Outside

Chapter 2

I wake up, not realizing that at some point my memory had become a lucid dream until I'm staring at the ceiling of the Sleeping Quarters.
I'm worried about him.
I don't want him to be alone. I don't wanna be alone either. We're an inseparable duo. A yin and yang of his physical health issues and my mental health ones. It's a trauma bond, and I don't wanna lose him, especially over a dumb reason like this.

I've always hated the Transfer Events.  I honestly don't care if I'm chosen or not.  I don't care about the "honor" or "privilege" of it. No one like me would ever be even considered anyway. It's better to not care than to get wrapped up in what will only hurt me. 
There was a time, though, when I did care about the Transfer Events.  It was my first competition 3 years ago.  I remember being filled with so much hope that I'd be chosen.  I remember standing still in terror as my best friend Ellie was exiled for a mere scar on her arm that she had gotten from a playground incident when she was a toddler.

One thing that I don't hate about Transfer Event days is that I don't have to get up early for school, and boy do I use that to my advantage.

I'm the last one to wake up out of all the people in my room.  I finally sit up and look around it until my eyes find the clock above the door.  12:00. I slept 'til 12:00. 

I stand up and put on my shoes.  I don't even bother to change out of my PJs before I go get breakfast... lunch... whatever.  My brain is still too foggy to process everything that had happened the day before.  All I can think about right now is what kind of bagel I'm going to eat. 

I enter the lunch hall to find it filled with giggling girls, all naive and joyous, chatting about rumored news on the clothes, sponsors, and their dreams of being chosen.  I, myself, don't care about any of those things right now.  Right now, all I care about is food.

There is no sign of Kyan or any of the boys here.  Part of me is worried about where they might have taken them, but I'd know soon enough.  Tonight the groups would be together again, for the last time until next year's Transfer Event.  I try to plan out what I'm going to do, but all the options I can come up with end terribly. 

Time flies when you're trying to plan a small rebellion.

2:00 shows up and I still don't have any clue how I'm going to bring the groups back together.  I'm still thinking as the lavender-haired beauty artist from the Opulent curls my hair and covers the visible half of my face with makeup.  She doesn't say anything about the hair covering the other side of my face, and she doesn't even do anything about it, which I'm happy about.  I join the other girls in the dressing room to find a frilly pink dress with white ribbons waiting for me on a bench.  A small place card lays over it depicting my name.  I put the dress on, and the bottom barely reaches my knees.  I want to hate it, but I don't.  Do I feel 5? Yeah. But I also feel... pretty.
I spin and it frills out like an umbrella.  The dress almost hypnotizes me and I begin to forget how much I actually hate these events.  Maybe I was overreacting. I think.  Maybe I can go through life like this, without... 

I pause as I'm suddenly shoved into the waiting room with all the rest of the people my age.  The walls are diamond cushioned red cloth and the floors are white carpet, slightly greyed by the dirt on everyone's shoes.  Benches line the walls followed by a white door in the corner.  Boys and girls scatter in groups, nervously chatting, knowing they wouldn't see each other anytime soon.

I see him.

I see Kyan.

He sits with a group of guys, all wearing the same black suit with a black tie.  He looks terrible.  And knowing how anxious he gets, he probably feels terrible too.
He rubs his puffy, red eyes and looks around the room.  Our eyes meet and he jumps to his feet, running towards me. 

"Nox!"  He yells above the crowd. 

He stops in front of me.  We don't say a word to each other.  We simply stare at each other, trying to capture an image in our minds to keep us from forgetting what each other looked like.

"You look awful."  I say bluntly.

"Thanks."  He replies sarcastically.  "That's kind of ironic, since the first thing I was going to say to you was how great you look."

I playfully punch him in the arm.  "Thank you."  I reply, my eyes losing contact with his. "Are you... ok? You look like—"
"I'm as good as you'd expect."
"Yeah, and that's not good at all." I tell him, my tone firming.
He laughs nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Well, then you have your answer."
"Did all this make you sick? Your stuff and stress have never been a good combo." I reach my hand up and place it gingerly on his forehead. Nothing too abnormal.
"How about we don't spend our last moments together talking about my health." He says, sighing a shaking breath. "That's just... more depressing."

I search my mind for something to say.  Usually conversation just flows when I'm talking to him, but now it's different.  This may be the last conversation we'll ever have with each other.  I'd have to wait an entire year before seeing him again, and who knows where our relationship would stand at that point. Who knows if we'll both even be here by that point.

"I saw you hanging out with some people over there.  Have you made some friends?"  I ask with a forced smile on my face.  I await the answer, hesitant to hear it.  I don't know what I want him to say.  As much as I want him to be happy, I don't want him to have forgotten me so easily.

He sighs.  "They may think so.  They're not friends to me, though."  He folds his arms.  "You know you're the only person I consider my friend."  He admits.  I feel my face getting warm.  "I'd do anything to get things back to how they were."  He tells me.

Anything?  I think.  I suddenly know exactly what I'm going to do. 

The Transfer Event begins with a bang as the announcer's booming voice pierces the room. 

"Tonight, like we always do, the girls go up first, followed by the boys, and one by one they will say their name, age, and average grade along with their height and weight."  I realize the voice is the same one from yesterday night.  "They will leave the stage until the end where everyone joins together again and our lovely group of Opulent men and women will chose who they want to take home as their household assistant."

With thousands of kids and somewhere between 50-100 owners, it's stupid to think someone like me would ever be chosen.  13-year-old me had my hopes way too high.

Everything went on as usual.  The names were called alphabetically, meaning I wouldn't be called for a while.  I sit next to Kyan on one of the benches.  We don't say a word to each other. We simply try to take in what could possibly be the last time we see each other.  That is, if my plan fails.

I feel Kyan's fingers slowly entangling with mine.  I squeeze his hand and look over at him.  I care too much about him to let him go this easily.

"Next up is... Nox."  I hear over the loudspeaker.  I stand up, but Kyan doesn't let go of me.  I look back at him.  He's staring at the floor with his fringe covering his pale face.

"Don't do anything stupid."  He tells me before letting go.  I more forward.  He knows me too well.  So well that he should know I'm not going to listen to him.

The crowd is bigger than usual.  Around 200 people sit in white cushioned chairs with clipboards and clothes much fancier than I could ever wear.  I stand mid-stage and begin introducing myself.  I fold my arms and a shiver goes down my spine, goosebumps flooding my arms.  Am I actually going to do this? I ask myself.  Who am I kidding. I can't stand by and do nothing.

"My name is Nox, I am 16 years old, and I have something important to say about the leadership of this place..."