“You’re stubborn, aren’t you?” Eden cocked her head to the side. Whatever he wanted, she wasn’t going to give it to him. She wasn’t the girl she was two years ago. She had been foolish back then, but she had grown. Circumstances had opened her eyes. “Well, then, Ainsley, suit yourself.”
(Bump)
“With pleasure,” Sterling said with a humorless chuckle. She seemed to have sucked all the flirt out of him with her earlier comment. It was like even the mere mention of it caused him to cower. He hated how he used to live his life…
Eden moved to walk away when she nearly bumped into someone. The boy backed off, eyes wide before he immediately began to apologize.
“Eden! I’m sorry,” he moved away, clearing the path for her. Eden simply cocked her head to the side, blinking owlishly. “I didn’t see you there. I’ll be more careful next time.”
His eyes flashed to Sterling and then to Eden before he breathed out. Eden walked past him, eyes cold and hard, giving nothing in reply.
“Are you insane?” She heard the student hiss at Sterling, but Eden ignored it.
(Poke)
(I know, I know… I was trying to figure out how to respond.)
Sterling blinked after Eden but turned to the other student. “Why do you ask?” he questioned him, his eyes narrowed.
(XD)
The boy furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Sterling as if he was crazy.
“You’re new here, aren’t you,” he breathed out, his question more of a statement. “I’m asking because you’re talking to Eden like that when she has no business with you. Do you want to be at the receiving end of her fist?”
(Beep)
“I can handle myself, thank you. And I’ve seen what happens around her,” Sterling said, his voice a flat monotone. “Why?”
“I’m Chase,” the blond said without battling an eyelash at Sterling’s tone. “Anyway, maybe I should fill you in on people you should avoid, and definitely not piss off. From the bottom of the hierarchy to the top. Sorry I came out rude earlier, by the way.”
Steeliang raised his eyebrows at the other guy's introduction. "Sterling. And what hierarchy?"
Chase rubbed the back of his neck.
“Well, we’re sort of divided into five different groups. The Hierarchy is literally just a more fancy word for popularity,” he explained. “The lowest is us. We’re not directly a part of it, but we’re still involved. We’re Lead. We don’t fight for the top position much. Then comes Bronze. You see that table behind you?” Chase looked at a table where ten students were sitting, sporting tattoos and the likes. “Those are the crappiest people you’ll ever meet. They’ll exploit you with every chance they’ll get. Unlike the Silvers, they’ll resort to any dirty trick to bring you down if you pose a threat. The Silvers are next. They use more of their brains than brawls to win, but they’re also crappy people. They don’t stay in the cafeteria, otherwise I would have showed you. The second in the hierarchy are the Goldens. They’re… the trickiest bunch. It’s hard to explain, but you can’t trust most of them. They have the Bronzes’s strength and the Silvers’s brains—most of them. They’ll usually leave you alone.” He paused, scratching the back of his neck. “All of them are… power hungry. The higher your rank is, the least safer you’ll be. Since you’re currently a Lead, you pose no threat to them, but the second you start stepping up, they’ll have their eyes on you. It’s… not as bad as it was before. We Leads are safe as long as we don’t step up in the hierarchy. The current Top makes sure of that.
Sterling nodded slowly at the explanation. "All right… That makes sense, I guess. But where is Eddn in this?"
Chase sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“We call her the Rebel, the Shadow Queen, or the Blackhole,” he answered quietly. “She’s… the Top. She’s Crystal.”
"Is there anyone else up there with her?" Sterling wondered, glancing back in her direction curiously.
“There used to be a lot,” Chase answered, following Sterling’s gaze. “But then she decided to play the game and the Crystals reduced to one. Honestly, teenagers can be stupid. They play this game, fighting for first place. I’m just glad Leads don’t get caught up in them like they used to.”
"Ah, yeah… I see," Sterling murmured thoughtfully. And what would you say if you found out I'd been gold or crystal at my previous school? "So, where do you usually eat? I was going to sit with Eden, but you saw how well that turned out."
“I usually sit right wherever I find space,” Chase shrugged before he chewed on his bottom lip. “Listen, whatever you do, don’t interact with the Rebel. I can’t, of course, keep you away because you can make your own choices, but I’m not lying when I tell you this. Interacting with her will do you more harm than any good. She’s vicious. She may look harmless, but that’s just because of her image. Don’t let that image fool you. Be a smart new student.”
Sterling hummed, neither agreeing nor disregarding his statement. "And what about her brother? Lucas?"
“Lucas? Oh, he’s not really involved,” Chase furrowed his eyebrows. “He’s in the Student Council, so naturally he’s out of the hierarchy.”
"Being in the Student Council takes you out of the hierarchy?" Sterling mused, looking back over at Chase curiously.
“This hierarchy is a little different,” Chase explained. “If you’re in the Student Council, you can’t participate. That’s because you’re ultimately at a higher rank and you don’t need to be challenged for your position. The problem is, this hierarchy gets a little bloody. There are two ways you can step up in rank and both involve a certain challenge. One is harmless. The other is a fight. Students mostly choose the second option.”
"What's the harmless way?" Sterling wondered.
“You just challenge the other into a match of their talent,” Chase said. “Like… one of the Silver’s really good at Chess. If a Bronze challenges the Silver, he or she would have to beat the Silver with the Silver’s talent. You just need to beat one to step into that rank.”
"Ah, I see… So if a lead challenged a gold, could they take their place in gold?" Sterling questioned, his head cocking slightly to the side in question.
“No,” Chase shook his head. “A Lead must challenge a Bronze. You must challe—wait, you aren’t thinking of doing what I think you are, are you?”
Sterling raised an eyebrow and looked down at the other boy. "What would that be?"
“Challenging the hierarchy,” Chase crossed his arms. “You aren’t going for that, are you?”
Sterling's eyes drifted back to where Eden had disappeared from, and he shrugged. "Not sure yet. How did Eden get to be Crystal?"
“She fought them,” Chase replied quietly. “At first, she just chose one from each rank. She didn’t do that for Crystal. She wanted some sort of revenge, I think, but by now gossips and rumors float around that it’s hard to know which one’s true and which one’s not.”