Running from the Sky

Marie isn't so bad. She had let me choose the colors to paint my room. I was painting it blue with red spirals on it. The blankets on my bed were blue with red polka dots. I don't think that I've ever had my own room.

Anyway, I found out that Marie has married. I was surprised a little, but I then realized that I should have known all along because when Luis would talk about them he would say Ziltons with an 's' but Marie's last name was just Zilton.

It turned out that her husband was on a long business trip. He was a Guard. He would go to cities with 'Workers' that had rebelled against them. I guessed that they called us 'Workers' instead of slaves. Maybe they didn't feel as bad calling us that. Or maybe those jerks didn't feel at all! Okay, well they called themselves the 'Rulers' and we called them the 'Ruiners.' I guess that's just how the world worked.

Anyway, I found out that Marie's husband, named Kal, would try to shoot the 'Workers.' I guess I was so caught up on how Marie had been letting me rearrange my room that I forgot what these people were doing to us. I wanted to help us, the Fighters, but I didn't know what to do! I then realized that running away was probably a bad idea, but it was too late to go back!

I was busy thinking and I wasn't prepared for the question that Marie was about to ask me.

"What grade level are you on? You need to go to school!" What!? I had never gone to school! Maybe I would have if the Ruiners didn't come.

"I'm too smart to go to school!" I said. "People go to school to learn, but I've learned all that I need to know."

Marie laughed and I rolled my eyes. "You have to go to school. It's a town rule!" "Marie,"I said. "I'm not even from this town, actually. The...um...Workers killed my parents, but it wasn't here. And that's why I can't go to school." Did that even make sense?

"I'm sorry,"Marie said. "About everything. I just... I need to let you go there. You're really nice and you deserve to be smart. The world needs you. And what about the slaves? Don't you want revenge!? You remember what they did to you! Your poor family... Please? For ME!?" I thought for a moment.

"You have to go to school," she said. "Or else I will have to go to jail for not making you go to school!" "Okay," I said. "I'll go. What grade will I be on?"

"Well first you have to take a test that determines what grade you'll be in."

Okay, well I had never been to school. I couldn't read and I couldn't do math. I knew what it was, but I never went to it. I'd probably be in first grade. What grade would kids my age normally be in? Probably seventh or eighth. I was pretending to be twelve, and then twelve year olds would be in sixth or seventh grade...

"Just put me in seventh grade," I said. "If I'm not smart enough then I'll move down." Marie frowned. "Okay," she said. "If you really have learned everything, you might be able to get a job."

I said,"When does school start?" "It already started! You might have to catch up..." "Fine," I said.

Marie smiled. "Imagine what you will do to help us!" she said. "You could RULE over all the slaves!"

I might have been going to school, but it wasn't to rule over the 'slaves.' I would try to rule over the Ruiners.