This is my job

[Emilia Tucker]

Emilia wasn't one to question her orders, but she had to admit that this was a very strange place to be stationed at. Having all these rooms and corridors built into a mountain seemed like an extraordinary feat and she couldn't guess how the Mountain Men's ancestors had completed this task. The contrast between the different areas of the construction were also significant. There was the great dining hall, which seemed so warm and inviting with the beautiful piano and people eating and talking to one another. Although the presence of the Arkers seemed to make these new people tense and she'd noticed a lot of disapproving looks thrown her way. This was only to be expected from a society that had been invaded by another, but they only had themselves to blame since they'd been torturing and killing members of her nation and those native to the Earth for a while now.
Those responsible for these cruel acts had already been dealt with, trials had only been a formality, their executions had already been certain and scheduled only hours after Arkadia's guards had arrived inside the mountain. There had been no need to kill thos who had been innocent for the most part or who'd simply followed orders without being given a choice.

Still, it was necessary to keep an eye on these strangers in case there were rebels living among them, waiting for their right chance to strike. Even those who seemed innocent could still be convinced of their cause, believing that the treatment using the Grounders' and Arkers' blood and bone marrow could enable them to leave their sanctuary and walk the outside world once more. Some might still be willing to have others pay the price and make sacrifices for their freedom.

Em's breath had aught inside her throat when her superior had declared that she would be tasked with guarding the hallways and rooms of the mountain's educational ward. Seeing all the children every day would be hard and she wasn't sure if she had enough strength to get through it, but orders were orders and so she hadn't dared question the decision. So she stood silently by the door, eyes straight ahead and weapon held in front of her as the young teacher taught his class. She wasn't too happy about standing in front of the children with a loaded gun, seeing their frightened expressions graze over her every once in a while, but she had to stay professional and do as she had been told.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

Tagged: Emilia Tucker

Hadley smiled as little Ari answered the question correctly in front of the whole class. She had been struggling a lot with speaking up and having the confidence to state an answer out loud. The fact that she was up here was huge! He patted her shoulder gently. "Great job, Ari! You can sit down. Who's next?" He asked as eager hands shot up into the air. Today was a relaxed day for the kids. They had been through a lot with the Arkers taking over the Mountain. Some of them lost friends, parents, family. It hadn't been easy. He himself feared he would lose his father considering his involvement in the medical wing. But luckily, his father was spared the fate of many others. 


Looking over the young faces before him, he pointed to one little boy who was jumping for joy in the backseat eager to answer a question. "Carl, you're up!" Hadley laughed softly as the child ran to the front, ready to go. He looked up to Hadley for his next instructions. "Okay Carl, take to the board." Hadley watched as Carl went up to the drawing board. "List and draw 3 parts of a cell. Ready....go!" Hadley smiled as the young boy went quickly to work. 


Cells were a bit above their age level, but these kids were smart. They were eager to learn more and more everyday and he wasn't going to deny them that. Every so often Hadley would see the kids look out at the door and spot the blonde woman who stood guard. He took a deep breath and went back to focus on his kids. He knew why she was there. She had to be sure he followed the rules and didn't do anything that the Arkers didn't approve of. Plus with his father being a medical doctor, he was probably higher on the concern list than other Mountain Men. 


A few minutes later, Carl was done. Hadley clapped. "Yes Carl! Excellent!" He gave Carl a high five and smiled as the boy ran back to his seat. "Well my friends, it is time to go home." A collective groan broke his heart and made him smile all at the same time. "I will see you all again on Monday. I know this week has not been easy....but you know that I am here. You all know where to find me." He smiled again. "Have a good weekend!" One after another each child got up to pack their things and headed towards the door. Finally little Ari ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you Mr. Hadley." She whispered and Hadley closed his eyes smiling again. That made it all worth it. "Goodbye Ari...be safe." He whispered back. Ari had lost someone this week and for her to be here today was a big moment. 


Once all the children were gone, he sat against his desk and turned his head seeing that the blonde guard hadn't moved an inch since they had gotten there, never mind when the children left. He walked around to the chair behind his desk and pulled it out, sitting as he went through next weeks plans. "Are you ever going to go home or just simply stand there and pretend like I'm a world class serial killer not able to be left alone?" He said clearly, but never taking his eyes from his planner. Might as well find someone to talk to to pass the time if she wasn't going to leave. 

[Emilia Tucker]

It tore at Em's heart to see these young children getting excited about their classes, hearing their laugh and see their wonderous eyes widen when they learned something new. Her own son would have been born by now and he might have that same spark in his eyes as some of these kids did. She'd never felt as happy as during her pregnancy, seeing the excitement in Lukas' eyes when she'd told him that she was expecting his child. He'd fussed so much about her, causing her to roll her eyes sometimes but always with a smile on her lips.
Just one fatal moment had taken everything from her and she'd wanted to die when she'd been told about her fiancé's death, the news of her child's heartbeat no longer there delivering the final blow. That being not enough, the doctors had told her that she would have to deliver her dead child like she would have if she'd given birth to a healthy baby. Women had always told her that the pain and exhaustion of childbirth were all made worth while once you got to hold your child in your arms, but she was left with all the work, but none of the joy of hearing that first scream of a new human coming into this world.

Her bottom lip was already raw and bloody from discreetly biting her lip to hold down the pain of seeing so many young boys and girls sitting just a few feet away from her. Every so often, that ugly beast called grief would rear its head and threaten to break the surface, but so far she'd always managed to fight it back down into the depths of her guts. Her eyes burned from the tears she was holding back, but she had to stay professional, devoid of emotion or any sign of weakness. Her throat was sore from the lump that had formed a while ago and didn't seem to vanish and sometimes, a slight tremble would creep into her limbs, but somehow she always managed to compose herself.

One of her colleagues had seemed to notice her struggle despite of the mask Em had created and she'd approached her and suggested that she could ask for another placement. The prospect of being stationed somewhere else seemed tempting, but she didn't want her superiors to think that her experiences had made her weak and unfit to fulfill her missions. After all, she was far from being the only one who had been bereaved during their fall back to Earth and you would hardly hear the other guards complain. Emilia had managed to plaster a smile onto her face and assure her fellow guard that there was no need to worry about her because she was managing just fine. That was one of the many lies she caught herself making up whenever she was asked about her wellbeing, but what good would it do to tell anyone about the demons nestling inside her mind? Her people had far better things to do with their time than fussing over the psychological health of a grieving woman when so many had been lost.

Em tried not to watch the children go up to the board to answer questions or listen to the interactions between them and their teacher. She could tell that he cared deeply for them and wondered how her superiors could see him as a possible threat. Of course even a terrorist or dictator could have a soft spot for kids and seem like a nice person, but it was still hard to imagine him planning some cruel attack on her people. It was hard to keep her expression blank and her eyes straight ahead when the children filed out of the room in front of her. She was so focused on staying in control that she almost didn't realize that Mr. Edwards was talking to her when they were the only once left inside the classroom.
„I“m just doing my job! I have my orders!“, she simply stated, cursing herself for noticing a slight tremor inside her voice and hoping that he wouldn't hear it. She looked over at him for a brief moment and although she'd been trained to be rigid and free of emotion, she couldn't keep the pain out of her eyes which was why she turned her head back to look straight ahead, her gaze fixed on nothing in particular.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley raised his eyes to the young woman at her strict words. A small smirk found his lips as he watched her try to remain stoic. But his smirk faded when he noticed her eyes were a bit red. He thought he had seen her trying to hold back tears earlier, but he wasn't sure. Her apparent look now only solidified that for him. He looked her over quickly, noting her clear disdain and avoidance of his gaze. He sighed, his voice gentle and calm. "Look...I don't know why you're sad or upset or whatever it is...but my offer for the kids stands for you too...I'm here...I'll be here in this exact room until I'm done grading or until you decide it's time to leave. I am more than content sitting here in silence, but if you have something you want to say....or rather something you need to say, then there is nothing here that should prevent you from saying it.." Hadley said all those words never taking his eyes from her before returning to his work.


He knew what it was like to feel like you had no one to talk to, but for her to be uptight and upset over whatever it was she was upset about, it wasn't fair to her. Maybe she had no one to talk to. He had plenty. He had his friends, his family, his students. He had someone there for him. But these Arkers, these sky people, a lot of them lost people in the fall. A lot of the 100 didn't even grow up with their families depending on when they were taken from them. Hadley knew it was hard to be an Arker. He had heard stories. But that didn't mean they couldn't talk about it. 


Hadley awaited her response by going back to the papers he was grading. He had each student write out something bad that had happened this week. A lot of them talked about the scary moment when the Arkers took over the Mountain. Others about seeing their parents taken away for whatever atrocities they had committed. It broke his heart to have to read what his kids had been through, but he also knew it was cathartic for them to get it out and try to fight through it. 


Taking a break from a paper, he looked back up at the blonde, keeping his eyes on her awaiting to see if she would trust him enough to say anything more or if she would just leave him wondering. 

[Emilia Tucker]

Em was taken aback by the man's caring tone as he offered her to speak about whatever was bothering her. It wasn't like her own people weren't sympathetic with her or others who were having a heard time getting over the death of a loved one or another kind of trauma. They just mostly didn't have the time to indulge in such luxuries as playing counselor for somebody else or they simply had their own sorrow to bear and couldn't worry themselves with someone elses problems. Plus, being a guard she was expected to function, especially ina time of turmoil like what they were going through right now.

Her captain had been very specific when it came to keeping their distance from the subjects they were guarding. Still, the young teacher's voice sounded so inviting and more genuine than the questions of her own people, rushed in one of the rare moments they had to spare to think about somebody else's grief. She'd spent so much effort convincing herself that there was no need to talk about those who'd been taken from her, the loss she'd endured but now that someone actually tried to build a bridge across to her side and seemed wiling to hear about her feelings, her resolve crumbled.
She started to open her mouth, gaping a moment like a fish taken out of the water. The words didn't seem to make it out on her first attempt to speak. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to tell him. Should she try to assure him that she was fine, like she did with everybody else? Emilia somehow felt like it might even be easier to talk about her grief to this stranger even when she was adament not to talk to her colleagues. Opening up to those who were closer to her felt so much harder and risky, showing them her weaknesses which they could use against her or carry on to her superiors, whether it be intentional or not.

Contrary to that, this stranger had nothing to gain from her confessions, none that she could think of anyway. He would have no interest in telling her superiors about her sorrows and if he was a rebel, she couldn't see what advantage he might have from knowing about a guard's grief.
„It's nothing!“, she assured him at first with a forced smile, still hesitant about opening herself up to anybody. She took a deep breath, and let the air escape in a sigh, her eyes darting from the wall in front of her to him and then down to her fingers wrapped around her gun. „It's just...hard to see all these kids...after losing my son.“, she confessed, the last part being barely more than a whisper and she took another deep breath to keep the tears from spilling over, a tiny drop already hanging on her of her eyelashes as she bit her raw lip once more to gain back her composure.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley was surprised to hear her voice in response to his invitation. His eyes lifted to her, away from his schoolwork, as she spoke. He knew her first response was a front...a falsehood to keep her demeanor strong. But when she spoke again, he nodded softly showing that he heard her. He saw a tear forming and swallowed gently. He wasn't exactly so good with the whole feelings things. Kids he was okay with. But people his own age, women his own age, he wasn't exactly an expert at. 


Standing up he grabbed a tissue from his desk and brought one to her. Standing in front of her, he a bit of an amount taller than she, he held out the tissue. "I'm sorry..." He said softly. "About your son...." He added on and then looked past her rather than at her. "I can't imagine losing one of my students never mind my own child..." He didn't really know what to say. There were never any good words to say to someone when it came to loss, to grief. But he hoped that maybe his words would be something of comfort for her. Something of understanding....anything. 


He brought his eyes back to her and saw her hands clenched around her gun. "You can put that down..." He said softly, though still a hint of fear in his tone. "I promise I'm not going to hurt you...or run." He said with a small smile trying to break the tension. He realized he was quite close to her and stepped back a bit, awkwardly of course, trying to not make it seem like he had other intentions. 


"I'm Hadley...." He said calmly, keeping his eyes on the young woman. She seemed so young to have already gone through so much trauma in her life. But then again, his students were even younger and they had gone through entirely too much before their 11th birthdays. Turning back towards his desk, he pulled out the chair that was on the side of his and then went and sat back in his own chair, leaving his invitation open for her to sit if she would like...

[Emilia Tucker]

The Arker took a tiny, involuntary step back when the teacher approached her, holding something out to her. With her bed against the wall, she looked down at the tissue he was offering her and only then realized that a single tear had wriggled its way out from her eye. Suddenly she felt embarrassed and awkward, out of place in her constricting uniform. This was her place of work, the mission she'd been entrusted with and not a place for her to be wailing, especially not the subject she was supposed to keep an eye on. Nonetheless, he seemed to feel awkward confronted by her tears but still genuinely concerned and that relieved some of the tension that had built up inside her. His words gave her heart another squeeze, his pointing out of how hard it must be to go through the loss of a child. She gave him an apologetic, awkward smiled when she accepted the tissue he was holding out for her, knowing how uncomfortable it was for most people to see another person smile, especially a complete stranger.

Despite his friendliness, she felt another boost of suspicion when he suggested that she could lower her weapon. It made her wonder if he didn't have darker intentions after all and just wanted to make her less aware. She looked down at her gun but didn't losen her grip. „I'd better not, if one of my colleagues or superiors catches me letting go of my weapon, I could lose my job.“, she explained with an uncomfortable half-smile. She saw his movement when he widened the space between them once more and her cheeks flushed a little. Maybe they should have stayed silent after all instead of creating this awkward situation between them, but what was done was done.
„I'm Em...well, Emilia actually but most people just call me Em.“, she introduced herself after hearing him say his name. She already knew it from her captain when he'd first given her the order to guard this part of the mountain, but he didn't need to know that.
Emilia stepped closer to his desk when he sat back down behind it, but she stepped around the chair he'd slid out for her and simply leaned against the student desk standing closest to the teachers, not wantin to be seen too relaxed and risking to be reprimanded.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley shrugged when she decided to not put her weapon down. He couldn't force her. It was her job to stand guard. He just knew that everone should take a break from their job once in a while and it wasn't like he was a flight risk. But she didn't know that. At her name, he met her eyes again. "Em..." He smiled. "Nice to meet you." He put his pen down and leaned back in his chair watching as she chose not to sit near him. He raised his eyebrows. "I promise you...the guards, especially your captain never comes down here past school hours...last night I was here by myself till nearly 2 in the morning..." He closed his planner. "You can relax...or at least sit down." He said gently. 

It was true. Despite how tight the security had been since the Arkers took over, Hadley had still been in his classroom into the early hours of the morning without a watchman. Granted when he would go back to his apartment, guards would be all over the residential floors, but as long as they let him sleep, he didn't care. But down here, he was free beyond school hours. He wished his students could have the same freedom during the day and not fear the guards, but unfortunately they were not so lucky. 

But this guard...she was interesting. Timid yet confident, bold yet scared. Hadley could tell there was something deeper inside of her. Maybe no one ever gave her the chance to talk. Or maybe she just never wanted to. But as long as they were here, he would listen. Or if she just wanted him to talk, she'd do that to. But it was whatever she wanted. 

Hadley just knew that she wasn't as tough an exterior as she appeared. She was a normal girl who got thrown into an awful situation and unfortunately his people had hurt hers. But he would do anything he could to get her to trust that he was as normal as she was. Because he was...

[Emilia Tucker]

Another smile flashed over Em's face when he replied to her introduction, this one a genuine smile, not as forced as the last one. „Likewise!“, she responded although it felt a little strange to exchange such pleasantries when she was supposed to be watching over this man in case he had a hidden agenda. She wrapped her free hand around the back of the chair he'd offered her, still uncertain whether she should make herself more comfortable by sitting down and letting go of some of her trained rigidness. He did have a point though, in the few weeks she'd been guarding these corridors, she'd hardly ever encountered any of her colleagues and she'd seen even less of her superiors. She drummed her fingers over the wood of the furniture, trying to decide whether she should stay professional or opt for a bit more ease. She finally let out a strained breath and circled the chair to sit down in it, still holding her weapon close to her though.

Still, she sat up straight keeping her back rigid as she didn't want to let go of all of her practised behavior as she still had a job to do and didn't want to feel too vulnerable, at least not more so than she already did. She flashed him another half smile as she was sitting closer to him now, her hands folded neatly over her gun. An awkward silence threatened to creep between them and Emilia wrecked her brain for something to say. „It's uhm...good to see that the kids can still smile.“, she declared and bit her lip awkwardly again, tasting blood on her tongue.
Maybe having an actual conversation with Hadley wasn't such a bad thing after all, she could sell it to her captain by saying that it might give her a chance to gather some intelligence about the man and to find out if he actually did have other intentions as some of her superiors suspected due to the position of his father.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley watched her, keeping his eyes on hers as she slowly sat down by hm. He smiled seeing her hold her composure, not wanting to let down her guard. He understood. He was a stranger to her. No matter what became of this encounter, she was an Arker and he a Mountain Man. He was the enemy. He was always going to be an enemy to her, no matter how kind he was. But he wouldn't stop being kind simply because of that. 

At her words, he realized he had been staring and shook himself out of the trance he was in. "Uh yeah.." He laughed gently, trying to hide his awkwardness. "They're all such good kids. Lots of them went through hell these last few weeks when-" he stopped himself. He was going to say something about her people but stopped himself. "Well..you know." He said and looked down at his hands. "I do what I can to help them forget...for even just a few hours. They need it. Some of them come from not so great families and now it's harder than ever." He looked back towards her. "Sometimes school is all they have."

Hadley sighed and pulled out another paper to start looking at. "So many of them are afraid to tell anyone what they're feeling...they're 7, 8, 9, 10 years old...and they're afraid to tell anyone how sad they are." He held up a paper. "At least in school they can write about it and know that someone cares..that someone is listening." He put the paper back down and flipped it over, it was only one page back and front. "I may not be able to fix all their problems, but I can listen..and I can give them a few hours of fun and freedom." He smiled gently. Someone had to.


He looked over at her and saw her lip bleeding. He passed her another tissue quickly. "You're bleeding!" He said gently, but concerned. He wasn't sure when that had happened, but it couldn't feel very good. He wasn't a medical pro by any needs but growing up with his father he knew that blood was never a good sign. "Are you okay?" He asked

[Emilia Tucker]

Hearing him talk about the kids and what they were going through, made Emilia feel so responsible. Sure the Arkers had had very good reason to take over control of the mountains, but the children couldn't be blamed for their parents' actions. Unfortunately, the suffering of their youngest seemed to be the general consequences for most decisions taken by adults. Although the Delinquents were for the most part a good deal younger than thos taught by Hadley, they had still paid for living in a society that punished any crime even if executed for good reasons like needing food or medicine to survive. Em still believed in the over all system, otherwise she wouldn't have become part of the guard, but they were some things she couldn't agree with although she would never say so.

„I'm sorry those kids had to go through such traumas because of some bad decisions adults have made. Sadly, none of us are fortunate enough to be protected from heartache.“, she stated, realizing the next minute how stiff she must sound. She was just to afraid to break down those carefully constructed walls, fearing that ones she losened one of the bricks, the whole thing would crumble down around her. Once she opened the gates, her tears would probably come close to those Niagara Falls she'd once read about and that was something she couldn't let anyone witness. Even being by herself in her quarters, she couldn't trust herself to let go, to cry and be able to stop when she had to. She'd controlled herself once she'd been able to stop her initial sobs that rocked her whole body in the first days after hearing the news of Lukas and their child dying.

There was this constant pressure like a heavy stone resting on her chest that sometimes made it hard for her to breath. The pain sometimes felt unbearable and she was thankful that Arkadia's doctors supplied her with as many sleeping pills as they could spare, otherwise she would probably not even get one hour of rest every night.
Em frowned when Hadley offered her another tissue, genuine concern displayed on his face and she rubbed her lips together, tasting the blood on her raw skin.
„Oh sorry, it's just a bad habit of mine – biting my lip I mean.“, she explained, her cheeks flushed in embarrassement when she accepted the piece of soft paper and pressed it to her bottom lip.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley sighed after her words regarding the children, but let out a soft chuckle at the mention of the adults. "Unfortunately it is no different for your people. Our adults screwed everything up for you too...It isn't anything any of us could have done differently. There were already so many things in play before we could have changed anything." He put his pen down again finding it easier to talk to this girl with each passing minute. 

When she took the tissue, he smirked slightly seeing her face flush a beautiful shade of red. This woman...Em...truly was a thing of beauty but he wasn't going to think about that right now. He smiled when she tended to her lip. "It's okay...we all have them...bad habits I mean." He chuckled again. "Mine...I just tend to get awkward in weird situations." He laughed again. Much like he was now...being awkward. 

"Are you supposed to stay here until I do?" He asked picking up his pen again. It was a nervous tick. He played with it between his fingers awaiting her response. If she was expected to stay with him, she might be there a while as he wanted to get all his work done before the weekend. But then again, he wouldn't mind keeping her there with him. Getting to know her...letting her open up....letting him open up. It was nice having someone his own age to talk to for once. The kids were great but he was an adult and sometimes one just wanted to talk to other adults. "Not that I mind!" He said quickly. Not wanting her to feel unwelcomed. "It's just, I imagine you can't be very comfortable..."

[Emilia Tucker]

Em continued dabbing at the small cuts on her thick lip, the scarlet colour of her blood a stark contrast to her pale skin. At least it gave her hands something to do instead of resting awkwardly on top of her gun or her lap. She gently shook her head at his words, disagreeing slightly with his statement. „It's not like none of us could have changed the events by acting differently. Some of our people, mostly your people if I'm honest could have taken different actions and changed the outcome for all of us.“, she explained, meaning no harm but simply stating the facts. The cause of the Arkers' invasion of the mountain had been what those Mountain Men responsible had called the harvest – extracting bone marrow of those humans whose bodies were more resistent to the radiation than theirs. Skaipeople and Grounders alike had been killed in order for their people to get a treartment allowing them to step into the outside world. If they hadn't been so violent to the 47 Delinquents that had been taken, none of the Mountain Men would have needed to die and they could have formed a peaceful alliance. She felt a bit uncomfortable voicing an opinion that might seem harsh and insulting to his people, but she didn't want to pretend that she agreed with him simply to create a pleasant conversation.

„I meant no offense, I'm sure most of your people didn't take part in the torture and killings.“, she added, although she knew that most of the mountain's population knew where their remedy came from but simply chose to turn a blind eye.
„And noone would blame you, many people get awkward in strange situation. I for one also get uncomfortable when I get thrown into something unknown.“, she agreed with him and smiled softly. This was also true for when she'd first arrived in this place, a construction unlike anything she'd ever seen. It was such a contrast, being underneath the earth when she'd lived up in space for most of her life. Of course she should never let her discomfort show due to her position and this was the first time she let it break through her barriers.

She gave a slow nod as answer to his question. „Yes, unfortunately, I have to stay as long as you're here.“, she confirmed his suspicion but gave him another gentle smile. „Not that that is such a horrible thing.“, she quickly added, just feeling bad for having to treat hime like he was some kind of high profile criminal. „I have to admit that I even have to escort you back to your home.“, she confessed with an apologetic expression on her face. She thought it a little ridiculous herself to keep such a strict watch on a simple school teacher, but those were her orders and her duty and it wasn't her decision to declare who could be dangerous and who couldn't.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley chucked softly at her attack of her people. He shook his head and smiled when she went to defend her answer. "No...you're right." He said sitting up in his chair and resting his chin in his hand watching her. "My people are not angels. And everything they did to your people was incredibly wrong..and cruel." He sighed. "My father works in the medical wing...and he honestly had no idea that this was the extent of the horrors. He thought that all participants were willing and wanting to help. He hasn't left his apartment for days...fearing he hurt people against his will." Hadley shook his head and let out a nervous laugh. "I mean...how horrible is it that we as humans felt the need to hurt other humans just so we could be human?" He shook his head again. 


At his mention of having to bring him home too, he felt his own cheeks flush a little. "Well...I'll pack up then. Wouldn't want you to have to be here all night..." He said softly. Smiling, he started putting the rest of his papers into his messenger bag. Standing up, he walked by each desk making sure no students forgot anything and then put the chairs up on the desks so that the crew that came to clean could do so in the easiest manner possible. He didn't like making extra work for anyone if he could avoid it. Even those in positions lower than him.


Going back to the front of the room, he grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "So...I guess I'll lead the way.." He smiled again and walked outside of his classroom waiting for her to come out so he could lock up. There was nothing monetarily valuable in the room worth locking up. But the kids had artwork, writings, everything. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something happened to all their hard work. It was all the students had to look forward to.

[Emilia Tucker]

The young guard was glad that Hadley could talk about the subject so objectively. Em certainly knew other people who would have felt insulted by her words. A Grounder would probably not be this lenient when he heard someone critisize his people this way. When she heard his father's story, she wasn't sure what to feel. On one hand, he felt sorry for the man, the deaths of all those Grounders and some of the Delinquents probably weighing on his conscience. On the other hand, people like him in those postitions had been part of the problem. She couldn't be sure, but maybe if doctors or other staff that had been involved in the process, had asked more questions about what they'd been doing, a lot of the murders could have been prevented. Then again, maybe they would have paid with their own lives for scrutinizing the work too much. It was hard for her to make up her mind about this, the lines were so blurred and you couldn't really judge without having all the facts. „I guess we'll never understand the workings of some peoples minds. They'll find any excuse to justify their actions and kid themselves into believing that what they're doing is right.“, she stated with a sigh while she occupied her right hand by rolling the balled up tissue around in her palm.

Em raised her eyebrows in surprise when Hadley started packing up his things. „Oh, I didn't mean to pressure you into closing up so soon. If you need to stay longer, I don't mind!“, she assured him, which was actually a little selfish of her. Of course she didn't want to make him feel as though he had to hurry because of her but she also knew that she had nothing to go back to. Work was everything she had left and once she returned to her quarters, there was nothing but the emptiness and grief waiting for her. So she tried to work as much as possible, so much so that it was a miracle she hadn't passed out from exhaustion yet.
Still, she got up and followed Hadley when he made his way to the classroom door, the two fo them much closer to each other now since the room didn't give them that much space to make their way into the hallway. She held her gun a bit more tightly now, more so for show in case they might meet someone though rather than for actual protection.

Tag: Hadley Edwards