ExtraOrdinary: An unOrdinary Fanfic

Chapter 19: A Change of Heart

"You're... sorry? What for?"

Isen turned his head to look at Olivia, a mix of confusion and curiosity overcoming his expression as his crimson eyes lingered on Olivia's lavender blue ones. She looked away, feeling immensely awkward all of a sudden as she clutched her binders even tighter against her chest.

"For... for insisting that you publish my article despite your warnings. To be honest, I didn't want to believe you. I really thought that having an article like that in the school paper could get a few heads to turn.

"But that encounter with Zeke... really opened my eyes. The people here aren't exactly ready to accept change right now. They've grown up living in this hierarchical society all their lives, unlike me. They've been brought up to think this way, to accept this system for all it's worth. Some random newspaper article simply isn't enough to change these opinions."

Isen nodded. "I agree. The hierarchy was put in place here for a reason. It exists to make sure people don't step out of place and get themselves hurt. I gotta admit though, the hierarchy isn't perfect. There's definitely flaws, like the mistreatment of low-tiers. But still, it's better than having anarchy." Isen paused for a moment before he narrowed his eyebrows. "Hold on, you're saying... Zeke did this to you?!"

"Yeah..." Olivia started, before she noticed Isen's expression. It was of pure disgust and loathing. "Well, now that I think about it, it wasn't too out of the blue," she added quickly. "It makes sense why he would be pissed at my article. I also yelled some sh*t at him, so..." Olivia trailed off, not wanting to go into any more detail about the matter.

"Still..." Isen muttered, clenching the newspaper tightly with his fist. "He didn't have to hurt you like that! What the hell is wrong with that dude? Why does he have to be such a d*ck?"

Olivia gave an awkward laugh before continuing. "In any case... I think I understand the hierarchy a lot better now, and why we can't just get rid of it, like Rei tried to do."

Olivia paused to think back to what Blyke told her the other day. "Rei... he basically forced high and low-rankers to become buddies with each other. But it didn't change how stronger students viewed the weaker ones. The high-rankers still looked down on the weak, and the weak were still afraid of the strong. Now I understand why his system was completely deserted after his graduation. Nobody could continue to enforce it.

"I've come to the realization that getting rid of the hierarchy is not that easy. I can't just slap some words onto the paper, hand it out to the student body, and expect results. To get rid of a system that people have lived under since the moment they were born, and replace it with a new one, is a daunting and difficult task. And in the end, it'll be pretty much impossible to maintain.

"So instead, I believe we should focus our efforts on something a bit smaller. Which is, limiting the bullying and the violence, especially between mid and low-tiers. I believe that this is something that can be changed, if we handle it correctly." She looked up at Isen. "So what do you say?"

"That doesn't seem too impossible," Isen said, his hand underneath his chin as he appeared to be deep in thought. "Do you have any ideas on how to start?"

"Hmm..." Olivia thought back to her article in the school paper. "I'm not going to stop writing articles. But instead of writing articles about changing the school system, I'm going to elucidate the wrongness of bullying, as well as the concept of nonviolence. Maybe we can get some other press team members to join in on this.

"I like that. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get some more people into this," Isen said. "I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, let's get you to the infirmary, alright? Your hand..."