All the students in their school-regulated uniforms slowly got into ill-formed lines, their faces etched with what they really felt about being there.

  An older, smartly dressed student with dark auburn hair waited with a calm face and poise. Her eyes fleeted between the slowly forming line and the small, flat, rectangle screen in her hand. A small pen as dainty as her fingers tapped off the screen, checking out boxes on her list.

  She shook her head slowly and steadily controlled her breathing. She could show them how displeased she was at the lack of urgency to everything, but that wouldn’t serve much toward the objective she wanted; besides, she was the senior who was going to introduce them to the institute, and she wanted to keep at least keep the place’s reputation solid.

  “This year's batch seems a bit downcast,” she commented to a girl beside her. Who had her own screen, and somehow, it seemed to capture her attention more than a regular skim-through should.

  “Faster, we haven’t got all day.” The redhead said as she looked up at the forming line of students.

  “Hmm?” her companion said, then returned her attention back to the small palm-sized screen she held.

  Turning to her colleague, the auburn-haired girl leaned slightly toward her and asked with a hushed tone, “Hello? pay attention, please?”

  Ally, an enthusiastic dark blonde girl, looked toward the transports and the line of students before she paused.

  “I’m sorry.” Her phone buzzed again as if on cue, the vibration seemingly louder than it was. Her friend frowned when she returned her attention back to the source of the buzzing.

  “A moment, please everyone. You can chill for now. Just don’t make too much noise, or I’ll send the school’s silver-haired killer to kick your ass.”

  Turning to Ally, the auburn-haired girl poked her shoulder.

  “Hey, what the fuck? Pay attention, you’re embarrassing me.”

  She didn’t reply; her face suddenly flushed red as she audibly gasped, her eyes glued to the screen.

  Suddenly, she found the screen snatched away, and she looked up, ”Anya! Hey!”

  Anya frowned at her companion and elbowed her away, “Why are you… what is…what the…”

  She froze, staring at what was on the screen. Only then, remembering she wasn’t alone, she spun around so her back faced the crowd of students waiting in line while she looked at Ally, shaking her head as she handed her back her phone, her lips silently mouthing the words she wanted to say earlier.

  Ally shook her head. Her face was heavily lined with worry while she bit her lip nervously.

  Anya’s mind raced momentarily, then she placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder and squeezed, leaning in.

  “We’ll handle this; don’t worry about it, OK? Right now, I need your focus on the here and now.”

  She pulled back and smiled assuredly at the blonde girl. “Okay?”

  Her blonde friend nodded and weakly smiled back at her.

  Anya smiled brightly, her right eyebrow arched. Then, she spun around to face the students, who were waiting impatiently for her to start whatever she had planned. Rumblings of dissatisfaction began to reverberate throughout the crowd.

  “Welcome everyone to the first portion of the Institute’s tour. Thank you for making it on time and for your patience. My name is Anastasiya Drugoymes, and you will address me as Miss Drugoymes.” Her right hand daintily motioned to Ally in a soft wave, “This is my assistant, and you may address her as Miss Yuonomes.”

  Her eyes sparkled in amusement as she looked at the dark blonde girl, who tittered softly at the fake names they had decided on.

  “Now, we shall begin this tour with where you are standing. Any of you care to guess what this place is?” She turned and looked around her.

  They were in a large courtyard with a circular driveway. In the middle of the circle, a giant statue of a wolf crushing its front paw on an eagle sat, surrounded by a body of water that spouted out in a soft cascade every few moments.

  A circle of grass below the large statue sat as a centerpiece in the circular driveway. The polished marble contrasted strongly against the well-manicured grass that filled the space between the statue and the driveway's dark tarmac.

  Anya looked around as she gave the students time, craning her neck to appreciate the pristine cream-colored buildings adorned with reflective glass that outlined the circular driveway—immaculately kept greens dotted with a cacophony of colored flowers, giving the area a life of its own.

  She’d been at the institute since she was a child, yet she always felt joy at how well everything was kept and maintained. Her appreciation for it all beamed from her face and demeanor.

  “No?” She shook her head, play-acting disappointment.

  “This is the High School section of the South Eastern High Rise Institute of Learning.” She smiled and continued, raising her right hand. “To the East will be the Tertiary Education—that’s university level for you less vocab-equipped people. To the West is the Elementary section.”

  She turned, and her arms rose on a North-South axis.

  “North will be the Engineering Labs for those gifted in that and related fields, and to the South lies the Sports specialty section of the entire Institute.”

  She paused and studied the students, gliding her gaze over them and examining their responses to each section she had announced.

  “We shall begin our tour with the Engineering Labs section and continue counter-clockwise, ending at the University section. Any questions?”

  She waited and slowly scanned the crowd. “None? OK, let's begin. This is all required by the Institute’s Board, and there WILL be a quiz on it. Anyone getting a low mark will receive a demerit and be flagged. Understood?”

  The students nodded. Some visibly bit their lips, forcing themselves to stay silent. Others' reactions showed that they did not expect such a severe note to be included in a tour of the Institute's grounds.

  The tour went on slowly. Anya liked to take her time when she did these things. She ensured that every student in the group acknowledged that they understood the strict rules that governed the barriers that separated the different school districts, in addition to the many other rules.

  The South Eastern High Rise Institute of Learning sprawled over a massive area and was reserved for those who came from High Rise families—on occasion, those not from High Rise would receive an invite from the Institute to attend, which was an infrequent occasion.

  Those who controlled the Adina City Conurbation (also known as quad-cities) and its outlying region opted for a central location for the offspring of the wealthy and powerful, mainly for security reasons but also to better control and monitor the social groups that made up the institute's population.

  The group had just finished their break time and was heading toward the final destination on the tour, the University section.

  Anya noticed one student kept looking at her and would dart their eyes away when she looked back. She waited for the next time he would do it and stopped.

  She abruptly stopped explaining and turned, hands on hips, her piercing grey eyes looking accusatively at the student.

  “Yes? You have something you wanted to ask?”

  The student, a boy a few years her junior, stood there gawking as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have. Wide-eyed as he felt Anya’s eyes on him, his lips trembled, seemingly trying to conjure a word and failing.

  “Damien wants to know what really happens if someone was caught crossing… say, one of us, to the Uni section without a special pass.” His friend standing next to him interjected.

  Anya raised a hand, indicating everyone in the group to pay attention.

  “Can anyone help Damien with his question?” Anya looked around, her hands clasped in front of her, as her eyes slid over everyone, her unphased expression studying their demeanor. She had laid the rules out earlier, admitting to herself she did miss out on detailed explanations.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “No one?” She shook her head slowly and took a deep breath.

  “Any member of the Institute - student or instructor; must provide the proper pass of passage from one section to another when asked, when out of their respective section, of course.”

  She paused to study the student again before she continued, “Failure to produce a pass will result in an immediate suspension, no questions asked. And after a review of the footage, which I hope everyone is aware of.” She paused again, and her hand rose, moving around in an arc.

  “Everything here has its overwatching drone above us during scheduled class times - that means during the day for those that didn’t get that, supplemented by smaller baby drones that will be deployed according to the drone operator’s call, as well as the multitude of cameras around the campus area.”

  She stopped, and again, she studied the group, waiting to see if anyone could continue.

  Again, she shook her head slowly in silent disappointment as she continued,

  “Now. Chances are, a section passer without a pass will have their investigation into the matter done within 24 hours. After which, unless you’re a lowbie who decides to go back to where you came from…” Giggling arose in the group,

  “You will be expelled from the Institute, and a very hefty fine will be levied onto the offender’s family, as well as a mark on their record. Not to mention that, with the small community we come from, word WILL get around, and their family will also pay the price… Non-monetary, of course… surprisingly, not everything can be solved with money.” she smirked sardonically before she looked at Damien.

  “Does that answer your concern?” She asked warmly with a smile.

  Damien nodded and stuttered a quick “Thank you.”

  “Anything else? Please, if you do have anything, don’t hesitate to ask, I won’t kick your ass for asking something. If there is nothing else, we shall continue.”

  —----------------------------------------------------

  When the tour ended, the sun had slipped way past its peak. Anya looked up and whispered a silent thank you for the pleasant weather; otherwise, everyone would have been wet from sweat and stunk.

  She turned to face the tour group and smiled pleasantly at them.

  “Please make sure to sign up on the student page - links are in your mails. I don’t have to explain to you the different options that will be presented to you; you’re all SEHIL’s students now, and I expect you to have at least the mental capacity to understand simple things on your own.”

  She took a deep breath, maintaining the smile and pleasant demeanor she had maintained all morning and early afternoon.

  “Now, do you have any questions?” She slowly scanned the group again, squinting at those who reacted silently in a way she did not like and noting their faces.

  “None? Daze! We’ll look forward to seeing you on campus then. Have a dazzie rest of the day! You are welcome to hang out in your respective areas until closing time if it pleases you. Dismissed!” With a clear, loud clap of her hands, she ended the tour and turned to Ally, who had held her calm throughout the entire time.

  “Okay, Ally, can you tell me what the heck I saw on your screen?”

  Ally sighed and nodded.

  “Someone’s been sending me all these weird messages, and when I threatened them, they just laughed it off and made their threat known.”

  “Huh? What threat?”

  “Pics, vids, of parties and trips I’ve been on that my family won’t really approve if it got released to the public.”

  “Oh… how long has this been going on?

  “Not long, just… it stopped a while and restarted when I received a ‘hello again’ this morning.”

  “O…kay? What do they want?”

  “YeeBees, what else?”

  “Oh, my fuckin…. Aaagh… Okay, Okay, let's figure this out. Know anyone with the skillsets to do a proper trace?’

  Ally shook her head, her expression as if afraid of a sharp retort from her friend that it was a negative response.

  Anya smiled and nodded; her hands slid to her friend’s arms and squeezed.

  “Ok, I’ll ask my sis, maybe she knows some”

  Ally’s eyes widened at the mention, “What? Why??”

  Anya frowned. “Why not?”

  Ally shook her head. “I, no one can know! I only told you because we’re besties…”

  Anya raised a hand to cut her off. “One, it's my sis; she’s like an extension of me, don't worry. Two, I don’t know any capable people who can do proper digging like a pro digger, and NO, I don't count those wannabes who try to impress me when they pay for their soft and don’t write any.”

  She tilted her head while she kept her hands on her companion’s arms. “You do want this to stop, right?”

  Ally nodded hurriedly in response.

  “Okay, so Noa might know someone at the Uni section who can help. This way, we can keep it to just us.”

  Ally bit her lip, her eyes questioning her companion.

  Anya sighed heavily and nodded while her eyes rolled, “Tell me what it is then,”

  She leaned closer to Anya as her voice lowered.”I just... I don’t want anyone to get hurt, and everyone knows…”

  “Oh, shut the fuck up, Ally; you know she didn’t beat them til death,” Anya replied, an incredulous scoff adding to her conviction.

  Ally shrugged. “Yes, I know, but still… one of them couldn't continue with their sports anymore, and…”

  “Anyanas!” A shrill cry of joy interrupted her sentence as she looked to where it came from. A girl with her silver hair drawn into corn rows, wearing a dark biker jacket, a light-colored tee, tight leather pants, and an equally mean-looking pair of heeled boots, walked up to them, her arms wide open. Although she looked fit and toned enough to have done what she did in the rumors, her leanness seemed to belie it.

  Anya turned, and a large smile immediately etched her lips as her arms opened wide in return, and she went toward the silver-haired girl. “Noakins!”

  The two embraced tightly for more than a few moments before they separated. Noa, the silver-haired girl, regarded her auburn-haired sister.

  “What’s up? What are you doing here? Oh, wait, the tour was today?”

  Anya smiled and nodded.

  Noa’s hand bunched into a fist as she pumped it once, “Dammit, missed my chance at a good prank.”

  Anya giggled back. “We were just talking about you.” She darted a look at Ally, who shook her head profusely, her hands rapidly moving in downward swishes.

  “Oh? About what?” Noa turned toward Ally; her clear green eyes regarded the fearful-looking blonde with a slight level of amusement.

  Anya smiled, her expression almost smug as she crossed her arms. “She has a problem, and I was suggesting that we should talk to you about it.”

  Noa rested her hand on her hips, darting a look at Anya before returning to look at Ally.

  “Oh? What problem?” Her eyes seemed to glint with a subdued mischief as she asked.

  Ally started to fuss. “I… It’s noth…”

  “Ok… blud, you are beginning to annoy me with this. Noakins, she needs some digger help.”

  “Oh?” Noa’s eyebrow arched as she regarded her sister and her flustered friend.

  Ally frowned and bit her lip, then finally nodded slowly, her eyes barely lifted to look at her friend’s silver-haired sister.

  Noa’s side lip raised slightly as the twinkle in her eyes seemed to grow. “Don’t tell me here; let’s go back. Where are you staying?”

  Anya sighed. “Noakins! You know where she stays! Come on!”

  Noa giggled and nodded. “Okay, okay, let's go to her place then.” She paused and darted a look at Ally. “Your place is okay…right?”

  Ally nodded hurriedly and fished out her phone, making a call.

  —-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Ally laid it out for the sisters—at least, everything she was brave enough to share. They hashed out different options and finally filtered out every hair-brained scheme until only two remained.

  “Are you seriously suggesting I should pay!?” She glared at Noa incredulously.

  Noa, who was lying on the large, human-sized window sill to one of many large picture windows in Ally’s room, shrugged her shoulders while she turned a non-pitiful face at her.

  “It’s not like it's a lot. Honestly, whoever this is? Is kinda smart. Knows what to ask for from someone like you.” She said dismissively, then looked away toward the view.

  Ally’s family was one of the old plat-head families of House Xela, the ruling house of High Rise South-East and also the best oceanside district in the quad-city area. Plat-heads were appointed by decree of a Great House, whose prerogative remained to either keep or dismiss a plat-head from one generation to the next.

  Ally’s eyes squinted at Noa, who was enjoying the ocean view. She looked at Anya, who lay on her stomach, busy on her phone.

  “Anya? You think so, too?”

  “Hmm? Oh, yes, definitely. I trust Noa; she knows what she’s doing.”

  Ally looked at the sisters, slack-jawed, and her face wore a shocked expression.

  “But wouldn’t it encourage whoever this is further?”

  Anya leaned forward and gently patted Ally’s knee.

  “Noa’s correct; you can afford this. Then you don’t have to worry about it anymore. Just follow the instructions and have your account send the money every week. Easy peasy.” She smiled warmly.

  Ally didn’t like their tones.

  “So, you’re both seriously saying I should reward this … whoever this is.”

  “Why not?”

  “What do you mean… Why not?”

  Noa frowned and tore herself away from the view.

  “You bluds are really spoiling the vibe here.” She sat up and glared at Ally.

  “It's actually pretty clever, so why not? Like I said, you can afford this... you can... afford this... Yes?” She turned to Anya with a questioning gesture. Anya shrugged.

  “Why, Yes! Of course, I can… It’s just that… you know, might encourage…”

  “You already said that, Ally. We know. This isn’t that bad. I mean, how do you think your great-grandparents received and held onto their current positions?”

  Ally looked at Anya, her face in shock. She raised a finger to say something, then paused.

  Anya’s lips pursed into an amused smile as she looked at Noa, who was suppressing a giggle.

  Noa stood up and exhaled out aloud.

  “Right then, did you check the water conditions for today?”

  Ally looked at Noa, perplexed.”Um… ya, it's a daily notification. It says the water should be safe to dip into today.”

  Noa’s eyebrows rose as she smiled wide.”Daze! Let’s go then! Before the sun starts to slide further.”

  Anya sat up and raised her arms in a V.

  “Yes! Let’s go! Wait, did you bring anything to wear for a dip? I didn’t.”

  Noa shrugged. “Eh, who needs those…” She glared at Ally “...no cameras, please; I don’t need some dumbass to start asking me for spending money.” She giggled.

  The sisters ran out of Ally’s room, squealing and laughing. Leaving Ally looking lost before she started changing.