Atelo [MXM] [BOOK 1] ✓

CHAPTER 9: HISTORY & LUNCH

Marley learns pretty quickly why everyone here walks around like they're in a zombie movie. In fact, he's pretty sure that he won't be much different here pretty soon.

Why? Well, that would because every day it is the same. Exact. Thing.

Wake up, take a shower, breakfast, Supervisor Hookler, school, lunch, freetime, bed, repeat.

They don't serve dinner, he learned. Just two meals a day. Breakfast and Lunch, if you're hungry after that then take food with you—except for, taking food with you is against the rules.

The only excitement is that every once in a while you get called down to a torture room to get—you guessed it—tortured for your weakness. It hasn't happened to Marley again, mostly because he's only been here a week, but he can sense it coming. Like oncoming doom, intense music playing on repeat in his mind because it's going to happen eventually and he can't do anything about it.

About the only inconsistent thing is whether or not Nero will be sleeping in the room with him or disappearing off somewhere.

He has only actually slept in the room with Marley two times since their little chat about rules, and Marley has always tried to be one that keeps his nose out of other people's business. However, his nosy nature is getting harder and harder to hold back as he wonders what is really going on.

It crosses his mind that Nero could be sleeping over with someone–his girlfriend, perhaps. Eli... she seems to be the one he's closest with—but then, if he really did that this much then wouldn't he have gotten caught by now? They do room checks, surely he wouldn't have been able to get away with it this long. However long he's been here.

Maybe he just doesn't like being in there with Marley? And he'd rather risk punishment than stay there with him? Wow, that hurts. Marley knows that the guy doesn't like him but to prefer a visit to Director What's-His-Name then holy shit, maybe Nero's disdain for Marley is worse than he'd first thought.

Now before you jump to any conclusions, the only reason Marley's so obsessed with this is because he hates being alone in there. Alone in general, he just can't deal with.

It's cold, it's lonely, it's dark, and Marley hates it. He calls his mom a few times, and she makes him feel a little better, but he still has the sleepless nights and the shivering from the cold air. The thin sheets do little to warm him and it sucks.

He tries not to be pessimistic—no, really, he does—but this is awful and there is no way around it. No matter what he tries to tell himself: at least his every move isn't under constant scrutiny, at least he lives with someone who isn't scared of him, at least here he can take as long on schoolwork as he likes because they let him go at his own pace, at least he can eat as much food as he wants without being judged by his father...

But he'd be fine with the constant scrutiny if his mom was there, that someone he lives with happens to also hate his guts, he doesn't understand a single thing they try to teach him, and all the food in the world could never make up for Chef Anita's egg casserole.

It sucks. It really, truly does. There's no way around it, he can't kid himself. This is a terrible situation.

Out of all school subjects, Marley has only ever been good at one. That one happens to be, predictably, economics. He has always excelled at that because he has been taught it his entire life.

Everything else, though? English, math, world history, science? Nope, absolutely not and never. He has always needed extra help with those—extra help that he's not getting here.

That lack of extra help is why he's currently sitting at a desk, glaring down at a paper while running his hand through his hair in frustration. Why? Well, probably because he's shit at world history and there is nobody here to help him.