The Dark Alpha

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Can I have some more strawberries?" Janice asked me shyly as she held my fridge door open, her other hand mid reach to the other box of strawberries. I laughed, but nodded and she blushed in return, "I'm sorry, I know I'm finishing all of your food, but in my defence, you have only the best and luxurious in your fridge."

I shrugged, "there's no need to apologise, Janice. You're my friend, you can enjoy whatever that I have."

Janice was sleeping over tonight, after I'd called her and forced her to come pay me a visit. Instead of staying for a short while, I locked my doors behind her and ordered her to put her books down and stay the night. I was enjoying it a lot, I even gave her one of my favourite oversized shirts along with a pair of knee length polka dot socks just to sleep in.

Even though it was in the middle of the week, it felt like a Friday night with the way we'd been drinking from several bottles of wine. We complained about work and studies, we talked about hair and make up and we laughed at silly jokes that weren't even that funny.

"Wait..." She hesitated as she looked at me with wide eyes and a surprised expression, "we're friends?...you see me as your friend?"

I frowned, "well, I'd like to believe that we are. Unless... we're not?" I trailed off.

"No," she shook her head, "no, we are friends. I'm just...I didn't think that I'd have a friend. I mean, ok that sounds very sad and lonely, but I haven't had much friends, and not a lot of people like me. So I didn't think...you of all people..."

"What are you saying?" I asked her as I poured myself some more wine into my glass and placed my chin on my fist, "why don't you have a lot of friends?"

She shrugged as she leaned against the kitchen island and took a big bite into the strawberry dipped in melted chocolate, "it's just the way that it is. That's how it works."

"That's how what works?" I asked her, wondering what she could be going on about, "you're a fantastic person, I don't get why you'd not have that many friends."

She sighed, "that's not how it works here in New Cresthill. It's nothing bad, it's just that everyone kind of sticks to their...class?"

"What? Like the rich with the rich and the poor with the poor?" I asked her and she gave a hesitant nod.

"Something like that, but it has nothing to do with wealth. It's all about, well, strength and ranks."

"Strength?" I scoffed, "what? You guys arm wrestle to get friends around here?" I laughed and she joined in.

"You're crazy," she giggled as she finished the rest of her wine and I went to fill her cup again, "ok, I'm starting to think that you're trying to get me drunk?" She laughed when I filled her cup to the brim.

"Maybe a little bit. You know, I've told you a lot about me and it seems like I've been telling people a whole lot about me and not hearing enough about them. You're my only friend and I don't know much about you."

She just shook her head, "I'm not that interesting."

"Nonsense. Let's start small. How about you tell me what it was like growing up in New Cresthill?" I asked her as she nibbled on another strawberry, "it seems like such a close knit town where everyone's like family here. What's up with everyone having the same hairstyle though?'

She pulled a face, one I couldn't necessarily describe before she sighed, "I mean it's fun in New Cresthill. Especially if you're...well, like I said, stronger and in a higher rank. For the rest of us, it's just...bleh."

"So basically it's heaven for the rich and hell for those who aren't?"

"I wouldn't call it hell, but it's all that we know and we can't complain. I'm sure you can tell how orderly everything is in New Cresthill and that's because we've implemented a system that works for us. We have those who are the stronger ones, who are kind of like in the army, and the weaker ones who become the doctors and the nurses. There's not much of a ‘this family is wealthier than the other’. You're given what is needed for your family. If you're a three person family, you live in a two bedroom home, and if you're a seven person family, you live in a 6 bedroom house and have a the much larger car to fit all of you in it."

"So, communist?" I basically rounded off and she furrowed her eyebrows.

"I wouldn't really...I mean it's not...ok, maybe a little, some aspects of it can be termed as that, if you want to be all...serious and professional about it. We just let our leaders lead us because they do know best."

"Who are your leaders?"

"Alph...I mean, the Charlesworth's are the ones who run this town, and rightly so, because the Charlesworth's forefathers found this place and made it the place that it is now."

"Charlesworth as in...Arthur and his family?" I asked slowly.

She nodded, "yes."

"How are you sure their forefathers found this place?"

"Pretty sure, there's no way we could ever be wrong. It is literally in our blood to sense who our leader is, and it is without doubt, the Charlesworth family."

"You sure about that?" I snorted, unable to stop my laughter. "In your blood? You sound brainwashed, which I believe you are."

"I do understand that the way that we live is very different from the way that you, and many others live, but it is our way of life. We're very happy with the way that things are-"

"You're ok with living in a society where you're told what to do according to your "strength"?"

"I don't think you have the right to judge when you lived in a society of wealth and were told who to be and who not to be friends with. Was your life also not controlled by outside forces? You had no control of your life, the same way I do not have control of mine. And that's fine because that's how things are."

I decided to keep my mouth shut by drinking more of the wine.

"I hung around with who I was told that I could hang around with and I did as I was told, the same way your life was dictated to you as well. See, we're one and the same," she said as she nibbled on the last strawberry.

I was skeptical, "mhm," I hummed, "I hear your point, Janice, I do, but I've got to be honest, something about this place isn't normal," I said with squinted eyes, "you may call it a dictation or your “way of life”, but I'll stick with brainwash."

She shrugged, "you have to keep an open mind. Not every place is the same and not everyone is like you, Diamond," she said with a certain look in her eye and I gave a stiff nod.

"You can say that again."