The lecture was boring. Really, truly, utterly boring. So much so that I felt as though I might die before it was over by drifting into a boredom induced coma. The politicians always managed to give lectures that dragged on forever, and the only possible end was when an upper-class slicker kid found his or her way back to the COMPOUND. The guards ended up dragging the half-starved kid to the lecture hall first, which always brought about an end to the lecture. Sure it was awful for whichever kid it was, but for me it was a welcome escape.

Today, however, it didn't seem like luck was going to be on my side. The lecture had started more than four hours ago, and the monotone man seemed as though he was just getting started. I wondered if I might be able to just sneak out of here. With the way things were going, it would be a very long time before the lecture would be over.

Suddenly, there was a large rap at the door. A grin spread across my face as I inconspicuously began to pack my things away. It's not like I didn't feel sorry for the next poor fellow to be reprimanded. I did. It was constantly on my mind, how horrible and embarrassing it would feel to be chastised for being a slicker in front of all of your peers. It was such a shameful thing to have happen to you. It meant that you were pathetic at your very essence, and so arrogant that not even the honor of your family was good enough to hold you back from the thrill that you wanted. Or so everyone thought.

Being a slicker wasn't like that for me. If I ever get caught, no one would think that about me. Not that I could ever get caught. Not even the other slickers knew, or even thought, that I was one. And, if I had my way, they never would.

A large burly guard shouldered his way into the room, followed by another guard who simply stood at the back of the room, apart from it all. He crossed his arms over a broad chest, and somehow seemed angry. It was hard to explain, but the anger that exuded from him was deeper and somehow more vibrant. I couldn't see his face, but somehow... I thought I might recognize him. Shaking off that eerie feeling of recognition, I turned back to the first guard.

He was angry, that much was obvious. His mask was ripped off from his face, dangling around his neck like some sort of fashion statement gone awry. The gloves that normally reached his elbows were either lost or in a pocket, revealing pale hands and forearms covered in numerous scars. His face was a growling and snarling red with beads of angry and exhausted sweat gathering on his brow.

In his hands he clutched the arm of a pale, skinny kid that I barely knew in passing, and couldn't say the name of if my life depended on it. The kid stumbled along, his eyes wide with the fear of what was to come. We all knew that it'd be especially ugly, because it was obvious that the kid decided to fight back.

The politician that was lecturing us paused with what he was saying. His eyebrows knitted together, and a hand fluttered to his heart. "B-Brid?" He asked haltingly. The kid-- Brid-- nodded. He reached a hand out, as if begging to be freed. He knew what his fate would be if he wasn't. The politician just shook his head softly, lowering his eyes from the scene before him.

"Dad, please!" Brid sobbed, trying to break free. "Let me go! I'm sorry, dad!" The kid screamed. He began to thrash wildly the arms of his captor. The politician refused to meet the eyes of the guard, who began to drag the screaming and flailing body out of the room. Brid screamed, kicking and sobbing, "Dad, no! Please don't let them kill me! Please, I never meant for it to go anywhere! Please!"

The politician stared at the door where his son vanished. His eyes were blank and unseeing, an icy blue that contained no warmth. They were the eyes of my father.

~

I started awake from my dream, shaken and worried. My sheets and comforter were wrapped around the base of my bed, where I kicked them during my sleep. I rubbed my eyes sleepily, trying to orient myself. My head pounded intensely, and I carefully kneaded it to try and relieve some of the pain.

This was happening to me too often now, and it was becoming more and more obvious to those around me. Yesterday I fell asleep during math, and woke suddenly, staring into the eyes of my tutor. I'd been calling out in my sleep, and he'd been worried about me.

I could tell by the hesitancy that he'd spoken with throughout the rest of the lesson that he knew exactly what I was. Luckily he was a very quiet person, and if he talked to my parents, he certainly would not mention what had been going on. With him, my secret was safe. But that didn't mean that it would be safe with others. If this kept happening, I would be found out sooner rather than later. The confidence I had in my ability to keep it a secret could only carry so far.

I heard a knock at my door, and I gently finger-combed through my hair to make myself more presentable. "Come in," I called, sitting up. My mother swept into the room. Her pale brown hair was curled gently around her oval face, even though she'd only been awake for about fifteen minutes. Her pale blue eyes blinked stupidly, a mark of her washed mind. She no longer thought for herself. If I stayed here, my future wife would have that done to her as well. Politician and upper-class women were not allowed to think for themselves, because their ideas were too nurturing oriented. They would not be able to recognize the class system as something that provides "purity and safety," and would instead see it for what it was: something that destroyed lives and caused widespread hatred among the class levels. If women were allowed to think for themselves, we would not be where we were today, or so we'd always been told.

She blinked again, and her eyes finally recognized me. "Oh. I came in here to tell you something. But I think I..." her voice trailed off as she stared at the wall in front of her, head cocked to one side. I waved my hand back and forth in front of her face before I realized that she couldn't even see me anymore. Normally the wash wasn't this deep, but they made a mistake, and it completely took away her ability to think for herself and remain focused. It was one of the reasons I hated the COMPOUND as much as I did.

"Okay, mother, let's go out and get breakfast," I said, standing and gently nudging her forward with my hand. She followed my lead, stumbling slightly before she regained some of her footing. We reached the main area of the house, where father was seated. He gave me a slight nod and turned back to his meal. He did not acknowledge mother at all.

I held in a sigh, disgusted at how he treated the woman that he married. It had been rumored that in the past, women were revered and treated with love and respect. Now, they were little more than a means for a future. At least father did not take out his anger on mother, as I'd heard some of the more fervent politicians did.

I pushed mother into a seat, a heavy weight settling in the pit of my stomach when she nearly fell to the ground instead. There was a plate of her food, specially made with medicine that maintained the level of her wash. If she didn't eat it every morning, the wash would gradually become too powerful. The medicine ate at her brain cells, and would get out of control and kill her if she didn't receive it. Most people didn't have to exert this level of concern simply because of the wash. Because her wash was so intense, we were required to practically force-feed her each morning. The other women only needed a small dose once a week.

I put it in front of her, placed the fork in her hand, and instructed her to eat. Then I got my own plate, and sat down as my little sister, Leyca, entered the room. She rubbed her eyes gently and she gave me a tired smile.

"Hey squirt," I said. She stuck her tongue out at me. I was very happy that she hadn't been washed yet, and could still live her normal life. It would be this way for at least another two years. She was only fifteen, and most girls were washed at eighteen. The youngest I'd ever heard is sixteen, and that was because the son of a very influential politician demanded the girl as his bride. It was awful to see such a young girl with such a vacant look in her eyes, mindlessly conceding to the every whim of her husband. It always seemed worse when they were younger, because the loss of life was so different. They went from being vibrant, outgoing individuals to mindless, almost dog-like creatures.

I grabbed Leyca's plate for her, and sat it in front of her. She smiled her thanks up at me, and began to eat, as did I. Breakfast was always quiet. It was always... empty of conversation, and had been for as long as I could remember throughout my eighteen years of life. Today was no exception. Father glared at his food, moodily snapping at the morsels on his plate as if they were to blame for all of the problems in Patella. My mother was barely able to eat on her own, her vacant eyes shifting in and out of focus sporadically. My sister merely ate, keeping her eyes to herself. It was a very awkward affair.

The tension built, and the silence weighed heavily on the atmosphere. By now, father should have at least begun to clean up after his breakfast meal, lightening some of the strict silence. However, even after finishing his meal, he stayed. His eyes fixed on my mother's food, and his dark brown eyebrows pushed stubbornly over his cold blue eyes.

Finally, he stood. No one said a word as he picked up his used plate and nearly broke it as he slammed it down into the sink. Something was obviously bothering him. He flexed his jaw angrily as he exited the room. I could hear him cuss colorfully as he bumped into something in the next room over. I had never seen him act this distastefully, especially not around Leyca. Normally he was more mindful of our presence, and acted almost arrogant in his attempts to remind us to act favorably. It was almost disconcerting to see him acting this out of character.

I stood up, sighing as I wondered why he was acting so strange. I nodded to my sister as I placed my plate in the sink on top of father's. She waited for me to leave the room before cleaning up after herself and mother, as was customary. I knew she would then proceed with her chores. She no longer went to school, because no education was needed for a lady that was merely there to clean and cook. She learned basic speaking, reading, and writing skills in her early years of education. Beyond that, she was taught to cook, clean, and comply (the three C's).

Now that she had been taught that, she stayed home all day, preparing for the day that she would be married off by cleaning and cooking for most of our meals. Normally our mother would teach her these skills, but she had become entirely incapable of doing so. Most women had mothers whose washes were not so severe, and as such, the mothers taught their daughter anything else about cooking and cleaning. Because Mother was unable to, Leyca had been forced to teach herself.

I, however, went to school six out the seven days of the week. The last day was spent socializing with possible future spouses, or entering the workforce with a father. I mainly enjoyed the first option, because it allowed me to recognize the women as the kind, gentle, and intelligent people that they were. I wouldn't be able to appreciate this later, because the mind of the woman I marry would be washed the day before the marriage ceremony. It was always then, because of the risk for children entering the equation. Many politicians feared that if this happened, and the woman hadn't been washed yet, that the nurturing side of the woman would become too dominant. That, and the fact that the wash itself proved too hard for a pregnancy, and without fail resulted in a termination meant that the wash had to be done before children could ever enter the equation.

It was a difficult transition to make, but a necessary one, we were told. Yes, it would be harder to raise the children. Because the women weren't capable of doing so, the role was largely thrust onto the father, an older sibling, or a male servant of the family. I myself had participated a lot in raising Leyca, until I had started attending school on a more consistent schedule. Nowadays, I barely saw her because of how often academics or other activities took precedence.

The six days a week that I did attend school, it consisted mainly of lectures. The topics varied, but usually fell under four different categories: how important politicians and upper-classmen were, why we needed to be in total control of the entire compound, why women were too weak to stay sane in the politician demographic, and occasionally, how we could make the COMPOUND a better place for everyone to live. Most of the guys in the lectures enjoyed how idolized they became. They thrived off the fact that they were the "dominant gender", the ones who held the power. I personally felt that the COMPOUND would be a lot better if we all just worked together, but sadly I was one of the very few that did. Many that did agree with me were conveniently found lying dead in a ditch a couple of days after they voiced it.

I walked to the lecture hall today, even though I could have just taken a bus or gotten a ride with a neighbor like I do most days. The cool air helped to clear my mind from a troubling morning, and it made everything around me seem that small bit brighter and more welcoming. There was no one else walking at this time of day, because I had to leave early to be able to arrive on time. The first lecture started in less than a half hour, so I began to walk slightly faster, enjoying the feeling of freedom that I experienced.

I got to the lecture hall about five minutes before it began, just as male students from this sector were beginning to trickle in. I took my customary seat at the back, listening to, but not participating in, the idle chatter that the other students always made before class actually begins.

Suddenly, the bane of my existence flopped into the chair next to me. There was a large glob of fat resting on his gut, and it wiggled up and down as he sat, making a noise very similar to 'flop'. "Hey buddy!" he crowed, patting my head awkwardly. His breath stank of some sort of substance that he'd obviously had too much of. He belched right into my face, and I winced at the wretched smell that almost made me gag. I controlled myself though, making sure I didn't disturb the teachers or get any administrators involved.

He threw his arm around my shoulder, and I quickly shrugged it off. He was too far gone into his chemically altered world to notice my rude gesture, and instead of taking action against me, he began shouting crude phrases across the room to some of his closer friends. I wished that he would leave now, because he made me feel very uncomfortable. He was the type of person that just made me want to leave the COMPOUND behind, and give up on the society that these people have created.

His name was Jerr. He was the son of the most influential and disgustingly rich politician right now, and would probably inherit all of that power and money when his father died. He was an idiot, and definitely didn't deserve the power and respect that other people willingly gave to him. Neither did his father, for that matter.

He gave a wide, toothy grin to one of his friends after saying a particularly crude set of words. He then gave me what he would consider a friendly shove, but it nearly sent me sprawling onto the ground. He grunted out a laugh, and I gently massaged my shoulder where his rough hands had most-likely left a small bruise, settling into my seat. I laid my head on the desk in front of me, trying to ignore everyone around me and catch some sleep. I could hear the people around me talking, but one voice stood out to me. It roared into my mind in the most unpleasant way.

"Yeah, I'm going to get his sister. Dad says I can have whoever I want, and I said I want her! I want Evrynn's sister! I want the prettiest girl in the whole COMPOUND, so I said that I wanted her! Me and you, we're gonna be best buds!" He shouted. It was incredibly loud, feeling as though he'd screamed it into my ear. His voice slurred so much that I could barely understand. It took a moment or two for me to register just exactly what he had said.

"Wait... what?" I demanded, standing so quickly that the chair I was sitting on toppled to the floor. Jerr glanced up at me, his eyes glazed over slightly. His image swayed back and forth for several long moments, and it took all of my concentration to steady my vision. My fingers ached for me to hit him. I wanted to. I leaned forward slightly on the balls of my feet, feeling like I would be ready to strike if the need arose.

"Your sister. She's going to be my wife." Jerr stated dumbly, a small crease appearing in his forehead. A little dab of slobber appeared in the corner of his mouth, which he didn't reach to wipe away. I was growing increasingly angry, and my hands were balled into tight fists that rested at my waist.

I felt so enraged, but I knew it could not be anything more than him just talking about whatever might make him seem cooler to his friends. I slowly let out a deep breath that I'd been holding ever since Jerr had started talking to me. I sat down again, and put my head in my hands, gently rubbing circles around my forehead. "Jerr, I think you need to get away from me, right now." I told him, barely containing the rage that I still harbored. I had a feeling that I would be talking with Dad tonight. If he thought that it was acceptable to allow Jerr, of all people, to marry Leyca... we were going to have a very serious problem.

Jerr nodded dumbly, standing. He looked as though he was trying to figure out what to say to me, but with as idiotic as he was, he may as well have been trying to remember how to move his feet. He must have figured out whatever it was, because a few moments later, he shuffled away, his blob of fat sashaying with his steps. He was a quite disgusting young man. I held back a breath of relief as he left, still resisting the ever present urge to go over to him and smack him upside the head until he said that he'd leave my sister alone.

I couldn't really concentrate for the rest of the day. The words that Jerr had said kept coming back into my mind. The thought of my sister getting washed was bad enough. The thought of it happening at the hands of Jerr — that was unbearable. I really did try to focus on what was happening, I did, but even the administrators could tell that something was weighing heavily on my mind.

By the end of the day, I was extremely relieved to hear the bell ring, dismissing us. Luckily, today was a relatively short day. Normally, it was just however long the various lectures went on, or until a Slicker showed up and let us all go home. Today was a set schedule, and we followed it to the nail. We were released as the second the bell rang, and for that I was very relieved.

I charged home as quickly as I could.