Chapter Five

Natasha's POV

I liked her already. We were going to be good friends.

“What about you? Let me guess, you want a better life for yourself and a chance to bring equality to Delengade?” She asked with a smirk.

My mouth fell open as I blinked severally.

How…

She rolled her eyes.

“Oh come on. Every sub in here wants the exact same thing.” She said with a laugh.

Well, that was probably true.

“Damn. I feel exposed. That's unfair. Now, I wish I came because I wanted to look cool.” I whined.

She laughed.

“Well, that plan isn't exactly working. Since they all ignore me. But it's better than being picked on.”

Her expression turned more serious and her eyes shone with worry.

“That's the worse thing that could happen to a sub here at Delengade. No matter what you do, you can't let an Elite notice you.”

Goosebumps spread out across my skin and I unconsciously looked back at the front wondering if I hadn't brought trouble on my self already.

Patty followed my gaze and gave me an assuring look.

“Don't worry. She didn't see you. Just try to avoid them at all costs. No sub has ever survived being bullied by an Elite.”

Her eyes turned dark, if that was possible as they did, my chest tightened more painfully with each second.

“You either get killed or you end your own life.”

She must have read panic in my eyes and she took my hands in hers and gave me a sympathetic look.

“I don't mean to scare you but whatever you've heard about this place, they'll all true and worse.”

She pulled her hands away and gave me a dazzling smile and it was like she wasn't just talking about the possibility of getting killed.

“Does anything hurt anywhere? That was a pretty bad push.” She asked.

I shook my head even though I was pretty sure I had whiplash with how fast I moved my head.

Hopefully, I wouldn't go to bed that night and wake up with a fucking migraine or worse, memory loss.

“So, what course?” I asked hopefully.

She smiled.

“IR too.” she said cheerfully like she was reading my mind.

I let out a relieved breath.

“Oh God, thank God! My best friend and I came here together. I was already sad about having to be alone and now I've met you.” I said awkwardly, as I tried to curb my excitement.

She might not be as stoked as I was about us being coursemates.

But she grinned again and nodded vigorously.

“I'm really glad too. I'm the only sub in this class. Didn't you notice I'm the only one in the back seats?” She asked with an amused expression.

Not understanding what she meant, I let my gaze wander around us.

The last roll was occupied only by the two of us.

There were four rolls of seat empty between us and the students in front, who were obviously only made up of Elites.

Four rolls of Elites, four empty rolls and the last roll with just Patty and I.

No one paid us any attention. They were focused and engrossed in each other.

I blinked and turned back to Patty.

“Oh my God. I didn't notice it at all. This is crazy!” I exclaimed.

She nodded.

“So, I've been quite lonely. Now, I'm not the only one at the back seat anymore.” She said.

I laughed.

“You're so bubbly. I thought goth girls were…emo and moody.”

She shook her head with a smile on her face.

“Oh come on, that's just movie BS. I'm just into goth outfits. Doesn't make me moody. I am an extrovert.” She said, grinning.

“Well, I'm glad you're in my class. You'll have to help me with your notes.” I told her, smiling.

She nodded and grabbed her bag from beside her and opened it.

She searched through her bag and took out some notes.

“Luckily, there isn't that much to cover. Since I resumed, we haven't had lessons on some courses.”

She shrugged and bit her lips and looked towards the other students.

“As far as I'm aware, there's no way to get hands on the two weeks I wasn't around. Sad reality of being a sub student here.”

I let out a sigh and accepted the other notes from her. I flipped through them and truly there wasn't much.

But what about the first two weeks? It was fucking unfair.

Of course, we weren't awarded equal opportunities.

My heart sank. Did sub students even get to graduate? What if my graduation was prevented?

‘Calm down, Nat. Subs graduate from Delengade every year.

Only about three out of the total twenty subs who got in ever graduated. Some committed suicide, some disappeared (were obviously killed) or dropped out.

My chances of ever graduating were very very slim. Why the hell didn't I think of that before?

“I'm sure it isn't much though. Don't worry too much. We can just read up. At least we get course outlines. That's a good thing.” She said.

I nodded and forced a smile.

Yeah, she was right. I wasn't going to give up either. I was going to graduate, I wasn't backing down.

Bring it on Elites.

“Thanks a lot for the notes, Patty. I'll have them returned tomorrow. Is that okay?” I asked.

She nodded.

“We're cool. We don't have any of those courses before tomorrow.”

“So, anything else you think I need to know to stay out of trouble?” I asked.

Before she could say anymore, the door opened and a teacher walked into the class.

The man was in his late forties, he had a bulging stomach and had a slight limp.

Apart from those two things, everything else about his appearance screamed opulence.

His outfit, his skin. And still as he stood before the students, his expression clearly was one of fear.

This man was scared of students half his age.