COTE: Pawns

the bus scene

"Manipulation is all about control, and in the end, the controller will always come out victorious."

———

Colour.

There's red, blue, grey, yellow, maroon, green, purple and endless more in my line of site.

Everywhere around me there was just... colour.

Undeniably, there was white... but... every other colour seemed to drown the white, covering it up as if it were just some background thing. Of course, white isn't actually a colour but a shade. Nonetheless, I'm finally free.

Free from the shackles that bound me to the reigns of that man. I could do whatever I pleased, well, not technically.

I'm currently on my way to the famous Advanced Nurturing High School, ANHS for short. In other words, you could picture it like a bigger prison of sorts. Contact from beyond the gates of the school was completely forbidden and it was mandatory to stay within campus grounds. Despite it being a larger prison, it was the only place where I couldn't be controlled. I was protected. It was far more beneficial than wandering the world knowing that I was constantly being tailed by him.

Around me, there was a handful of people wearing the same uniform as I, indicating that they were also headed to my destination. What piqued my curiosity was a black-haired girl reading a book. It confused me. From the knowledge I'd acquired from my limited time outside of the White Room, the majority of people my age wouldn't read such serious books as 'Crime and Punishment' which she was reading. Although, I don't blame her. It's a good book.

A quote from said book that resonates with me would be... 'Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence.' After all, my whole life since birth was pain and suffering, was it not?

Before she had noticed my staring, I swiftly looked away and stared out of the window, immersing myself in the newly brought colour in my life. Dozens of people were outside, each different from the other. There were groups of people, just talking naturally to each other. Friends.

Moving onto the concept of friends, how does one make them? Do you share a lunch? Or perhaps engage in a conversation. Or maybe it's an act that requires a long period of time to get to know the other. From my vast knowledge of everything, sociability is one thing I have no knowledge of. For the White Room to boast about creating and shaping the new generation of beasts, to think that they wouldn't teach one of the most necessary things in life. Perhaps they thought I would be trapped within their grasp for eternity and never have to interact with those beneath me after taking rule of Japan.

I took a small glance at the people entering the bus, the last, and unfortunate, to enter the bus had no chance of getting a seat. To make matters worse, it was a frail, old lady who had problems standing upright.

What would be the right move here? I could save my energy and not give her my seat, pretending I have no acknowledgement for her whatsoever. Or I could give her my seat and contribute to society and gain praise for doing so.

Judging from the fact that I would most likely never see this old woman again, and even if there was a chance, she might be dead by the time I was out of the three years of high school, I decided on the first option. I paid no mind to her because quite frankly, I'd rather just not stand up.

"Shouldn't you give up your seat?" A voice echoed throughout the silent bus, "You're in priority seating after all."

At first, I thought she was talking to me as I wasn't looking in the direction she was speaking. Fortunately, she wasn't.

The guy began to chuckle and comb his hair, "My my, you're a pretty girl, aren't you? I understand that this is priority seating love, but theirs no law enforcing me to give it up. You think a perfect existence like mine should have to stand because I'm young. Nonsense. Sure, I'm younger than her, but standing uses a lot more energy than sitting. Why should I sacrifice my health for her?"

He was right. There was no denying it. Even the others around him would agree. They all had a look of sympathy for the old woman but none of them wanted to move. None of them wanted to get up and give up their seat. It was amusing, to say the least.

"Because you'd be contributing to the greater good of society, and take a look at this poor woman, she's having trouble standing upright," She retaliated against him while helping the woman stand upright. Although she was right, it would be contributing to society, no one, especially him, would even think twice about giving up their seat.

"I have zero interest in contributing to the society. Besides, there are plenty of others who could give up their seats. Furthermore, I don't see much of a difference between a priority seat and a regular one, so ask someone else to be a hero." He replied coolly, pulling out a mirror and a comb, and fixing his hair that didn't even need fixing.

Eventually, because their guilty conscience consumed them, some mid-thirty office woman gave up her seat, sanding and holding onto a nearby vacant pole.

The rest of the bus ride continued in silence, the only sound that could be heard was the engine of the bus as clothes ruffling against someone else's clothes. To me, the silence was comfortable.

The only silence I had known was sitting in a room by myself, doing an exam by myself and laying in a bed, by myself not speaking. Originally, it wasn't silence. The silence was drowned by the cries of children my age.

Though, over the years, it died down. Why? Because over the years, I became the last standing.

I looked out of the window once more and there I saw it. ANHS slowly got bigger as the bus continued moving closer. Undeniably, it was a large school, after all, the government poured their money into establishing it. I readied myself to get off the bus and stood up, awaiting the life that I dreamed of, finally managing to get it.

Once the bus stopped, I and several other people got off, I being ahead of all of them due to the excitement of freedom coursing through my veins.

Preparing myself for the adventure, I was suddenly stopped in my tracks, "Hey you!" Well, from what I know, isn't that slightly rude? For someone you haven't even met, to confront them with a 'Hey, you!'? I turned around to see the black-haired girl who was reading Crime and Punishment on the bus.

"Yes?" I responded to her rude gesture.

"Why were you staring at me?" She asked, looking directly into my eye, not caring about the tone of her voice. Perhaps this was just a misunderstanding.

"I was looking at the book you were reading. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. A good read I must add, have you enjoyed it so far?" She thinned her eyes and ignored my question, walking ahead and away from me.

Well, there goes my luck at making a friend. She was quite rude if I must say. I wouldn't want to particularly be her friend either way.

Besides that, here I am. Standing in front of one of the most prestigious schools in the whole of Japan. It's a dream come true for those accepted.

Bye White Room, it was nice getting to know you. I'm finally free.

I was once a caged bird, but now I'm soaring through the skies.

—

Heyyyy~!

I have a question for you all,

What does ANHS stand for? Wrong answers only.