Chapter Two:
Ugh. 4:05. I had planned on getting up at 5:45 but I can tell I’m due for another O-pill. I’m feeling a bit breathless, I must have forgotten my last dose. I stumbled out of my bed and went to the restroom chamber. I opened the cupboard and grabbed a pill. Then I sauntered into our pristine kitchen- it was never used because my family mostly preferred to eat in Yolen’s giant food court. I got a glass of water and swallowed my pill. Ahhh, instant relief.
I wanted to go back to sleep, but I knew if I fell asleep, I’d never be able to get back up. I groaned. I practically crawled back to my room and turned on the light before I had a chance to change my mind and get back into the nice warm sheets. I walked to my closet panel. Don’t ask me how it works, maybe ask my brother. He would know. He’s celebrating his one-year anniversary of being a technology developer. He’s always bringing these weird prototype gadgets and gizmos home. Anyway, you go up to the panel. The camera will scan you, and your image will appear on the panel along with all of your measurements. Then, using the touch screen, you hit clear. It will show a picture of you in your birthday suit. From there you select the button that says shirts and it will show you options, then you choose a color. The shirt will appear on you, on the panel. Then you continue with jackets, purses, shoes, hair styles, pants, etc. until you are done. Then you step into your dressing tube. Today I chose a light green, three-quarter sleeve, v-neck, cotton shirt, with a pair of artfully faded jean Capri pants. I wore light green matching flats also. I like hand-picking my outfits and experimenting with styles. I save tons of cool outfits just incase I am running late. This is one of my usuals. Some people, mostly boys, just choose the scramble button and an outfit gets randomly dispersed. I think that’s being lazy, but that’s just me.
After I was dressed, I teleported from my living quarters to Morning Sun. It’s my favorite place to eat breakfast. As much as I love my little sister, she always wants to eat at Kiddie Garden. All they serve is mac and cheese, granted you get to choose which noodle and which cheese, but I don’t want it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So I try to leave the house before my parents catch up with me and suggest I bring Via with me. Morning Sun has the best food on the entire planet. They have omelets, hash browns, breakfast meats, and all kinds of juices galore. I usually meet up with my best friend, Kalianne, there.
I looked over everyone’s heads for her tell-tale red hair. I couldn’t see her. Huh, I left super early today, I guess I‘ll just have to wait. I settled down on one of the sun shaped barstools. Kalianne has been my best friend ever since we met for our first day at the education center. We were assigned cubicles right next to each other. Our older brothers have been friends for a while. They are co-inventors for the same company. They’re partners in crime. Like me and Kalianne. I call her Lia.
While I was thinking about my absent friend, Arielle (the restaurant manager) came by to take my drink order. That’s one thing I like about this restaurant- the customer service. Back in the e.d. (that’s what the days were back when we were on earth, earth days) people used to be called waiters and waitresses. And, get this, they delivered food and took orders at all restaurants. How cool right? At Morning Sun, they do that too. It’s the only restaurant on Yolen that does that. At the rest you come in, think of what you want, then verbally say it and it shall appear. The only thing that differentiates the restaurants is the motif and the name. Take Kiddie Garden for example. They give you a menu with all of the mac and cheese combos on it. You say the meal you desire and bam, your menu disappears and your meal appears on the table. Again, I don’t know the mechanics of it, I just know the product. I don’t plan on being a cook or a food magician. The only thing that sets it apart from the other food joints is it’s décor. The seats are shaped like macaroni noodles, the walls are painted a very cheesy orangy-yellow, and the music is all about noodles. But Morning Sun has character, charm, and ooh, the best juice… I took a huge sip of my Morning Milkshake that Arielle set down in front of me, interrupting my train of thought. Morning milkshakes are soooo good. They have peaches, mangos, strawberries, pineapples, and coconuts all blended together in a vortex of tasty flavors. Once I had wanted to be a gatherer or planter. This was when I was pretty little. I learned about how the food was made underground and thought that was the coolest thing ever. Then I got a field trip down there. Mix the lure of manure with the thought of the claustrophobic working conditions, and I changed my mind in a heart beat. But some one had to do it and I had a new respect for food. I took another gulp. I closed my eyes and listened to the music they played at Morning Sun- the sounds of the sun- while savoring the milkshake.
