What grandparents...?

Never have I been so irritated in my entire life. Never.

Well maybe not never but this experience is definitely at the top of the list.

I could have been anywhere, doing anything, right now but I was stuck in the Ministry building, doing nothing.

Not that I had anything I was doing anyway.

I looked around the room I was being kept. There were rows of chairs, that i was too lazy to count, filled with people and along the walls were various potted plants and tables with refreshments on them.

The entrance to the hall was a large opening from which the activity of the Ministry front door and reception area could be easily seen.

Above the opening was a silver plaque with the quote:

'Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them'.

This quote just mean to tell us that we can not fight greatness so we must not fear it. We have to co-exist with it. But that's not possible.

There is no reality where people can co-exist with greatness. As long as it exists there will be those who fear it, those who loathe it but also those who love it. Co-existence is impossible as 'The great will always be on some sort of pedestal.

The Great will always oppress the average and the average will always loathe the Great. It was just the way of the world.

As long as there is some sort of imbalance in the scales of power, there will always be conflict.

Or at least that's what I think. Sitting here, in the cold, hard plastic chair of the Ministry, I could not help but hate the Great that is the Ministry.

'The least they could have done was specify what time I had to be here instead of keeping me waiting all day' I grumbled to to no one in particular, slouching in my chair before catching himself and rightening myself, the voice of father echoing in my head.

'There is never a good reason to have bad posture'

Sigh. I had gotten to the Ministry building as quickly as I could after receiving the unexpected letter. Curious to know what happened.

Just then, an announcement blared throughout the the hall where me and several other unlucky SOB's where being kept. "#R3698 please report to the reception area".

A pale man behind me stood up with a breathe of relief.

"Finally" he muttered as he made his way to the receptionist.

I reached into the pocket of my coat, fishing out a neatly folded paper. The letter. I re-read the contents of the letter until my eyes blurred and I had practically memorised it.

Did I miss something in the letter or something? Or was the Ministry really just full of assholes?

This was just ridiculous! It's been 4 hours now.

I heave a breath. Maybe I should have brought something to keep me busy.

"Your first time?" came a gruff voice from his side.

I turn to the middle aged man with a neatly trimmed beard sitting next to me. He had his hair tied up in a bun on the top of his head, a few inky strands escaping the holding at the back.

One thing to note, however, was that he was... big. There was no other way to describe the man besides big. Even though he was sitting down, his huge stature could not be hidden. He looked almost comical in the minuscule chairs of the Ministry.

Despite his size however, the man still looked more than presentable in his navy suit, to the point I felt a bit underdressed in my trousers and shirt combo that he'd paired with a light jacket.

Was this what they called a DILF...?

Fuck. What was that? I think I've been spending too much time around idiots these days, they've even begun to infect me with their idiocy.

The man in question smiled, blue eyes twinkling with amusement, giving him the feeling of a friendly giant.

"Pardon?" I asked, conscious of the fact that I'd just been staring at him blankly. He must think I'm some sort of bohemian.

"You just looked so defeated so I wondered it was your first time dealing with the Ministry and its tedious ways" the man commented, eyes crinkling at the corners.

Ari cracked a wry smile. "Was it that obvious?"

I guess I did stick out like a sore thumb. Besides the fact that everyone here seemed dressed for a business deal, I would probably still stick out. After all, it wasn't everyday you came across someone with silver-white hair.

I cringed as the memories of all the grandpa jokes I've come across my entire life surfaced.

Lucky, today's society was a place where people minded their own business so although I got a few odd looks here and there, no one really said anything.

The man chuckled, a deep, baritone sound. "They do this on purpose, y'know. I remember one time they claimed they were busy but when I went past on my way to relieve myself, I saw them playing cards".

"So they just don't care?"

The man nodded, stroking his beard, "That's the power of a monopoly for you. They know you have no where else to go even if you got fed up".

Of course. Fucking assholes.

I nod, "Indeed"

I could feel our conversation, if it could even be called that, becoming strained so I wracked my brain for a topic but came up with nothing. Was this really the limits of my excellent public speaking skills that had been instilled in me from a young age?

How disappointing.

An inevitable silence blanketed us for a while and I took that moment to type a quick reply to a certain idiot before turning my phone off and looking around the hall. There were people milling about everywhere, always on the move.

Everyone who wasn't directed to sit was walking in and out of doors and everyone seemed to be doing something. It all looked normal on the surface but if you looked closer you'd notice the slightly pointed ears of the people. You'd notice that the lights were not nailed to the walls rather hovering slightly next to them. You'd notice the fact that the sound of the announcements seemed to fill up the entire hall even though there wasn't a speaker in sight.

"Which department are you here for today?" a voice suddenly cut through my musing.

"Pardon?" I blinked, surprised.

The man looked sheepish, scratching his beard and averting his gaze. "Oh sorry, am I bothering you?"

Ari smiled. "Not at all, I was just lost in my own head". After all, I had long given up on a successful conversation with him.

The man smiled. "Oh good. I would hate to be a bother".

"To answer your question, I'm here for the Ministry of Property and Possession" I said trying my best not to seem too eager. I couldn't afford to scare off the only form of entertainment I would probably get from this place.

The man immediately cringed. "PnP huh? Those ones are slippery bunch to deal with, only after lining their own pockets"

"Of course they are..." I sighed. Looks like this long day was just going to get longer.

The man placed a reassuring hand on my back, "But I'm sure you'll be just fine. You strike me as an intelligent young man so as long as you keep your wits about you, you should survive the snake pit".

I almost let out a laugh. Intelligent huh? How would he know?

Just as I went to answer an announcement blared throughout the hall, "#A1367, please report to the reception area".

I stood up with a half relieved smile, reaching my left hand out to the man for a handshake. "Thank you for the company. I have to be going now. If fate permits, perhaps we'll meet again"

The man flashed me a brilliant smile as he shook his hand with gusto. "Lets hope fate does permit it then".

With one last wave, I made his way out of that retched waiting area to the reception area, going to the nearest free teller.

"What?" The woman behind the counter snapped, looking up with a frown before her face smoothed out and she put on a seductive smile when she saw me She cleared her throat. "I mean, what can I help you with sir?" she said in a demure tone.

I almost let out a laugh. Looks like I still had it.

I internally rolled my eyes but still flashed her a superficial smile. "I was called up"

The lady nodded, "Right. Right. Can I get your numb-I MEAN YOUR CODE! Your code!" she tucked her hair behind her ear, smiling shyly up at me from underneath her eyelashes, giving me the feeling it wasn't a mistake at all.

"#A1367" I said with a mischievous smile.

The real show was about to begin now.

As soon as she heard my words, the woman underwent a huge transformation. Her smiling face turned into a sneer and she turned crinkled her nose as if she smelt a bad smell.

"Oh." she said flatly. "Why didn't you just say so, tsk, wasting my time"

She hurriedly clicked a few buttons on the keyboard, working with an efficiency she didn't possess before. Looked like she really wanted to get rid of me.

This had to be my favourite part of every interaction, when the other party discovers what I was and they showed me their true face.

There two types of people in the Mythic world currently. Those who loathed the Armaros as curses to society and those who didn't mind them. Even after the bill was passed acknowledging Armaros and finally giving them rights, there were still a lot of people who viewed them as the scum of society. Even though things were better, the discrimination was still very much there, veiled behind harsh looks and candy floss words.

The woman in front of me fell into the former of the two it seemed. She printed some sort of document and rounded the counter walking towards the lift.

"Come on, why are you so slow!" she shouted over her shoulder to me when she realised I didn't immediately follow. Like I was supposed to read her mind or something.

I laughed to himself. It was not a laughing matter but I still found some humour in the fact that people behaved like that and expected people to submit to them.

I followed with a light hum.

The entire lift ride was filled with silence. The woman who had been shamelessly ogling me a few minutes ago, refused to look at me. What she probably meant to be stifling silence was actually peaceful to me. I would have not enjoyed a conversation with her type either.

The elevator dinged, announcing their arrival on the 3rd floor. The doors were barely even open before the receptionist shoved the paper into my hands and shoved me out of the elevator.

How rude.

"Go to receptionist here and they will alert a consultant of your arrival". With that lift doors closed and I was left alone.

I shrugged. I was completely used to this treatment from other people. It didn't really bother me now.

I turned around and took in the lobby of the 3rd floor.

There was a plaque hovering above the entryway: Property and Possession department.

I hummed. Looks like I was going to finally get some clarity about the thing that had been bothering me as soon as I received that letter.

I didn't have grandparents.