"Fraser, h-help me."A hand reached out while another hand tried to grip tightly at cliff’s edge, keeping himself from falling into the deep abyss below. The young man's eyes were filled with mix of hope and fear as he pleaded for help from his friend who sat on the cliff's edge after accidentally pushing him."Fraser, I can't hold on much longer. Quickly, help me up! Class is about to start in a moment!" The black-haired man repeated, this time with a somewhat loud voice. It was because his legs were starting to ache as he struggled to climb and step on the fragile rocks, he almost falling several times. He did not know how long he could endure this position.However, Fraser, his one and only friend, did not respond to the young man's words and only stared at him in horror gaze."S-sorry, Ave.""Fraser?"Clap. Clap. Clap.From behind Fraser, applause sound echoed, followed by the footsteps of many people approaching the edge of the cliff right behind their school, Neogen High School.

Throughout Ave's life, he never ate beef or pork. At most, he would have chicken head stew or discarded chicken wings from the butchers that were not sell well.Also, he never had his own room.Ave slept with his old and blind grandmother. Every day, Ave had to change his grandma's diaper using old cloth and wash the soiled cloth diaper with water before heading to school.Ave never changed his school uniform either. He only had one black bag with various stitches all around, and who knows how many times the zipper broke, he just replaced it with safety pins to keep it closed.However, Ave never complained. He thought it was normal in New Orleans. In this dystopian country, poverty was a common thing, and almost 75% of New Orleans' population were poor, with a high crime rate.The gap between the poor and the rich was huge, from everyday clothes to shopping places, to their residential living areas. New Orleans truly classified and differentiated their citizens based on money and clas

"I've told you many times, I don't want to give you anything anymore! You dirty beggar!"A half-old man with a tall figure glared fiercely at a hunched elderly woman standing in front of his shop. The old woman wore a worn-out pink dress and both of her shoes had holes in various places."P-please, Sir. Tomorrow, my grandson will have an exam, and I want to give him bone soup to keep him motivated to study—""I don't care if your grandson has an exam or not. Old lady, just go away from my store! Your terrible appearance is scaring away my customers!" scolded the meat shop owner. He wore a blood-stained apron, and underneath it, his belly bulged due to his stingy and calculating nature."B-but...""Tch, go away!" Running out of patience, the meat shop owner stepped out of the store and pushed the old woman hard."Ahhh!"The old woman fell onto the street and winced in pain as her entire aged body ached. The shop owner then spat to the side."Go away and never come back here!" The butch

"He's quite handsome too."Ave had been in the bathroom for quite a while, staring at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror—or Elias's face, the guy whose face was duplicated and turned into Ave's new face. Luckily, Ave's grandma was blind, otherwise, she would have had a heart attack seeing her grandson's face change like that.The young man then turned on the tap at the sink and washed his face using soap—he was too poor to buy special face soap, so he used regular soap for both shampooing and washing his everyday clothes.Ave rinsed his face with water until it was clean before drying it with a towel and gazing again at his new face in the mirror.Again and again, Ave was amazed by this new face.He thought he would get a plain face or even worse, a face older than his own.Ave’s new face is much smaller than his old face. His hair is still the same black color, but Ave's black pupils have now changed to a golden color like a marble. Moreover, his chin looks slimmer, making Ave

"Knock. Knock."Without waiting for a response from inside the room, Mr. Swenzer quickly opened the door and stepped in. Outside the door, Ave could see Mrs. Lenora, the local history teacher, standing and explaining the material as usual when Mr. Swenzer entered and whispered something in Lenora's ear. This made her turn towards the door, locking eyes with Ave.Mrs. Lenora widened her eyes for a moment before nodding briefly. It seemed like Mr. Swenzer had also informed her that Avery was resigning and giving up his achievement scholarship. Mrs. Lenora was one of the few honest teachers at Neogen High School and liked Ave – in an educational context, because Ave always got perfect grades and excelled in mastering subjects."You can come in now," said Mr. Swenzer as the balding man came out again. "If you have any problems, you can come directly to my room, don't be afraid, understand?"Tap. Tap.Mr. Swenzer gave Ave a quick pat on the should