I took my regular seat at the back of the classroom; Alden sat down next to me. Fickle, Craven, and Link took the three in front of us, with Craven ensuring the latter was placed at the far end. The hair along my neck prickled uncomfortably as we sat in silence, Alden removing the white bag from his shoulders and pulling out a collection of books. It was probably more banned literature he was going to try to push on me.
“You’re likely very good at school, are you not?” Alden began to sort out his supplies, casting me a glance from the corner of his eye. “I mean, coming from the city’s and most likely the nation’s most powerful family, you must already know their history.”
“Yeah, I’ve always excelled at schoolwork.” I pulled a pencil from my bag’s side pocket, nervously tapping it against the desk.
“You must know a lot about our technology, yes?” Was he going to keep pressuring me with these questions?
“Yes, my parents have taught me how it all works. They expect me to help them when I’m older.”
“Have they any plans to expand outside the city?” Ms. Carol began to read off today’s schedule, though Alden paid her no attention.
“They already have. They’ve put servers in every major city in the country. When I take over, I’m going to expand our reach to rural areas as well. I wouldn’t want anyone to miss out on the advantages my parents have introduced.” It was true. I’d already mapped out my plan of placing server bases in every city so everyone could benefit from my parents’ inventions. Everyone had a right to this kind of life.
“I see,” He hummed softly, examining his pencil as though it held the world’s most important information. “So, y-”
“Are you going to keep prodding me for information?” I turned to look at him, eyes slightly narrowed. “Or will you say something about yourself, too?”
“You want to know about me?” He raised a brow, taking the packet Ms. Carol annoyingly tossed down on his desk. She tossed one at me, too, though I didn’t make any move to grab it. “Why would you want to know anything about a commoner like myself?”
“Well, you were bothering me for information, so it’s only right I bother you too!” I pointed accusatorily at him. “And don’t take this as me wanting to be introduced to the likes of someone like yourself. I’m only returning the favor. Don’t let it boost your ego.”
Alden laughed, a light-hearted, barely audible chuckle. “And to think you might’ve actually been interested in my story. What a foolish thought of mine.”
Before he could say more, Craven turned around, staring me down as though he’d heard me insult his bloodline. “Are you being bothersome?”
My finger rose to point at myself without a second thought. “Me?” After all that, I was certainly not the bothersome one!
“From what I’m hearing, it sounds like you’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.” He glanced over at Alden. “If he’s bothering you, there’s another desk up here. Don’t let him pressure you into giving him information.”
They were acting like I was a spy!
“What good would information on his life do for me? I don’t care what happened to him. It’s not like he’s got an influential family who would be helpful for my parents.”
Craven raised a brow. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious! You really think I’d-”
“Do you seriously not recognize him?”
Recognize him?
The words died in my mouth as I turned to look at the blonde. He was staring at me with somber pink eyes, the corners of his lips twisted into a half-hearted smile. Recognize him…? Where would I-
“Oh my gosh.”
Suddenly, the image hit me: a blonde couple in the middle of the street, signs at their feet as they protested against the headset mandate. They had been hollering about the “dangers of technology” for hours, giving pamphlets with statistics and “research” out to anyone willing to listen. Several people reported them for disturbance, though when my parents sent the police to try to stop them, they refused to back down, claiming they had a right to speak in a public space. A stand-off lasted for two hours before my father went out to the scene, approaching with a gun in his waistband. The husband tried to approach him with his hand in his coat, yelling about how important it was that they heed their warning and stop the expansion. My father claims that he could see the trigger of a gun in his coat and, to save his own life, he shot him down before he could get any closer. Photographers caught and distributed images of the woman reaching out to her husband’s corpse, his lifeless pink eyes focused on the camera. Those pink eyes…they were the same as Alden’s. The man my father had killed all those years ago was the father of the boy next to me.
