Obstinate Elitists

6

You were on your walk home from school. Sweat matting your forehead, underarms, thighs, and especially your back, everything felt uncomfortable in this hot uniform. The grip on your schoolbag's handle was tight, while this exhaustion was slowly taking over you, in every step you took. Today was a terrible day. It was much worst than you had anticipated, particularly in the fact that this school was not a regular one. Nearly getting in trouble for every class of the day, it was not something you were used to. You were not a bad student, but that was what it felt like today... and it confused you. There was this unwanted disappointment weighing heavily in your heart.

Oh how badly you wanted to cry. This feeling of being trapped in a silver cage made things seem hopeless. You were alone in this world. Nor did you know how this world worked. You missed everyone so much; what hurt the most was how you never got to say goodbye to anyone... you had taken your loved ones for granted. Only now when it's too late do you care. Tears welling up in the corners of your eyes, you furiously blinked them away. No doubt, you were going to cry all night long to wake up tomorrow with puffy eyes.

Memorization was your strongest point. It was the reason why you succeeded in school in your previous life. But now you cursed this skill, for you knew exactly where this new home of yours was. The thing was, you didn't want to return to see the unfamiliar woman that lived there. She had the touch of a mother and she comforted you this morning, but she could never replace your actual mother.

In just that moment, a shriek in the distance caused you to pause. Snapped out of your depressing thoughts, you turned your head to the left to see that it was a little kid. Screaming in excitement as he slid down a slide, he jumped onto the ground proudly. Assumed to be his mother on the bench, the woman clapped her hands together in approval. You blinked for a few moments. It was a park. Beige-brown chips decorated the ground below the playground. The blue plastic slide was accompanied by other slides and monkey-bars, able to be accessed by built in stairs. A rope like structure that allowed kids to climb up on was on the side. And lastly, a set of swings were creaking in the distance, pushed by the slight breeze.

This gave you an idea. Staying here for a while was the perfect excuse to not go home yet. Your steps paused and you began toward the park instead. Feet padding against soft, green, grass, the texture of it calmed you slightly. When you got to the actual playground, the little boy shot you a curious look. Attempting to smile to not look too intimidating to him, you were embarrassed when he looked away in indifference.

Going up to the swings, you sat down on the warm plastic seat. The metal creaking above you, it complained even more as you kicked your feet off the ground. You pushed yourself back and forth, hugging the schoolbag and peacefully enjoying the environment.

The rhythmic action calmed you a little too much. Letting out a yawn, you lean your head downward and closed your lids. A dark abyss greeted you, persuading you to come follow them. The warmth of your bag added to the sleepiness. Damn... you were so tired of everything. Mentally and physically. Your body was sore and so, so tired...

✽✽✽

"Hello? Are you okay?" a voice called out, disturbing your slumber. Fluttering your eyes open, you jerked your head upward, nearly colliding it to the stranger who had awoken you. "W-Woah, easy there. You almost hit me."

You glanced up to see it was a boy -- another boy who also wore the same school uniform as you. He had long, dark hair that was tied into a neat ponytail and brown hues that looked really pretty in the gold lighting of the sun. Very tall and slender, he reminded you of a model. He was very handsome. But that didn't stop you from wanting to groan. You swore to god, if he was another elite, you would pull all your hair out. If there was one thing you could gather from school today, it was that you had to avoid these elites. They would only cause you trouble in the future... you were sure of that.

"Sorry," you muttered. "I must've fallen asleep." You took a look at the sun tp see that it was steadily lowering to the horizons. How long had you slept for? It was most likely evening by now.

"Are you okay?" he repeated himself. "You don't look too well."

Why was everyone always so damn rude at this school? "No shit Sherlock," you snapped angrily. "I'm so tired of you guys bitching all the time."

He held his hands up in defense and immediately you felt bad. Scratching his head awkwardly, he sat down on the swings beside you, his long legs stretching out from him. "Bad first day of school?" he guessed, sending you a comforting glance. You raised your eyebrows. How did he know?

"Yes," you admitted, lowering your eyes to the ground.

His next words were even more surprising. "Same," he simply responded.

You looked up to see him staring in the distance, his features solemn. "Are you... not an elite?" you hesitantly asked.

To this, he released a bitter laugh that made you freeze. Maybe you were overthinking, but you could hear the pain, anger, and sadness that coated it. "I am not. Far from it. I'm just a regular student attending... Dawning High. Not like I want to become an elite anyway," he explained as he dug his feet into the chips of the playground.

"I see... I'm sorry for assuming. It's just that I've been seeing elites all day long, so I don't know... I guess my mind automatically assumes anyone is an elite now. I'm actually really happy to hear you're not one though," you explained rashly, your cheeks heating in embarrassment. Why'd you have to babble so much for?

He looked at you in awe, a beautiful grin stretching across his face. Your breath was almost taken away at how lovely he looked. Man, screw this Webtoon for making everyone look like sculpted gods and goddesses. "Really? I'm glad to finally meet someone who doesn't idolize them for once. I like you already. What's your name?"

"[Y/N]. What's yours?"

"What a pretty name. It's nice to meet you [Y/N]. I'm Eito," he told you, holding a hand out. Accepting the handshake, you smiled at him. He was nice and actually felt genuine. Perhaps he could be your friend... and perhaps you wouldn't feel so lonely in this strange world.

"Nice to meet you too."

His warm hand wrapped around yours gently and the two of you shook before letting go. He turned to look ahead again, swinging his legs forward and backward to begin swinging. His voice soothing and laced with concern, he asked you a question. "Do you mind telling me what's bothering you? It's okay if you don't want to though, of course."

Getting the feeling that you and him were in similar situations, you decided to tell him. As you described how all your classes went today, he listened diligently, his focus all on you. When you were done, it felt like a heavy weight had been taken off your shoulders, to know that someone understood.

"Hey, don't beat yourself too much, okay? I can see you're someone who would do something like that, but trust me. It's not worth it. I know that it's hard for now, but we can both get through this. After all, there's only one more year left at this hell hole, right?"

"Y-Yes, of course," you said, stumbling over your words. He made a lot of sense. He really did. But unfortunately, you didn't tell him the full story: that you were not originally from here... and that you went from the top of the food chain to the bottom. It was going to be extremely difficult to adjust to this -- a long journey awaited you. Rubbing your still tired [e/c] hues, you pushed yourself up from the swing seat. "I better get going. It's getting late. Thank you so much for listening and I'm sorry about earlier."

He nodded and got up from the swings as well. "You're fine... and anytime," he replied softly, sending you another smile that warmed your cold heart. He then shyly looked away. "Maybe... maybe we can eat lunch together tomorrow?"

"I would love to. Thank you," you said, beaming. Extremely excited that you wouldn't have to eat alone anymore, you mentally jumped for joy. Bidding him goodbye with a small wave, you walked away from the park, heading towards home. You then wondered if this new mother of yours would be angry or worried for coming home late. You hoped not.

The orange-pink sky with its wispy-looking clouds looked mesmerizing to you, so you gazed up at it, lost in your thoughts. Grateful that this new friend could somewhat distract you from the sad thoughts that hung in the back of your mind, for now, you were going to appreciate this temporary, good mood. Tomorrow was going to bring in a lot more troubles that scared you endlessly, but that was a problem for future you.