High Life | ✔️

13

- Jaxon Ortega

I almost groaned. Here I thought I would dedicate tonight to studying. But my stupid faction appeared to have other plans.

I proceeded to spend my afternoon going over as much of the syllabus as I could. By 7.45pm, I was starving and my brain was numb from how much Chemistry and History I'd crammed into my head. Luckily for me, I refilled my food inventory. So I unpacked a ham sandwich as I made my way to the cupboard to chose an outfit.

I groaned at the realization that I only had grandmother clothes in here. But I swiftly reminded myself that I was here to attain good grades, not to god forbid partake in a fashion show or to seduce people of the opposite sex.

I settled on a T-shirt and grey sweatpants that I appeared to be wearing a lot.

I found myself outside Room 203 of Block Bernadette at 7.55pm. Inside, there was only on person and he was Jaxon Ortega.

"What's today's meeting for?"

He was typing something on his laptop and he hardly spared me a glance. "To go over unspoken social rules. Since some people here think it's okay to perform certain misconducts outside the norms of what a Faction Fiver would consider conventional and rule-abiding."

"Feels like an awfully targeted insult."

"I mentioned no names," Jaxon said again, without glancing up at me.

I took a spot somewhere at the back of the classroom. As 8.00pm drew near, the classroom began to fill with my fellow Faction Fivers.

At 8.00pm on the dot, Jaxon stood up and beheld our faces.

"Thank you all for coming. I'll try to keep today's meeting short," he pressed on a small remote to turn on the digital screen behind him.

The screen came to life, detailing THE DOs AND THE DONTs. Jaxon swiped his hand midair, and the screen changed to the next slide. I barely had time to marvel over the greatness of technology before Jaxon began speaking.

"I pose this question to the twenty-five of you present today. What exactly does it mean to be apart of Faction Five?" Jaxon asked.

There were a few raised hands.

"Mary Ann?"

"Every faction is elite in their own special way. We are the specific demographic in charge of maintaining Richmond Park's good name."

"Kyle?"

"We brand this school. We're a functional bunch of faces placed at the admin's beck and call. Be it for public relations, banners or to offer up to Ivy Leagues."

"Abdelwaheed?"

"Means mindlessly being superior in terms of intellect to every other segment on campus. I oppose the whole Factional system, but it's functional in that it draws like mindedness into a bouquet."

"These are all very good characterizations, albeit the latter seemed more of a diatribe than necessary. I raise this question, ladies and gentlemen," Jaxon paused dramatically. "What if a Faction Fiver were to be caught loitering the accommodations belonging to their opposite gender?"