• 1










    "Look, she said something about my mom being a snobby b***h. And, though I agree with her, was I just supposed to sit there?" I asked Kiore Rivers, the principle. I watched her already thin lips purse at my curse word. Please. As if no one else curses.
    "Yes, Ms. Montgomery, that's exactly what you should have done. Or you should have gotten one of the many teachers at the assembly. You could have used one of those witty retorts you always have—" I snorted. "But you most certainly should not have punched her."
    "Come one, it couldn't have hurt that bad. It'll leave a bruise, but it could have been a lot worse. At least I didn't break her nose. And it's not like she didn't deserve it! I mean, shaming the queen? Can you say treason? Besides, she's the snobby b***h."
    Her nostrils flared and I saw what was coming next. I didn't even have time to sigh.
    "Andrea, you are out of line!" she shouted.
    I couldn't help my flaring temper, so I jumped up out of my dark blue seat.
    "I am not out of line! Why is it that all of the students here can see the assholes in this school, but no one else can? She specifically sets out to get people in trouble. So, yeah, I'm going to say that she's a b***h. And then punch her. She acts like my family wouldn't overrule hers anyway. I mean, I'm royal too! I just choose not to flaunt my power. In fact, if I had a choice, I'd choose not to be a royal." Not that I didn't enjoy the expensive perks or the extravagant materials you got. I just hated the way that everyone treated me; like because my mother was a pristine b***h I had to be.
    I was nothing like her.
    "Sit down Andrea, and you have detention the day after we come back to school. And, if you lay a hand on anyone again, I will have no choice but to send you to a different school."
    I gaped at her before exploding.
    "You can't do that! You can't take me away from everything and everyone that I know and love! This is the one place where I can say I'm remotely happy. Sure, there are some people I want to beat the crap out of, but Lara's here! She's all I have. You can not take me away."
    "Oh, yes I can. And I can make it so that you are in lock down at that other school. You won't be able to see Lara again if I have a say in it."
    I stared at her disbelievingly. She could not take away the one person in my life that made it worth while. And, without me, she'd be out to face the cruel world. I couldn't let her be subjected to that. So I would behave, I decided in the small amount of time I had. For the moment.
    "Fine, but when the day comes when you figure out that I helped her by making her shut her mouth, you're going to regret every detention you gave me. Something bad is going to happen and you are going to wish you'd listened." I grabbed my black bag and tossed my dark brown hair over my shoulder, leaving the room with her mouth hanging open.
    As I knew she would be, Lara was waiting outside the ornate door. Her face had that permanent mixture of worry and sadness that always seemed to make home when I did something she didn't approve of.
    "What happened?" she asked in a tired voice. I knew what my outbursts did to her and I instantly felt bad, despite my strong belief that I was right.
    "I got detention. It's no big deal." I instantly decided that I would not tell her about the recent development. She didn't have to worry about me. "I also totally told her off. I told her about how when she opens her eyes to all the stuff that goes on around here, she's going to regret lecturing me all the time. I teach them a lesson when they need to be taught."
    "No you don't. You just felt like punching her. I mean, Ashley is kind of mean, but you didn't need to punch her. She looked really hurt." It was totally like her to sympathize for the enemy.
    "Please, she'll get over it. Did you expect me to just let her talk about you?" How did I wind up with a best friend that was pacifist?
    "You could have just cursed her out or threatened to beat her up. You do it all the time." She smirked lightly. It was true.
    "She called you a peasant. I couldn't stand by or call her a b***h. That wasn't going to cut it. I had to make her hurt. She made you hurt."
    My world is the same as yours, except a little further in the future. It's still a dog eat dog kind of place, except now a days we take it a little bit too literally. There are three different types of people, who are normally born into the place, like a caste system back in the day. I guess the world has regressed quite a lot hasn't it?
    Well, there are the people in High Class, there are the Middle Classed peeps, and there are the people in Lower Class. The title High Class kind of speaks for itself. It includes people that were powerful, rich, and royal. We— and yes, it pains me to say that I am part of that group—tend to be very gaudy about our power. In this world, my mother just so happens to be the queen, making me everything I don't want to be.
    The people in Middle Rank are the equivalent to human middle class. Then the citizens that are Lower Class have low income jobs, mostly working for the royals. Lara and her parents were Low Classed, as people so keenly reminded her whenever she was made fun of.
    That's actually how we'd come to be friends. Back in the day, which was a Tuesday now that I think about it, Ashley Lawrence, the prissy girl I'd just sent to the nurse, had been making fun of her. As you can see, not much had changed since that Tuesday.
    I snapped and went on a rampage. I wasn't above kicking and/or biting.
    Well, bringing me back to the present, Lara smiled shyly at me.
    "You didn't tell Kiore that did you?" she asked.
    "No, I made up some crap about her talking about my mom. As if. If she had, she and I would be friends."
    "You really shouldn't be so mean to your mom. It's not her fault she's royal," she said, shaking her head in a disapproving way. She thought that all families should be like hers, close and loving. I, unfortunately—or could it be thought of as fortunately— did not have that relationship.
    "She could be more graceful about it though. She doesn't have to be so crisp and perfect and prim. She could be more like—like—"
    "Like you?" she asked snorting.
    "Is that supposed to be an insult?" I asked, putting my hands on my fairly defined hips.
    "No," she laughed. "It's just that I can't imagine Amelia Montgomery, queen of the world, being like you. Where would your family be if she punched every politician she didn't like?" I made a show of imagining the insanity.
    "In that case, I'll make the suggestion to her next time I see her. But, now that I think about it, it might be a while." We were outside of the administrations office at this point. We walked along the concrete streets of The Academy for Adolescents, TAA. Kids started going to the school in preschool, and stayed until they graduated in twelfth grade.
    The old buildings were constructed in stones of all colors to create a mosaic that treated the eyes nicely. They had an air of ancient mystery about them that often made some of the new students always want to look over their shoulders.
    The modern street lamps were turned on as it was nearly dark outside. The sun was setting in the far west beyond the forest that infringed on the school everywhere. The late fall weather had me pulling my jacket tighter.
    The fact that I'd had to stay after the assembly meant the outside was nearly empty, save the stray student or two that paid us no mind. Everyone was battening down the hatches as they got ready for another freezing night in Michigan.
    It turns out that state names don't change, even five hundred years after they were assigned.
    In our little school, we were isolated from the rest of the world. The round the clock guards protected us from crazies and murderers and whoever else might want to kill us. Like I said, dog eat dog world.
    They walked the streets unnoticed and unseen. It was a little creepy. Most of the students here depended on them to keep us safe from the rogue lower class people that occasionally went crazy and decided to kill anyone that crossed them because they were unhappy with their place in the world. Extreme, definitely. But it happened.
    But some of the kids were like me. Scratch that. Almost none of them were like me, but I've met on or two. They protected themselves. I'd decided when I was little that I would learn how to fight. I essentially taught myself. In my room, I'd had one of those huge punching bags and I'd practice for hours each day until I could do every move in the book with precision and power.
    I didn't need a guard. I protected myself and Lara from the world and ourselves.
    "She's needed all over the place. You can't blame her for not being there so often. Not many of the kids' parents here do anyway," Lara insisted.
    "Yours do," I said.
    "Well, I'm special." We shared a long look, before we broke out laughing. This was one of the reasons we were good friends. When I was wound up until I wanted to go on a royal-punching spree, she could calm me down.
    "I really wish you'd stop defending her. I know it's not completely her fault, but it makes me jealous sometimes that you have a real family, and I kind of don't."
    "You have a real family. It might not be the American dream, but it's a family. Remember when Gabby lost her parents to her servant who went crazy? At least you don’t have to deal with that." It had been a dark day when we'd found out about that.
    One of the other really royal families were the O'Gara's, and a few years before, one of their servants of sort had gone royally insane and gone on a killing rampage, killing Gabriella's parents. She'd been a wreck for months, and I don't think she ever really got over it. How can you get over the death of your parents?
    "You're right, I don't." It was quiet for a long while. After another second, I shoved her lightly. "Why do you got to be so depressing?"
    "I'm sorry, you're right. I shouldn't do or say anything depressing. After all, no school on Monday, tomorrow, or the day after that! Wahoo!" I laughed at her enthusiasm.
    "Yeah, break!" It wasn't really a break per say, but hey; whatever let's you sleep at night, right? Monday was a holiday for some weird saint. It's said that he had done one thing or another to save us from something. I didn't really follow any of that stuff.
    She laughed. "Hey, what do you think Garret O'Connell, the new kid, is gonna be like?" she asked. At the gathering, Kiore had announced that this guy was being transferred from the European TIYA.
    "I think he's going to be a douche. European royals are even worse than American ones. He's going to be snobby, annoying, and probably blonde."
    "Hey, I'm blonde!" she said, pointing obviously to her head.
    "Yeah, but you're a cool blonde. There are blondes that you can either tell is bleached or like a daffodil color. Yours is cool and icy. It goes well with your blue eyes."
    "Thanks. Well, I think that your strangely purple eyes are awesome, and you're mom must have had some pretty wicked hair back in the day, because you must have inherited it from her." I smiled in thanks to her. I'd always loved my mid-back length hair. It was glossy, dark, and perfect.
    "You and I both know that my eyes are from her too. And I happen to be happy that she had Alexandria's Genesis. I mean, purple eyes are awesome." Alexandria's Genesis was a supposed myth for a very long time, until it was a proven gene, and it is a genetic mutation that gives you purple eyes. I happened to just adore mine.
    We walked into our dorm, happy to be out of the frost. We walked past all the girls in the lounge. They watched me cautiously. I had this feeling that they had just been talking about me.
    "Hey Andy, how bad is it this time?" yelled a guy I knew from forever ago. I turned to Ryan Gostavich, the black haired royal who was the closest to me as anyone I'd met. The royals at least. I smiled happily at him.
    "Well, I got detention, but that's nothing new."
    "Dude, I saw that punch, and let me just tell you, awesome! She had it coming though. Sorry about what she said to you, Lara. Sometimes rich people can be the biggest asses." She smiled at him. She liked him too.
    "Don't worry about it. I know what you mean. I was just trying to tell Andy that she doesn't need to punch everyone who makes fun of me."
    "Well, if she didn’t, I would've. She had no right. Just because your family isn't as popular as hers does not mean that she can say that you belong in rags and with a mop in your hands. Ashley is such a b***h." She laughed, and turned her batting eyelashes onto him. I watched the two in amazement. I don't think they even noticed.
    "Thanks, I think. But serious, don't get in trouble because of me. I can take care of myself."
    "Well, you don't need to do that all the time. You got people watching your back." He did the worst thing. He beat his chest twice and gave her the peace sign. She laughed a laugh that could most definitely be considered flirty.
    "Hey Ryan, come on! The Giants are about to score!" one of his friends called. He shouted a reassurance of his coming before turning back to Lara.
    "I'll talk to you later," he said before sweeping her a gallant bow and returning to his friends.
    I watched a blush creep up her delicate, pale cheeks and neck. I cleared my throat and she turned to me. I gave her the look. The one that said Um- Hello! Am – I- Missing- Something?
    "What?" she asked.
    "Do you and Mr. Ryan have something goin' on?" I asked. Her eyes widened at the accusation.
    "No!" she said, almost over defensively. I raised my eyebrows in a suggestive way. "Okay, I like him. I mean, he's so nice to me. It's an appealing change. He's cute too." She shrugged her shoulders and averted her guilty eyes.
    "Hey, I'm not judging," I said, raising my hands in truce. "He's cool. I approve. I've always liked him as a friend. I say, nice choice Lar." She showed her pearly whites in a gracious gesture.
    "Let's go upstairs," she said. She and I were roommates. We had been since we first became friends in kindergarten. And don't think my math is off because we still met when I defended her from the very stuck up chick I'd just punched. And as sad as it is to admit, even kindergarteners can be bitches.
    "I agree. Everyone looking at me is starting to get annoying. I mean, I'm all for attention, but it's like they think I can't see them," I told her before turning to a group of whisperers. "Yes, I punched Ashley this very afternoon. Yes, I am violent. And yes, I will go violent on your a** unless you stop your whispering already. I can hear you, you know."
    They all, in a very inconspicuous manner I might add, turned their heads and started talking about ski trips and large, expensive presents. I noticed almost everyone else stop looking at me too. I must have been louder than I thought. It tended to happen a lot.
    "Let's get you out of here before you hurt someone else," she laughed before pulling me up the side staircase into our wing where our dorms were. The stair case reminded me of a cave as I spiraled upward towards our room.
    The grey stones were placed in no particular order. They let off a medieval feel that was only intensified by the sudden change in atmosphere from warmth, and riches to this. Our steps echoed in the eerie darkness that blanketed us like a velvet cape. The few gaslights placed on the walls shed close to no light.
    "Why did we take this hallway?" Lara asked. "It always creeps me out." I snorted. The sound reverberated off the walls in the following silence. I looked at her.
    "Oh, you were serious," I said. She glared feebly. "I'm sorry. Why didn't you say anything?"
    "You always want to take this one. It's quicker."
    "I can take a different way, though I'll do so in distain, if you can explain why you don't like it." I offered. "I mean, not why you don't like it because I can understand that. But why does it creep you out so much?"
    "I don't know? I just get this bad vibe from it. It's like I can feel something bad is going to happen here. I just don't know what it is or when it's going to happen." I must have been looking at her like she was crazy because she backpedaled. "Never mind. It's probably nothing."
    At that moment we walked through the metal door that led to our floor. The grey plush carpet squished under my sneakers. The familiar dark blue walls were welcoming. We walked passed each plain wood door until we came to ours, which was covered in random pictures and ribbon and streamers. By some miracle, we'd managed to maintain the door for years. Sure, the pictures were yellowing and some of the glitter was missing, but it was amazing that we'd kept it intact. I think that part of the reason we still had most of the stuff on the door was people were afraid of me.
    I took my key from my pocket, unlocked the door, and walked in. You could immediately see the difference between our personalities. Each half of the room was a completely different person. That's another reason we were good together. I was the hot tempered, unthinking, raging one who fought. She was the one that planned things in advance, was nice to everyone, even if they didn't deserve it, and she was the one who didn't like causing big scenes.
    Her side of the room reflected to way I saw her. The room was divided in half, hers the right, mine the left and they were painted different colors. We're normally not allowed to paint the walls, but I can be very persuasive.
    Her side was painted a pretty aqua color, and her bed sheets and comforter were a golden yellow. She had little trinkets all over her bookshelves, which were comparatively bare to mine, and her side-table. Her grandmother's locket hung on a nail above her bed. It was really quaint and welcoming.
    My side was painted a limey, electric green. My blankets and things were dark brown that nearly matched my hair perfectly. My black bookshelves were crowded with books. When I wasn't practicing my side kick or doing my ever supplied homework, I was reading a book. I loved being able to escape the messed up world and find stories that could develop and emerge the way you saw it.
    I had pictures of the previous Christmas and Lara's birthday where I'd thrown her a surprise birthday party. They were the memories that no one could take away from me.
    We each had a desk and a laptop. I'd given her one a long time ago. She couldn't afford one herself. There was one thing my mother was good for. If you bugged her about something for long enough, she'd give you whatever you wanted as long as you left her alone.
    I sat in my lime green desk chair and plugged my I-pod into the I-Home. I started it on Jack's Mannequin's newest album and turned it up to a dull roar. I spun around once in my chair while Lara went to sit on her bed.
    I gripped the pine desk to stop myself and spun half way to face her. "So, Ryan?"
    And from there we went on to gossip about every inch of Ryan's being. We giggled and gasped at appropriate moments as we shared the goods about him.
    When we were all gossiped out, we sat down and did some of our some of our homework while chatting about life, school, and what was in and out this week. We both decided that Ashley Lawrence was out, as was blood on your cute Marc Jacob's shirt. We also decided that Ryan and stiletto boots were in.
    I had one monster of an English paper due that was never going to get done unless someone drugged me, stuck me in this room and locked the door shut with nothing but my laptop. I was never good about planning ahead, you know? The whole one page a day for the next week and half and then three days of editing just wasn't my game. I had a horrible habit of procrastinating so I was tugging the hair out of my skull the day before deadline.
    Lara always told me not to do that, but I can't help it. I have other things to do than write about why Brontë decided to make her characters so unappealing. I loved reading, but the writing was beyond me.
    I wrote a solid three pages before my brain was fried. Lara was good at writing so she was nearly done with her paper already. I envied her mercilessly.
    I glanced at the clock and nearly fell to my knees in gratitude to the universe. I finally had a real excuse to get away from my wretched laptop.
    It was dinner time.
    "We gotta go Lar. We're gonna miss dinner." She logged off her account and shut down her computer. I just closed mine, being irresponsible as I was.
    I shoved my feet into my black Uggs and followed Lara. She was out the door quicker than I could even comprehend. Every time. Some would suggest, not every time. But no, every time.
    We ran, stumbling over our own feet as we tried to get down to the cafeteria of sorts. It was more like a restaurant. It had a warm color scheme. The booths had a maroon velvet upholster and the walls were a coffee color.
    There was a huge chandelier that hung over the students as they dined on steak and stir fry. I walked up to the big table in the middle of the room that looked almost like a tribute and grabbed a plate.
    I began piling my plate high with steak kabobs and rice. I took a piece of chocolate cake from the desert section and a can of coke from the refrigerator, or fridgigater to me and Lara.
    We walked to an open booth in the back corner of the room, trying to talk above the roar of the rest of the students.
    "So, where's Ashley now?" she asked me while she look a bite of her healthier salad. I took a bite of steak and pepper then chased it down with a swig of coke before answering.
    "Well, I heard she was in the nurse. I'm pretty sure I didn’t break her nose, but it isn't going to be that creamy white color for a while. It's going to be black, then a bluish color, and then it’s going to fade to a pretty yellow color. Yay for her."
    "You know, you could try being a little nicer to people. Maybe if you got to know her, you weren't be so tempted to beat the crap out of her all the time," Lara suggested after taking a few more bites of her dinner.
    "I don't wanna," I whined. She laughed at my childishness. "It's not fair. Why do I have to be one of them? It just makes the expectations that much more disappointing when I do something bad. And I always do. You have no idea how lucky you are Lara."
    "Yeah, I'm lucky. All the insults and lack of status in the world and life are just some of the perks of being where I am," she said skeptically.
    "We're quite a pair aren't we? Neither one of us can stand the way things are."
    "At least we have each other."
    "Yeah. And I thank whoever is in charge of the world and fate and all that jazz every day for it. I don't know what I'd do without you."
    "You'd surely curl up defensively just to get through another day only to find that there's another one coming tomorrow."
    "Surely," I agreed seriously. We looked at each other for a second before bursting out into laughter.
    "So, what's new?" I asked. "I mean, it's been a whole period since we saw each other last. Is there anything I should know about?" She smiled.
    "Nope, not that I can recall."
    "Well, that's not nearly as fun as I imagined it. Are you sure there were no fights in Trig, no teacher passing out? No…anything?"
    "Alright, well, there was one thing that had everyone cracking up. It's not the most amazing story, but whatever. It's a story."
    "That's fine. I love a good not amazing story."
    I settled in for what was bound to be a funny story. She didn't find much amazing, and when she said it wasn't amazing, we made it amazing, and wound up practically seizing.
    That's what was good about friendship like ours. We could make anything fun when we were together.