Little Game

Kriss: Rebelle/Knight

They should really make the school gates bigger. I'm standing at the edge of the school front gates and somehow I'm still being bulldozed over. After a good thirty minutes, half of the school's population is still hanging around, including Liz.

"See ya later, Kriss," Scott shouts, before running off with the rest of the football team. I waved them off and frowned in relief that they were gone.

I now understand why girls use so much perfume and can perfectly identify men's B.O. from their own. During lunch, Scott and the rest of them would play football and go for training then play a mock game afterwards. The science labs stank, and it wasn't from the dead fish we were dissecting.

Sucks that this is the sport our school's known for. Out of all sports, I hate football.

Finally, a short girl walks up to me and props her head on my back. "Liz, you can't do this every time you have a rough day," I smiled though. She's surviving. Barely.

She moaned and fell beside me in a steady pace. We struggled to get past the looming groups, but we finally made it through onto the main street.

"So what was up with the way you were talking?"

I felt Lizzy's gaze fall to her feet as she slowed down. "You know why I did that. What I don't get is why you have to embarrass me in the first place,"

"Dammit, Liz!" I shouted, stopping us from moving. "Who cares what everyone else thinks? You're my sister. You have every right to talk to me however you feel."

"Well, do you know who cares? I do! Y'know, people were looking at us today and I felt like they were staring at me like a disease,"

"Those were first years, Liz." I sighed. "They don't know our relationship and you're gonna let little girls tell you how to act? Remember who you are Elizabeth. You're a Rebelle,"

"Hey, Liz!"

We both turn around and see a girl running towards us, with a leather bound book in her arm. She was the one sitting with Liz at lunch. I know her background but I'm a goldfish when it comes to names.

She stumbles upon us and takes a few seconds to catch her breath. Like 'normal' protocol, greets me first and starts talking to Liz. She refers to the girl as Alexis.

Alexis, I thought. Alexis Hughes. Moved to the west suburbs of Los Angeles from Britain 96 days ago. Her father, Richard Hughes, age 40. Works as a government official in the foreign affairs department as part of the United Kingdom. Reasons for hire: terrorism security.

Nowadays, terrorists were abundant only to the cause of gender segregation. History has changed from the hard working male and weary house wife, to both men and women workaholics. There were still protests and conflicts about fair pay, gender disparity, discrimination, maternity payments and what not. The government couldn't handle it and they changed it back to "the good ol' days". Now men are working and women are literally begging to lick the bottom of their shoes.

It makes me want to throw up.

I decide to tune back into their conversation and Alexis gives me a polite giggle. I don't know how to react since I obviously missed what she had said. I look at Lizzy, hoping that she would help me out, but she stares at me expecting a reaction like her friend. After standing awkwardly for what felt like a full minute, I raise my hand to the back of my head in an apologetic manner.

"Sorry, I was sort of thinking about an upcoming assignment for school, and I didn't catch what you said," I lie, putting up my best smile.

Liz rolls her eyes to herself, making sure that Alexis didn't see it. Alexis's eyes showed disappointment but her expression changed immediately to understanding, since of course I'm a male. My needs before hers, right?

"Don't worry about it," she dismissed and turned toward Liz to continue their conversation. Now I feel like an idiot, but at least I don't have to hold too much of a conversation with a person I don't know.

My phone chimed in my pocket and a bit back a curse when both girls stared at me. I answered the call, smiling at my sister not to worry. A slightly pissed off voice rang in my ear.

"Ben has a report for you and Bear. He wants to discuss our next move,"

Bear, huh? I take a few baby steps away from Alexis. "Tike, did something bad happen. I've never heard you sound this tired." I said a hint of cheekiness.

"Not now," Tike gruffed. It sounded like there was someone around him, more annoying than me. I chuckled into the line and hearing him grunt again, I thought it best to stop teasing him. "You find something funny, K?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," I smile. "Tell Ben that we're on the main route and we'll be there soon."

I hang up and go to tell Liz the news, but Alexis becomes a bigger nuisance than I thought.

"To think that something like that exists, right," she chimes, as Liz stares at her absurd iPad in interest. "Hey, did you know that there's this new pancake place downtown. Do you want to try it today, Liz?"

Liz and I raise our eyebrows as the girl started texting her father before she received an answer from Liz. My sister looks at me for permission, but we have work to do.

"Sorry, Alexis, but you can't borrow my sister. She has stuff to take care of at home, that's all."

As soon as the fake excuse leaves my lips, Alexis pales and looks sad. "Right, of course. See you tomorrow, then?"

Liz gives her a gentle smile and waves as she runs off back where she came from. Once she was gone, I felt I could breathe easy and I see Lizzy walk past me in satisfaction.

"Is it Benjamin?" she sang.

I glare at her carefree attitude. "Don't think that our discussion is over yet,"

She turned around and stuck her tongue out and started skipping towards HQ. I sighed and looked across the street seeing a police car. It remained vacant and from the house that the officer left, the headlights blinked when he unlocked the door. The officer opened the driver door and caught me staring at him. I acknowledged his confused stare and gave him a friendly wave. He cautiously returned it and started the car.

Pitiful pawn, I judged. I slowly take the main path, a path that as a Rebelle I resent with my whole being.