One Ring Down

Chapter 1

           I pull the comb through my tangled blond hair in quick, uneven strokes. I’m late again, as I have been all week. School starts in twenty minutes: barely enough time to get ready and eat a quick breakfast, if I hustle.

           I’ve just had time to make some toast when I hear the ever so common bus horn. It blares out for the whole circle, letting everyone know it’s time to board the bus. The early birds in my grade are already outside waiting, while the late risers, like me, make a dash for our backpacks and sprint to the bus stop. As the bus begins its journey to school, all thirty passengers are silent, allowing my scatter brained mind to wander into the past.

           I wasn’t always a late riser; it only started happening two weeks ago, when I started my fast paced journey to graduation. I’ve been preparing my whole life for tomorrow: graduation day, but none the less, it has still been a busy two weeks. One thing leads to another, and before long, I’m so far back in my mind that I’m remembering my first few years of life.  I remember my parents telling me about our new ‘perfect’ society, and I remember them telling me about school, and how I’d learn everything there. I remember third grade when my class first watched the video. The video was only about five minutes long, and it just barely summarized our revolutionary history. The whole video is still clear in my head.

           A nice looking man described as being 72 years old popped up on the screen. He began talking about the past, about the world more than 240 years ago, when humans weren’t compatibility or health tested; when humans were allowed to run around like savages, marrying and having children with anyone, sometimes more than one. He talked about the past, where there was war, and a separated world. It was horrible. Even today I can’t imagine how we survived in that old world. The screen blacked out for a second, and then came back with the most beautiful music I had ever heard. The next part was a documentary, explaining our evolution over the last 240 years. The documentary started with many things I didn’t understand, but eventually mentioned things that I did. The thing I remember most was the human life and regional process. As of 240 years ago, our world only has one country. Every continent is part of this country. We are called UCE, short for “The United Continents of Earth”. Each continent is considered a region, and each region has a number of districts, depending on its size. Each district is allowed 90 births a year. One central government rules over our country. The government is made up of two representatives from each region. The government then branches out slightly, and houses representatives from each district. These district reps answer to their regional reps, who meet with other regional reps to govern UCE. It is a process that took nearly eighty years to perfect. Now, because of this new government, our world hasn’t experienced any wars or disagreements, short of a few, small, un-noteworthy riots, in a whole 200 years.

           The bus lurches to a stop, taking me away from my thinking. All thirty of us depart the bus. I remember the first day I met these other twenty-nine people; I’ve been with them my whole school-life, and after thirteen years, I know all of their names and personalities. There are fifteen girls, and fifteen boys. That’s how the system was set up to be. There are five districts in my region, which is region six, or formerly known as ‘North America’. My district is number five, and is next to the Atlantic Ocean. There are three schools in my district, which is why there are only thirty students in my grade. As the video pointed out to me in third grade, each district is only allowed ninety newborns a year, so all ninety kids have been grouped into each of the three school dependant on where we live. Everyone starts school at five years old, and graduates at eighteen. Everyone in my grade is the exact same age; we were all born on the first of May, and we will all graduate tomorrow; all ninety of us in all three schools.

           I’m so lost in thought I nearly hit the front door of the school. My face turns beet red from embarrassment. Just as I’m about to walk away, I hear someone call out my unmistakable fifth grade nick-name: “Goldie”. And there’s only one person who still calls me that name: Nick. Before I know it, I’m being given a bear hug from my best friend.