Staying Neutral

Chapter SV

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"Glad you can make it, John, Y/n," Isen holds his hand out. "Here, have a seat."

"I didn't get much of a choice... You practically dragged me out here..." John sweatdropped. "Yeah, alright. Sit down will ya?" Listening to the male's orders, Y/n takes a chair and pats the one beside her for John to sit down. He shuffles into the cold seat and sits up straight.

"Before we start, I want you to know that I'm writing this article to shed light on low-tiers," Isen explains. "So please don't hold anything back and speak your mind. Your full honesty is encouraged!"

"Wow, really?" John says in surprise. "Of course!"

Smiling slightly, John says, "That's... really generous of you."

"Yup! Hehe..." Isen's chuckles slowly died down as Y/n stares at him with intense eyes. She didn't really say a word, though, but even so, just the mere presence of her made Isen nervous. This is for Arlo, he tries to calm himself down. Now... Let's find out what you're hiding.

"So, John... Where are you from?" "New Bostin."

With widened eyes, Isen became surprised by the place. "Woah, really!? That's pretty damn far from here. Is that where you went before coming to Wellston?"

John quickly raised his arms and shakes it as he tries to clear his words. "Nono, you misunderstood!" With sweat appearing from his cheek, he says, "I've been homeschooled for my entire life. This is the first real school I've attended."

"Hm..."

The reporter slightly narrows his eyes. "Oh right, I remember! That's like the first thing you said when you transferred in." Isen lifts his pen as he remembers the memory. "Was it?" John mutters.

"So, what made you decide to switch?"

"Well," John hesitates for a bit, "I've always wanted to see what a real school was like. It's just that my dad was a bit protective of me so I didn't get a chance to till recently."

"Okay. That makes sense! And how has your experience been so far?"

John lowers his head. With complete honesty, he says, "It's pretty awful, to say the least..." Picking up his notepad, Isen questions, "Could you elaborate on that? It's for the article." "Sure."

"To put it simply, we low-tiers don't have any rights. We're not able to defend ourselves, " He explains. "Everywhere is a danger zone for us, so we have to stay alert all times..."

John continues. "Life is scary for us. We can't do what we want or say what we think. One simple run-in could put us out for days or even a week!"

"Sounds rough," Isen hums as he scribbles something in his notebook, which turns out to be just a messy writing of New Bostin and a childish picture. "It is." Woah, he's taking a lot of notes! John thought, oblivious to what he really was doing.

"So, John...," Isen starts, "What do you do to survive this kind of lifestyle?"

"Well, we usually tend to stay--"

"NO," Isen raised his voice. "I meant you specifically. " John his brow at the odd question. "Um, I walk along the edge of the halls, and I try to stay quiet... Don't want to draw any attention to myself, you know?"

"Overall, I try to keep low and not get involved with anything. Just avoid everything, haha..."

Lies.

"If I could suggest one thing to include in this article, I'd say 'We should all accept each other's differences because nobody deserves to be treated lik--'"