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***
"Don't think about it, Jun." Saya whispers to me.
I give her a small smile in return. She knows I can't, I never could, not overthink things.
For the past week I've been at King's Dominion. And for the past week I have heard my sister rant about the way people here treat me too many times.
Saya sees how they whisper when I walk inside the room, she hears the disgusting words they associate me with.
That pisses her off.
I salute Mrs. DeLuca on our way into her class and I feel my sister tense up. It's almost like she feels they are staring at her, whispering about her.
Saya does what she can to stop it. But sending members of her Syndicate to 'deal with it' has proven itself to be quite ineffective. And I think part of the reason why she seems to hate it more than I, is because she doesn't understand why it isn't working.
But the problem never lied in stupid kids trying to find entertainment. They treat me like shit, because I scare them.
Teenagers can't help but be curious. They have the natural urge to want all ends tied. But when something doesn't add up, the first thing they do is dig around for clues to complete the narrative. Then, if the story is still unfinished, they create their own version.
With every passing day, the stories about me seem to grow like the plague. Some of it true enough, most of it the creation of unbridled hearsay.
"The art of Capoeira." I am ecstatic to have a voice to pay attention to, to distract myself from the others. "A form of dance that originated in Brazil."
"What?" A boy with spiky hair lets of a laugh. "Are you taking the piss? Dancing? You should have warned me before-hand, I would have brought my very own tap shoes."
I look at him as he smiles crazily while doing jazz-hands, that's when I catch something in the corner of my eye.
Sitting to his left is Marcus. He rolls his eyes and smiles at his friend.
I have learned a lot since my first day. Not just the proper angle for beheading or the best acid to blind someone, but about the kids and Instructors that go here.
When Marcus mentioned the 'Rats' and how no privilege would come to me if I entered said club, he was talking from experience. Mixing rat shit in weed was apparently a very common thing for them.
I notice his gaze moving to my direction and, with a heart beating too fast, I look forward and straighten up.
"Before Capoeira was a dance, it was used by slaves to fight against Portuguese colonial agents." Mrs. DeLuca moves on from the previous comment. "It was an outlet for rebellion, used by the outnumbered and in technological disadvantage. In this class, I will assign partners and you will practice some of the moves exercised in the sixteenth century."
