8. ''REJECTION''

After dinner, it was a rule that everyone had to go to their dormitories. Everyone followed this rule and did not leave their dormitory, except me.

I hurried out of the dormitory after wearing the navy blue short-sleeved t-shirt and baggy trousers given me when I climbed the wall.

I was walking down the hallway, hiding in the dark. My goal was to reach Tan's dormitory, boys' and girls' dorms were separate. There was too much distance between them. Also, a girl was not allowed in a boys' dormitory, nor was a boy allowed in a girls' dormitory.

I had no idea what they were giving as a punishment if you don't follow this rule, but I was pretty sure it wasn't a good thing.

If it was good anyway, it wouldn't be a punishment...

I tried to clear my thoughts by shaking my head from side to side, as I felt like they were preventing me from seeing the dark way in front of me. I used to talk to myself in my mind before, but lately I've been so immersed in the conversation that it's like the thread between my reality world and imaginary world is breaking.

When I turned right for the last time, a sign saying "DORMITORY" appeared in front of me and indicated the direction with an arrow sign telling me to go straight. I proceeded as the sign shown me.

It was quiet, and the darkness was illuminated by small LED lamps that emitted only red light. I was sure the cameras were seeing me, but I hoped that if I acted like everything was okay, I wouldn't draw attention.

When I reached the dormitory door, I hesitated to enter. There were so many rooms... How could I know which one Tan was staying in?

After looking my back one last time, I wasted no time and went inside.

I was checking the door numbers one by one, but I couldn't decide which one to enter. Each room need to had two bunk beds, so in the rooms there were four people in total. Tan was the only one of in thousands.

As I continued walking, I finally saw a room door ajar, and I slowly walked in.

Of the four beds in the room, two beds were full. I didn't really care why the others were empty either. I quickly got closer to the person lying on the lower bunk and stared at his face, but it wasn't Tan.

I was about to lose hope.

I jumped twice and took a quick glance to see who was sleeping upstairs, and that wasn't Tan either.

I slumped my shoulders and started walking towards to the exit of the room. Finding Tan was literally impossible.

Just as I was about to leave the room, I was pulled away by someone from my left ankle and fell to the ground. I was about to scream but the one who's helding me made me turn on my back. After that, a large hand covered my mouth to block the scream that was rising up my throat. I tried to punch and push him away, but he had my arms pinned to the sides with his knees. The kicks I hurled with my legs didn't even hit him.

"I'll let you go, but you can't shout out for help, do you understand?" he said. I nodded my head nervously as I took a hasty breath through my nose. He slowly removed his hand from my mouth. Then he lifted his body, which he had rolled over my torso. I thought he'd pick me up after he got up, he did nothing but fix his messy hair and ragged t-shirt.

Why was everyone so annoying in this place?

"Thanks for helping me get up, and you don't have to apologize for sitting on my ribs. It's okay." I said with a fake smile, my facial expression didn't matter anyway. Since there was no light around, we could only see each other through the red light that hit our faces imperceptibly. "Anyway." he said, and smoothed his hair back. "Who are you? You're in the forbidden zone." I glossed over his question and said, "I was looking for my friend." "His name is Tan, he just came in. His hair is copper tone and you can consider him tall. He usually pouts. Have you seen him?"

The guy front of me grabbed my arm and led me out into the hallway, but he stayed inside. "I saw your friend but I can't help you, go before you put me in trouble." he said, and hung half of his body out of the door, while looking left and right. "Go back to your dormitory. If they catch you... It's not good for sure. Do you understand?" he said. "I need to find my friend. Can you at least tell me the door number?" I whined. He looked around again, as he just done, "278. You didn't hear it from me. Do you understand?" He slammed the door on my face.

I was looking for room 278 with my eyes as I ran down the hall. "275, 277... Huh! Here." I knocked on the door. There was no sound or a change, so I knocked it again.

As I was about to knock for the third time, the door opened and Tan greeted me with his eyes widening in surprise. He grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. He closed the door immediately as he pulled me in. "What are you doing here?" he whispered, his voice was sounded clearly annoyed. "I was looking for you, what else could I do?" I said while whispering. "Is there a problem?" he said, he was frowning his eyebwors.

He was so close to my face that if I moved an inch, our lips would have touched. I withdrew uncomfortably. Still, he didn't let go my arm he was holding as he let me in. "Calm down a bit. The Leader sent us, we're talking about the Leader! He's not going to kill me for being a bit naugh-" "Stop it Alya! They're POST, they're made for death. Just tell me why you came?"

"I met someone, she's the daughter of one of the instructor. She's going to get me into the places that only seniors can get in, and you're coming." I said. It was hard for me to speak while whispering. Extra, I was trying to stay positive while he was yelling at me. "What are we going to do there?" he said. He was still frowning his eyebrows, as I see evident from the red light seeping through the doorway. "Are you really asking what are we going to do? Any information we get here is in our favor, Tan. Don't you want to know what they've been up to?"

He violently released the arm he was holding. "I'm not coming. You're not going either. Can you realize that your family has been threatening?" he said. He was more angry. "Yes! I'm aware and that's why I'm doing it." I hissed through my teeth. "Fine. You go, I'm not coming." When he said that, I pushed him off his shoulder with one hand. "You always loved to do opposite what I say!" I pushed once again, this time with both hands. "I was a fool to come here."

Without letting him explain, I turned the doorknob harshly, and left the room. He slammed the door behind me, not even bothering to look after me. I was feeling so stupid. I blamed him for making me feel like that.

He's been constantly cranky lately and I couldn't understand why. His behavior reminded me of a phrase used by our people.

"As stubborn as the POST soldier."