Young Writers Society

Stirrings – Blaine

Boundaries were meant to be tested. I do it all the time. It’s easy to get carried away. Anyone else would deny it, but that’s how I ended up the way I did. The Elites used it against me, against all of us Commons. I was caught, escaped, and started a rebellion. But if I say too much, it’ll spoil the ending.

You see, Commons (like me) are a somewhat tricky bunch. We were beaten in a negotiation to be equal to the Elites, and now they preside over us. They make all the rules. This all happened before my generation. Heck, this probably happened even before my parents’ generation. They abided. I didn’t. Sounds like a simple story, doesn’t it? But here’s the fact, right up front: it’s not. I’ll start right at the beginning.

My name’s Blaine Davenport. I’m eighteen years old, and up until recently, I lived in Redfield, New Hampshire. It was a small town a few miles south of the capital, Concord. Us Commons inhabited almost the entire east coast. We were spread out all over. The Elites live inland, or near the Great Lakes. My friend Julia lives there. She’s Elite, but that doesn’t bother me. We’ve known each other since we were small. Currently, we were meeting in neutral territory, where Elites and Commons can go without ripping each other apart. It’s right where Vermont used to be.

Gruber Park was our usual meeting spot. I was scanning the park for Julia, making patterns in the dirt in front of me.

“Hey, Blaine.” A voice behind me snapped me out of my own thoughts. I turned, seeing Julia.

“Yo, Jules. How’s it?” I looked up into her sparkling green eyes.

She cocked her head, a smile playing around her lips. “The usual,” she said.

“Hey, so about why I wanted to meet you here,” I glanced away for a second, then back at her.

“Oh, that. It was urgent too, right?” She tossed her strawberry-blond hair out of her eyes.

I looked away again, unsure of how she was going to react. “Yeah.”

She sat down in front of me, pulling at the sleeve of her jacket. “So hit me with it. What’s up, my friend?”

“Well, you know how Commons are looked down on, right? By Elites, I mean.”

Julia raised a copper-colored eyebrow. “Our parents do, at least.”

I nodded, swallowing past the hard lump in my throat. “Yeah. I know. That’s the thing. I’m sick of the Elites treating us like we’re nothing.”

Her brow furrowed. “What are you saying, Blaine?”

“I want to get out.”

“Out? Out where? Where do you want to go?”

I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly before answering. “Where you are. This long distance thing, it isn’t working, Jules. The only way we can ever see each other is…like this.”

“Blaine, you can’t. Remember?” She rubbed her forearm, and I rolled up the sleeve of my sweatshirt, looking at the mark branding me as a Common.

“They’d catch me for sure,” I said without thinking.

“I don’t want that to happen to you. I’ve seen what they do to Commons when they get caught.” She fingered an earring restlessly. They were beaded hoops today, winking in the early afternoon light.

“Your mom always knows what makes you look good, huh?” I changed the subject.

Julia’s eyes flicked up toward me. She always knew when I wanted to avoid talking about something. We both knew the Elites did awful things when they caught a Common. I was glad she was concerned. I dropped my eyes to her pearl necklace.

“Blaine, you should wait. Getting out is hard. You should at least finish school first.”

I rolled my eyes and looked away. Julia and I would both graduate in less than two months. I hadn’t been accepted to any colleges yet, but then again, applying was too much of a hassle. She was going to college, I just didn’t know where yet.

“Julia, you don’t know, do you? There’s bad stuff going on where I’m from. My mom’s nearly broke from paying all those inflated taxes. I’m working part time, but the pay’s bad. At least your parents can afford to buy you stuff.”

She looked at me from under lowered brows. “All they buy is junk.”

“At least it’s expensive junk.” Julia’s dad was a bigwig banker, down in the financial district of New York City. That’s what most of the Elites did. Banking. Buying loads and loads of things for their families, and it wasn’t just food. It was clothes, jewelry, luxury items.

Julia’s cell phone rang then, a strange jangle about yellow birds. “Sorry. Have to take this. Excuse me. Mother? Hello?”

Her voice melted into the background noise as she moved further away. I watched her, watched her green dress flutter, her earrings sparkle. Her facial expression changed, from concerned, to angry, to annoyed. She was animated as she talked, alternating digs in her bag with wide sweeps of her arms. I shivered, zipping up my sweatshirt and stared out across the lake. Although it wasn’t cold, I felt a chill creeping in. The gray water sparkled in the sun, glints winking like mocking eyes. I could see Kent Avenue beyond, and my old, beat-up truck that used to be Dad’s. I wondered if Mom saw anything of him in me. She always gave me a look like she did, but never said anything.

“Blaine? Hey.” Julia was behind me again, her hand resting lightly on my upper arm. “My mother’s having a fit because she doesn’t know where I am. I have to go or else she’ll ground me.”

I stood up, nearly knocking Julia off her feet. “Walk you to your car?”

She smiled, taking my hand in hers. “Let’s go.”

After watching Julia’s Mini Cooper disappear around the bend, I plunged my hands into my pockets and trudged to the truck. From here I had to take the highway all the way back to Redfield. At least if I lived close to Julia, we could go together, but our family never has enough money to move, let alone buy a house. It was maddening. Watching all those Elites throw their money around just about killed me.

I could feel loathing bubble up inside me.

Rebellion was close, closer by the day. Every day it inched nearer.