The Aware

Chapter One

My name is Isabeau Rosemarie Lystra, I'm 15 years old, and today is my first day at Adairemere Academy for the Powerful, Rich, and Gifted, or just Adairemere Academy for short. I'll be the first to tell you that I'm not powerful nor rich, so that leaves gifted.

In our society there is a caste system. At the top you have the Royals. The Royals are the five families that created the inventions that paved the way for how we live today. The five families run the five areas of the world. The five areas are Adairemere, my area, which is made up of the land that used to be North and South America. Adairemere is run by the Ireim family. Then, you have Brionady, which used to be Europe and is run by the Callians. Next, you have Nadea, which used to be Asia and is run by the Mirans. After that, you've got Luhannah which used to be Africa and is run by the Allients. Finally, there's Izovien, which used to be Australia and is run by the Farenis.

Next in the caste system would be the Elites. The Elites are comprised of 20 families that act as advisors to the Royals. There are four Elite families for every Royal family. The Ireim family Elites are the Vatearis, the Pinams, the Madomis, and the Lanniers. The Miran family Elites are the Haidens, the Nirvs, the Geatrys, and the Cariffs. The Callian family Elites are the Raenos, the Farins, the Zelphos, and the Mavics. The Allient family Elites are the Avaids, the Talids, the Yetrows, and the Judes. Finally, the Fareni family Elites are the Endasires, the Walfs, the Otrias, and the Quallins.

After the Elites come the Distinguished. The Distinguished caste doesn't really have a known list of families. To be in the Distinguished caste just means to be richer than the lower two castes. Since Distinguished are richer, they are therefore more powerful as well.

The Royals, Elites, and Distinguished are who generally make up the population at Adairemere Academy. But no, I am not in any of those castes. Instead, I am a Commoner.

The Commoner caste mainly consists of small business owners or workers of both large and small businesses. Commoners aren't necessarily poor, we're simply not filthy rich. We lack the power that accompanies having an overwhelming amount of money. Most commoners live comfortable, healthy lives.

Then, after the commoners, the poorest, lowest, and final caste, is the Inferiors. The Inferiors are, as most people believe, exactly as their name states, inferior. The people in this caste are considered inferior to everyone else. Some people even go as far to consider them subhuman. Inferiors are generally given positions that nobody else wants, such as maintenance worker, sanitary worker, maid, butler, and jobs along those lines. Inferiors are most commonly very poor, sometimes unhealthy, and unclean.

Personally, I never understood the way Inferiors are treated. I don't even like the name and what it implies. To me they're just people who have been dealt a bad hand in life. Honestly, Inferiors are some of the most hardworking and sincere people I've ever met. They're so much better, in my opinion, than any Distinguished I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. To me, money doesn't make you a good person, or even desirable, it just gives you a higher caste title.

Unlike me, nobody ever seems to question the caste system. Nobody ever seems to question anything really. Everyone seems to be at peace with anything and everything that our society says is okay or not. Sometimes I'll find someone who will discuss things with me that they feel aren't right in hushed tones accompanied by paranoid glances around.

My best friend Jacob Neyri, who was almost 19, as he would point out all the time recently, and a Commoner too, was one of the few people who would discuss these topics with me. At first he refused to speak about it, insisting everything was perfect, that nothing could ever be wrong. Then, slowly, little by little, i got him to realise that maybe things were a bit messed up, maybe things weren't all that perfect. That things were more than a bit unfair. Now, me and Jacob talk all the time about everything and anything. Jacob took over his father's shop recently so we hadn't had much time to talk before I left to Sage.