Façade [Revamped]

School

Chapter One –School

Ajay could hear the large group of girls on the other side of the classroom giggling away, as he sat on his own, per usual, at his desk in the back left hand corner of the room, reading. His books were his only escape from this world, and so he relished every moment spent immersed in them, away from the falsities in the world he was forced to inhabit.

     “Hey, Ajay.” His train of thought was disturbed by a voice he’d know anywhere. He looked up to see a familiar face smiling back at him. “Maya.” He smiled, unable to think of anything intellectual to say. Maya Effield was the only person in this school, maybe even this town, who didn’t seem fake to him. She was original, unique and genuine, unlike her friends, who were still giggling like hyenas on the other side of the room. She was strong minded, athletic, and academic. Although this was the case, she still didn’t see through her friends, who were completely wrong for her, especially the “Queen of the school”, Sienna. Her deep brown curls, piercing grey eyes and perfect features were all smoke and mirrors to the bad that lay beneath, Ajay knew it. He’d heard her talking about other students, less “popular” ones all the time, even to their faces, on occasion, yet they all still loved her and her other friends, most of whom also had the same piercing grey eyes.

     Sienna was the chief councillor’s daughter, the richest under 18 year old in the country, and the most popular one, too. But there was nothing Ajay could do about it, except sit there and watch. Fortunately for the school, this was enough, for now.

“Today there will be councillors coming in to each classroom to talk to you about your rights as young adults in the community, and your choices when voting in your first election, in a few months’ time. Please treat them with the same respect and honour you have for the rest of your school community, both peers and superiors, I’m sure you will make us very proud. Failure to do this will result in appropriate punishment."   
   Ajay chuckled at this. If he treated them with the respect he had for the members of the “school community”, he would be expelled. All the same, he best treat them right, he didn’t want to put his parents through any more humiliation.

   His family are from Indian descent, although none of them had ever been. They named him after his great-great-great grandfather, who was the first member of their family to make the journey over to England, as it was then, from his hometown, Mumbai. They say Ajay is exactly like him – same mud brown eyes & floppy black hair, same nose, same mouth, same courage. Because he was not originally "English" (although if anyone really was, no one can actually prove), his great-great-great grandfather was made the lowest of the low, forced to live in the outskirts of the town, in slummy conditions similar to those found in his hometown. His family eventually worked their way up to live like the other "normal" people, in the middle of town, in a house with running water, heating and electricity. What an honour.

His parents are still not accepted by society, and although their situation has been bettered by his sister Karla's marriage to a councillor, they are often looked down on as undeserving of their status, by society and the media. His father is an average, law-abiding, tax paying citizen, he worked hard and was proud of his life, but apparently that isn’t good enough.

Ajay's teacher, Mrs. Fulford stormed into the room, clearly stressed by the impromptu announcement. "Now, as you've just heard, every class will have a Councillor coming into talk to them today, and we are lucky enough to have the creme de la creme coming to see us, Sierra's father, Chief Councillor Timms himself will be coming in at 11 to discuss the election, the community, and any issues you see fit to be discussed by the council. Please note that if any of these are determined to be innapropriate you will be removed & will be sent to see Mr. Arron immediately." Ajay smiled. He had an idea that he was sure Chief Councillor Timms would find VERY intruiging. "So now, I will be happy to take any questions you may have, or discuss any issues you wish to bring to my attention." The Chief Councillor's grey eyes sparkled, as he smiled charismatically. It made Ajay feel sick, but not enough to stop him. Ajay rose his hand immediately, but was overlooked by the Councillor, and instead Jake, Sierra's long-time boyfriend was asked to speak. "Cllr. Timms, may I just say that first, you are doing an excellent job in office, and second, I will be the first to vote for you in the elections in June, and quite frankly, anyone who disagrees must be completely out of their mind." Ajay nearly burst out laughing. Clearly, he was off his rocker. What he was about to do was a huge risk, but one he had to take. He'd been wondering about this issue for years, and so he would now find out the truth. He rose his hand again, ignoring the applause and murmurs of agreement. The councillor still didn't listen. "Sir, excuse me.." The room was still fiilled with clapping and excited chatter. "Sir, I want to ask you about" still, it was too loud. " I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE REAL ONES." The room went silent. Nobody mentioned The Real Ones. Councillor Timms froze.

The Real Ones were a group of activists when Ajay's grandparents were growing up, at a time where inequality and discrimination between the two "classes" in the county - The people like Sierra and her dad - rich, beautiful, powerful, and the people like Ajay's family - barely managing, hardworking, regular people- was on the rise. They fought for equality, they wanted all children to be treated the same, all citizens to pay the same tax to the government (the higher up you were, the less tax you paid, because the system is so fair), all peoples to receive the same health and dental care for free, and so on. Many people in the lower class agreed with their policies, however they "disappeared" soon after a campaign that revealed things about the Chief Councillor of the time that weren't as perfect, moral and just as he appeared to be. Now, they are seen as urban myth, many don't believe they even exist, but Ajay does. He knows they do. He can feel that there’s something out there better than the smoke and mirrors of Mentior, and The Real Ones have something to do with it. "I don't think that's an appropriate question, Ajay." Mrs. F's face went white as a sheet.
   “No, no, it’s fine, Julia, after all, what harm can a simple urban legend do? My boy, I would stop thinking about those stories if you want to survive in school, school can be pretty tough as it is, let alone if you spend your days clinging to children’s stories.” Sierra and Jake laughed at this, meaning everyone else joined in. Ajay’s face reddened slightly, but he wasn’t about to give up. “Well, if they’re an urban myth, you won’t mind telling us how it came about? I heard they disappeared after revealing some rather inappropriate things about the Chief Councillor, not that that could happen in a town such as yours, sir, your system is just too fair and perfect.” This snide remark caused a sudden silence in the room. Councillor Timms walked up to Ajay’s desk and crouched down, his piercing grey eyes level with Ajay’s own brown ones. “What was that supposed to mean, boy?” Ajay couldn’t help it. He shouldn’t have done it, but he couldn’t back down now. “It means that poor people, such as the Corelli family who live opposite me, can barely afford to feed their children once a week because they have to pay most of their well-earned wages so that your precious daughter can get a new pony, but the rich single bachelors in penthouse apartments with hot tubs and expensive hovercrafts barely pay a penny of their 6 figure salaries. How is that fair or just? The Real Ones whether they exist or not were fighting for the right reasons.”
   “Ajay that is ENOUGH. This behaviour is not acceptable. Go to The Office, right NOW.” Mrs. Fulford had turned bright red, and had a look of disgust on her face. The Office was where the people went who were seriously bad. As in, prison bad. No one in Ajay’s school career had been sent there before.