Lawless

Natalia

It was a dark and stormy night. Okay, well it was only, like 9 am, but there were still clouds and rain and lightning. As was the norm in the Pacific Northwest. I’d just gotten out of the shower and stood in the small closet space of my one-bedroom apartment, looking for something to wear to school today. It’s not like I had a wide variety to choose from. But I still wanted to look presentable with a hint of badass for my first day of Freshman year at the university. I’d gotten a full-ride scholarship to Anarchy Academy, that I didn’t even apply for, but turned them down. I, in no way, wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps. I’d emancipated from him, not long after Mom died, and I had no interest in becoming an assassin or taking over my sperm donor’s gang. AA was a school developed for the two ruling gangs in Mayhem, Anarch. It was odd how opposing gangs can go to school together, but that wasn’t my problem to worry about.

Either way, I’d decided I’d rather work my way through college to get a nice, decent job than follow the rest of this fucked up state to a life of a criminal. Even if it was technically legal. I liked to call Anarch, the only state in the U.S with two Governors, “The Purge State” where criminal activity is allowed 24/7 instead of one day a year, like the rest of the country. Nathaniel “Blackjack” Wolfe and Rhys “The Snake” Williams—aka, my dear old dad—basically ran our state with having every politician and law enforcement in their pockets. If I could afford it, I’d have relocated to the west coast and went to school at UCLA. But out-of-state schools were hella expensive and, of course, I’d missed the deadline for scholarships. I’d had the grades, though not enough for an academic scholarship. Math was always a hindrance for me. But fighting? Fighting was where it was at for me. I was the only girl throughout high school in Fight Night Club which is apparently what earned me the generous scholarship to AA.

I picked my high waisted, dark wash jeans to pair with a solid black crop top. My boobs were relatively small—but perky—so I’d decided to forgo a bra, slipping on a pair of black panties with the words “call me sexy” printed on the back. Once I was done getting dressed, I pulled my curly hair into pigtails, leaving a few strands to frame my face. Just as I was lacing my favorite, okay only, pair of calf-high combat boots, my cell phone buzzed just as the text notification dinged. Glancing at my phone, laying next to me on my twin-sized bed, I saw that my best friend, Erica, sent me a message.

Erica:

Hurry up, bitch. I’m outside.

Natalia:

5 seconds, hoe <3

I finished lacing up my boots and grabbed my phone, keys, and wallet—which only held about $30—and headed out the door. Since I was already running behind, I’d decided against makeup. Not like I’d needed it anyway. Plus, my glasses kinda ruined any affect it would have had.

I jogged to Erica’s beat-up Chevy and climbed in the passenger side. “Well, hello, gorgeous,” I said once I was securely in my seat, kissing Erica’s cheek. I could feel how her foundation stuck to my lips. Erica was beautiful without makeup, but her low self-esteem caused her to pile the shit on her beautiful dark skin. “Morning, boo,” she replied, pulling into traffic. The university wasn’t far from my apartment, but Erica offered to drive me to keep me from being late. Again. I’d already missed orientation on Friday, which was also the day dorm assignments were given. Erica and I were supposed to be dormmates, but I’d overslept. But she did get my class schedule for me, signing me up for the core classes along with her. Erica wasn’t happy with having to room with a stranger, but she’d get over it. It’s not like we wouldn’t see each other every day.

The short ride to the school was filled with the tea of Erica’s date last night. Apparently, the guy was a “dull asshat” that didn’t pay for their meal and still tried to sleep with her at the end of the night. He hadn’t even had a car. I laughed until she was pulling into the student parking lot of the school.

Our schedules were set up in a way similar to high school: two classes in the morning, enough time for lunch, and two classes in the afternoon. Each class had 30 minutes between to insure we’d make it to the next on time. Erica was a stickler for routine. By the time lunch rolled around, I was starving, since I’d skipped breakfast as usual. I wasn’t really a breakfast person. Erica and I decided to take advantage of the cafeteria instead of fast-food. The cafe was pretty empty, which wasn’t surprising with all of the fast-food restaurants available. It also explained why Erica chose the cafe. Erica was what one would call an introvert. She hated being around large groups of people unless I was with her, but not for long. Me, though. I loved being around people. I was the party girl with a short fuse, which I’d inherited from my mother, according to Rhys.

My father used to always tell me what I’d gotten from my mom, from my attitude to my body type. God, he made me sick. So sick, in fact, that he’d taken to forcing me to pleasure him 6 months after Mom had died. His excuse being that I’d reminded him so much of her that he couldn’t get enough. I was 10 when it started. It only stopped when I was able to get emancipated and move out to live on my own when I’d turned 16. I couldn’t wait another two years to get from under him. Lucky for me, emancipation didn’t go all the way up to the governor, so I was able to take him by surprise and there was nothing he could do about it.

If it wasn’t for my boss, Joe, for taking pity on little 14-year-old me, I’d have been stuck in that hell for much longer than I had. He’d hired me at his club as a bar-tender then promoted me to manager when he’d noticed my attention to detail and odd business savvy for a kid. Tonight, though, was my first night as a dancer. I’d had to beg him to let me dance to earn some extra cash to help my seriously lacking wardrobe. As a manager, I made enough to pay bills and eat but I didn’t have the funds for non-essentials like multiple outfits. Or even a decent car.

Though, I’d really love a motorcycle.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see a text from Joe, reminding me to be at Crazy 8’s on time. It was probably dangerous for me to work at a club affiliated with the Tri Peaks, Nathaniel Wolfe’s gang, being the daughter of his archrival. But I’d been working there for four years now and nothing bad had happened. I shot a quick text back to let him know that I’d be on time since Erica was driving me.

I was done eating, but we still had enough time before class started, so I decided to check my email. I cocked an eyebrow when I noticed a new email from the admissions office at AA. It wouldn’t hurt to read the email, because I wasn’t going to that school anyway.

Dear, Ms. Williams,

It has come to our attention, here at Anarch Academy, that you have not replied to the scholarship offer to attend our school. As the deadline to accept is at the end of the month, this notice is to remind you to reach out to the admissions office to receive your dorm assignment and class schedule. The first day of classes will begin the first Monday of next month. All students must be on campus by that time. Due to the full-ride scholarship, all uniforms, books, and other dorm essentials will be provided to you. You will also receive a monthly stipend as allowance for food outside of the cafeteria and other non-essential items.

We look forward to hearing from you, soon.

Best Regards,

Yuuei Satoru

Dean of Admissions

What the hell? I know for a fact I’d sent my declining response to the scholarship offer letter weeks ago. How had they not received it? I groaned and decided to ignore the email, hitting the delete button. I am not going to that school to become a professional criminal like Dad. No fucking way.