Scene 1
5 years ago
Hannah woke up in her hostel room on the campus of New College, where she stayed in to study law at Oxford. However, she no longer intended to study, but had new plans for herself and her alma mater.
Ding, her phone sounded. Yawning, Hannah reached toward her phone under her bed and unlocked it. "Meet me at South Park later at 4. I'll send you further instructions closer to the time," said a text from Jack. "This is important." Hannah flipped her phone upside down and set it on the floor.
I guess we're doing this shit, huh, Hannah thought, as she flipped her phone back up again and replied Jack affirmatively. Hannah had lost every last bit of her support for meritocracy ever since the rape happened. It even unlocked something in her, something that made her want to take down the system for real.
Later, Hannah and Jack met up next to a pond in South Park under the sweltering hot summer sun.
"How have you been, Hannah?" Jack asked.
"It's a new normal, isn't it?" Hannah replied. "I feel the urge to undo years of wrong and suffering that have plagued me and any poor child under the age of 18. Like goddamn."
"I knew we chose the right person for the job," Jack agreed. "Now tell me about your darkest time in Goldwind High."
"Other than the cry-studying I always did hiding in the teachers' toilets, there was one particular year I always felt hopeless in middle school. Every single day I wanted to end it all, but had to drag myself to school, seeing my peers do better than me even with like a hundred times the effort. Teachers never gave a fuck. It's either A's for exams or die!"
Jack cracked a smile. "That's the problem. That's the fucking problem. And that's why you have to go back to that hell-hole and fix things."
"I have to what?" Hannah croaked, starting to hyperventilate.
"Chill, chill. You just have to return to the school and kick certain things into motion. You don't have to do everything, dear, don't worry," Jack replied. "What I can tell you now is this: In a few years, Goldwind High will no longer exist."
"What?" Hannah whispered in disbelief.
"We'll create something better," Jack replied with a smile. "By the way, when are you flying back?"
"Um, I guess about 2 weeks from now," Hannah replied.
"Excellent, we will keep in touch. Gummy bear?" Jack reached into his pocket and retrieved a bag of edibles. Hannah eagerly took one and popped it into her mouth.
"See you around, Hannah!" Jack said, as they went on their separate ways.
Scene 2
5 years ago
Goldwind High
Sophia, a fresh-faced graduate from the teacher training institute, looked forward to her first day on the job at Goldwind High. She always had had the dream to inspire and shape the lives of schoolkids, but wanted to do so with those that had the highest potential. Teachable, smart, well behaved kids. Goldwind High was perfect, as it was fed by the highest scoring middle school students, and was the top high school in the country. And it was much better than its rival opposite it, Wellington High.
"Good morning, it's my first day!" Sophia cheerily greeted the receptionist in the general office. "Sign here?"
"Yeah, please do, and I will call the teacher you are attached to in a moment," the receptionist replied. Sophia signed her name and looked around.
Well damn, the facilities here look so much better and more high functioning than at Wellington! she thought, shuddering at the fate her ex-coursemates would fall into if they went there. The last time she went was halfway through her training, where she had to teach a bunch of rowdy, stupid kids in a stuffy classroom vandalized from floor to ceiling and whose windows were jammed with gum.
"Hi and welcome to Goldwind High, where dreams come to life!" came the enthusiastic voice of senior teacher Candice Welsh. "Nice to meet you, and I'm sure you'll come to love teaching here, where we raise the cream of the high school crop." Sophia shook her hand earnestly, and took out her phone to take any notes of interest.
"This is the sick bay, where any student who may be sick but not deemed sick enough to send to a hospital rest until their parents get them. Usually this is due to exhaustion or caffeine overstimulation. Mostly mild stuff though, nothing to worry about," Candice introduced the first stop of the tour. Sophia peered in, and locked eyes with a miserable-looking boy who had his hand on his forehead. They continued on.
"Well, this is the goal-setting room. We set goals for our students and ourselves. Everything here is ranked by improvement of students and average grade," Candice explained.
"Wait, what happens if someone has a day off or something?" Sophia ask, mildly concerned.
"You got it, we can only have days off. Students and teachers can only underperform once a term, else they will go into the treatment room," Candice said matter-of-factly.
"T-treatment room?" Sophia asked, slightly anxious now.
"Oh, that's a scary name I admit. But no worry, let's visit it." The two continued on, and went to the basement of the school. Shortly, they arrived at an eerily cold, dark green painted room.
"This is the treatment room. Students have to read "the pick of the week" from the library, and every unnecessary movement will result in a shock administered to the neck. After reading the pick, they have to complete certain amounts of examination papers, set by the grades on tests they have underperformed in. Today's pick is the AP Mathematics textbook."
"What happens to teachers?" Sophia asked with a small voice.
"They have to choose students to 'sacrifice'," Candice replied, with finger quotes.
YOU ARE READING
Elitism
HorrorA couple from an elite school have a baby, and a boy from a nearby less elite school wants to transfer in. Weird things start to happen as a porn actor and a supposed deity show up. As the intentions of the two schools, and their students, collide...
