dyad | ᵇᵒᵒᵏ ᵒⁿᵉ

⁷ ⁻ ⁿᵉʳᵛᵒᵘˢ.

In present day, they don't do that anymore. If you slip up, you end up down at the bottom. It's a very long way up. I walked side by side with Joshua, as there wasn't a car in sight. Cars were very rare around here, but occasionally, you could hear them in the distance. Joshua and I walked into Jerold's, one of the few still open shops around here. Jerold was a kind, middle aged man, with a long, black beard. His skin was a deep chocolate, and he always had a smile on his face. Sometimes, he would give me three, big bags of chips for being such "a princess." I always wondered how he kept this store is business, because his store was always stocked. I've asked him before, but he's always said that he has "connections".

Joshua disappeared into the aisles, while I simply browsed around. When I had extra change from grocery shopping, I would buy a few bags of chips, spicy of course. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned around, Joshua standing there holding a bag. It was black, and on the fabric were these little white flowers, which looked like they were ironed on. "For me?" I asked, a smile poking at my lips. He nodded, smiling at me. Joshua slipped the bag over my head, adjusting it on my shoulder. His eyes sparkled, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him. "Thank you, Josh! How'd you afford it?" He simply grinned at me, and left me in the aisle, going into the next one over. 

I smiled, looking down at the bag. It was perfect. He knew I had a thing for flowers, and this bag showed it. I would have to get Joshua something special in return. If only I knew what to get him. I would think of something eventually..hm. Joshua and I ended up getting two bags of chips, and two cans of Arizona Tea. We ate it on the rest of the walk home, and dumped it in the trash before we arrived. 

I pushed open the creaky door. The sound from the door echoed through the hall, and I closed the door behind me. The shortcut we took allowed us to enter through the back, where we had to walk through the flower garden Jennifer and Tiffany were starting. Joshua left me, as he headed up the stairs once we were inside. Walking down the hall, I passed the sun room, where Thomas was, reading one of his several books. In fact, it was like Thomas owned that little section of the house. The room got plenty of sunlight, and Thomas had several books in stacks. Entering the room, Thomas looked at me. "How was school?" I asked him. He shrugged, "Alright. What's with the jacket? It looks way too big for you."

A smile poked at my lips, but I shook my head at him. "I found it in my closet..cool, huh?" Thomas smiled, and nodded. I knew he was just going along with what I said, as I could see it in his eyes. He didn't press the subject, though and I continued on my way, leaving him to return to his book. I passed by the kitchen, where I grabbed one of the juice boxes out the fridge, going upstairs to check on King. I found him in the hallway, playing with his toy cars. His back was facing me, King sitting on his knees, rolling his cars back and forth. I decided to creep up behind him, but I stepped on a creaky floorboard and he turned around, catching me mid-creep. He giggled, getting up and wobbling over to me. His small arms wrapped around my thigh, and he rubbed his face against the fabric of my jeans. "Hello to you too, K," I smiled. He let my leg go, and resumed playing with his toys.

After school, the house was always quiet.

Everyone was off doing there own thing, but we came together to eat dinner. Continuing to my room, Mary was inside, pulling my dirty clothes out to do laundry. I didn't see why she didn't just let me do it; I was seventeen, far too old to be letting her wash my clothes. She stated that she needed "something to do", taking care of ten people was a lot. She was humming to herself and gave me a smile when I walked in. I placed my bag down, against the wall, plopping down on my bed. My bed was a striking contrast from the rest of my room. The foot board and headboard were gold, and I had white, fluffy sheets that made the bed look like it as fit for a princess.

"How was school today, baby?" Mary asked, closing my dressers, placing the blue laundry basket on top of it. I took off Josiah's jacket, showing her the red stains on my shirt. "What happened Mo?" she questioned, coming closer to inspect the stain on my shirt. "I bumped into some girl, and her juice split," I lied. I didn't want to tell her about Lily pouring my juice on my head. That would only make Mary upset, and I was exhausted from the long day I had. So I simply..let it go. She picked up the jacket, inspecting it. "Who's jacket is this?" 

Unfortunately, I had smiled before I could make up a lie. "Bloom, or Wilt, Monroe?" She asked. I looked down into my lap, mumbling. "Bloom," I said, and looked up at her. "He gave me his jacket. I didn't take it or anything." She looked down at the jacket, and then at me again. "Monroe, baby.." I already knew what she was going to say.

It never works out between a Wilt and a Bloom..someone finds out sooner or later.

And it was true. 

I couldn't just come outright and say, "Oh yeah, there's this handsome Bloom that seems to be everywhere I am. He also is a little crazy, or blind, because he is completely oblivious to the fact that I'm the poster child for being a Wilt." Then I would sound crazy. In my history class, I remember us watching a video on how it all came to be. It used to be worse back then. If you were caught even glancing at a Bloom, you could be stoned, lynched, anything like that. But it wasn't all peachy for Blooms, either. If someone found out about you having a relationship with a Wilt, they would kill you, and the Bloom as well. I don't even want to think about what they did to the children..

Nowadays, it isn't as bad. The Big Split was the worst part. But there's one highway that separated us all. Flower Field Bridge. There, you could see how different our lifestyles were. Where the Blooms lived was lively, beautiful homes and skyscrapers were almost everywhere. On our side, buildings were deteriorating, some falling apart at the seams. I had never been to the bridge before, but Mary told me that the bridge had a somber ambiance to it. Flowers were planted along the sides of the road, and I had heard that the flowers on the Bloom's side were vibrant, and the flowers thrived. On he Wilt side, however..none of the flowers ever grew. The select few that did grow never fully made it.  

I've always wanted to see the bridge, and hopefully, I would get to see it one day.

Surprisingly, I didn't get a lecture about how dangerous it was to be talking to Josiah. She wouldn't have to tell me, as I already knew. We were looked down upon by everyone, even by other Wilts, at times. We were the bottom of the bottom. I wouldn't have to be told twice. I believed it, and I had seen it with my own two eyes.

I was living proof of how it was so quick to be sent to the bottom.

It was funny..I was just a Bloom, about three or four years ago.

My "parents" had shielded me from what went on, and how separated this world actually was. 

Now I'm a Wilt..

And everything people had warned me about it was coming true. 

note: picture of Joshua provided