Jessica sighed, the logic problems in front of her were demanding. She was in Logical Reasoning, and she sucked at it. The reasoning itself wasn’t bad, but she sucked at probability. A lot of problems required understanding probability. Like this one.
You’ve been asked to decide the winner of a contest that determines whether a person can do arithmetic, is lucky, and honest. Each contestant is given two six sided dice, with some really weird numbers on it. They go into a private room where no one is watching, roll both dice 20 times, and come out with scores. If you are at least 90% sure they lied or added incorrectly they are disqualified. Who wins?
Seriously, who comes up with these? She brute forces it slowly. It can’t be contestant A or C. It possibly could be B or D and Jessica was trying to figure out what the odds of a perfect score would be. It was not likely. Jessica circles B and moves on. It was nearing winter break, and it was midterms. The week would be test after test then the big party on Friday.
Jessica finished it all with maybe two minutes left in class. Her head hurt and as she looked at her schedule, it didn’t seem like it would get better. Class dismissed, and she was hurrying down the hall when she brushed past someone. “Rude, aren’t you going to apologize.”
Jessica ignored her, but now she was noticed. Maddie got in her face. “I’m talking to you. What’s wrong? You used to love talking.”
“That was before you fucked my geology grade.” The teacher had been understanding, but still gave it the minimum passing score. That class was barely hanging on as is so she needed to ace her test. Which was in 5 minutes.
“Please,” Maddie countered, “You’ve been a bitch long before that.”
Jessica smirked, there was a noticeable bruise on Maddie’s cheek. “We can talk in detention, go ice your cheek, I have class.”
That earned her a shove, but Jessica moved past it. She was physically stronger than Maddie. Without a friend that liked gym Maddie just didn’t work out as much as Jessica did. Jessica knew that something was coming, or Maddie would have fought harder to annoy and harass her. Jessica shook her head, she’d worry about that after geography.
Jessica did, at least have something going for her. Her memory was almost as good as King’s, and she had at least managed to snag her mother’s smarts while dodging the worst of her narcissism. Jessica had studied hard on Saturday, so she did well enough. Tonight would be refreshing algebra and reading comp. exercises.
She saw Michael taking the test, he was a bit slower than she was, but still pretty decent at school. She figured he didn’t study as hard cause he was planning to join the wall defense corp. She thought about what King said, wondering if she should just grit her teeth and ask. She shrugged, she had four more days.
She opened her book, the overly plucky enforcer girl had just found her boytoy red handed on a raid. She had a choice, let him go or arrest him. She glared at Tony, she had suspected cheating, maybe a drug habit. But this? Marina couldn’t. She saw red and walked right up to the bastard, slapping him across the face. She could have shot him right then and there. Instead she put him in cuffs, and led him out of the hideout herself.
Jessica read on, kinda surprised, but not really. Smuggling was a big deal, what with it risking wall security. She did note that the quick turn around to forgiveness as he served a way too light sentence was exactly what she suspected. The next few classes were a bit of a blur. English was a mess of grammar questions while gym was speed and obstacle courses. Gym tests were the only time we had gym class specifically, to ensure we were meeting metrics set by the council. I smoked everyone climbing, but I wasn’t that fast a runner. The obstacle course was pretty fun though. Then Maddie hit. She did the oh so funny stealing of clothes while one was in the shower. She also took the towel, which pissed her off. She walked naked, covering herself, and scanned her wrist for new gym clothes.
She reported the theft, only for the teachers to find Jessica’s clothes in her locker. Since locker rooms didn’t have cameras, and the lockers weren’t locked for an unfathomable reason, nothing would be done because nothing ever was. Jessica was told off for being forgetful though so there is that. Lunch came and went, with catcalling from the biggest pussycat in the school and her friends.
History went well, it was one of her favorite subjects. She aced Basic Law and Bound Studies. She slogged through Spanish, which no one really spoke anyways. Jessica was pretty sure Maddie was filming her today, which felt awful. Whatever, school was over and it was a free period. She studied algebra and did practice problems. No homework would be assigned during midterms. She could hear giggling, but ignored them.
That was a mistake. White powder went everywhere suddenly, and Mr Henderson was not pleased. Maddie had fucked off or maybe set a trap, so Jessica was forced to clean up, since checking the cameras was clearly a waste of time. She took another shower, keeping a towel inside the stall this time. It was wet but at least she was covered when she ordered new clothes. She’d have to deliver more packages if this kept up.
When her head hit the pillow she almost wanted to cry. Sleep and just forget about today. Instead she got up and studied. Thinking again about Michael, cause you know what? Fuck it. Maybe she had a chance with him. Her mother came home and refused to say anything. Seems she’s still pissed about last night. Good, means she won't complain endlessly. She opened up reading comp. problems on her glasses and lay in bed. She read the page long stories, and answered the questions.
She gave a two paragraph answer on theme for a short story then looked at her score. It was fine. She would pass, but she reopened the exercises. She would do this until she got over 90%. She wanted to do well enough to qualify for further education, instead of being shoved into some base level position when the Bound Department nabbed her out of school. Her grades were good enough, in the top 10% of her school.
It would depend on the college admissions council though. She’d had a few teachers try and prepare her for disappointment. Some not as gently as others. Jessica knew her being Bound worked against her. Only those with both grades and ‘aptitude’ would be accepted, and aptitude tests were pretty subjective in their scoring, at least according to her teachers. She figured she would give it a shot. You never know unless you try as Dad would say.
She slept soon after dinner and spoke more with King. He urged her again to ask Michael. Jessica is pretty sure he has an ulterior motive but she doesn’t push. He goes off bragging for a while more, while Jessica listens to more party stories.
Jessica soon realized that Monday was not an isolated incident. It seemed that Maddie had devised several pranks over the weekend, and still had time to spit venom when she had the chance. Jessica could appreciate the effort, even as she went red in embarrassment as he jeans tore on something while passing Maddie’s desk in algebra, but somehow she didn’t have anything sharp on her. A hidden space in her clothes or desk was likely but Ms Beckett the math teacher had a special dislike for Bound so it was clearly her fault.
Sitting in the office for “exposing herself”, she finished the test and went back to reading. Even after the arrest there was still a good third to the book. Soon the vice-principal sent her on her way. Lunch was so so. Sharing a table with the person who hates you sucks. Maddie just spent lunch glaring at me. Silent. She got two more days added for talking with her friends while at lunch detention. It was pretty funny.
Jessica’s next class revealed a damaged desk, like really damaged, like someone came in during lunch and took a metal bat to it damaged. The reading comprehension teacher was in the cafeteria so he knew at least that it couldn’t have been her. She had to sit in it since it was technically usable, it was uncomfortable, and she thinks she messed some questions up because of it. It will have to be enough, there is plenty of school left to make up the grade.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Those were the only classes Jessica was worried about. Most everything else was easy stuff, like etiquette and home economics, and stuff. Jessica breezed through those classes, the next two days would be smooth sailing with the tests all done. That’ll probably mean more ‘pranks’ from Maddie but she was probably running out of material by now.
With the day wrapping up, she decided to just ask, partly because of King, and partly because she did enjoy the guy’s company, even if she didn’t know him all that well. It was just after art class, which didn’t even have a test for midterms, which Jessica shared with Michael. She figured she would rip the bandage off quick. She walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned and smiled a bit, “Oh, hey. Finish the Smuggler’s Love yet?”
Jessica shrugged, “Almost, but it feels like the end is dragging a bit.”
A small laugh, it was nothing like King’s. It was a high pitch, almost feminine laugh that didn’t seem to fit with the larger boy in front of her. She liked it, it was cute. “Yeah, it feels like that, but the end is worth it, I promise. It’s so bad.”
“You got any plans for the solstice party?” Jessica practically vomited the words for how hard they were to say. Michael didn’t seem to notice.
“Read in the corner probably. You?” Michael looked at her. Their eyes met and suddenly Jessica found herself speaking.
“I don’t know, maybe call in sick. Stay home and not even bother ya know?” Her shoulders shrugged while she shouted at herself for being a coward. “Anyways, free period’s starting and I don’t want to be late. See ya.”
Jessica walked away and the moment she saw a bathroom she entered, locked herself into a stall and covered her blushing face. Maybe those romance books weren’t as ridiculous as she thought. It was like her body moved without her the moment she tried to speak. What the hell! She heard some girls enter the bathroom, they were gossiping like girls do. They seemed to be washing their hands.
Jessica rubbed her face until she thought her blush was gone, and unlocked the stall door. The moment it opened, water sprayed her. A girl, one of Maddie’s cronies, was at the sink, her fingers plugging the faucet to spray out. How they got it to increase the flow she didn’t know, until she spied a boy trying to merge with the corner of the restroom. She knew him, he was one of the underclassmen, he won an award last year for some coding competition.
He at least had the grace to look ashamed. Jessica held her reaction, keeping her face blank. There wasn’t time to change before free period and Mr Henderson already hated her. She came in, damp and uncomfortable which earned a stink eye from the teacher. I just smiled and sat down. She pulled out the book, intent on finishing it so she’d have something to talk about with Michael before asking him.
It was about 45 minutes later when Jessica burst out laughing. Mr Henderson glared at her, Jessica ignored him as she quieted down. She reread the page to make sure she was reading right. She was. She just closed the book and stared off into space. The last chapters of the book were leading towards a reconciliation, where Tony would go straight and Marina would marry him and the book would end happily ever after.
Then, without so much as a warning, the main character was shot. Marina, the enforcer, star of the show, was shot in the middle of the proposal and died without so much as a last few words. One sentence she was pondering her new life with Tony and the next her head explodes. What was this author thinking? It was so utterly jarring that she had to read the page a third time, then the whole chapter looking for anything that hinted at what was going to happen.
Nothing, not even a mention of a glinting light or suspicious character. Jessica read the remaining pages, only for it to be all screaming and Tony crying as Marina slowly moves on to the afterlife. It was clearly written to be dramatic but it felt so forced that Jessica could only laugh. Maybe if Marina was interesting or Tony was likable, maybe that could have worked but this was just awful.
When class ended, Jessica made her way home. She thought about the story, and wondered why Michael liked reading such trash. She got off the bus and headed up the stairs to her mother’s apartment. The moment she entered the smell of thick perfume assaulted her. Her mother was in the kitchen having her snack, some celery sticks with no dip. The woman was dressed up like a bougie mannequin.
Jessica walked in and despite not wanting to talk to her mother, she couldn’t hold back her curiosity. “What’s the occasion?”
Her mother beamed at her, clearly forgetting that she was giving Jessica the silent treatment. “I’m being interviewed by the school paper. We’ll be doing a video piece at five in my office. I came here as soon as I knew to get ready. OH! I am so excited.”
Jessica rolled her eyes. She gave the minimum amount of positive sounding mumbles and grabbed an apple snack. She retreated to her room. The stink of her mom’s perfume drove her away as quickly as possible. She gave her sympathies to the poor reporter who would have to deal with… all of that, and wrapped her glasses up to draw some more.
She focused on the wings today, trying to balance the scaled look with the leathery one, as King’s wings seemed to be both when she caught glimpses of them. Maybe she could get him to pose for her so she wouldn’t have to work off such glimpses. Which means he knows she thought that. The lack of privacy in her thoughts irked her, despite dealing with it for years it still felt unnatural. She doubted he would bring it up though. The other night was a rare occurrence now, though even that level of decency was years in the making.
She drew until 4:30, at which point she was sure her mother had left. Jessica did not want to be kicked out of the bathroom for an “emergency” while dyeing her hair. She made her way to the bathroom, stripped, and purchased the hair dye, which came with a kit. She put the white cloak over her shoulders, and wrapped the cloth neck guard up tight. Doing her best to forget the stupid pranks and Michael and King, and just enjoy the simple pleasure of making herself pretty.
She rubbed the protective oils into her scalp, she could have gone a few days without washing her hair but that was gross. She couldn’t stand for that. She was running a bit low though. With a sigh she rubbed her scalp thoroughly, applied the dye at the roots and worked her way out. She watched a pre-war drama show, it was about old world doctors dealing with all kinds of patients, and let it set. Rinsing her hair she took the provided dry tool and held it in front of her. She took a deep breath and covered her eyes and nose with a now ungloved hand, and there was a small bang.
A rush of warm air threw her hair back as the chemical reaction created heat and pressure. She waved the slight smell away as she passed her fingers through her now bright blond hair to check for dry spots. She took a moment to stare at the mirror. She took in the fine nose of her father, neither too wide or too thin, the thin lips that made it easy to tell if his smile was fake or not, and the lightly bronzed skin tone of her family. It was called a “hispanic tone”. It was a pre-war designation and very common.
If she squinted, she could almost see her father. Sometimes she would walk down his street. His military benefits nabbed him a house in a poorer district, and she could catch his face once and a while when she rode the bus down there. He would even catch her eyes. When he did notice her, he would smile, and turn away. Even a wave hello would break the restraining order, so Jessica didn’t take it personally. She hoped he liked it, when she would look for him. She would ask on her 18th in a few months.
Tears were welling in her eyes and she wiped them away. She shoved the hurt down with anger, and felt just a little better. Fuck her mother, she hoped her interview bombed. She threw away the kit once she was sure her hair had set properly and got dressed in a loose tee and sweatpants. I was 5ish now, and she was hungry.
Grabbing her glasses she pulled up the message board, and found another job. She’d deliver whatever and grab a bite on the way home. She left, locking up on her way out. She took her glasses with her this time. She found the package at the base of a tree in the same park as sunday. It was wrapped in rice paper. She unwrapped it and saw a thumbdrive. Putting the drive away she read the address. It was another business, though farther away this time. She calculated the distance and smiled. Nice.
She got on the bus and went to make another easy payday. She watched more of the doctor show, laughing a bit at the awful effects. Seriously, live action was so bad. It was no wonder the practice died. The actors were pretty good though. She lifted her head at her stop being called and took off her glasses. She wrapped them in a cloth lined with foil. It worked well enough but she would draw suspicion if she took too long.
The place was a hardware store. It was new and decently popular, according to the reviews. She would just hand it to the cashier and leave since it was probably busy, maybe buy some knicknacks to cover her-.
Jessica looked away from the store and walked past without slowing down. Her dad was behind the counter. She pulled out her glasses and looked closer into the business. “Fuck,” She cursed aloud.
Her dad owned the place. It seemed he needed something to fill the time and afford child support payments, so he started the business. “Veteran owned” alright.” she muttered, messaging the client. PM’s were risky but so was letting her dad know that she was technically breaking the law to earn money. That and the order but whatever.
BlursedBoundary7510: Hey, can I get some advice?
Ploppermint#12: Sure.
BlursedBoundary7510: So I got this cool set, a lawman with a paper you can write ‘legal documents’ on like a restraining order.
Ploppermint#12: Neat
BlursedBoundary7510: Yeah, but I nearly broke it. The arm bent funny when trying to click it in. Not sure if I can finish the build.
Ploppermint#12: Shit, was it a manufacturer’s issued or a you issued.
BlursedBoundary7510: Me
Ploppermint#12: Then you can’t return it. Just do your best and send me a pic. I’ll advise further.
Jessica sighed and walked back down the street. She saw a few likely spots but… Then she spotted a potted plant in front of a next door business. She walked slowly and smoothly past, thumbdrive in hand this time. She dropped it into the pot as she passed, spun around and took a picture with her glasses and sent it. It would take her longer to receive payment this way but that’s life.
She crossed the street and called a taxi. She watched and waited. Soon enough, her dad walked out and picked the hard drive out of the pot, and went back in without looking. He didn’t see her, she didn't mind this time.