NUMB

Day Seven - Elyse

There is an increase in the Warden presence because of the fights. It's been five days since that girl was shot, and now there are more Wardens posted in the cafeteria. There were only two before, now there are about ten. Two at each of the entrances into the room and the rest stand along the walls.

The Wardens still do not eat in here. They take their lunches by the gates, or off site. It's been that way ever since I was brought here. They do not eat the same food as us and they do not sit at the same tables as us.

But Jet is standing in the line, with the Numb. He orders food from the menu and turns to scan the tables, tray in hand.

"Is he coming over here?" Edie asks.

Jet has spotted me, and is moving towards the table where Edie and I are, but I still shrug. Why would a Warden want to eat with a couple of Numb?

"Hey, ladies." Jet says when he is in ear shot. He sits down at the table, across from me, and smiles.

"Hi?" Edie raises an eyebrow at me and I shrug again.

I do not say anything, just continue to eat my lunch and try not to look at Jet. I can feel him looking at me, despite my efforts to ignore him sitting there. I stab my fork into the mound of vegetables on my plate, but do not lift any to my mouth.

"People are staring." Edie says, sticking a forkful of vegetables in her mouth. She waits until she has chewed and swallowed before speaking again, "Wardens don't usually sit with us. Or eat in the cafeteria."

"Why not?" Jet asks, his eyes finally leaving me and shifting to Edie.

Edie shrugs this time and Jet focuses on me again. I push my food around on the plate and meet his gaze. "The Wardens don't associate with the Numb. That's the way it's always been."

"Maybe things should change around here then."

Edie looks at Jet, her mouth open. She looks like she is about to say something, but before she can, Isaiah comes up to the table. Isaiah is an enigma. He came to the Compound only a couple years ago, which in itself is unusual because he is our age, but he showed up acting like a Sensitive and got classified as a Three.

He was assigned to the same class as Edie and I. She was the first person he spoke to. For a Three, he shows a lot of emotion on his face when he talks. His voice is different than ours too, more on par with the tones the Sensitive use than the ones us Numb do.

I have always thought he was misclassified when he came, but he assures me all the time that he wasn't. He is the only Three I know that isn't riddled with scars or missing some part of his body. He probably has perfect vision too.

He leans against the edge of the table and lets out an exaggerated sigh. "Edie, I am in need of your brain and all of its knowledge."

Edie stares down at her plate.

"Seriously, Edie. Mrs. B is gonna have an aneurysm if I don't complete this assignment. I need help and you have the best marks in class."

"Elyse has good marks as well, why not ask her?"

Isaiah squints at me, and then turns his gaze back on Edie. "Because I'm asking you. Come on, it won't take that long. I'll owe you one after."

Edie blinks a few times and then tilts her head up to look at Isaiah. "Fine. But you have to promise not to sit so close to me, like you did last time."

"Cross my heart." Isaiah draws an "x" across his chest and smiles, all dimples and teeth.

Edie excuses herself from the table and the two of them head towards the exit. I listen to them talking until their voices fade. Then my attention is drawn back to Jet. He is staring at me, his head propped up on the heel of his hand. I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear, but most of it is too short to stay there.