Elyse

I

     My fifteenth birthday was around the corner. It was a big day for me. It met I would have my first meeting. The ideal of already meeting my potential love interests was scary. Up until now, I spent my days playing tag with my friends and going to school. No one was allowed to even think about courting til you were fifteen. It seemed so young though. I watched my own parents growing up loving each other and living what seemed like a nearly perfect life.

My mom worked as a nurse at the local hospitals. She helped deliver babies. Each day she brought home cute pictures of the mamas and babies she cared for that day. While my dad worked as a mechanical engineer. He brought home all sorts of 'toys' for me and we would play with them. It seemed like a perfect life to me.

My dad is a cancer and my mom, a scorpio. Scorpios and cancers were one of the six ideal couples. And it rung true as they got on beautifully. My dad was my moms first meet and she was his. From the age of fifteen til twenty-one they knew they wanted to marry. But they had to wait for the chaperones to pick their match. Luckily for them, they were the match the chaperones picked. I think one of my biggest worries is that I will fall in love with a match that the chaperones don't pick for me.

At the age of fifteen, not only do we get to have our first meeting but we also transfer to the school we go to til we turn twenty-one. This school began teaching us our careers and what we will do with our lives once we are married. Our career is whatever we feel an interest in. Luckily the creators made the rules so that if we do change our minds, we can change career paths. But the idea of picking my career seems so overwhelming.

Today was my last day of being fourteen. The day before your fifteenth birthday is a very special one. You celebrate with some cake and a few presents. Your parents give you the big talk about courting and finding your love, and you discuss your career decision.

When I woke up this morning, I still had no clue what I wanted to do for my career. Part of me wanted to be like my mom. But I had no clue. It seemed like an impossible decision.

I laid in my toasty bed for a few more minutes waiting for my mom and dad to wake me. The time read 8:21am. I stayed there for what felt like hours but when I looked at the clock next to my bed, only a minute had past.

Not even a moment later I heard three knocks on my door. I knew it was my parents. My mother walked into my room with her six month pregnant belly, long brunette hair with some highlights, a maternity dress that was covered in flowers. Right behind her was my father in jeans and a light blue t'shirt with his black hair neatly slicked back.

"Happy almost Birthday my angel!" my mother excitedly said to me while coming to the side of my bed.

My dad smiled at me and stood a safe distance from the bed. I got up out of bed and hugged both of them.

After many hugs and kisses, they left my room while I went into my bathroom to fix my hair, brush my teeth and pick out my outfit for the day. School started at 10am which gave me plenty of time to get ready and have a nice breakfast. I brushed through my long blonde hair and got my white blouse on with some black ripped jeans. I felt pretty and I really liked my outfit.

When I came down the stairs my mom had a stack of pancakes on the table in my spot and I eagerly walked over ready for my big breakfast. My dad wasn't in the kitchen with my mom which was unusual, so I had a feeling I knew what was coming.

After eating most of my pancakes, my mom walked over dreadfully to the table and pulled my plate away. She gave me a nervous smile and held my hand,

"I'm sure you already know what this is about..." she looked down, "but we must talk about it. It's the rules."