Art Knights Dystopia

The Newcomers

The cafeteria burst into chatter, everyone stealing jealous glances once in a while. No one dared to come close, although, I could understand their feelings. Despite their friendly introduction, they seemed so... intimidating. Wanting to know more about them, I grinned, "Nice to meet you too! I'm Noki, these are my friends, Nathan, Len, and Lunacy." We all exchanged greetings and Len shortly began pelting them with questions, "Sooo...how did you guys end up in this dump? I know you guys weren't born here, that's for sure! Is your hair naturally that color? Oh, oh, your eyes as well!  Tell us! Tell us! Just how did you get here? Where did you come from?!" Len's voice grew and her eyes sparkled as she brimmed with excitement. Afraid that she would scare off the captivating newcomers, Nat softly interrupted her, laughing awkwardly, "Ahaha...sorry about that, she likes to go on a tangent sometimes," he swiftly hissed in Len's ear, "Calm yourself, woman! You're going to scare them off!" he was about to continue scolding Len until he was interrupted by soft giggling escaping Jas's soft, peachy lips, "Ahaha, no it's fine. We'll answer all of your questions. I'm sure you're as curious of us as we are of you!" Not wasting a minute, Len piped up once again, "So! Where did you guys come from? You seem awfully out of place!" Expecting to hear the smooth silky voice of Jas, I was disappointed when I heard a monotone almost robotic voice speak instead, "We came from Artopia," Before Siri had the chance to answer, I interrupted her, "How come I have never seen you before then?" I spoke in a rather accusing tone, I don't know what came over me, it was as if someone else was controlling me. Expecting her to get mad, I was shocked to hear a soft quivering voice instead. Her shy voice, losing the firmness that was there a second ago, pierced through the silence, "I, We lived in the higher class...so that's probably why..." Before anyone had the chance to speak, she continued, voice growing higher, "I don't understand, what do you have against me? Why do you address Jas so kindly and not me? What's the difference? I came here, expecting to be treated with respect, but instead you decided to accuse me? Why?" Siri's upset tone left a cloud of awkward silence surrounding the table. It wasn't long before the awkward silence was disrupted by an abrupt laughter, everyone was shocked to see Siri's head thrown back in laughter, "AHAHAHA, Ah-ah-hahaha, I'm just playing, you should've seen your face!" She shook with laughter, pounding and flailing her legs about, shaking the whole table in the process. Siri's laughter was quickly interrupted by Jas's smooth voice, "Sorry about her, she likes to mess with people from time to time, I suppose you were the unlucky victim this time, haha..." She let out a quiet chuckle. After the awkward encounter, our table bubbled up once again, asking questions back and forth, it was all fun and games until Nat's tone suddenly became serious. "Considering you guys just arrived, I will inform you guys of our plans. I don't know if you guys have realized yet, but this government is corrupted- tch," Nat scoffed under his breath and made a disgusted face before continuing, "The AK, which you guys probably know as the government, forces the poor out of their prestigious city, demanding us to work for them in the filthy conditions they put us in. Have you ever wondered why some people start disappearing? Well, they get sent outside. Either because they have committed a crime, which I understand. But instead of supporting the poor, the government forces innocent people out of the society, such as orphans." Before Nat could continue any longer, an all too familiar high pitched voice resounded, "AHA! So this is where the cafeteria was all this time! I wonder if they have chocolate here? Oh wait, is that a Noki I sense?" I chuckled as I heard Choco furiously rambling to herself. I waved to her as soon as she greeted me, "Hey, Nokes!" She waved frantically, putting her arm down, she began to skip towards our table.