Kol and I lived on the outskirts of the town. The only people that took the snowy path were us and Mr. Green. But slowly the path became wider, and the houses fell closer together.

I never understood why people always wanted to be close together like this. The edge of town was all I knew, but it was peaceful. Quiet. There I could breathe and think without hearing the neighbors shouting at each other or the bike bells dinging at all hours.

Before long, the streets became busier with foot traffic and cross-country skiers. In Hell, there were only a few people who own cars. Most had skis in the winter and bikes in the summer to go places. I gave up my skis for new blades for my skates last year, so that forced me to walk everywhere in the winter. 

I would make that trade all over again if I had to. The town didn't have much for me when I didn't feel like I belonged.  My parents never seemed to mind being ignored by the population of Hell, but I on the other hand found it frustrating. At least Kol had the looks to charm people, I didn't even have that.

A car whizzed by me, causing my head to snap in its direction. I knew all the cars in Hell, but this one was different. It was black, new, and reflected the sunlight. It grabbed the attention of not just me, but others as it passed by.

I caught sight of one man wearing a suit within the shiny vehicle and knew they must have been from the Motherwealth. That was the only place they dressed that formal. They didn't even attempt to fit in when they visited. It was as if they wanted to keep the divide between Commonwealth and Motherwealth. 

Another shiny black car whizzed by, nearly hitting a girl that was in my grade at school. Railey was one classmate I knew the name of. She was probably the most beautiful girl in school. Her blonde hair wasn't frizzy like mine and her face wasn't hollow like my own.

"Are you alright?" I called out to her, careful not to refer to her by name. I didn't want her to think I was some kind of creep when I had never spoken to her before.

She nodded as she brushed off the slushy snow from her faded black coat. "That car came out of nowhere," she spat with hate.

I agreed with her about that. Motherwealth cars always drove around as if they owned the place, as if they didn't care about us. Just last year, a Motherwealth car hit a small child. I went to the funeral, although I can't remember the child's name. The town normally banded together when something terrible happened. 

"Those Motherwealth people don't know etiquette if a car hit them," she muttered under her breath, but I heard it.

Hatred for the Motherwealth was as common as birds flying. It was un unspoken thought that lingered in the air, espeically when Motherwealth people came to visit. Most were silent for their hatred, in fears that they would be shipped to a work camp farther north or just simply killed. Hearing her rant was a refreshing breath of validation that I wasn't the only one to spoke so openly.

"How have you been, Telvi?" she asked as she walked up to me.

She knew my name. A smile came to my lips for a second. That was a pleasent reminder that maybe I wasn't as invisable as I thought. "I've been good. And you?" I replied politely.

She shrugged, although I could see she was hiding something behind her tired eyes.

"I've been good," she echoed before allowing her thin red lips to twist up. "I'm going to drop out of school to help my parent's fabric shop."

There went another one. It was common once they reached my age to drop out of school to provide for the family. I wanted to drop out myself, but Kol insisted I stay until the end. 

I wanted to say, 'that's a shame, I'm sorry', but she already knew that fact. Life wasn't fair when you had to worry about paying for bills at our age. I mouthed an O in silence.

"I wish I had the chance to finish up the last school year. We only had one more, you know?" She gave a wishful sigh. "But I guess I'm destined to work with my parents until I die, just like they did before them."

"Do you know what you would want to do otherwise?"

Her eyes sparkled nearly as brightly as the black car that passed. "I would have liked to get a college degree in the neighboring Commonwealth. Maybe get training to be a schoolteacher and live in Elliot. At least, that is the largest city closest to us."

I didn't want to rain on her parade, but we knew that moving from Commonwealth to Commonwealth was nearly impossible. You would have to get special privileges from the Motherwealth and more often than not, they denied requests. People were bound to live and die in the same Commonwealth unless something made the Motherwealth decide otherwise.

"But atlas, that wasn't in the cards for me," she sighed as she placed her hand on my shoulder. It was warm. Comforting. But I wasn't the one needing comforted. "Anyhow, what do you think the Motherwealth people are doing here?"

My gaze drifted towards where the car was parked in front of town hall. It was the weekend. I didn't know why they were here. Honestly, I didn't care, but I did care about being close to her, so I stayed. Her hair glittered in the sun, and I wondered how she got it to look so flawless.

She pulled out her planner with shiny gold lettering on the cover, then flipped through the pages. "It's December 2nd. That means those officials could be Talent Seekers. They are early though. They should be here next week...."

Talent Seekers came once a year, sometimes twice, always looking for the same thing. Talent. Someone who possessed extreme talent in anything. Then they would take them back to the Motherwealth to prefect their talents. Normally there were at least a few people that signed up to be reviewed, but the Talent Seekers hardly ever took anyone from Hell.

"Are you going to sign up? I know you are good at ice skating." She smiled.

As much as people hated the Motherwealth, they knew being discovered was one of the few opportunities they had to escape. Being taken by the Talent Seekers meant that they would have a future outside of their town. Everyone seemed to want that. I didn't. I was from Hell and this was where I would die. It was home. Besides, I couldn't leave Kol. He was the only thing I had left.

"Nah, I don't think I'm good enough for that," I said, brushing her off. 

"Please, I have seen you skate. You're good. Like really good," she gushed. It made me blush. I never realized anyone beside Mr. Green paid attention. "If you signed up, they would take you for sure and you could live your dreams in the Motherwealth."

But my dreams did not involve the Motherweath.

"You know, if the Talent Seekers took you, I think you would be the first person in 25 years to be picked up in Hell."

"You might be right. But honestly, I think I'm happy just staying here, in Hell, with Kol," I voiced.

She shrugged but made a face as if she didn't get it. "If I were as talented as you, I would have left Hell years ago, that's all I'm saying," she said, then started off on her way again.

But what was were we differeed. I wanted to stay here. 

I watched her walk into her parent's fabric shop before I started on my way to the small market.

As I walked into the market, I was greeted with a warm smile from the store owner, Renae. "Hey Telvi, what do you have this time around?" she asked as soon as the door behind me closed.

I pulled the butter in my small bag out and stuck it on the counter for her to examen.

"Ah, I see. Your butter is always good. That small cow of yours is very trustworthy," she said as she held the butter to the light of her store right before the lights went out. She swore loudly, then lit a candle. "Those damn power outages. I swear, they are getting terrible. Do they want us to freeze?"

Probably. At least then they won't have to worry about providing gas and electicity to us. 

I waited for her to tell me the price of the butter. She was always slow, but today felt extra slow. Maybe it was because my stomach would not stop rumbling. I tapped my fingers on the counter.

"I think I can give you one silver for this." Renae pulled out a silver coin from her pocket, then slapped it on the counter.

A frown came to my lips. I got a little more last week.

"Don't give me that face, Telvi. We all know that things are tough. This is the best I can do."

Things were tough. Otherwise I wouldn't be here. She wouldn't give me that crap when she had a nice home and a store. She wasn't struggling like I was. Anger flashed through me like a crack of lightning. Even if I spoke up, she wouldn't understand. Most didn't understand what people on the outskirts went through.

"Alright," I muttered as I took the silver coin and stuffed it into my pocket. With that, I left the store.

Groups of people with smiles on their face walked towards the town hall. They had such hope. They would be disappointed. The Talent Seekers were picky and no one in Hell was good enough for them. But it didn't matter how low of a chance they had, they would try, every year until they were too old to sign up. 

"Hey Telvi! What are you up to?" Kazimir, Kol's best friend, shouted to me from across the stress.

He was nearly as tall as Kol, so I felt like I needed to crane my neck just to see him.  

"Just selling some butter," I told him as he ran across the road, avoiding some cross-country skiers.

"So, are you finally going to sign up with the Talent Seekers?" he asked with a wink.

I pushed him lightly. Kazimir was just nearly as familiar to me as Kol. He made me feel at home. But that didn't mean he still didn't get on my nerves. Kazimir had begged me to sign the stupid Talent Seekers list since I became old enough to sign. None of his begging would work though. I was like a stone.

"Let them find someone else from Hell," I replied.

"We both know they won't. No one is that talented here."

"What about your cousin, Ezra? He signs opera like a master."

"That's only when he drinks. He can't do it sober," he responded.

 "Well, hopefully he's not sober if he's going to perform in front of them."

"Nope. Just dropped him off. He could barely walk in a straight line."

"Maybe this year he'll be lucky." I chuckled.

"For yours and my sakes. He is getting on my nerves recently, especially since his family moved in with my family."

I patted his thick winter coat covered shoulder. 

"Seriously, think about signing up. They are only here until tonight."

"I will," I called out to him as I walked back home.

Both he and I knew I wouldn't.