The Inveigled

Chapter 6: Blythe

"It'll be a bit of a walk... I'm sorry about Jax again. He's so unaccustomed to Wing B. Things work different here." Juno mutters, her eyes trailing to the ground until she pops back up again, as if someone hit a 'refresh button.'

Wait. Unaccustomed to Wing B? It isn't too off putting at first, until I realize they must not come from the Tier 1 community...

Based on the number of family members and the average family income, we all get separated into tiers. 

Me, growing up with two parents that exceeded in the STEM field, never lived in any tier below the best. I wouldn't even imagine living any deeper in the ground.

Tier 1 holds the pricey consumers, the ones that are swamped with CEO's and scientists. We get the best schooling, and top notch meals. Tier 1 is made up of levels A and B. The letters hold no difference, they're just held as forms of organization. We're the closest to the above-lands, so we hold the best air control and remain furthest from the sewage system. Our halls are lined with pure steel, so in any case of exposure or collapsing lands, we're the most protected. Everything is high-tech and sparkling new, and with the abundance of food, no one would think twice before tossing out a full tray of cafeteria mush. Our clothing is always replaced with new, clean clothes, and I'm sure that most of us haven't done an ounce of work in our life.

If you go a bit lower, you run into the Tier 2 community. Tier 2 is quite run of the mill, the average family consisting of two to three children and one working parent. Levels C, D, E, F, and G are swamped with the majority of our population. I haven't ever been there, but I've heard of people on the subtrains that everything is just more... dull. The doors aren't as shiny, the floors aren't as polished, even their food is bland! I'm pretty sure they have to do their own work, but what I'm most aware of is that they're just overall worse than us.

Then... Tier 3. Tier 3 is rarely talked about, since most of the people that live down there are mutated freaks that need be abolished. I've heard that some streets actually run into the sewage system, and everything is enveloped in a putrid smell from the infestation of rats. I've even been informed that a few rotting corpses and bones can be found in the walls. They don't bother getting funded by the Skeptics, so I'm not even sure if they have any platings in the halls other than compressed dirt and dried up mud... Tier 3 is quite a few levels deep, holding in for Level K. The levels in between are mostly occupied with workplaces, or factories above Tier 3 so waste can be easily disposed. We mostly never hear of it, really, I've only heard it been talked about once.

The Midnight Massacre. None of us know how it happens, and the only source of information we have is each other. It has been confirmed though, since I remember the Skeptics informing us that all subtrains heading below level D were grounded for the day, and we were suggested to stay in our wings. From what I heard, a student in Tier 3 went ballistic after his mother left to the Above without a word. He ended up killing hundreds and going on this rampage all the while some sort of clear salty liquid began to sprout out of his eyes. I'm pretty sure that last part was a myth, because it's physically impossible for water to come out of your eyes... what could trigger that sort of reaction? There's really no plausible explanation for that one... That Massacre happened about a year ago, and it just scares us from meeting any of those definitely... unstable people.

Moving up Tiers is quite difficult, but once you're up a Tier, it's almost impossible to move back down. Moving up to Tier 1 usually only happens when there is a sudden opening, such as a student leaving or abruptly passing away. I'm pretty sure that's where Juno and Jax have come from. Juno seemed to catch wind of things quite quickly, since upon first glance, she looked like she belonged here. Jax, however...

"Unaccustomed? What Level do you originally come from?" I furrow my eyebrows. I find my head tilting slightly to the side as my eyes run up and down Juno, trying to read her for any signs that could give her away. I had almost completely forgotten that the only reason I was following her was for a new uniform.

"Why don't you wait here while I rush down and get you those clothes? I don't want to make you go through the trouble." Juno swiftly dodges my question, and I heave my heavy shoulders into shrug. Her eyes basically pleaded for peace, and the hope that I would just shut up and agree.

"I guess... but you better hurry, since my next class starts in ten and I'm not looking forward to being late." I spit, crossing my arms over my chest as I begin to pace back and forth.

"Yeah, yeah. I got you! Sorry again about what happened with Jax!" Juno enthusiastically squeals, her legs going as fast as they could take her.

As I paced back and forth, one question penetrated my mind with little bullets. Why the hell did Jax sit around and await his sister take the fall for some immature action of his? And why was Juno so insistent on getting my approval?

A good seven minutes pass, and people begin to flood out of the cafeteria. Everyone's quickly rushing to their classes, basically stumbling over each other as they get into lines. A small hand hovers over my shoulder before hesitantly patting it, signaling me to turn around.

"Finally! I'm about to be la--" I swerve around, furrowing my eyebrows when I see that Juno wasn't the one standing behind me.

"Are you going to walk to class with me? Or you can wait here if you want... it's whatever." Kai gently whispers, cowering at my sudden raise of tone. I bring a palm up to my forehead and deeply sigh in exasperation. I don't notice his eyes inspecting the front of my shirt.

"I'm still waiting for that stupid bubbly Juno kid to bring me my uniform..." I groan. What could be taking her so long? I've been waiting here forever!

A few students brush past me as they scurry to their classrooms in disorganized lines. A few people's eyes rest on my clothing as they retract in disgust. The front of my shirt still held a heavy stain..

My cheeks begin to warm up quickly, and I find myself struggling to cover up myself while hiding my face at the same time.

"Oh! Oh! I can get you something! I can ask Zan if he has anything, since I only have a polo that probably won't fit you." Kai scrambles, drawing even more eyes to the situation.

"I'll just hope it dries... We have Professor Whittaker next and if I stroll into her class late, she will take it upon herself to embarrass me even more.." I grunt, crossing my arms over my upper torso as I subtly shuffle my way to Whittaker's class, Kai standing beside me and trying his best to block me from anyone's view.

The halls are near empty now, everyone entering the classrooms as all the doors slide open with a single hiss. Kai blocks the front of me as we begin to walk into the classroom.

I take a deep breath, move one foot into the classroom until rapid footsteps echo down the hall. Juno stops in front of me, panting for air as she hunches over for breath. Her wildly curly hair was matted to her forehead in grime and sweat, and her cheeks took a flushed dark color.

"Sorry I was late. I was going to take the subtrain, but it took a while until I could find a spare, then I was looking for a spare uniform but I could only find Jax's, but then I realized that Jax's will probably be better than nothing because the material felt that it'd stain, so then I took Jax's uniform and I ended up missing the subtrain up, and I thought I would be faster if I just ran up the stairs so here I am and I have a uniform that I'm not even sure will fit you but I was hoping we could be still be frien--" Her words stumble over each other, and she was speaking so quickly I couldn't even understand what she was saying.

"Thanks." I cut off her interminable sentence with a harsh word, snatching the blazer from her hands and quickly wrapping myself in it before striding in the classroom. I don't pay attention to her words and feel them hush into silence while the doors slide shut behind me. I feel relief ease over me as I stride into the classroom along with a single line, hoping, just praying that I would be able to sit down and continue class as if nothing happened.

That was until I stumble into the room and realize that it was time for the quarterly seat reassignment, and one of the only vacant desk had my name displayed on the front, glowing a transparent outline of it while everyone else stared at me impatiently. Whenever someone doesn't show up on time, their name remains transparent. If you show up late, it darkens, depending on how late you've arrived. Considering the fact that I was nothing more than five minutes late, my name only appeared a tint darker than the rest.

That wasn't what threw me off though. It was the desk beside mine, displaying another name that wasn't shaded in yet. 

'Jax Sylvan'