novellhall Chapter 56: Class and the Price of Decentness
Chapter 56: Class and the Price of Decentness
Once on the tram, Evan grabbed the shiny, blackened handrail above his head, squeezed among a sea of coats and the smell of cigarettes and alcohol, and began to mentally assess the situation ahead.
"If Hearst really was just a pawn being used by Pulis, then it's true that she invited me to be her bodyguard."
"She seems to be treating me well, and I'll be well-prepared today."
"Conversely. If she were in cahoots with Pulis, she would never have anticipated Pulis's defeat."
"When she sees me, she will instinctively show hostility and defensiveness, and her preparations will seem hasty."
"A good attitude towards me means a lower probability of them being accomplices."
"If they treat me badly, be on your guard immediately; if things get really bad, just run away."
The tram rattled and clanged through several blocks before finally stopping in front of the Bolton South Station.
8:30 a.m.
Ivan squeezed off the tram with the crowd.
Looking around, the entire South Station Plaza was packed with people.
Travelers, dragging their suitcases, squeezed through the crowd, their suitcase corners occasionally bumping into other people's calves, drawing curses in response.
In a corner of the square, several vendors selling hot drinks had set up tin stoves, and the steam from coffee and hot cocoa condensed into white mist in the cold air.
Several shifty-eyed thieves lingered at the edge of the crowd, their eyes fixed on bulging pockets.
A few bored patrol officers leaned against the station pillars smoking, looking like they would be the first to run if something happened there.
But today, the main crowd in the square is not tourists, but students from Sage University.
Hundreds or even thousands of students wore the school's uniform dark blue spectator uniforms, with school badges pinned to their chests, and held small triangular flags and rolled-up banners in their hands.
They were organized into different teams according to their departments and grades, and lined up in square formations under the command of their teachers.
The rugby match was so well-known that the school simply booked a train carriage for all the regular students.
Ivan roughly estimated the cost of the trip in his mind.
A round-trip ticket costs four dollars and fifty cents.
The uniform for spectators costs eighty cents.
A three-day, two-night stay and meals cost about three US dollars.
All the odds and ends add up to about nine dollars on average.
Nine dollars is nothing to a middle-class family.
But for some students from lower-middle-class or lower-class backgrounds, it is a real expense.
These students come from families with some savings, but they are definitely not well-off.
The fathers were mostly skilled workers with college degrees, such as engineering assistants or pharmacists.
They are fundamentally different from Ivan's level.
They don't need to sign trial agreements. They don't need to wear secondhand clothes. They don't need to carry sacks at the dock every day to earn money for food.
However, their position is also quite awkward.
They look down on people like Evan, who are truly from the bottom of society.
But they desperately want to climb the social ladder and integrate into middle-class or even upper-class circles.
For this reason, they are willing to act as the fiercest dogs and the most brainless followers to those rich kids.
In order to keep up with the older brothers around him and show them a “decent” and “carefree” attitude that they shouldn’t actually have.
They will squeeze their parents' already meager wallets for many flashy but impractical things.
For example, the cost of this match.
For example, various festival costumes that are one-time purchases but expensive.
Ivan stood there and looked into the distance. Most of the students in blue uniforms were gathered around a few rich kids wearing custom-made suits and silver cufflinks, looking up with different expressions on their faces.
Some were smug.
Some were excited.
Some of their eyes were filled with anticipation.
Several others had their heads down, their eyes filled with sorrow. No one knew how many arguments they had had with their parents just to be able to stand here.
Besides the bustling crowd of ordinary students, there is also a private VIP passage right next to it.
Compared to the chaos and crowds on this side, the other side is so clean and tidy that it's like another world.
The floor was covered with a swept red carpet, separated on both sides by red velvet ropes, with small copper lamps hanging from the metal supports of the ropes.
Every few meters there was a station attendant wearing white gloves.
At the entrance to the passageway, there were rows of cars that were quite rare in this era.
Each one was polished to a shine, and the brass trim on the body gleamed in the morning light.
The servant bent down and took out a leather suitcase bearing the family crest from the trunk, following closely behind his young master or young lady as they walked inside.
The young masters and ladies held their chins high, as if they had been born to stand on this red carpet.
Even their servants stood up straight, as if they themselves were nobles.
As Evan pondered which car Eltin would get out of, he walked toward the VIP entrance.
"Ludwig? What are you doing here?"
A surprised voice came from behind.
Ivan turned around.
A young man in a dark blue spectator uniform was standing two steps behind him, holding a rolled-up banner and several retractable metal rods.
Sweat trickled down his forehead, seeping into the pale white scar above his brow bone.
"Albert?"
Ivan raised an eyebrow.
Albert Truss.
Two years older than Evan. The second of three children in her family.
He was the king of the kids in the Guding Street area.
His parents run a pharmacy on the corner of Guding Street.
It's the house that Evan and Richard passed by on their way home.
I heard that Albert's uncle is a high-ranking official in the Gus gang.
This relationship meant that their pharmacy never had to pay protection money, and the family lived a very comfortable life on Guding Street.
Evan remembers when he was a child, Albert would lead his group of kids to run around on Guding Street, climb walls, and steal apples from the fruit stalls in the market.
They also shared a fairly good childhood.
Albert was quite righteous back then.
As long as you call him "Big Brother," he can guarantee you won't be bullied on the street.
The scar at the corner of my eye is from when I stood up for a younger brother and someone slapped me with a brick.
Later, when he decided to seriously try to make it in society, his parents gave him repeated physical spurs before he finally sat back down at his desk.
After burying himself in his textbooks, he gradually drifted away from the street kids.
After being admitted to the University of the Wise two years ago, Evan has hardly seen him at all.
The last time we met was on a Sunday afternoon six months ago, when we exchanged a quick nod on the street.
Ivan was sensible. He knew the two of them were no longer on the same page.
"What are you doing here?" Albert looked him up and down, his brows furrowing slightly.
"This is the VIP entrance."
His gaze fell on Evan's woolen jacket with a missing button, then swept over the pair of leather shoes with broken soles that Old Tom had repaired three times.
"Are you dressed like that, going to work in another city?"
Ivan was taken aback.
"You didn't know? I also got into the University of the Wise."
"Huh?" Albert was taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.
"You passed the exam too?"
Ivan: "Haven't you heard about me?"
Albert sighed and shifted the banner from his arms to his shoulder.
"No. I have too much to do every day..."
"Trus! Where the hell have you been?"
A fierce roar suddenly rang out from afar.
"Hurry up and bring me that banner! You want a beating, don't you?!"
Albert's shoulders immediately tensed up.
"Coming right away!"
He responded in that direction, then turned back and gave Evan a hasty smile.
"I'm leaving now!"
After saying that, he carried the large bundle of things and almost jogged through the crowd towards the direction where he had shouted.
Ivan did not leave immediately.
He squinted and looked in the direction Albert had run.
On one side of the red carpet, several young men stood with their hands in their suit pockets, their hair slicked back with oil, and their parted hair held in place with silver hair clips.
They were surrounded by a group of girls dressed in exquisite plush dresses, with standardized sweet smiles on their faces.
The young men wore the same bronze badge on their suit lapels.
A phoenix spreading its wings.
The Phoenix Brotherhood.
Ivan wasn't surprised.
He subtly shifted his gaze from the young men to the girls beside them.
Those girls were quite pretty.
Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that some of them are female students at the school, with their school badges pinned to their chests.
However, there were several who were clearly not students.
Although their clothes were exquisite, the style was closer to that of a cabaret hostess or a middle-class woman about to get married.
Ivan's brow furrowed slightly.
The girls all had the same smile on their faces.
That smile was just perfect.
It's so perfect it's unsettling.