Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 7

Trae tapped his foot against the floor, the plastic tiles of the school's library clicking under his foot each time it connected with the floor. The printer he was leaning against was loud as it spit out papers, drowning out his music. He tugged his earbuds out of his ears as Luna stepped up to him.

"How's the printing going?"

He smiled at her cheerful expression. He was happy that helping her was making her that happy. He didn't want to see that smile wipe off her face. He dreaded the moment it would.

"Uh..." he sputtered, tearing her gaze from her and jerking his head back towards the printer.

The petition had spread like wildfire, flowing through Harper, the school, parents, and to anyone who would listen, bringing in thousands of signatures in only a few weeks. "It's going great," he responded, stumbling over his words. "I've already printed out all the signatures we got from our posts, as well as proof of all the other signatures Harper and our moms had collected. I'm just waiting for it to finish."

Her smile brightened, if that were even possible. "Thanks Trae! You're the best!"

She scooped up the papers as the printer stopped printing, Trae helped her binder-clip everything into groups. Luna stuffed the pages into her backpack, sending him another wide smile. She handed him a set of blank signature pages and the petition copy.

They stepped out together, the librarian tossing them a cold stare for using so much ink and paper. She had been their first signature on Luna's printed sheet.

Lunch was hectic with people swarming around their table to read the petition or contribute their signature. The group didn't mind since it was helping them in the long run, but it made it very difficult to eat. At some point, Luna was certain that Lily was going to have a panic attack of some sort from all the people who had unintentionally surrounded her.

After Eve signed it, a whole second flock of students followed after the cheerleaders.

☆★☆

Luna's heart raced as she walked towards the office, the call from the intercom interrupting her math class and sending a shiver of fear through her. She dragged her feet, making sure to take as long as she possibly could. The principal was notorious for not caring about his students. Her shoulders were tensed up as she stepped inside, being waved over to his office by the staff.

She worried her lip absentmindedly, walking through the door and facing a glower.

"So, Luna Vis. I heard your group of friends made a disturbance in the cafeteria today," The principal raised an eyebrow at her. "Care to tell me what that was about?"

Luna sighed. "We started a petition for equal treatment for everyone... people were just signing it, I wouldn't say it was a disturbance..." her voice dropped off.

He stared at her. "Everyone does have equal treatment, dear. It's been a while since anyone has had to fight for it."

"With all due respect sir," she started again, fidgeting with the cuffs of her sleeves. "Not everyone has equal treatment. The people in the Slums aren't being treated as they should be and the entire idea of Day and Night populations isn't right. Things may have changed since the War of the Fates, but they haven't changed enough. More things need to happen before we can truly say equality has been achieved. Even people like us, people of the Split Populations, are treated as secondary to the G.O.s by the government. As if we chose to live like this. Day-Timers are blind in the dark. Night-Timers can get severely burned and injured by sunlight thanks to the government. Thanks to them—"

"That's enough," he cut her off. "Get out of my office. I don't have time for this. If I hear another word about this, you and your friends will be in big trouble."