As she walked away, Elizabeth glanced back at the young man again. He was as tall as Mr. Smith which meant he had to be just over two meters in height. His build seemed the same as Smith�s too, at least until she watched him get up.
Whoever he was, he didn�t keep with the current fashion of body sculpting. His face was a sort of hard edged delicate, like too many things had happened to him in too little time, but somehow it held onto a boyish charm factor. He looked like he still could smile when he did something nice. Definitely out of style for the Heights. Most of the young men his age were trying to be surly and sullen beneath their Echo skinsuits, and the rippling muscles with almost no body fat were so last season.
So he was all natural and from the lower levels. As he stood, she noticed the young man only wore one leather glove. It matched his jacket exactly. He ran the gloved hand through his almost completely jet black hair; the only thing that marred it was a pair of scarlet strips that ran down both sides of his head.
�Hmmm.� Elizabeth murmured.
Mr. Jackson was the only one who seemed to notice her looking backwards. �What is it Ms. Hightower?�
�I was wondering why that young man was wearing only one glove?� Elizabeth asked.
�He�s ganger. Or worse, a ganger wannabe. � Mr. Smith cut in. He said ganger almost like it was dirty word.
�You mean he�s a member of gang?� Elizabeth couldn�t keep the excitement from her voice. �He doesn�t look anything like I thought they would!� Gangers were not supposed to be cute, even if only in an outdated sort of way.
�They can fool you Ms. Hightower, though I can�t understand stand why they would let such Underside trash on campus.�
�Smith, Shut up.� Mr. Jackson said.
Elisabeth was in shock as she cocked her head to watch Mr. Jackson staring at Mr. Smith.
�Some of those pieces of Underside trash happen to outrank you.� Mr. Jackson�s voice was surprisingly calm, but it was pitched in a low and dangerous tone that Elizabeth had heard only one time in her entire life, and that was too a young man who could not seem to understand the meaning of the word �no�.
�But sir I only meant�� Smith stuttered.
�I don�t care what you meant, This Ms. Hightower�s first day it is supposed to be pleasant. Go secure the limo�now.� Mr. Jackson barked. Elizabeth could see Jackson glaring at Smith even through his mirrored sunglasses. She almost felt bad for Smith.
Mr. Smith visibly paled. Then he turned his back and quickly stalked off, his spine stiff as he walked away. Smith�s anger made him a dangerous man, but Elisabeth had always known deep down that Mr. Jackson was a more frightening individual.
�Now, Ms. Hightower, in spite of the current disagreement between myself and Mr. Smith he correct that there can be unsavory elements here on campus. However I would like to point out that in order to get into Forge University , they had to take the same entrance exams that you did. The malice in Jackson�s tone faded as he spoke. �Don�t look down on them Ms. Hightower. Everyone deserves a chance to make their lives better.� His last words held a sort of quiet of tenderness that Elisabeth had never heard before in his voice.
Before she could comment Jackson continued. �This is Mr. Jones and Mr. Makkan. They will accompany you to class. These two gentlemen will be no more than two meters from you at all times.� Any gentleness in his tone had gone. He was the same Mr. Jackson she had grown up with.
�5 meters. � Elisabeth responded quickly. In the boarding school, the bodyguards had kept a distance of at least 7 meters except when she left campus. Now she could see her chances for making friends fading with each meter closer they were required to stay.
�2.5.� Mr. Jackson stopped to peer down at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Mr. Jones and Mr. Makkan waiting to see how he would react.
�4�
�3 meters and they will not eavesdrop.� Elizabeth insisted.
�Done.�
Mr. Jones and Mr. Makkan shook their heads. Elizabeth repressed a smug smile. She could almost hear the thoughts racing through their heads. The head of security for BioWorks Incorporated, a man known as the �Immortal� inside Security who could silence other agents with merely a glance, was now trounced by a 18-year old girl. What was this world coming to?