Jeez, this one's 2559 words... enjoy.

When I woke, it was to broad daylight streaming in through the car windows. The first thing that I noticed was that the car was stopped.

The second was that I was soaking wet.

"Hey! It worked!" Jax exclaimed happily.

Sophia rolled her eyes. "I told her to wake you up," she explained, "because we're here. I wasn't expecting her to splash water all over you, though."

"It's cool," I said, even though, clearly, it was not (I was soaking wet!), "Where is here, anyways?"

"I dunno," Jax muttered, just as Sophia launched into a long-winded explanation that didn't actually make anything any clearer.

"So, probably somewhere in the northwest," Jax summarized, "but we don't actually have any clue."

I shrugged, letting my mind wander for a couple moments until it occurred to me that we hadn't actually gotten out of the car, which I promptly asked about.

"We don't know why, but the doors are still locked. We can't get out," Jax said, ever unhelpful.

I had to take a couple deep breaths, centering my mind, before I felt the wave of frustration and anxiety wash away, leaving my mind blank and rational. I had been through worse, and besides, we lived in a society where showing emotions was a weakness. No reason to give them more ammo against the Non-Evos.

Evidently, Jax and Sophia didn't share my views, because it was clear even to me that they were hovering, about to go into full-fledged panic mode.

"Take a few deep breaths. We'll be fine," I said shortly to the two of them. Honestly, were they trying to get us all killed with their attitude? It's P.S. (Personal Slave) 101--don't show how you feel. Evos hate emotions.

They glanced at each other, then at me, their gazes laced with curiosity, but they did as I said. Luckily, it was after they had had their freakout that the door opened, and a man said,"Get up. You are to follow one of the other slaves to get your uniforms and assignments."

He couldn't have been more than a few months older than me, with wavy black hair and eyes like ice--pale blue, and cold but beautiful. It was clear that he was an Evo, however--he talked down to us, like we were lesser beings. He also held himself like a feline, giving the impression of relaxation, but with that dangerous sense that made your hair stand on end with the knowledge that you could be dead any second.

So what did I do? Did I freak out, scream? Did I do as I was told, quiet as could be? Nope. I did pretty much the worst thing I could've.

"Hello to you to," I snapped coldly, brushing past him as I got out, "Do you make a habit of locking people in a car with nothing to do?"

And then I starting walking in the direction of the house.

Yep, pretty much the worst start to my new life ever.

***

Over the next few days, I spent a lot of time asking myself why I had done that, why I had done the one thing that ensured my life here would suck. To be honest, I knew why--the memory of my parents death. It had shaken me up, bad, and when I saw the Evo (whose name I had discovered was Jasper), I lashed out. It was the Evos' fault that I wasn't at home, complaining about homework or boys or something stupid. It was their fault I was an orphan. It was their fault I couldn't let anyone in, that I couldn't show my feelings, that I had to go into emotional lockdown a couple times a day. I was sick of living this way, and I snapped.

But I passed it off, made excuses, said it was anything but that. Because that would mean I had lost control of my feelings, and that would mean I had them in the first place.

Of course, I didn't just obsess over my Big Mistake. I was given my uniform (dark pants/skirt, grey shirt, tennis shoes, and a bracelet with a tracking chip), my roommates (Jax, Sophia, and another girl named Marcie we'd never met), and my job (cleaning all the guest bedrooms on floor three). Jax cleaned the bathrooms on floor three, and Sophia, the lucky girl, was in training to become the next chef--because of course the mansion has a freaking chef. So I was a busy little bee--just one that was very distracted.

But beyond obsessing and getting adjusted, life was about as good as it could be when you were living like a second class citizen in a third-world country. In other words, as an Evo's slave. I scavenged (read: stole) some basic supplies from around the mansion for drawing, and started to explore the sprawling complex in my free time. I found out that, counting the attic and basement, there were six floors, but the attic and basement were off limits, even for cleaning purposes. The first floor was full of basic stuff--rooms for visitors to hang out in, the kitchen, living room, game room, etc.. The second floor was for the family themselves, because as it turned out, there were four sibling Evos--two guys and two girls (in order from oldest to youngest, there was Tasha, Jasper, Jessica, and Eric). Then the third floor was for guests, with bathrooms and bedrooms and stuff, plus a lounge-ish area. The fourth floor was slave quarters, so obviously I spent lots of time there. Curiosity drove me practically insane whenever I tried to guess what was in the attic or basement, but no way was I going to try to break into a forbidden area only days after I insulted an Evo to his face.

So where did I spend the most of my time? On the grounds outside.

I made nice with one of the security guards pretty much first thing, so it was fairly easy to slip out any chance I got and wander on the acres of land that were my new home. There was something calming about being out there, just being alone, thinking and breathing in the scent of lavender that seemed to hover over everything (that was probably from the nearby lavender farm).

And the area itself was beautiful, too. Huge, ancient-looking maple trees were scattered across the grounds, along with willow trees, clusters of birch... it goes on and on. The weather had been sunny and cloudy since we got here, but we hadn't had any rain yet, so the ground was plenty dry enough to sit on. Small, colorful song birds fluttered from branch to hide from us big, loud humans and calling out to one another. Gentle breezes and warm weather made it the perfect time to be spent outside. It was, in short, completely beautiful.

Which is why I spent a vast amount of my time sitting, alone, enjoying the feeling of the wind caressing my face, hearing the leaves crinkle, the feel of the grass when my fingertips lightly grazed it. I had made a sort of game of it: focus your entire being on this, then this, then this. It gave my mind a chance to escape the cycle I was stuck in.

Of course, I couldn't spend all my time out there. Most of my everyday life was just a mixture of chores and avoiding people. Take today, for instance.

I was currently playing another version of my game in the hopes I would get all of the emotions out of my head so I could think clearly for just a few moments. Think about the room... Nothing but the room... Feel the pillows in your hand... The muscles working as you move...

I took a couple deep breaths, then went back to the task at hand--making the bed--with renewed vigor. Just as I plopped the last pillow down, I heard the door behind me opening. I ignored it, hoping that whoever it was would realize that I had it under control and leave me alone.

"Um, do you need some help?" a male voice asked.

I took in a deep breath and let it out in frustration. "Nope, I've got it. It's not too much for one person. All you do is clean."

"Well, yeah, but it's more fun and faster with company."

I gritted my teeth and didn't respond, hoping that they'd leave. I heard the door close again, and relief washed over me. At least, until I heard his voice again, right behind me.

"So where should I start?"

I turned around, glaring at the teenage boy. He was nothing really special--brown hair and eyes, a few inches taller than me. He looked maybe a year or so older, but over-all, no more suited for this job than me.

"I don't need help," I snapped.

He looked slightly taken aback, and a brief moment guilt surged over me before washing away. If I got him in trouble because he was hanging out with me after I had insulted an Evo, it'd be much worse than hurt feelings.

"I still think you'd have more fun if you accepted my offer," he responded, shrugging his shoulders as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the doorway.

I threw my hands up in frustration, wishing that this stupid guy would just go away. I took another few breaths and went back to cleaning, trying desperately to ignore him talking in the background.

"So, you got here a few days ago, right? With Jax and Sophia?"

He knows their names and not mine? I didn't know why this bothered me, but it did. I brushed it off on the fact that his whole demeanour was annoying.

"It's funny. I haven't seen you hanging out with many people. Or talking. Or eating with the rest of us. Or really interacting at all, really."

I put every part of my conscious effort into search for any specks of dust I had missed.

"Sometimes I see you sitting outside, drawing, though. Your art is really pretty."

I straightened up so quickly that I banged my head against the shelving I had been crawling under.

"OW!" I yelped, turning to scowl at him. He stared back, a mixture of amusement and concern flickering across his face (which was not cute, no matter how much he probably thought he was).

"When did you go through my drawings?" I asked, irritated. Those were private. No one, especially this big-headed idiot, was allowed to see them.

"When you were outside, moping all by yourself. Why do you do that, anyways? Have a dark and depressing past you'd like to share?"

I forced the echoes of gunfire out of my mind. "No. And besides, we're slaves to the emotionless. We all have something in our past."

"Sheesh, that's grim. My guess is this: parents never cared until it was too late, heartbreaking goodbyes, and so on."

"You couldn't be more wrong," I said coldly, forcing the usual lie past my lips, "Everyone but me is a White, and we loved each other. No drama."

"Alright, jeez. It was a guess. Do I get I name for my valiant efforts?"

"Why are you here?"

"That's a weird name," he said, a smirk settling on his features.

"You aren't helping. Why are you here?"

"You turned down my help, not my company."

"I didn't want either!" I yelled, aggravation making my temper short.

"Well now, that's harsh. All I did was stay to keep you interested and your mind occupied."

"Well, I was doing perfectly--" the beginning of my speech was interrupted by the arrival of someone new.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" said a cool male voice. I had to fight the shiver of fear that ran down my spine.

Only Evos could speak that way, cold but not monotone, effortlessly making you so terrified that your most primal instincts kick in and you're frozen. Not because you can't run, of course, but because every part of yourself is fighting to remain in one spot, to suppress those urges, because the instant you move, you're dead.I turned slowly, willing my face not to betray my fear. "Hello, Master Eric. Can I help you in any way today?" I said, forcing a smile, even though my heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest. I knew that Eric could hear it beating ridiculously fast, too, which did nothing to quell my fear.

"No. But I am very interested in what two slaves are doing, just standing here and chatting, when you have an entire manor to clean."

There was a faint lilt to his words, like the hint of an accent, and I found my mind trying to place where he was from to distract itself from the numbing fear that had seized me.

"No, really," I explained, "we were cleaning, we just got distracted for a second. And the only reason we stopped here was because we were on our way out of this room to see where else we were needed."

He shoved past me into the room, looking meticulously at everything. I silently thought that if there was a deity out there, I would get on my knees tonight and thank the fact that I had been freakily obsessing over this room being clean in my attempt to tune out the guy standing next to me (whose name I still didn't know).

Eventually, Eric stood up and left the room, glaring at us both as if he wished I hadn't caught every last speck of dust. "Go!" he snapped.

The Big-Head and I rushed out of the room as fast as our feet could carry us, and when we found our next room, we got to work silently. Or, at least, we did at first.

"That was a pretty decent thing you did for me, back there. Thanks."

"It's not a big deal."

He let go of the other end of the bed sheet just as I straightened it on mine, and the whole thing flew off the bed. I sighed. "Now we're gonna have to start over."

"It is a big deal. Most people would've let me take that fall, especially after I annoyed them. Thank you."

I suddenly found myself blushing and squirming, shifting in place. "Well, um thanks. But we really do have to make this bed."

He nodded, picking up his side of the sheet once again. We went back to working in silence for a little while, until we were just finishing up. This time, I was the one who broke the silence.

"Violet."

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

"My name. You asked what it was, earlier. My name is Violet."

"Oh. Well, nice to meet you, Purple. My name's Alex."

I rolled my eyes. "Really? The nickname? I hardly know you."

"But you will," he announced, plopping the last of the pillows on with a flourish, "and I will be the best friend you've ever made!"

I gave another exaggerated sigh, muttering, "Well, you're humble," just to keep up the rhythm of banter we'd fallen into.

I had a few heart-stopping moments where I realized that this was really happening. I was joking around with another person my age, getting frustrated, feeling--and I liked it. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to distance myself, make myself a harder target for emotional pain. I wasn't supposed to have friends!

But even though that was racing through my mind at a million miles a minute, I couldn't keep myself away from the conversation, and every time he said the word 'friend', a warm shiver of pleasure rippled through my body.

That night, I couldn't quite wipe the smile off my face.

Okay I hope this is satisfactory.... Comment. Vote. Enjoy reading!

--Earthstone