Chapter 7
"ErShi Liu?" Mr. J says from a spot considerably closer than I expected.
"Yes, LaoShi, I mean Mr. J." I say nervously as he continues to walk up the central staircase leading from the stage up the rows of seats to the exit. He is already more than half way when he continues.
"ErShi Liu, do you not think the Plan is worth paying attention to. Did you hear what they said about the Hunters?"
"I... I..." I try to answer as he finally arrives at our row.
"You don't do you?" He continues.
"Who can tell Ms. ErShi Liu what the news warned us about and how we can serve the Queen and keep the Plan." Mr. J looks around and no one is meeting his eyes. No one wants to accidently become involved in this.
Two throats clear at the same time. One from behind me, Li Ban, and another from closer to the stage.
"Ms. JiXiang, not you." Mr. J says nodding his head to Li. "What did they say Mr. LiBang?"
Li stands up to his full height and speaks in his loudest respectful tone, " There appears to be no logic in the rise in Hunter movements. Women especially seem to be the target, which is expected considering their ultimate goal. Please exercise caution and pay close attention to anyone who might be leaking information. Is this correct LaoShi?"
"Yes. I'm afraid Ms. ErShi Liu wouldn't even notice if her own foundling group were informants for the Hunters." Mr. J says staring at me pointedly.
"What?!" I say and try to stand up only to find two pairs of hands holding me down, one large and one small. Wuji meets my eyes and shakes his head, but I am angry now. "Who said I wanted to be a part of this Plan anyways?" I think as I shake my head no. If the Hunters are getting information how can a person like JiXiang still be walking around here? I turn my head over my shoulder as though to address the Dome at large, "JIXIANG THINKS SHE'S THE HEIR TO THE PLAN, COME ON AND GET HER! ITS NOT LIKE THE PROTECTORS ARE THAT DIFFERENT!"
The room gasps as I finish speaking. Having spoken my real feelings, I feel much better. Its like the knot that had formed this morning watching the woman be hit for the purpose of calling the Hunters, releases a little. The bell rings and Mr. J says, "You, come here" pointing directly at me.
I turn to my friends and plead with my eyes, but even I know no one can save me now. This is not my first time having an outburst. In fact, I am not sure how dirty the cleaning droids could have gotten since my last outburst. It's like that old story about the person who is really nice, but explodes in anger if you press them too hard. Well, whether or not I am really nice could be debatable. Even if I am not "nice", I still can't handle all of this mindlessness. Why am I essential to the Plan? Why is there no room for people like me who just want to live a life different from that of an orphan.
"ErShi Liu, I am not trying to bully you." Mr. J says with a little bit more kindness than when he spoke to the class at large. "No one truly enjoys this life except for maybe JiXiang, but pretending is part of life. I just don't want the Protectors to suspect you of being an informant."
"LaoShi, I know. I know, but even just this morning I saw a Protector hit a woman on the face in order to cause her to bleed." I respond in hushed tones. "I saw the ground open up and the woman disappear. Can we really condemn the Hunters if those who protect us are the very ones calling them out."
"I think you just had a bad dream. Listen if the Protectors were actually calling out the Hunters to eliminate people, don't you think more people would have noticed? Don't you think they would have said something on the news? You live in your head ErShi. The stories going on in there... "He says flicking my forehead, "... Are not the stories going on out here in reality? You know the drill, clean the bots this afternoon and please stay out of trouble.
I nod. As I turn away, I feel like I can see a boy in my mind's eye being told something similar by an older teacher with a long white beard. I look back at Mr. J and catch a bit of sorrow in his eyes before he heads back down to the stage leaving me to catch up with my friends in the next class. I wonder what that boy would look like all grown up. Would he still be rebellious like her, or would he have finally bent his back and conformed to the system?