It was simpler to have four letters or less, everyone was always told by the Gov. A name was easier and quicker to say. Max, Kye, Ley, Lena, Judi. Even so, Jen always preferred the fancier and more eloquent names that she found in the Higher Text books: Lavidia, Raquel, and Claire. 'Music Names' she called them, and she would hum soft melodies under her breath and make sweet poems out of the names. Jen used only one shorter name for her poems, and that was Bea. There were three reasons Jen liked the name Bea. First of all, it was short for Beatrice, a name that Jen marveled at through the pages of her text books. Second, Bea rhymed with lots of words that are helpful in poetry. And last but not least, Bea was Jen's best friend.
Bea was a normal twelve year old with the same dark hair and baby blue eyes as everyone else. She wore the same white dress as Jen and went to the same school where shiny glass laptops lined the walls so students could pull up the text books and read them as well as research online. Bea wore the earpiece in her ear that the Gov sometimes spoke through to give help when needed or advice. And most important of all: Bea loved Jen for all she was worth. Jen loved Bea too, and this was why she never revealed her secret to her friend. It would put Bea in danger if she knew and Jen couldn't afford that.
That morning at school Bea skipped over to Jen, her baby blue eyes shining with innocence.
"I'm so excited about the new courses we're going to take! I mean, we're learning a new language, after all!" Bea babbled. Jen nodded, she was excited too. Until you reached a certain grade level, the Gov blocked out new courses. Bea and Jen had just reached the grade point and were going to learn Spanish. It was only a few words of course, according to the Gov, too many words would be using to much brain power. But Bea and Jen had both been assured that the learning of the simple phrases would be very interesting and challenging, and Jen liked challenges. She smiled at her best friend and they continued on.
The school building stood next to carefully trimmed trees and topiaries, spotless, just like Jen's uniform. The double glass doors slid open when the girls were two feet away and they hurried inside, holding each other's hands.
YOU ARE READING
A Million Clones
Science FictionJen lives in a society where everyone and everything is the same. The people are identical, they think the same thoughts, and learn the same things, and all know the simple messages that the Gov, as they call it, sends to keep the civilization under...
