In this world, there were only two kinds of people. People with a signum and people without one. There is no fundamental difference between the two kinds of people. But somehow, along the passages of time, it became some sort of conception that people with a signum were somehow inferior. Through ruthless human nature, it eventually became the norm to put down or discriminate against people with signums. The tensions between both groups only increased. Hatred spewed back and forth between both sides. And it is at the peak of all of this crap, that I was born. A boy with a signum on his left arm. My parents weren’t exactly the most well off but they knew how to take care of me. They were completely overjoyed when I was born. But the abrasive nature of the world takes its toll on everyone eventually. The signum group was slowly starting to become dominated by the non-signum group. I didn’t know much about my parent’s suffering until I started middle school. It was at that time when I felt the discrimination and the pain. Then slowly began the existentialism questions. Am I wrong for being born with a signum? I knew that this thought had been on everyone’s mind at some point of time. I could see it in my parent’s eyes every now and then. Somehow, when I thought of it, I just ended up laughing. Laughing at how disgusting the very thought was. How does a question like that even exist?

I made up my mind then. I would keep climbing up the ladder. To a point where I can confidently dispel any misconception for people around me. I set my sights on the next rung of the ladder. The biggest and hardest rung that I had to climb over. Aequalitas High School.

Aequalitas was the most prestigious boarding school in the country. It was very strictly merit-based and had one of the toughest exams found anywhere. It was a given that graduating from here guaranteed a smooth path to wherever you wanted to go. I remember coming home with the Aequalitas flyer and notifying my parents. Their eyes widened in shock.

“Honey, are you sure you want to go here? It is the toughest school to get into.”

“I’m sure, Mom.”

Mom and Dad looked at each other. They relented and turned to me. Dad ruffled my hair.

“We won’t stop you. Try your hardest and get in. We’ll be here to support you.”

Now, I wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed but I could still function quite well. After acing my middle school exams, I worked on the Aequalitas entrance exam for months. One of the happiest days for our family was when I got the acceptance letter from Aequalitas. The three of us jumped up and down happily.

“Good job, my boy! I’m so proud of you! We’re going out tonight! Dear, get ready!”

The three of us stayed up late and kept celebrating. I could finally see the rung above me. Now to figure out how to climb it.

Aequalitas was quite the ironic name. While I expected to see the usual discrimination I was used to, I did not expect the sheer scale of it. With the campus of considerable size, the entire thing was split effectively into two different sections. One for signums and one for non-signums. With the difference also came a difference in the quality of facilities, academic freedom and pretty much everything else that a student would be entitled to. It genuinely made me feel sick from the orientation on the first day. That was when I realised the extent to which the discrimination towards signums had spread. It essentially became a brainwashing mechanism for non-signums. I ended up making a couple of friends on the first day. The first was Arturo. He was a hulking young man who had a very impressive basketball record. He got here on a sports recommendation and his grades weren’t too bad either. While he looked quite intimidating, he was a very gentle person. On learning more about him, he was quite popular in his middle school mainly because of his nature but that was only after people got to know him. They all avoided him at first because of his scary appearance. That’s why when I simply came and talked to him without any fear, it somehow made him really happy. 

 The other friend I made was Hugo. Hugo was on the opposite end of the spectrum from Arturo. He had negligible stamina and was physically very weak. But he was insanely intelligent. He aced the Aequalitas exam with ease. He was also not someone who simply relied on his natural intelligence but worked hard earnestly. There wasn’t any activity where he wouldn’t give his one hundred percent. This included sports although his one hundred percent here was barely noticed.

With these two friends in tow, I was looking forward to attending school. The first day was simply introductions and it ended fairly quickly. There was only one class for signums. Arturo, Hugo and I decided to apply for the same room in the dormitories. The three of us cheered when the request was accepted. That night, as I was lying in bed, I thought of the future. I finally made it into the best school. Now to keep climbing the ladder and achieving my goal. I went to sleep with my naïve thoughts looping itself in my head.

The first class of the semester managed to shatter all my expectations. We were introduced to a very short-tempered, abrasive teacher who taught History. She would’ve been an excellent teacher if not for her constant grumbling on how she was stuck teaching signums. I could tell that the entire class was used to this kind of treatment. Becoming numb to all this. For me, I couldn’t exactly place how I was feeling. Or maybe I wasn’t even feeling anything. All I could think about was how I can move forward. Luckily, our other teachers weren’t quite as moody. In fact, the gym teacher was actually a signum himself. After the first day, I decided to accompany Arturo to the gym while Hugo decided to go check out the library. The gym was bustling with tons of activity. Arturo went straight towards the gym teacher and handed him a small slip of paper. The teacher accepted it and made Arturo warm up. I looked around the gym. It didn’t exactly exude the reputation that Aequalitas had built up. It looked like a small, local gym. In fact, it could barely compete with my middle school gym. I prayed that this wasn’t another discriminatory thing.

I decided to go visit Hugo at the library. Just like the gymnasium, the library was also quite lackluster. It felt like a small, local bookstore. So, this was the renowned Aequalitas High School. I laughed.

I walked out and headed towards the non-signum side of the campus. While there was no formal, written rule saying that people can’t visit either side, I guess no one had the guts to actually venture out towards it. As I stepped into their side, I noticed just how clever the architecture was. The outside structure of all the buildings on both sides were more or less the same. So why was it that I got the feeling that the inside would be much different? This entire situation was quite funny to me. As I was walking towards their gymnasium, I saw several people point at me and whisper. I guess a student with a bright red blazer was pretty conspicuous in this sea of blue uniforms. I entered the gymnasium. I whistled at the sight of it. Now, this was the Aequalitas High School. Everything was top of the line. The court, the bleachers, the hoops and everything else was all shiny and premium. I walked out and headed to the library. I fell in love with it instantly. Dozens upon dozens of bookshelves spread out across multiple floors, this was how a library should be. Combined with the calming atmosphere, I felt like I had ascended. Only a few students in the library noticed that I was present while the others were engrossed in their own books.

What is with this stark difference in the treatment of students? I sighed as I walked out of the library. Trouble finally caught up with me when I found a group of blue blazers waiting for me.

“So, you’re the bastard who was supposedly taking a tour of our campus.”

“Ah, yes, gentlemen. I was simply marvelling at the school’s fine architecture. It is truly befitting of the Aequalitas tag.”

The group slowly relaxed.

“If only the entire campus could be built the same way. Such a shame. What a sully of the Aequalitas name.”

The relaxation of the group suddenly disappeared. One of them grabbed my collar.

“Huh?! You want to be treated the same way as us?! That’s the funniest thing I ever heard.”

“Well, I am glad that you are enjoying hearing my words but I was being quite serious. I would also like for you to remove your hands from my blazer.”

I managed to free myself. I took a few steps back. I wiped my collar down.

“Aw, this collar is dirtied with such a horrible discriminatory stain. It’ll take a lot of work to remove it.”

The guy’s face turned red. He quickly walked towards me and punched me in the face. I fell down clutching my face.

“Don’t have much to say now?”

“I believe you are following the very wise proverb of ‘When unable to counter an argument, use violence’. It is very fitting for you.”

He kicked me across the face. Soon, his buddies also joined in. A few minutes later, a loud voice echoed.

“Stop!”

I looked up and saw a fair man with bright blonde hair. He had dark black eyes that seemed very cold. He walked up to me. The blue blazers stopped and gave way for him.

“What seems to be the problem here?”

“Quillon, this signum piece of shit here couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”

Quillon turned around to the leader of the blue blazers.

“And you beat him up just for that?”

His calm voice was somehow laced with fury. The leader began sweating profusely.

“I’ll deal with you later. Leave!”

The blue blazers ran away. I dusted myself off and touched my face lightly. I flinched in pain. I slowly got up and stood face to face with Quillon.

“Hey, you could’ve gotten here sooner, you know? Who will marry me if my face gets permanently disfigured?”

“I apologise for my fellow student’s behaviour. But may I know what it is you said that triggered them?”

“All I said was they stained my clothes with their discrimination. What a bunch of shallow fools.”

Quillon laughed out loudly. Everyone was slowly starting to gather around us.

“What is your name?”

“Its Clarence. And your name is Quillon, I assume?”

“It is. If you shall require any assistance, please don’t hesitate to come to me.”

“Oh, thank you so much. You’re a nice boy.”

Quillon leaned close as his expression changed.

“Just because I punish them doesn’t mean I think they’re wrong. Signum garbage.”

I raised my eyebrow at him. He quickly smiled again.

“Once again, I apologise for everything that happened. I hope we can meet under better circumstances.”

I smiled and waved him goodbye. The crowd around us also dispersed. As I saw him walking away, all the pain in my body had disappeared. I clutched my fist tightly. I finally found out how to climb the ladder.

Meanwhile, back in the non-signum dorms, Quillon smiled with a sense of determination.