The Inveigled

Chapter 11: Sawyer

"As financial status decreases, so should the food rationing for that tier. If they're already making less than the rest of us, looking at this realistically, they deserve less than us in the end. We'd rather have one of them die instead of one of us. We contribute more to humanity as a whole."

 I read the discussion topic on the board, not bothering to keep my gaze off of my desk. It's the same every day. I state the obvious answer, everyone either agrees, or they eventually do. Nobody ever speaks up, and it's a bit tedious. I remember the beginning of the year, before I'd made my reputation present. People would try and defy me, and it was much more amusing seeing the horror in their eyes as all their beliefs came crashing down around them. Silence takes over the class and I hopelessly sigh.

That's until a soft voice speaks up from the back of the class, causing my head to jerk up. Time to see the idiot who dared to challenge me.

"I-I'm sorry, I'd like to disagree with that, if I may." A small figure mutters from the back of the room. A female with wildly curly hair tucks a stray strand behind her ear when she lifts her head up.

"I think that food distribution should be equal for all three tiers instead of focusing on just our level. It may allow brighter minds to sprout if inhabitants of the lower tiers are past being malnourished." That new girl, Juno, chimes in from the back of the class. How innocent, thinking she could beat me. I don't blame her, she's just transferred here today. Upon first glance, I may not seem the most viable opponent. Behind my large framed glasses, tinted umber skin, and sharply dressed exterior, I may come off as a degenerate.

Of course, I obviously don't have below par sight. I like the spectacles though, they add that polished definition to my look. My skin wasn't one of ethnic alienation, it was one of individuality. I run with the crowd, but I'm not the same, since being identical with these low-lives would be an insult.

Well, I only like these traits on me. They show a bit of a mark of restraint and unpretentious roots. I have enough money to get laser eye surgery, or buy a new pair of eyes in full, but I choose not to. I'm too above that as a human.

I furrow my eyebrows, then raise one to the slightest degree. I crane my heavy head to face hers, shooting her a chilling glance that would probably make any child in this class wet themselves. Juno makes eye contact with me, and I don't know if it was a tactic to shift me off my game or if she was actually this ignorant, but she flashes her pearly whites off in a wide smile.

"That's just what I think, and I stand by it." She adds in for good measure, searching my eyes for approval. She doesn't know me. She isn't aware of the damage that I'll do, using nothing but my simple words.

A victory doesn't have the same meaning if you didn't fight for it. Obliterate your opponent.

The silence falling upon the room thickens the tension, and I could notice some people frozen in the corners of the class. Others let out deep breaths when they realized that they were not my target, and this naive girl saved them all.

Classmaster Miles looks up from his desk, his expression completely foreign. He was waiting for the day that someone would finally muster up the courage to clash against me. Today would be that day.

"Sawyer?" He calls my name, his lips curling up as he awaits my clashing argument. I don't even stop for a moment. I've been waiting for this moment forever. Sure, I didn't think it'd be a girl, let alone a new one, but that's beside the point. Any combatant is nothing but a mere pawn in my eyes. Maybe when I show her who's in control over the situation, I could take her out one day. She may not be as illiterate as she comes off, and I'm pretty sure she needs new friends.