“Riiiiiinnng!!!!

A school lunch bell rips the air to shreds and I jerk myself awake. I look up at the clock and then back at the small bits of drool, covering my desk. It was embarrassing.

“Lunch time, already?”

Immediately, I grab my backapack and enter the made rush of the hallways. Locker doors slam and scrap open like a bad song. I regain my awareness, still half awake. The hallways turn into a nightmare as I walk by the many blurs that compose it. Just when I gain momentum, my body is jerked off balance. I fall into some lockers. Someone had shoved me.

“What the…”

It takes just a moment, for me to realize what happened. Anger swells in my gut, as I watch three ground dwellers pass by me. They were still laughing with their cocky faces. I didn't even recognize the fools, but for some reason I was being humiliated again. As soon as I get....

“Eww get off me!”

I'm pushed aside. I was slow to realize I had fallen onto some random girl. I felt bad. It's not my fault, though. I was pushed onto her.

“How come I'm so unaware?”

I don't even get a chance to apologize to the girl or explain myself. I wasn't quick on my words. The girl sighs condescendingly and walks off. The right words never came fast enough, giving me a chance to fight back. Now, I really felt like a loser. A Lam-loser or whatever is is they called me.

With my fingernails digging into my face in rage, I yank my bag up and furiously. I push my way to the cafeteria. My eyes were already watering.

“Tayt Milonas. You loser. Lam-loser....”

I was too furious not to cry. It always made me feel weak. I wipe the dew from my cheeks.

I barge through my classmates at the entrance and arrive at the swinging cafeteria doors. I angrily push into them, only they don't budge and inch. I try again and the impatient students complain behind me. Finally, I realize what's going on.

I peer through the small window in the door. Another person looks back at me and grins. His taunting hands lift with a shrug and middle finger, while he acts innocent to what's going on.

“I don't know why they won't open?” he says aloud.

The humiliation pisses me off even more, but I never get a chance to react. The classmates behind me protest and shove the doors open themselves. I get shoved back, until every last person walks by. I barge into the cafeteria with fury. Everyone looks over at me as the doors slam.

The smell of cafeteria food fills the air. Conversation echoes the walls like a gymnasium. I head to the line and throw my bag down. Good thing I brought it with me, so they wouldn't kick it around in the hallway like they always did! Coming up behind me in line, was the ground dweller who kept the door closed. His name was Ned and was just like any other bully, except he had a crush on Nahlia too. I hated Ned worse than anything!

“What the hell's your problem!”

“What the hell's your problem,” he mocks.

“Whatever,” I reply walking further down the line.

“Whatever,” he mocks. “Loser.....”

I take a final look at my harasser. He was a ground dweller. Ned Fexan, that was his full name. Not only did he attack me in the lunchroom, it was like he had nothing better to do than follow me around the entire city. It was Ned who often got his buddies to gather near the ropes and scrummage through my bag when I wasn't looking. The worst part was, he was Nahlia's neighbor.

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“Stupid Ned!”

After calming my nerves a bit, I make my way past to the lunch line. I pick at a scratch in my plastic tray, hoping the line will move faster.

“Geez, this stuff again.”

I grab some chocolate milk, a fresh pan-baked cheese stick, fruit cake smileys on a stick, and the mashed sandwich stuff James warns me about. Not healthy, but it tastes good. I slide over to the register and whip out my coins. I dump and count them and the register lady smiles at me.

I head to a painted brick wall on the far side the lunchroom. A few girls shout at each other and someone's lunch gets spilled on the ground. I pay it no attention. Instead, my eyes wander until they see a familiar face. I look into two purple eyes. My best friend was still alive. It was worth going too school today. It sit down at the end of a long table.

“Not eating again?”

Nahlia looks up at me. She runs a hand against her neck. Her broken sunglasses fall off again and I pick them up. Someone had broken them and they didn't sit right on her face. We all knew who that was. Her uncle did it. That's who. I hand the broken sunglasses back to Nahlia and she covers her worried eyes and frowns. I had already seen the healing bruise. I don't know why she hides it from me. I never say much about it anyways.

“So, taking me into that picture finally?” says Nahlia sheepishly.

She smiles and holds back her laugh as I look at her.

“Yeah. I promised I would do it.” I look at Nahlia. I was annoyed with her, but I start to smile too. It's like it happened against my will. We were too familiar with each other to take each other seriously when life threw its ironies.

“Hey Nahlia, going sky-side with me?” I say back.

“You mean throw my life away and never go back,” juts in Nahlia.

“I won’t even finish my schooling if I go up there. If my uncle found out I went to the sky platforms he would hunt me down and make sure I failed at life. He knows someone has been in my room.”

Nahlia tugs at the bottom of her denim miniskirt. She tucks her body in and looks at me. It was obvious she was embittered from me even mentioning the sky platform. I never get a chance to reply though. A whistling human interrupts us. My shoulder jerks.

“What are you doing hanging around one of our girls,” mocks a familiar voice. I don't budge, but I immediately recognize Ned's voice. Sweat forms on my skin and it was like I could feel his eyes staring on my back. His stare moves up and down my spine, and I could feel it like a finger. Suddenly, a moistened breath moves close to my temple and speaks intimately into my ear.

“Faggot….”

I try to let the insult slide off my back, but it digs through my mind like a worm, feeding on every morsel of dignity and confidence I had left in me. I was so sick of it. I was so sick of myself. I just couldn't say the right thing fast enough, or throw the knockout punch in a fight. It was pathetic. I angrily try to think of something to say, but don't get the chance. Nahlia, cuts in.

“Find another place to masturbate, dick collector.” She spits out. “Get off on someone else.”

Ned looks at Nahlia a bit unsure of himself. He tries to say something, but is interrupted once more by Nahlia.

“Yeah, real shoddy Ned. You square-headed dud. Like, in a room full of boxes, you wouldn’t even stand out.”

“That's so lame...”

“Shut up, Tayt.” Nahlia was laughing at herself with me, pushing on her sunglasses again.

Ned stares down at us. His disgust for me was now in full swing, like his embarrassment. The last thing he wanted to do was look weak in front a girl like Nahlia. He liked her ever since they had been going to school together and he knew she'd be an easy target for him – if he could get her alone.

As long as Nahlia's uncle beat her self-esteem down, he was positive she’d give in one day. Usually, Nahlia didn’t fight back against his verbal jabs, but today it was different. She wasn't putting up with it.

Ned sighs with a sheepish laugh and a wave of relief spreads over me. However, he turns to Nahlia and gives her a wry smile. He wasn’t about to let his neighbor make him look bad.

“Bitches like you can suck the dew from my dick. I give you a year, before you get down on your knees for me, like you do for your uncle. Sucker…”

“Ah noo...”

Those around us gasp. A few chuckle. I look over at Nahlia and try to say something.

In Neandeleria we had always called ourselves the Dew-Lit. It goes back a long time. It's from the ancient times when we had nobles with double-headed battle axes. The ancient ones used to say that the sweat from stress and sex, and the tears from our eyes was like dew. The water from our naked bodies lit up our emotions with fire and passions only humans could ever know. Every droplet was dirty and raw, yet flooded with power from our suffering. I sleep a lot, but I try to pay attention in history class.

I look back at Ned. He walks away. The moment was over for him, but for Nahlia it seemed like it was frozen in time. She stares blankly, holding her sunglasses tight against her face, as a repeating sentence crushes her inner thoughts. Everyone was looking over at her and gossiping.

I look passed Nahlia's sunglasses into her eyes. She could never go back to this. I try to comfort her, but she shoves my hand away. It looked like our school days together were about over.