Reckless

O N E // THE Y O U T H

O N E / / THE Y O U T H

Kaden

KADEN WAS OFFICIALLY a dropout. He hadn't planned to leave the Academy, but it had been for the best, he decided. He wouldn't have gotten very far in life with studying engineering. In fact, he'd probably never go very far in life at all.

When he was born, his parents had requested his Stats- a chart of genetic diseases and other problems, complete with his probability of getting them. And then, at the end, were the words:

DEATH: < 25 YEARS

CAUSE: HEART ATTACK

It wasn't set in stone, of course, but Stats were always right. Somehow, one way or another, Kaden would die before his 25th birthday. And that was a fact.

The shadow of Kaden's Stats would follow him throughout his life. When he was little, and had to be tested for all kinds of allergies. When filling out questionnaires for school, jobs, and sports. Kaden probably wouldn't be insured right then if it weren't for his parents; even in the year 2099, children could depend on their parents for insurance until they were 26 years old. Not that Kaden was going to make it that far, anyway. So technically, he would be insured for his entire, short life.

It used to bother him to hear other people talking about their future. His fellow classmates at Dixon Academy had big dreams, dreams of becoming famous politicians, scientists, and doctors.

Ah, doctors. The reason he'd dropped out in the first place. The root of all his problems. Maybe, Kaden thought, the root was actually his parents. Yes, the doctors had taken his Stats, but his parents were the ones who wanted to see them, and tell him.

How exactly do you tell a 5 year old that they only have 20 years to live? That most likely, he'll never have a family, marry, or be successful? How do you tell anyone that he's born to die?

It's not like Kaden was sick, or going to be sick, like some of the other Youths. Nope, he's just going to have that one fatal emergency that ends with his death. So maybe he was lucky. Lucky that he won't have to spend weeks in the hospital, waiting to die. Instead, it'll take him by surprise, and give him no time to think about it.

No time to say goodbye.

Okay, so maybe Kaden had time to think about it. He had 19 years to think about what his last words should be, how he'll die, when he'll die, where he'll die. In fact, he thought up so many different scenarios surrounding his death, that he probably wouldn't be surprised if one of them came true. Speculation wouldn't bring answers, though, and sometimes he wished the geneticists had been more specific, and known all the details of his death. Since he knew he was going to die, he might as well know the full report anyway, right?

Other times, Kaden wished he had never known at all. That he could check that box on state testing that read, STATS: UNKNOWN instead of the shameful STATS: YOUTH. 'Youth' was the fancy technical term for people predicted to barely live past adolescence. According to the United Nations, a Youth was between the ages of 15 and 35, which provided a good range that covered most of the younger deaths.

In the eighth grade, a teacher had singled out Kaden. It was the Monday after Career Week, and she wanted to know his plans for his future. "Speak up, Kaden," she urged when he didn't answer immediately. Students at Dixon were expected to be quick, attentive, and eager to participate. At the moment, Kaden had been none of them.

"In my future, I see myself dead," Kaden deadpanned. Or so the rest of the class, including the teacher, thought he deadpanned. By the eighth grade it is a well known fact that everyone dies, eventually. So the class giggled, whispering to each other about closeted class clown Kaden, who always seemed quiet but apparently was hiding a sarcastic side.