The Exceptions

The Town (I hate naming chapters)

Dawn

After a while of choosing clothes and trying them on, the three all headed to the street again to find how much the clothes would cost. Dawn chose a very revealing crop top with a low neck, a brown jacket that she left unzipped, an orange scarf and some jeans and a pair of black boots. Mirai chose a blue long sleeve shirt with a floral hippie "peace" design on the front and some black shorts that went down to about mid thigh, and some blue sneakers. Lucian found a grey hoodie with a black shirt to wear underneath, and some tan cargo pants. He argued the more pockets, the better. He also found some red athletic shoes. This causes Lucian much enthusiasm upon finding them. Hopefully this won't be too costly, the only one who brought money was Lucian, and he does not have a lot... Once they got to the front, they looked around. S and Mak were nowhere to be seen. Dawn knocked loudly on the shopkeep post.

"HELLO?!"

"Mmmpphff one second!" came a muffled reply from inside a shed off to the left of the shop. A few second later, Mak came skipping out of the shed. "Is that all y'all want? Oh wait!" She produced three big bags from under the shop counter, handing it to the group. "Y'all are gonna need this to carry stuff." She then gave them three cloaks from under the counter as well. "And here are the cloaks per his request."

"Oh yeah! Where is S?" Lucian asked.

"That's what y'all call him? Aight then, he will be coming out the shed shortly. He prolly has to put that stupid cloak back on." Dawn raised an eyebrow suspiciously. This girl is really easy to get info out of. Let's use this to our advantage.

"How old is S, do you know?" Dawn asked, offhandledly.

"Why yes actually!" Mak beamed. "He is twenty, and if y'all were wondering, I'm twenty-three. Ever since this place was turned into a literal dystopia, people tend to not live very long, that is why everyone is so young." Everyone's mouth dropped.

"Twenty?! Hes so young! Why does he wear that cloak then?!" Lucian exclaimed.

"You'll have to ask em yourself." Mak chuckled. "If you think he is young, may I ask y'alls ages?" Lucian replied first.

"Seventeen"

"Why shoul..." Dawn remained defensive.

"Eighteen" Mirai whispered, head facing the ground.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SO TRUSTING?!" Dawn yelled. Some people turned to look at her confused. "Sorry, I'm nineteen."

"And y'all call him young." Mak sneered.

"Whatever." Dawn retorted. S finally exited the shed, wearing his cloak, concealing all of his skin.

"Alright what now." S asked. What is that sweet smell coming from him? Oh wait... Before Dawn could finish her thought, Mirai interrupted,

"We would like to find food and drink please."

"Please.... Am hungy...." Lucian mock grabbed at his stomach.

"Ooh! You should go to the bar Urbana works at!" Mak suggested.

"But it's night. Isn't she doing her other job?" S perked up at the mention of a bar.

"Nah its about 5:30 right now. She's at the bar."

"Alrighty then! We are going to the bar! Also y'all can ask questions when we get there. It will be quiet since, ya know, nobody drinks in the waking hours of the morning. I can pay for the food." Lucian smiled at the thought of food. The group said goodbye to Makayla and made their way over to a bar. Once they stepped inside, the smell of cooking food brightened the mood by quite a bit. S knocked on the bar counter.

"One second!" replied a female voice from the back.

"It's me" S called out.

"I don't care that it's you, I'm trying to make edible food!" the voice answered.

"Take you time Urbana."

"Thank you!"

This must have been who Mak was talking about. S must be a celebrity here.

"What is her other job?" asked Mirai, curiously.

"She can answer that for you when she gets here with the grub." said S.

"Imma stripper!" came the voice from the back, the voice now named Urbana. Lucian snickered a little bit causing Dawn to punch him squarely in the ribs.

"Oww, bastard. What was that for?"

"You shouldn't mock someone's job!"

"I wasn't! I was just thinking, it sounds cliche. Working at a bar and strip club? Sounds like something out of a book or someone's imagination." Lucian defended.

"Well that's because it pays well!" The door burst open and a short young woman walked out carrying 4 trays piled with hashbrowns. This must be Urbana. This woman was really pretty. She had chest length dirty blonde hair. She was slim, but also fit, like she worked out everyday. She was 5'5", and lighty tanned. Her demeanor was that of a strong unwavering viking, everything about her emanated power and confidence. "I also enjoy it, so why not ya know! Hello, I am Urbana!"

"Nice to see you again" S said. "This is Lucian, Mirai, and Dawn."

"Nice to meetcha! Now dig in, y'all look awfully malnourished. I assume from the academy?" Dawn was shocked.

"Is it really that obvious?" she asked.

"Yes."

"And you know S?" Urbana shot a disapproving glance at S.

"You had them call you that? So LAME! But yes, we have worked together from time to time. We are on good terms."

"You're a stripper?" asked Lucian glancing at S, smirking holding back a chuckle. Then S actually laughed, something that hasn't happened yet. Mirai nearly lept out of her seat when it happened.

"No no, I'm nowhere near as attractive as her." S said cooly. Urbana blushed. "But we have worked together on other jobs."

"Mind if we sit in the back and question your co worker?" Dawn asked, looking at Urbana.

"Go for it! If you need me I'll be right here, reading." She whipped out a book, and immediately immersed herself in the pages.