Between Just & Justice [youngwritersshortstory]

The answer to all problems lies...

I have been wondering for 4 years now how the fudge I ended up here. Here, standing in a far too small room with the entire 4A class (consistent of about a hundred people, because why not?) listening to the Queen of Justice explain about the five destinations we can choose from for our City trip next year. Shaking my head I sigh, for the uptenth time that same boring morning.

For people like me, putting a class of 50 into one double-sized classroom means putting in a class of at least a hundred. Every person, times two. Why? I can also see the other ones, the "guardians", the "swords and shields of mankind", lingering close to the one they guide and protect, in many cases in vain. I sigh again.

"Paris. London. Cassablanca. Berlin. Toscany."

A bèta trip times 4, a shared culture and bèta trip times one. Do tell me how I got into this mess again... because I can't remember. No wait. I do. I entered the school that "has faith in your capacities". Nothing could've been more wrong than that same statement. Only half a year later Miss Joan, the Queen of Justice, took over the seat of Headmaster. Now we're a Bèta school, but all Alphas here, are left with nothing. Well, math, science, chemistry, history of scientific discovery (HSD they call it, it's shorter) and P.E. (only because it's necessary). Oh, almost forgot: one art class every two weeks.

The only thing we're good for, is money. Strawapple recieves a hundred euro's a year for every student they take. If you'd filter out all the Alpha type students, they'd lose about half of their money. I understand. Of course I do.

I can even see the tall man standing behind her back, waving at me, pointing, looking almost desperate. Almost. It's quite a contradiction to the one standing behind me, though mine is also tall (about a friggin' 2 meters in length) and male-ish (since I can never really tell) he doesn't have to be desperate. At least not all the time.

"So those are the cities you can go to. Does anyone have a question?"

Miss Germany stands at the side again. Her guardian looking less than pleased, trying to get her attention by talking, poking at her side and waving in front of her face. Not that the teacher notices the serene blonde waving at her. Not a single one of them ever notices.

The german artsteacher doesn't get a word in the conversation about the city trip's destinations. She doesn't take one either. I shake my head again, blood boiling in my ears. It's sickening. We have to make do with classes we're not good at, nor like, for eight hours five days every fudging week. And what do we receive in return? A trip to the Math's museum in Paris? The Teylers in Amsterdam? To see the architectural calculations used when building houses in Cassablanca? It's ridiculous, but... someone has to do this. If only to make them stop waving at me... I can barely see the teacher's face, at all. I breathe in deep, and raise my hand.

"So, can we do it once we're there?"

I blink. Before I could even raise my hand completely a voice rings through the crowd of pupils, asking a somewhat, well... odd question. I turn my head to find the cheeky eyes of Raphael Soil staring at me. When he winks many people start laughing. Many people, but not one guardian even smiles. Soil needs two guiders, no wonder...

"That's what you wanted to ask, isn't it, Anna?"

Again laughing fills the room. I breathe in, trying not to walk over there and hit him in the jaw so hard it breaks. (though I would love to) Instead I settle on a piercing glare before turning my attention towards Miss Joan again. She doesn't look the slightest bit happy. No wonder. Raphael Soil, the brown haired King of Lies can make her believe anything he says. That means this'll be a one way trip towards the Headmaster's classroom again, to receive punishment. I don't call miss Joan the Queen of Justice because she's so hyped about my mother being a lawyer.

"Anna Temple, I do hope you have a sane question?"

Sane? Just what in both worlds is sane about me? And stop waving, I can see you.

More laughter fills the room. I sigh again before locking eyes with the Queen.

"Yes Miss."

"Then go on ahead."

It's because whatever she says is Justice.

Someone once told me that the answer to all problems lies between Just and Justice. When someone is wrong, it does not mean that the other person is right. What is just, isn't necessarily justice. What is justice, isn't always just. The answer, lies between these two polatities, that is the trouble any judge faces.

Everyone will be judged when they die. - Those where her words, but mine are always: And I swear, it is better that I am not that judge. (Anyway, when I took this "which job suits you best"-test I got undertaker... so, judging probably isn't my best character-trait.)

What I look for, right now, is to get what I want. It may be very eccentric, you could call me a fool to bud heads with my own principal, but that is exactly what I'm going to do. Right here. Right now. If they make money off of me, I might as well get something in return. Like that idi- nice guardian to stop waving at me.

"Yes Miss, why are there no Alpha subject centered destinations?"

Did I really try that? Isn't it common knowledge that the teacher always wins? They do, don't they? Always. But, what if you take 2 teachers? Who wins in that case?

That was how the story went. Miss Germany learned to open her mouth and stand up when her favorite girl said something everyone knew, but no one wanted to see. Or hear. As for being an arts teacher, even if it was just once every two weeks, she had noticed it too. No single destination was reserved completely for the Alpha or "Arts" -type of student, something that saddened her quite a bit. She had however, as a coward, stayed silent. Turning out to sadden her guardian (who she dubbed "Liza" herself, after finally noticing her) quite a bit.

Maybe it had been too late. She had to watch her favorite student get kicked off of school, for being a troublemaker, a "rebel", even though she had only spoken the truth. Not that anything changed.

Humans don't change very easily, but the point had been made, and now everyone knew that not all Alpha's agreed with the ways of the Headmaster.

It may have only been a first step, but that one step, resulted, after years, into a good thing. One that send a few guiders clapping, though unheard...

"Alright 4A, listen up. You can go to London, Morocco, and Paris for Bèta centered destinations. There's also Florence, for the Alpha's among us. You may pick just one. Off you go."

and one guardian to stop waving.