uncle who insisted on keeping him when Mason turned around eight years of age since he instantly loved Mason when he was first born. Mason was a lot like a brother to me than anything, but he always hung out with Isaac the most.
“What’s wrong with your brother? He’s not himself today,” Lexus exclaimed in a wry tone. “Is it because of tomorrow?”
I glanced at my brother,
“I think he’s just nervous, but who isn’t, really? I mean, the Unknown isn’t something easy. Some people die in there...”
I let the words echo in my head: “Some people die in there”, and in that instant, I hoped that I would not be one of those who didn’t make it out.
Isaac and Mason walked into the school first. Lexus and I walked in right behind them. I kept my eyes on my brother, trying to analyze why he was acting a bit off. Was it because of the ‘Gum accident’ during “The History of Sectors” class? He got really angry yesterday, when he found out that there was a piece of gum on the back of his head during the whole class. But I knew my twin brother and he usually ignored these kinds of situations. It wasn’t my fault that he decided to be nice enough to give someone else his seat and he had to sit on the ground right in front of me. I don’t even know how the gum fell on his head to begin with.
Lexus looked at Isaac and then at me,
“Iris, are you sure it’s only because of the Unknown? I mean, sure, a lot of candidates die in there, but there are a lot who survive it too.”
“I know, Lexus, but think about it, there’s only a 25% chance of getting out of there alive,” I said as I take my Legendary Revolutions of the Century book out of my locker. “I mean, you remember what happened two years ago? Twenty 17 year- olds like us took part in the Sector Commemoration, and only five came out alive and the rest were all-” I paused and looked at Lexus. She seemed unfazed, but I could see pain in her eyes. I knew I should have held my tongue about this subject.
Her brother, Landon, was one of the Undecideds who died in the Unknown. Some witnesses say that they saw his arm inside the mouth of an unusual creature, while others say that he just couldn’t make it out of the Unknown in time.
“Um, Lexus. I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have-”
Lexus cut me off. “It’s okay, Iris. So, what do you have first class?” Lexus changed the subject, and I was glad she did. I, too, did not want to hear anything about the Unknown and its consequences.
“Legendary Revolutions of the Century” I reply. “You?”
“Constellations and Astronomy,” Lexus said tiredly, “Honestly, why does this school teach us anything anyway?” she said frustratingly.
“Lexus, you know why they teach all these things. We need to be prepared,” I told her as we walked around the corner of the hallway, towards my class.
Lexus put on a smug face, “Yeah right! I’m already prepared. Ever since I was born I was destined to go through the Unknown untouched!” Lexus said with a dramatic tone. I laughed a bit. You can count on Lexus to ease the tension when you’re being pessimistic about something. Lexus was probably the only person I have ever met that has taken The Unknown lightly. Some people even tried to run away before the day they enter, but the leaders assign guards to patrol this part of the city. I saw guards on every street corner; some are even guarding the school, there’s a guard in the hallway every minute.
I stopped near the door to my class. “See you later, Lexus...” She smiled at me and walked away to hers.
I walked in and saw Isaac sitting in front at a desk with some other students. I saw an empty seat behind him, checked if there was gum in my cheek, and walked towards it.
The professor entered the class right after me. She looked a little tired and worn in her grey suit and brown hair tied in a bun.
“Good morning,” she said sternly.
No one replied. No one ever replies.
“Alessandria Wright. I will be teaching you the Legendary Revolutions of the Century.”
Everyone in the class started to sigh except me. They all seemed irritated. I sat through this class before and the other students barely complained when the professor began explaining the subject.
Every course has a different professor. Some teach multiple classes and stay till the completion of the course, while many others teach just one class and never come back. I once had a professor named Felix Everwood who was probably the best professor out there. He gave me four classes on the same subject and then never came back. Some people say that most professors who come to Purlieu try to earn the trust of one of the guards so they can later escape. But they eventually fail. Everyone in this city, young or old, wants to get out of this part.
Isaac rested his back on the metal part of the desk, looking as irritated as most of the people around here. I bent down and asked in a hushed whisper “Hey, Isaac? Why are you all so irritated?”
Isaac huffed “Do you know Professor Wright? She’s the cruelest teacher around. She teaches multiple subjects, but she mostly teaches this course.”
I look up to check that she isn’t looking. “What makes her so cruel? Is it the way she teaches the class or-”
“Does her last name ring a bell? Wright?” Isaac looked up at me waiting for an answer.
Something tickled my memory, but I just couldn’t seem to put my finger on it. “Um, no,” I replied to him with a bit of hesitation.
Isaac bobbed his head and turned around facing the opposite direction. “Anyway, her last name’s mostly the reason why everyone hates her; she’s-”
I suddenly heard a loud thump on my desk. I jolted upright my seat and sat back straight, avoiding her eyes.
“I don’t accept any Undecided talking inside my...” Her voice trailed off and her eyes suddenly turned wide. She quickly backed away from me and walked to the front of the class.
Isaac looked back at me looking confused. I shared his confusion. What was that about?
I slumped in my seat chin in hand. The professor kept glancing at me during the whole session, like I was about to attack her or something. I forced myself to stop looking at her while she explained the lesson and looked down at my desk hoping that the lesson would end without any further confrontations.
Forty-five minutes seemed like hours. I couldn’t wait to get out of the class. I gathered my stuff and headed towards the door. I walked towards Lexus’s class when I noticed Professor Wright walking next to me. She walked faster when she realized that it was me. What’s with her?
I tried to ignore her unusual act in the class while in the cafeteria. Meanwhile, Lexus started to show off her readiness to enter the Unknown. I tried to think about something other than my professor, but I really wanted to know why she was acting so strangely. I looked around the cafeteria and saw some girls my age crying and being comforted by their younger siblings, some by professors. The boys were acting strange, too, and most of them were wearing grim faces, including Isaac. The school has always been a gloomy place, nothing happy about it. But today, it exceeded it limits on making it feel more like a prison.
They were all preparing for the worst day of their lives.
++++++++++
I went back home walking, something I liked to do when I was in deep thoughts. As I walked down the sidewalk, I noticed a woman sitting on a bench, its rusted metal frame made it look like it might crumple down any minute. The woman was reading a newspaper. She looked up from her newspaper and goggled at me as I walked past her. It was Professor Wright.
My stomach made a sudden jolt. I walked faster, trying to get away from her as far as possible. Professor Wright quickly stood up and marched up to me to catch up. I was about to run when she grabbed my wrist. I quickly froze with a sudden gasp. I felt my heart racing with fear of what might happen. I turned away, fearing what