Sunday passes as all days do. You wake up alone in Roses bed. You can hear rain on the windows. You feel again cold without her here. You know she's in the other room making breakfast.. But at the same time, going back to school means that you'll have to spend time away from her. Is this normal? Should you have such a strong attachment to someone like this? Is Rose rubbing off on you?

You don't want to spend any time away from her. Being with Rose has made you the happiest person in the world. But going back to school is like torture. You go from being on equal footing, to being just another Washout loser. And worse a target for being attacked at any time by any psycho kid there with an ego-trip. Maybe it'd be different if you were a Monitor yourself. But even being under the protection of one of the most powerful and potentially deadliest Monitors, you still feel nervous.

Rose is in the kitchen making sausage and eggs.

"Morning Thorn, how'd you sleep?"

"It was great.."

Rose seems to sense your displeasure,

"Aw babe what's the matter?"

You sit down on the couch.

"I.. I'll have to be away from you for a little while at school."

"Aww baby don't worry, we'll be able to hang out when school gets out."

It feels like the shoe is on the other foot. Now you're the one who wants to spend time with her, and that's scary. What if she says no? What the hell are you gonna do then? But.. Rose wouldn't do that.. Rose is obsessed with you. Man, love is a scary thing..

Rose comes by with one huge plate of sausage and scrambled eggs for you to share. Rose leans over you a bit and starts to feed you. Seeing Roses amourous expression is putting your mind at ease. Yeah.. Someone this into you wouldn't leave..

"My precious baby.. It's so cute to see you just here eating and enjoying what I made for you.. You like how it tastes don't you?"

"Mmm, of course, it's delicious."

She picks up another forkfull and gently glides it into your mouth.

"Thats good.. What a good boyfriend you are.. You're starting to get addicted to me too aren't you?"

You swallow and look down. You chuckle anxiously,

"You always seem to know what I'm thinking. I.. I'm no match for you Rose."

Rose puts her fork down and wraps her arms around you laying her head against your chest.

"Don't worry Thorn.. I'll never betray you. I promise. I'll be here for you every single day.. And all you have to do is do the same ok?"

You hug her back holding her close.

"Thanks Rose. You're the best girlfriend a guy like me could ask for."

She sighs delightedly rubbing her hand on your chest.

"I feel the same way about you my love. I don't think I've ever had a guy who's made me feel the way you do. You're so loving and accepting. So cute and handsome too.. I just want to keep you all to myself and protect you."

"Don't worry Rose, I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere.."

----------

You ride with Rose to the school. It's raining, but it's still a million times cooler than riding the bus. If you could just take a ride with Rose everywhere you totally would.

You arrive at the school with her. You step off the bike with her in the rain. She pulls off her helmet and tosses her hair. Rose looks at you seeming concerned,

"You're gonna be at that club again after school right? Should I just stick around and wait to pick you up?"

You're not sure what to say. I mean, you're trying to get intel on Z4 for her sake.. But you're not sure that going to the club again is going to help.

"I don't know.. I just.. I need a way to take out Z4. I have no idea how to do it."

Rose looks at you like a mother might look at her child,

"Aww, you want my advice?"

You feel the need to make a slight courteous bow towards her,

"Yes please."

She laughs heartily and ruffles your wet hair.

"You goofball don't just bow to me out of nowhere. You don't need to treat me like a princess all the time. I definitely appreciate it. But don't sell yourself short ok?"

She sighs,

"Guess its kinda my fault.. But you can just consider us equals from now on ok? At least.. In most circumstances.."

"But Rose-"

Rose brings you close and kisses you on the lips out there in the rain with both of her hands on your cheeks.

"You're special to me ok? So don't act so nervous around me. It makes me feel bad."

"Understood.. You're special to me too though.. You're so cool.. Sometimes I feel like I need to bow down to someone as cool as you."

Rose seems concerned,

"You don't need to feel like that. You said it yourself didn't you? We're equals."

"Rose.."

Rose pulls you close and hugs you.

"I know this is my fault for not trusting you enough in the first place. Treating you like a dog all the time, it's no wonder you're starting to believe it. But don't worry about it, when we get home we'll talk about it more, and maybe do some other fun stuff too who knows?"

You look to her,

"Other fun stuff, like what?"

Rose smiles,

"I was thinking as I was driving that maybe me, you and my Dad could all go out to dinner, maybe see a movie together?"

You cringe trying to imagine her drunken asshole father out in public with you and her. What horrid shenanigans will ensue. But at the same time you wouldn't dare say anything bad about her Father because you know how important he is to Rose.

"Sure, sounds like a great time."

Rose's face lights up.

"Great! We'll all go together. It'd be nice for you and him to bond I think.."

Oh boy..

"Yeah.. Also uh... I'll try not to put you on a pedestal so much."

Rose winks at you,

"You can still lick my feet in the bedroom if you want."

Rose is giving you mixed messages it feels like. One minute she wants a slave, and the next she wants to be equal for real. It's a weird transition.

"Right.. Thanks."

Rose looks into your eyes with a kind expression.

"Anyhow, you wanted advice? Just check the archives. Check yearbooks. Find out what the people closest to her think of her. And with the archives, the school files that is, the top 10 are actually hidden in a secret compartment on the side. The button is kind towards the bottom on the left side. You'll probably have to move the thing. But move it, feel around and you'll be able to see personal information kept on the top 10."

"Woah really?"

"Yep. If there's anything else you wanna know about that kinda thing, just let me know.. I told you I would do anything for you, I meant it ok?"

The rain is still pouring down here in the parkinglot. You can see how much she cares about you from the expression on her face.

"Thanks Rose.. Yeah. I'll let you know if I have to go to the club today or not."

Rose nods,

"Whatever you decide to do, I'll be there for you."

"T-thanks.."

-------------

You pass through the halls and surprise, no violence today. You go to your first period class without issue. You sit down in your chair. Snidely is up at the board facing you all.

"I hope your weekend was enjoyable, because this trip we're taking today, promises not to be. At least not for those of you with any empathy left."

He takes in a deep breath,

"In case the prison trip wasn't enough to convince you, today we'll be taking a trip down to the local homeless shelter. Perhaps there are a few of you still stubborn enough to consider the way out.. Perhaps you're just not the criminal type. That no matter how badly things turn out, you're determined not to resort to crime. And while on a moral level that's respectable, I suspect you'll find little glory to the grit and grime of the street."

Snidely looks off wistfully towards the back,

"Certain movies like to portray Way-Outers as starving artists. Rebels without a cause. It's no secret that the government doesn't like these sorts of films and tries to shut them up. Tampering with sales, production, and sometimes outright stopping production. But there are enough of these sorts of rebel films out there to warrant concern. Make no mistake that these are works of fiction. And that real Way-Outers are not heroes, or rebels, or freedom fighters. They are the dregs of society who struggle every day just to get by."

You raise your hand, Snidely calls on you.

"Yes 855?"

"Why does the government care so much if a person becomes a 'Way-Outer' or not? Why is there such a huge pushback against it?"

Snidely seems mildly amused,

"Ah, an excellent question. For generations the American Government has had strong ideals about maintaining order in this country. It was thought that a country divided, was no country at all. It was said that in the early days the political climate was divided into so many subfactions and groups that the government had a hard time operating at all. The debt was astronomical, obesity was on the rise, endless fighting, anarchy, and death followed. Gun violence and shootings on a weekly basis made everyone feel unsafe. America declined into almost complete decay, and nearly lost it's number 1 status as a world power. Eventually the old order was washed out by a sweeping new movement, and re-invented America with a new ideology from the ground up. Based on order and greater public education. This new order was not so sentimental about doing away with parts of society that didn't benefit itself. For example the gutting of the fast food industry. The switch from oil based cars to electric ones. The bloated Military which was deployed overseas for decades waging war in the desert was instead refocused on rebuilding infrastructure and adding a significant number of their ranks to the police force. The government polices regarding crime became much more severe and totalitarian. Those who spoke out against these changes were silenced, often brutally. But in the end society benefited from the stricter order, and a more stable centralized government, and the crime rate dropped to almost nothing in the years to come."

Snidely looks down,

"So you would ask why the government cares? It's because it threatens our order, our peace. Society is more united as a whole than ever before. The supposed 'freedom' of the past was nothing more than the pipedream of dregs. A naive fantasy not at all grounded in what was practical for society."

You're not sure what to make all of this, but it sounds pretty extreme..