The Color "Alone"

Chapter White

“Why did you do it?”

The darkly dressed principal, Mr. Nook, crossed his arms as he asked the question for the third time, leaning back on his stark white desk. I stared calmly back at him.

Then I averted my eyes, looking toward the wall to my right as I sighed. “The classroom was terribly hot today. I thought the school was on fire. So I pulled the fire alarm,” I said plainly.

Today is Tuesday, June 3rd. Phoenix wasn’t warm or just easing its way into low nineties or high eighties — no, Phoenix liked to do that in early May and late April. Now, it was more like 70 degrees when we woke up, 101 by midday, and 109 when we went back to work. Considering the fact that we had awful air conditioning (air conditioning, nonetheless), it still felt like hell on earth.

Mr. Nook sighed as he wiped his forehead with a small grey cloth — I liked to think that it was originally white. He was a fairly fit man in his late thirties or so. We didn’t see much of him at the factories, but he would show up once in a while to observe. He never did do physical things like the rest of us, though.

“This facility — nor this country, for that matter — has time to spare to be dealing with your shenanigans, Kaleb,” he said as he stuffed the damp cloth into his pocket, “I don’t care if the room is naturally 107 degrees. But if you see smoke or an actual fire within a classroom or hallway, then you may pull the fire alarm.” He spoke to me slowly and steadily, much like any adult would to project their authority, ensuring his words would stick in my head.

They never did. Or they did, but I never really cared enough to follow through.

Just last week I was in his office for “causing a disturbance” in my science class when I was tapping my fingers against my desk absentmindedly.

According to the school board, I'm considered a menace and a sort of ‘bad boy,’ even though my intentions are never to get in trouble with the law or the rules. But since I had the title, I felt that I had to fit the job description. I have glasses, short black hair, a small though strong build, and always wore a light-near-white-grey ensemble (thank you, Officials), what some people in the past, and even today, would call a ‘nerd.’ But to those with power, I was apparently the new face for all bad boys across the world. I felt sorry for them. According to the other students, I didn’t deserve to be seen as a rebel.

“Look, I didn’t mean to make you guys think that I was… playing pranks, on you guys.” My last few words were said very quietly. I was terrified of the camera that was always watching the room, recording everything, because one slip-up, and poof — you were gone. Thankfully, my ‘shenanigans’ were something viewed as minor offences, never anything of moderate or extreme danger to society. The plain square room felt a bit smaller now. I felt colder than before.

Watching Mr. Nook a bit halfheartedly, I could see he became somewhat nervous — there was a slight tense in his crossed arms. He glanced his eyes side to side ever so smoothly before checking the small rectangular window on the door.

He cleared his throat before speaking, the small action catching my attention quickly.