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Chapter Three

Chapter Three

There are 15 of us. And only one wins.

Looking around the area where we were dropped off, the Chosen ones were milling around, backpacks slung over one or both shoulders. The escorts had given it to us before we got out of each of our cars, telling us it was filled with free clothes, a pair of shoes and a bottle of water.

Not to worry, one of them had said. There were more in the Academy. Everything we needed would be provided to us and this stuff inside our backpacks is merely for the day use as we travel towards our destination. Since it would take about a day for us to arrive, it was better to have an extra change of clothes. How they packed up so quickly, I do not know.

Candace walks over to Xavier, who is standing beside me, quiet and observing the landscape. I follow the point of direction his eyes are looking at but I see nothing that interesting. Everything is just strips of barren land, brown and dry for my taste. Nothing is really beautiful in it. Trees litter around the area, but there are no leaves in it, the branches dry and cackled. I could imagine planting saplings along the idle lots, followed by flowers and grass and crops. But even a professional Agronomist knows it would take years for planting and almost two decades for the plants to grow.

“Xavier!” Candace drawls, with her backpack hanging dangerously close to the gravel covered road. She’s only touching it, if it is even possible, by her fingertips.

Xavier tilts his head to the side, his hand inside his pocket as he looks at Candace quite diagonally. “Candace.” His reply is short, almost polite. He nods.

Of course they know each other. The Upper Classers always do. After all, it’s a small world for them. Everything they own practically came from one another. No use in consorting with the Lower Classers, I remembered a Trader saying once when I passed by his stall, coming from the house of one of my mother’s customers. I used to deliver the fruits to them and get tips from the generous ones. Unlike some people.

He’s not even looking at me so why should I even look at him? But I couldn’t help it. I glance over at the both of them and see them talking to each other, heads low and Candace giggling.

That’s what he always does! No surprise there! I try to divert my glares to a nearby tree, thinking if it could have possibly withered more under my stare. Suddenly, a boy about the same age as me comes over and grins, a dimple showing up on his left side. An Upper Class.

“Hi Bliss,” he says and I swear his smile goes bigger. “Lucky, aren’t we?”

I don’t even know his name. Wait, how did he even know who I am? His smile slowly fades and then comes back again. This time, with an outstretched hand. Another acknowledgement sign, though it is usually used for friendship. An Upper Class wants to make friends with a Lower Class like me? Not that I’m degrading myself or something. Just curious.

“I’m Alex. I’m sorry if I suddenly jumped on you like that.” He says and gives me an apologetic smile.

He’s cute, I think. Wait what? I take his outstretched hand and shake it once, twice. His hands felt smooth against my callused palms from the years of digging soils, planting crops and reaping them by hand. I’ve practically sowed since I reached the age of 9!

“Hi Alex. I’m Bliss,” I give him a smile.

“Yeah, I know.” He laughs. “You don’t feel stalked or anything, right?” He asks, his hand going to the back of his neck, rubbing them. He looks at me from his eyelashes. His eyes are a weird mixture of brown it’s almost black. But it’s a good weird.

“Not really.” 

“Good,” he chuckles. 

Down the road, a bus is slowly approaching us, its headlights low. The ground beneath us shakes a little, giving off tremors. When it comes to nearer view, I see that it is huge. Massive. I wonder how many people can fit inside. It’s probably more spacious inside than my own house. Its outside design is three strips of color namely red, blue and green intertwined together. The crest of the Altiems fills up almost one-fourth of the side of the bus. I look away, silently sighing as I meet the eyes of Xavier, their bright blue color boring into my green ones. I quickly look to the other direction where Alex is.

“Is this the thing we’re using?” I ask, sizing it up, craning my neck up.

“Pretty much, yeah,” he replies. He waves me over as he walks around to the front following the other Chosen ones as they make their way to the other side where the automatic door is located. 

I kick at the gravel, sending up dust everywhere. Candace, who is magically standing before me when not too long ago she was behind, whips her head around and glares. If they were knives, I’d have holes by now.

“Watch it, farmer.” She hisses and moves forward, the tips of her blond hair hitting my face. I scowl at her. The farmer nickname doesn’t bother me that much anymore, but maybe she’s too slow in pronouncing Agronomist. Ag-ro-no-mist. It’s easy, really.

“A beauty, isn’t she?” A voice behind me sarcastically says. Xavier. It’s the first time he’s spoken to me since…since then.

I look over. “More than a beauty,” I retort. Not wanting to let him think everything was okay between us, I move forward. But before I could make a full step, I trip over a rock and would have chipped a tooth if it wasn’t for Xavier’s hand gripping my arm tightly, stopping my fall.

“Watch your step, Bliss.” He reminds me as he straightens me up. I stare into his blue eyes until he looks away and over my shoulder he gestures with his finger, “You movin’ up?”

I start. I look behind me. Then I mutter, “Thanks.” 

He nods at me like we’re on stage. 

I was right when I said the inside is more spacious than our house. There were tables and cushioned benches with backrests to the side, overlooking the barren fields and the cloudy sky. Farther inside, there were a few doors which would probably lead to separate bathrooms for girls and boys. A chandelier was hanging by silver chains, illuminating the bus in an iridescent glow, throwing rainbow colored reflections against the shiny surfaces surrounding us. The floor was carpeted, its red color covering the whole space. Wooden panels lined the walls, along with a few framed pictures of the Academy and important Altiems. 

“Wow!” Someone says, followed by a soft thump as she dropped her bag on a seat and races over to a window, pressing her hands against the glass, her eyes full of wonder and curiosity as she gazes over the view. I recognize her as the girl beside me earlier.

Alex reaches over me, and I duck involuntarily. He stops with his hand in mid-air. Oh, how stupid. He just wants to help.

“Oh, here. Thanks.” I shrug my backpack off and offer it to him, which he takes and stuffs it into a compartment above us. Then he looks at me.

“You okay?” He asks.

I nod. “A-okay.” I hold up three fingers, with my index finger and thumb pressed together. I settle into a seat beside me, with Alex going over the back part of the bus, helping a middle aged man in stowing his backpack above. Must be the back muscles hindering him.

I wonder what Alex’s rank is. He surely acts like a Peon, helping everyone who needed his help, but he definitely doesn’t look like a Peon. Not even close. The Peons all wore dirty and blackened clothes, ragged and barely kept together by loose threads. Their faces were usually covered with soot from cleaning the houses of the Upper Classes. 

Alex wore a clean white shirt, denim jeans and black sneakers with white shoe laces. He has dirty blond hair, disheveled and almost covering his forehead. As far as I noticed, his face isn’t covered in soot. Not a Peon then.

Then I realize the colors he’s been wearing. He’s a Medic. A Medic! No wonder he likes helping people. It’s what the doctors usually do, right? Help people?

“All aboard!” The intercom above us squeals and I automatically cover my ears with my hands.  It seems as if these people just love ear-splitting noises so much. I don’t know how they can live with it. “Settle down, settle down!”

Everyone scuttles over to the front part of the bus, sliding into seats and immediately falling into instant chatter. To my annoyance, Xavier slides into the seat in front of me, followed by Candace. She eyes me with so much such hate that I look away and focus my eyes in front, where the door opens and a set of footsteps could be heard. 

Then in comes Jack Andante.