Five months, or perhaps eight, had passed since Ivy left. Maybe it was eight. At the moment, Zoe couldn't recall; the days had melded together, with the past two months, in particular, forming a melancholic blur.
She sat on the edge of her bed in her new room. It was slightly bigger than her old room, where she and Ivy slept in the House of Seeley. Old, thick wooden walls and a carpeted floor. Taped to her ceiling were her usual string of lights that glowed with faux natural lighting.
Absently, she fidgeted with a deck of cards in her hand, staring at the golden horn on her desk. Ivy had left it for her before her expulsion from Crater.
Zoe glanced up at the clock, 'It's Tuesday, so she should be back soon,' she thought, pushing herself off the bed. She opened the door of her room, making sure to lock it behind her, before walking down the long hallway of the house. She sat on the front porch of the pink house. The afternoon summer sun blazed above. She leaned back, the shade from the overhanging roof covering her face with shadow.
The three homes were set in formation, surrounding the massive fountain between them. The one directly across from Zoe was a broad brown house, several stories tall.
Children played in the fountain. Jumping, screaming, splashing. Parents sat, watching them play, while other kids her age were bustling by or sitting on the edge, dipping their feet in.
"No classes today?" Zoe heard a voice come from her left.
She looked over as Reiza hopped over the side railing. She slung the backpack off her shoulders, tossed it aside, and sat next to Zoe.
Zoe watched Reiza from behind her long white hair, which she allowed to fall in front of her face. "I just didn't go."
"How many times have you missed your classes?"
"Well," Zoe thought back to the letter she saw earlier that week, "My attendance in the last few months has gone from one hundred percent to a low seventy percent."
"Ouch. You okay, though?"
"Sure," Zoe monotoned. "I just didn't feel like doing it."
Reiza rested her feet on the railing in front of them. The designer logo on her shoes shined brightly in the sun. She was tall and lean, with straight brown hair and spotless expensive clothes. "Hey, yo, is that…" she squinted. Abruptly, she stood, leaning over the railing, pointing to a group of girls walking toward the home.
"And that's it," Reiza concluded. Her pacing back and forth stopped. She looked at the group of girls sitting in the home's living room. "What do you think I should do?"
Ten girls sat listening to her story. Each lived in the house, along with Reiza and Zoe.
"I mean," One girl started, "Mason shouldn't have done that, but technically…no offense or anything…you did kinda start it."
Reiza glared at her, "You're taking his side?"
"You asked me what I thought about it."
"No. I asked you what I should do. I don't care if it's my fault!" she paused, "Even though it definitely isn't, of course."
"You could just talk to him about it," another girl offered.
"Pfft," she scoffed. "Oh wow. Didn't think of that one. Great idea!" Reiza said in a mocking voice. She swore under her breath, "Useless."
Some of the other girls in the room cracked up hearing that.
Reiza looked over at Zoe. She wore plastic noise-canceling headphones and sat crouched near the corner of the room. "Whatever, never mind. I'll figure it out," she sighed, sitting in the closest chair to Zoe.
Zoe looked up from the cards sprawled in front of her on the floor.
"You heard me with those on?" Reiza asked.
Zoe nodded, "I can hear people fine with this. It's easier to focus."
"Okay, what do you think I should do?"
Zoe looked down at the cards, flipping a few over before looking back toward Reiza, "I wouldn't know anything about this. We both know I've never had a boyfriend."
"Yeah, but you always seem to have good advice on stuff," Reiza smiled.
"I haven't thought about this kind of thing before, so I don't think qualify to give advice."
"Never?" Reiza's mouth hung open. She turned, beckoning another girl to come over to them. "Why?"
"Well, I figured no one is interested in me," Zoe said. She paused for several seconds, "If someone was into me…I don't think I could be with anyone with that low of standards," she monotoned.
The other girl stifled a laugh.
"Probably because you say stuff like that," Reiza rolled her eyes.
"I was joking. Somewhat."
"Also, you're shy."
"Zoe, don't take this the wrong way," the other girl spoke. "You're pretty weird."
"I'm aware."
"It's like your facial expressions don't match the tone of your voice."
"Well, I'm not shy," Reiza said proudly. "That's why once I'm done with this next mission, I'll go out there and be a model…maybe an actress. Whichever comes first."
"What about you?" The girl said, looking at Zoe.
"Do I want to be a model? I mean-"
"Uh, no," Reiza interjected, half laughing, "Like, what are you gonna do?"
"I don't know anymore," Zoe mumbled.
"It really does baffle me," Colson commented, staring across the cafeteria at Reiza. "Of all people, that's who you're friends with?"
Zoe shrugged, whatever.
"She didn't even do much to me personally, but damn. If I were you, I'd be plotting murder," he said, sticking his fork into the cooked eye on his plate. The eyeball was the size of a ripe orange. Kovujin was the animal that the eye belonged to—an invasive species to the surrounding mountains. A massive six-legged herbivore that could eat up to nine trees a day; if one were to view it from a ways away, they'd think it was just a large mound of dirt with plants growing on top. Despite its size, the Kovujin is known for its quiet nature, so those from afar may not even hear it.
"I guess I'm not one to hold a grudge."
"True. How's living with her?"
"I wasn't sure at first. I think I like it about as much as House of Seeley. Also, I didn't want to stay in my old room anymore; Keigh suggested I move into one of the smaller private homes."
"Oh yeah, I heard that you met him. Your hero," he scoffed. "…I don't know, I think he's smart and has done a lot of good and said some interesting things, but then I'll hear him talk about seeing lizard people or reptilians, and it just kinda ruins everything."
"What do you mean?"
"It's like he just takes a shit in the punch bowl, ya know?"
Zoe looked at him as if he were growing another head. "When did he do that?"
"Zoe, no," he shook his head, half chuckling at the thought. "He didn't actually defecate in a punch bowl. It's an expression—you have a good thing, and you self-sabotage and ruin it."
"How is he self-sabotaging?"
"He may have a lot of valuable knowledge on things, but he goes off into crazy conspiracy land, and it just kinda ruins his credibility for me, is all. But you talk to him a lot, right? You'd know more than me."
"A lot," Zoe repeated. "Well, we mostly just talk about the CraterCoin staking."
"Isn't he only a four-star as well?"
"I don't think he cares enough to take the rank-up test. But trust me, he definitely could."
The teacher paced back and forth as he spoke, pointing to the board at the front of the room. In the seat in front of her, Herald leaned over his desk. He pointed at the teacher and whispered something to his friend. Both tried to stifle their laughs but were quickly glared at by another student. She turned around and angrily put a finger to her lips, "Shhhhh!" she hissed. In response, she received a middle finger from Herald and an eye-roll from his friend.
Zoe swiveled in her chair, peering through the rear windows of the classroom. Positioned perfectly, her seat offered an unobstructed view of one of the many running tracks. It was about a mile away, but from this vantage point, she could observe a throng of kids sprinting while Silas trailed behind, presumably screaming at them to run faster.
The front door of the classroom creaked open. A woman walked in wearing all black, which covered almost every bit of skin she had. She had white leather straps wrapped around her forearms and ankles. Behind her, two massive black mastiffs followed her as she entered the room.
"Oh, Amelia," the teacher said, looking around, confused.
"Good afternoon, Amelia!" the class called out.
Her eyes scanned the class, eventually spotting a girl sitting in the very back with long white hair, turned the wrong way, staring out of the window. "I'm here for Zoe."
"Zoe!" the teacher barked.
"Hm?" Zoe turned around towards the front of the room.
"Amelia is here to see you. Have some respect!"
"Good afternoon, Amelia," Zoe mumbled.
Amelia smirked, gesturing for Zoe to follow her. Telling her to bring her backpack with her as she wouldn't be back.
Amelia's shoes clicked loudly over the bustling hallway. Flanked by her two dogs, she guided them alongside Zoe, traversing the corridors of the school building. Children of various ages and colony ranks darted through the halls, making way for Zoe and Amelia, giving them a wide berth.
"Alright, look here," Amelia turned to Zoe once they found a hallway with very few people. She fished in her pocket and handed out a sealed envelope to Zoe.
"What is it?" Zoe asked after studying its outside—completely blank.
"They've got a mission for you," she grinned. "You've been hand-picked!"