He was Almost Absorbed by the System

Chapter Thirty Three - School Festival

The initial day of the Festival went quietly and smoothly as far as Kez were concerned; this was the day potential employers visited the school.  Groups of five students would meet with guests and guide them around the school, showing off various displays; paintings and sculptures from the art class, programs and hand built robots from the tech class and science projects from the science classes.  The artwork was what was considered in line with aesthetically pleasing standards, Kez's work was not amongst them.  The displayed works from the tech and science classes were nothing that could be considered 'outside of the box' and the boy's work didn't quite fit the school standard of this either.  Despite his exceedingly high intelligence, Kez had long since been labelled 'a problem child'.  If it wasn't due to his learning ethics, his high grades and test scores overall and the fact that expelling students effected a schools reputation, he probably would have been removed from the school within week one.

After these powerful individuals who literally held the students futures in the palms of their hands, examined said displays and gave appropriately vague comments, they were guided around the classrooms to see the children learning and studying diligently.  Kez was not a guide nor was he made to offer refreshments, hence he had the time to begin another painting in order to pass the art class.  He'd chosen to paint the view he had taken an image snap of of the view from the lower levels.  It was during a time the sky looked exceptionally stunning, late evening when the sky seemed to be smouldering after being aflame for hours.  The dark silver of the clouds against the burnt orange and crimson backdrop and the shadowed skyscrapers with a few windows lit internally with a bright glow; he's thought it breathtaking.  But apparently, no one wanted to see the view from the bottom.  With a sigh over his teacher's comments, he decided to finish anyway, he didn't like waste or seeing a project left unfinished.

The second day of the Festival was for the parents.  Kez's mother and father both showed up and put on an award winning performance displaying their 'fondness' for each other and pride for their son.  On failing to see their son's work with the official displays, they asked the boy about it, who reluctantly took them to where his things were stashed. 

His small robot was actually that of a small winged humanoid sitting upon a stump surrounded by large flowers and would dance to a pretty piece of music or sing a lullaby when asked.  It was effectively a toy for small children, but as humanoid robots were as about socially acceptable as his artwork, he'd had to submit a standard cleaning robot to pass the semester.  He revealed the latter rather than the former, glossing over his 'label.' His parents assumed his poorer background was to blame for his work not shining in amongst the cream of the upper level crop.  That was until his father wished to see his artwork.

"I blame you!" His mother cruelly shouted at his father after they had returned home.  "He should be excelling in his classes, but you insisted he took that art class!"

"What are you in about, woman!?" The man retorted loudly.  "The school insisted he took at least one of the arts as a lesson each year."

"He could have taken music," she dismissed his excuse.  "Or theatre."

"The boy has stage fright," his father reminded her, "or have you forgotten his fourth grade recital?  And as for music, how can one play if they have never picked up an instrument?  At least he has some talent in painting!"

"Ugh, you call that talent?!" She screamed, her gestures wild. "That sort of work doesn't interest people, it doesn't sell!"

"Art isn't all about money!"

"You only say that as you couldn't sell not one measly painting!" She accused.  "I should have listened to my mother and picked that thirty year old business man, but no I had to chose someone I thought was 'young' and a bit 'different'!  I am such an idiot!  Well I won't let my son make the same mistake!"

The third day, the day for the students, was the day all of the weird booths appeared and when students from the rival high school and local middle schools were allowed to visit.  From haunted houses to stage plays to cafes and game booths, it was noisy and chaotic and mental.  The teachers practically disappeared to the teachers lounge, while the student disciplinary council patrolled the halls.  And the pranks began.

Certain top tech students whipped out their secret robot projects, which wandered the halls taking photographs of individuals in precarious positions, which were later emailed to everyone, only faces were pixelated.  The artwork was all placed on a website with prices attached.  Several pieces were even sold, although the money was eventually 'donated' to the school.  A few theatre students infiltrated a haunted house and took visitors hostage; the ransom  was to be videotaped saying Western High's Drama Students are unbeatable, before being released.  A couple of kids were found locked in the toilets. 

The girls in Kez's class, none of which were in favour of the maid cafe their student representative sneakily decided behind their backs, had promised to get the dresses made using robots a couple of them already owned. However, in revenge, they had actually entered the boys statistics into the machines and so when the dresses arrived, most would not be wearable by any girl. It was too late to have them remade and their class would fail the assignment (making a booth of some sort was compulsory) if they refused to serve as maids. So they decided, those who had done nothing on the first day definitely had to dress up (aka Kez and two other boys) and the rest drew lots.

And then Kez's school uniform went missing.

Kez wasn't actually bothered that he was wearing 'girl's' clothes; he had always liked skirts and sparkles, lace and frills, thigh high socks and feminine hats and accessories. It was not that he wanted to be a girl, even though he enjoyed wearing the clothes and liked men, he just didn't understand why he had to stick to things considered masculine. His eyes had roamed over feminine fashions since he was small, but he somehow knew not to speak of his desires. Instead, he had used the pocket money his mother thought he was saving for a Suit Action Figure and bought a cheap, plain pink play suit. So not to be recognised, he had snuck down to the lower levels, where he dressed up in a Grounders Convenience store toilets. His face and figure had always been on the petite side and he was due a haircut (his mother had actually taken him to the barbers two days later and he had cried like a baby seeing his hair all cut off), so he looked a lot like a girl. Except a wild girl wearing loud colours had spied him and loudly asked what he was wearing! He'd fled in tears over being caught, but the girl had caught him, dragged him back to her place and dressed him like a doll. After being satisfied with what she created, she revealed him to the mirror and later to the world.

As a maid, he pulled off being a female a bit too well and one piece of manly eye candy asked for his messenger address. The other boys in Kez's class thought this was hilarious and jokingly became his drag queen bodyguards asking what the other boy wanted with their 'little sister'. The yummy student fled embarrassed and Kez just had to sigh over the loss. It was not long after this, when the booths were shutting down, that Kez discovered that his uniform had gone. He did ask if anyone had seen it, but presented with blank looks, he ended up leaving school in the black and white frilly outfit, his hair pinned back with flower clips. Knowing his parents would freak, he decided to take a detour to pick up spare clothes from Leilei's place first.

***

Xavier was waiting for a train in the Central District, needing to switch routes after visiting his parents in a different sector, where they had retired to. They had asked him about his job and had he met many celebrities and how was North and was he ready for his details to be sent off to the matchmakers yet? He smiled, they were pretty great parents, they had never pressured him nor Xander to get high powered jobs or get wed before they were ready. Sure they wanted grandchildren, but they were rare in that they considered their sons happiness to be more important than societies expectations. He felt quite miserable when they had moved to the other sector for a slower pace of life.

He sent them a message on his handheld to let them know that he was back in his own sector, before something caught his eye. It was a vision in a frothy affair of black and white, with white knee high socks and flower clips in her short hair. Staring, he wondered who this girl reminded him of and flicked up the handheld to capture her image. Enlarging it, he paused startled, before he noticed her start to move a little to the music she was listening to via her ear pod. Jaw dropping, he filmed her for a few short seconds before she hopped on a train and vanished from his view.

Gotta show Rush! He thought, deciding to take a different detour.