“Oh my god… how much longer until he's back in school….?” Kurt groaned, looking at the fresh bruise on Sam's calf from where Blaine had kicked him and then ran away.

Sam shook his head, “Don't know.  September probably.  I think that's when school starts for normal kids isn't it?”

Kurt sighed and pulled down Sam's pant leg, “When the nurse comes on Friday you should make her look at it.  Make sure it's only just a bruise.”

Sam shrugged, “What're they going to do about it anyhow?  There's a reason Dent's only get a nurse and not a doctor … and only once a week too.  Getting sick is a sure way to end up demoted.”

“Don't be like that…”  Kurt tried to argue, but he didn't know why.  Something about this place was so dreary and foreboding.  On the farm they did their work and school modules and played and ate… life was simple.  Here, the kids were more serious, more focused on the worst things in life and Kurt was afraid he was starting to pick up on it.  He had never noticed some of the awful things that had gone on in the world before, but now Santana and Noah and even Sam didn't hesitate to point those things out to him.

Like the lack of a real doctor to take care of their needs, or how none of them could ever really decipher what their service statements said.  They were supposed to be able to gauge how long they had left in service from those papers they got a few times a year and yet no one was able to understand them.  Santana would point out how most of what they earned actually went towards funding the indentured service system - the overseers, administrators, and bounty hunters, so a small debt could take years to pay off - let alone a huge one.

Santana also noted that the overseers would visit service facilities regularly to ensure that the Dents were being properly cared for and not abused - but how many times had they turned a blind eye to things like the bruises the kids had on account of Blaine now?  What if the abuse got worse?  Would anyone care or would they just become write-offs?

“Aren't they supposed to be fined if they find damage on us…?” Kurt asked, trying to think back to his time in the orientation center.

“Maybe, but I heard they will often just slip the overseer some cash and they won't report it then.  It's not like anyone's going to make a big fuss over what happens to kids like us anyhow.”  Noah retorted, as if the kid knew everything there was to know about the system.

It wasn't right, and it made Kurt's heart feel heavier with each passing day.  If this was how the system was - would he ever see his dad again?  Was his goal of meeting him again even reasonable?

“You!  HK206!  Get over here!” Will yelled over at Kurt one day.

In a flash, Kurt abandoned his sewing and stepped up to Will, holding in his breath.  Please let it be a promotion, he thought to himself, please let them take me away from here.

“Boss is having a meeting.  You have a clean bill of health and background so you're going upstairs to refill drinks for those at the meeting.  CT311 will show you what you need to do.” Will directed, pointing over to an asian looking girl standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Kurt rushed over and nodded to her, “Kurt.”

“Tina.  Follow me.”

He was led up the stairs and into a hall that branched off into different rooms and even more hall paths while Tina quickly directed him on how to act and what he'd be doing.  

“They'll wag their fingers at you if they want their coffee or tea refilled.  Make sure you know who's drinking what and if they take cream or sugar with it.  You can't talk to them so you just have to pay attention to what they take in the beginning and then it's easy.  Don't pay attention to what they're meeting on.  You're just there to fill drinks, and, if necessary, running out to grab supplies they might ask for.  If they ask you for supplies just find me at the desk here…”  she pointed to a main desk where a couple other girls in Dent uniforms were going through stacks of paper under the supervision of a normally dressed woman.  “... and I'll help you get it.  Normally myself or one of the other upstairs workers would do this but the boss is expanding the company and there's too much going on today up here for me to be away.”

Kurt just nodded quickly, trying to remember it all and hoping to himself that he didn't screw this up.  Interaction so close with the bosses was always a tricky business and he didn't know if they would be picky about how he did things.  

God he was nervous.

He paid attention, held his breath when he was called on for a refill, and controlled his shaking hands when he brought a fresh cup over to the suited old, white men who encircled the table, listening intently to Boss Anderson and occasionally grunting or humming in acknowledgement of what he was saying.

Kurt couldn't follow what they were talking about even if he could focus on it.  

Numbers, projections, stocks, trades - all things Kurt hadn't learned about in his school modules and all clearly familiar territory for all the men in the room who didn't even flinch at the foreign words.  When it came time for questions, Kurt was sure one of the guys would ask what some of what had been spoken about meant, but all he heard instead were more big words and lots of hand gesturing as they talked animatedly.

Kurt was also on edge from the only odd man out at the meeting; Blaine, who sat beside his dad looking completely bored and ready to fall over and nap on the table at any moment.  He wondered if Blaine understood what they were talking about, and why he was even there.  Certainly the obnoxious child didn't actually have a voice in running the company he seemed intent on causing chaos within.  

Thankfully, Kurt didn't break any dishes, make any mistakes, or splash anyone.  He also seemed to be in Blaine's blind spot so he didn't receive any of the hell he usually got from the brat.  It went as smooth as it could go, and as the meeting ended and the people left the room, Kurt went to follow them - glad to return to his normal work.

“You.  HK206.  Here boy.”

Kurt froze at Boss Anderson's voice and slowly turned around, locking his eyes with the floor as he knew was proper and stepping closer to the man.  A reprimand?  Trouble?  God he hoped not.

“You have a clean record boy?”

Kurt nodded, unsure if he was being granted permission to speak or not.

“You like it here?”

Again Kurt nodded - but only because a fool would do otherwise.

“How old are you?”

Kurt swallowed, realizing the only way he could answer now was verbally. “Ten sir.”

“How long have you been in service?”

“Two years sir.”

He heard a thoughtful hum and then a change in the direction of the voice, “Blaine.  This one of the ones you've been pestering?”

“I didn't do anything to him.”

“Blaine, I checked the footage.”

“Fine.  Yeah.  Whatever.  He's just a Dent anyhow.”

Was Kurt supposed to still be here?  Was Boss Anderson done asking him questions?  What was going on?

The boss' voice was turned back to him. “What's your name HK206?”

“Kurt sir.”

“I know already, but tell me what Blaine has done to you.”

Kurt gulped, and couldn't help the worried tremor that ran down the length of his spine and out over his hands and legs.  Was he being set up?  Were they trying to get him in trouble?

“It's okay.  I already know.  Tell me.”

“Ah… well… sir…. he's kicked me, stepped on my toes, thrown buttons at me, tugged my fabric through the machine when I've been sewing so I have to put it in waste, pulled my hair, called me names, spit at me, -”

“He's just a Dent dad!” Blaine interrupted with a yell.

“You!”  Boss Anderson yelled back, making Kurt flinch with the change in tone, “Will be quiet.  The only reason you're here is because I can't find a nanny willing to take care of you in the summer and your mother is busy trying to get the new factory up and running!  You're disrupting the work that is vital to our success though Blaine!  This is absolutely unacceptable!”

Kurt cringed.  If Boss Anderson thought he was helping Kurt by calling Blaine out on his misbehaviour, he wasn't.  Kurt was sure Blaine was retaliate hard on him for being the reason he was getting in trouble.

“I have had two Dents unable to work because of your troublemaking Blaine!” Boss Anderson continued, still yelling.  “I have lost material and supplies, and the site manager pointed out to me how much slower the Dents work when you're around!  Do you think money grows on trees Blaine?  Do you think your education and toys and everything else we give you just pays for itself?  When you hurt them you hurt me!  You hurt your mother, you hurt Cooper, and you hurt yourself!”

“...Just Dents….”  Blaine mumbled again.

“Ten years old Kurt?” Boss Anderson's voice softened as it returned again to Kurt who nodded in response.

“Blaine is nine.”

Again Kurt nodded, not sure what difference that made.

“Your new assignment is playmate for my son.”

Kurt went cold, eyes widening towards the ground.  Surely the man was joking.  First of all, play was play for a reason - in that it wasn't work.  Secondly, play with Blaine?  Was he insane?

“Dad!  He's a Dent!  I can't be around him!”

“He'll get a physical to make sure he's clean and a mental skills test to make sure he's not slow, and then, yes, you will be around him Blaine.  You're bored and it's hurting my company.  You need someone to do something with and I can't entertain you all day long.  Losing one worker to play with you is better than the two I've already lost plus the production slow down you've already caused.”

A button was pressed on the phone by Boss Anderson and a cheery female voice responded, “Yes Mister Anderson?” on the other end.

“I have a Dent in here.  He needs a physical and mental work-up ASAP.”

“Yes sir.  Of course sir.  You can send him to the front desk and we'll get the doctor to check him out.”

So there was a doctor here - just not for regular visits from Dents.

“You will sleep and do your schoolwork here still, but during the day you will help my son stay occupied.  Do you understand?”

Kurt nodded quickly.  Of course he understood, but really, he didn't REALLY understand.  How the hell was he supposed to play with a kid who clearly had a psychotic streak to him and had only ever shown disgust for him?  

The worst day of Kurt's life was the day his mother died, followed closely by when he was taken away from his father, but today… today was definitely the third worst day, and it seemed like there would be a lot of other runner up's added to the list if he ended up spending his days with Blaine too.