My dad had just one rule. "If you're hit, strike
back." A simple rule really. It wasn't
absolute or anything. He just expected me
to know when to act and when not to.
Though looking back on it, when I was
younger I used it as an excuse to get into
fights. A lot of them. Nevertheless, he didn't reprimand me for doing so. He just respected my decision and told me to think about the consequences.
On the other hand, my mother had a bunch of rules for me. I could probably spend the entire day thinking about each rule and what purpose it served, but I don't think I'm quite bored enough to do so. After all, it's not really either of my parent's rules I want to think about, rather a single separate one that they both told me.
"You can always ignore bullying for your own sake, but never let anyone make a fool of your sister."
Truthfully I probably wouldn't have followed this rule if they hadn't made it clear how serious they were. I think humility is an important thing to have after all. Over time I understood though, if anyone were to make a fool of my little sister, it'd have to be me. That's just the way things were.
I just wished I didn't have to do it alone sometimes. I still wish sometimes, that they would come back– huge smiles plastered on their faces and welcoming embraces. But I knew better. The government confirmed it anyway. They shouldn't have ventured out of the dome.
Everyone knew it was a barren wasteland outside, even government officials rarely left the dome because of the dangers of what was outside it. Toxic waste, radiation monsters and whatever… And yet my parents insisted that there was still something out there. Something worth the risk. Maybe back then I'd trusted them, but I don't believe it anymore. Not even a bit.
Now, if it were still midnight I could keep spending my time lying in my bed pretending to be a philosopher, but sadly I heard a knock on my door. Not a knock actually, it was more of a loud thud.
"Who is it?"
I feigned ignorance, but there was really only one person it could be. My oh-so-dreadful sister– not that I dislike her… Though she probably hates me. I think last night was the third boyfriend I've had to beat in six months. She doesn't have much luck in relationships, so they usually end quickly. However some guys are clingy or try to come back, it gets to a point for sure. And then I, her oh-so-great older brother has to come in to fix her mess. It's a great life I live.
She shouted from behind the door, "Crow! Get your fat ass out here, we're gonna be late!"
Elizabeth Merrow… I don't know when but at some point I started referring to both of the women in my life formally. Not in person though, I think if I had called my mom "mother" before she would've killed me. It was most likely the same thing for my sister too. Ah, I should probably answer her before she gets mad.
"I'm on my way Liz, just a sec."
I threw my body up off my bed and stood up. School isn't much fun, but finishing my education is what my parents would've wanted. So it's fine for now. Though I'm now nineteen, I still have to attend a college whether or not I really wanted to. I'm still a minor too. But apparently back then when my mom and dad were still young, you were considered an adult once you turned eighteen, and they were only required to go to school for ten years. These days though, you were considered an adult when you turned twenty one, and we have twelve compulsory years of school, starting as young as seven.
Well if I wanted to, I could drop out of school next year. But honestly it wasn't worth losing, after all the government likes their bright young men, the only other path was becoming a soldier, or maybe becoming one of those who venture out of the dome. I don't want to become any of those, luckily it's not like becoming a normal person with a normal job isn't an option… Well if I want my sister and myself to live like kings, or at least comfortably, then it actually wasn't an option.
Since we have no legal guardians, the government and its workers were nice enough to let me and Liz live together without any guardians. However, we now were technically property of the government. It wasn't one of my best deals but my sister has a promising future ahead of her; she's practically a savant. So I decided it would be the best option for the most part, although I've basically condemned myself to slavery.
I never told Liz, though, I mean how could I? I didn't want her to start pitying me, or even worse, get sad for my sake, though unlikely. I walked out of my room into my hallway, only to see nobody in my house. I scowled. I could feel the light of the Lux reflect across my coral colored eyes. I hadn't ever seen real coral, but my mom always used to show me pictures and insisted that my eyes weren't just red, that they were coral colored. Honestly probably one of the only things we agreed on.
Doesn't she have the decency to wait? I guess not. I grabbed my bag, which was leaning on one of the chairs of the dining table and ran to the door. Through the peephole, I watched as my sister walked off into the distance, before opening the door and following her. I could already tell today was going to be a long day, I already wished it had been over.
***
People at school avoid me. Not because I'm scary or intimidating, but because I'm violent and unlikable. Honestly, if I were viewing myself from another person's perspective I'd agree with them. Yet I am myself, and that's why I know that I'm really not all that violent, and only a tad unlikable. Everyone was. From their perspective though, I was a guy who fought constantly, and violently, without ever losing. Even against people who were bigger, taller, and even stronger.
In my defense however, the only reason I got into those fights was because people kept asking for them. I don't mind if I'm pushed around occasionally as I'd probably just shoot them a dirty look and leave it as that, but when someone swings at me, they've already lost. I don't mean it in an over-confident way or anything, it's just a simple observation. I know how to fight, many people don't, thus my technique conquers their raw strength, plain and simple.
Enough of that though, because out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the only people willing to speak to me. Vanessa Auro, Elizabeth's best friend. It wasn't that odd that she would talk to my sister, after all she was very kind and caring, to the public eye at least. But even if someone were to be friends with my sister they would never speak to me, they think I'm volatile.
God the self pity is getting boring, so instead I'll focus on the reason she's here, since she's in a different class and all that. There should be no reason to come to this class other than to talk to me, for her anyway. And despite that she was being chatted up by good old Mattias Ais. One of Liz's seven evil exes and whatnot. Once upon a time he was actually a pretty decent guy… Until he hit her. That was a big no-no, so he ended up being the first, and only boyfriend I bloodied in front of my sister. But for one second let's think about his actions, why would you hit your girl? How was that going to make her stay? …Well actually it might've if his girl wasn't my sister, because statistics say that people are more likely to stay with their abusers. That's absurd, but ignoring that, I walk over to Mattias and put my hand on his shoulder, "Hey Matty, would you mind moving? I've got someone to talk to."
He began to shout and turned around but when he saw me his words cut off and his voice got quieter. After understanding the situation, he stepped back and walked off to somewhere in the classroom. Good ol' Matty might be vindictive, but he wasn't stupid. I've already pummeled him once, and although I probably won't do it again, he knows I could pummel him a second time. Sometimes it's like I'm living in some sort of power fantasy, only to be reminded that I have the least amount of human rights in the cities of the dome, and that I was one F away from slavery. Quite literally. But while I'm in my own world I forgot about Vanessa, who naturally was irritated that I wasn't listening to her.
"Crow, were you just ignoring me?" She asks. At this point, I see no merit in lying or making up an excuse so I just nodded my head. She sighs then rubs her temples, meanwhile I'm just standing around wondering what could possibly have her so frustrated, even worried maybe. And then it hit me. Liz. The only reason she would go out of her way to speak to me during school hours was because of something Liz had done, or had happen to her. My expression darkened. And then she spoke, "Liz is in the hospital right now. Crow, go see her… now."