Temperament

Chapter 10

She looks back at Jax, blushing, her mouth open. A girl whispers in Exotica's ear, "You like him, don't you?" "AHHH!" She yelps, jumping. "Damn. Your so jumpy." The girl says. "I'm Lilai. Whats your name?" Lilai smiles. "I-its Exotica." She says, smiling back. Lilai sticks out her hand, for a handshake. Exotica, reluctantly, shakes it, bracing for attack, that never came. "So... do you like him?" Lilai says, bouncing in her seat. Exotica snorts, "Him? That piece of shit?

Lilai raising an eyebrow. "That's kinda hard to believe, judging on how hard you were blushing." Lilai says, chuckling. "And judging that, that boy is a complete snack." Lilai, looking dreamy, and licking her lips. Exo shuddered. "Yuuuck. God, no." She says, disgusted. Lilai shrugs, and she puts her arms on the table, still daydreaming about Jax, as a boy comes up to their table. He sits next to Exotica, tosses his arms around Exotica, "A NEWWWBIIEEEEE!!" The boy shouts. Exotica looking horrified, Lilai says, "Osćar, stop. You're scaring her." Lilai laughs, as she pulls Osćar away from Exotica. "Oh my GOD, I'm so sorry about Osćar, he can be a little..." Lilai says, faltering, "Excited, when it comes to meeting new people."

"Yeah. I figured." Exotica says, smiling. Her dog yips from under the table. She pulls him on to her lap. "Awwwwwwww!" Lilai and Osćar chorus. "He's so cute!!" Lilai says, reaching over to ruffle Exotica dog's hair. He licks her palm and barks. Osćar's watch beeps. "Oh shit! We're late for training!" He says, bolting up out of his seat. "Come on Lilai!" Osćar says, grabbing Lilai's wrist and yanking her out of her seat. "Bye Exotica!" Lilai says, her voice going faint as they go to training. "Training, huh. What do they have to train for?" Exotica murmurs under her breath. "Hey Exo-" Jax says, appearing next to her, suddenly. She yelps and elbows him, hard, in the stomach. "Oof! Why are you so jumpy!" He says, clutching his stomach. "Oh, I'm sorry, but YOU DON'T SNEAK UP ON A FUCKING ASSASSIN!" She yells, gritting her teeth. "Ugh. So I see you've made some friends, huh?" Jax says, still reeling from her attack.

"What is this training? Why are all these people are trapped here? And why do you have so much food, when people outside are eating garbage, starving to death or eating themselves? " Exotica says, deadpan, narrowing her eyes, and crossing her arms. "Uh. I- Um." Jax says, stuttering. "Tell. Me. Now. Or the deals off, Jax." She says, yanking him off ground and shoving him, hard, against the cafeteria wall. "I-" He breathes in, and sighs. "We need to go somewhere... Less public." He says, shivering. She drops him, and he falls to the floor. "Let's go to my room." She says, walking towards her room. She turns towards him, "You comin'?" She says, her face expressionless. They walk in the hallway in silence, Exotica's fingernails digging into her palms, thinking about, what has Jax lied to her about. They finally get to her room, they sit on her bed. "Explain." She says, frowning. He sighs, shifting over, and lays on her pillow, his hands under his head. "Do you understand why you needed you to defeat your dad?" "No. I basically got thrown into this crap, the moment I agreed to help." She says, looking at the wall, head in her hands. "It was because, your-" He stops, looking for the right words. "Special. You, have powers beyond human comprehension." He stops, letting the weight of his words sink in. "W-what? H-how? W-why?" Exotica stutters. She takes a deep breath. "What. Am. I?" She breathes out, dipping her head down, and running her hand in her hair. "You're a Variegated." He replies, wringing his hands out. Her head snaps up, "I'm not one of those-" She shudders, "things." Variegateds were genetically mutated humans, given incredible powers, but they soon died out upon learning what they were, what they could do, how fast they could kill. "It's the only explanation, Exo." Jax says, proping himself up on the pillow. "But I can't- I'm not-" She sputters. "But how!?" She vociferates. "Do you know how your dad became, supreme ruler? Or how he became, him?"Jax quirys. She shrugs. Then a sick realization swirls in the pit of her stomach, she gulps, her eyes going as wide as a beach ball, her face going paler then a white wall, "I-I just realized... I don't remember a-anything."