advanced's wanted to parade. How he got it nobody knew; was he born this way ... or had they done this to him ... nobody knew.

Blinky they called him, Sir Jimmy blinks a lot; they were the names that the little boys who pulled him and pushed him around were yelling ... creating such a racket.

Jimmy had a condition, one which set him apart from the rest of the un-advanced's, his condition meant that he had to blink continuously every few seconds or so; and when he wasn't blinking ... his eyes would twitch. It's obvious to see, so obvious that each time he blinked his eyes would squeeze tightly together forming evident wrinkles on his forehead.

When the girls started singing again Daisy couldn't get Jimmy out of her mind, she was troubled by him, she wanted to catch his eye; just for a split second, just so that he could see in to her eyes that somebody on this planet cared about him.

She wondered away from the girls with her gaze fixed on to the back metal bars of the school gate. Jimmy wasn't there anymore but he couldn't have gotten far, not at the speed he was being dragged. Perhaps if she made it to the gate she'd be able to bend her neck and catch a peek of him down the street.

"Hmm" Daisy thought once she got there. The bars were much closer together than she'd thought, more like a prison that a children's school playground. The barbed wire at the top twisted around in circles making it impossible to climb over, even if Daisy was particularly good at climbing trees. She'd never been so close to the gates before, luckily there was an old bike shed in the corner which hid her position from prying teacher's eyes. It was likely that teachers would be watching out from inside the classrooms; ready to pounce like a hunting cat.

"Hello," A little boy's voice came suspiciously from somewhere inside the shed. Daisy ignored it, she wasn't much in to boys at the moment besides he'd probably pretend to be interested in what she was doing and then tell the teachers on her; feed her to the cats on a plate so to speak.

"Dam it" Daisy puffed, Jimmy was nowhere to be seen through the bars.

"You have black smudge on your head," the voice came again. The black smudge was from the metal bars, just dirt, something that could easily be wiped away with the sleeve of her school jumper.

"Yeah well you have a willy," Daisy said back, usually that word would have sent her in to giggles but she was feeling hot and bothered right now because she could'nt see Jimmy. Who knew when she'd see him again.

"What's your name?" the boy appeared from behind a plank of upstanding wood in the shed. He was really getting on Daisy's nerves, really bothering her ...she didn't need any more friends she already had plenty.

"My name's Jack," he went on. He was leaning carelessly against the back of the shed with his arms crossed and his foot resting up on one of the metal bars of the gate. He looked the same age as Daisy but he was a lot shorter; and he looked overconfident.

"So?" Daisy shrugged.

"What's yours?"

"Why should I tell you?" Daisy spat and then that's when she noticed. She looked him dead in the eye ... no blinking ... slightly engorged pupils ... BRIGHT WHITE TRAINERS.

"I have to go!" Daisy spun around on the heel of her black shoe and went back in the direction of her friends not quite believing what just happened. What if the teacher saw them talking ... what if she got taken away because of it? She was terrified, so alarmed she didn't go back to her friends at all, she went straight in the direction of the un-advanced school girl's toilets. She locked herself in to a cubical and sat on the toilet seat to catch her breath.

Snot was running down her nose and she wrapped a handful of toilet tissue in her hand and then held it over her nose catching the snot mixed with tears. What if they were waiting just outside to take her away? The thought of them waiting sent panic sensations right through her body. Her heart was palpitating, her breathing wouldn't slow down and the hairs on her arms, legs and everywhere else were standing to attention enabling her to feel every sensation possible as she sat in the quiet, listening, listening for what she just didn't know.