Numbers

Chapter 2

Hyland One's POV

"There you are!! I've been waiting for you guys. What took you so long?" I asked Kav and Brinkmann.

They glanced at each other and turned to face me. "Just talking," Kav replied swiftly. She said no more, but gave me that 'I'll tell you later' look.

They set their lunch trays and reusable water bottles on the opposite side of the table and sat down on the attached bench, their protein supplements taking up the perfect square compartment on the tray. A fork rested in a fork-shaped slit next to the square.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Fletcher, my equivalent of Kav's Brinkmann, put his tray down next to mine and sat next to me. I wish we could ever show some form of affection toward one another, but we could never risk it in public. We always had to wait until we were in private: at one of our houses with our parents gone, or in a secluded section of the park.

"Hey, how was your day so far?" he asked in a somewhat mocking tone, considering I asked him that question every day during lunch.

"Aww, you beat me to it." I mused, opening my protein supplement and sticking my fork into the synthetic meat. "I'm fine. Nothing much out of the ordinary."

He nodded. "How exciting," he said sarcastically.

"Life is not meant to be exciting, it's meant to be functional," I mocked HQ and their bleak motto.

Fletcher laughed and shook his head. He looked at Kav and Brinkmann. "What's up with you guys?" He raised his eyebrows. Fletcher was the only person in the world besides me who knew about the two of them. The same went for them knowing about us. We never acknowledged it in public, of course, but we went on 'study dates' pretty regularly, when the four of us would get together and hang out, doing couple-related things.

Romance, of course, has changed immensely throughout history. In the past, people would go on dates, hold hands, put their arms around each other, but in this day and age, that was generally unheard of. Couple activities included sitting near each other in classes, but never touching in public. If you were lucky, you would get a few hours alone together, and that was your time, where no one could report you to HQ.

Getting reported to HQ meant an early injection, and no one wanted to risk that. Everyone in their right minds wanted to hold onto their original humanity for as long as possible.

"Pretty normal, I mean, just trying to get through the next few months until school's out," Brinkmann replied. "History of Arvale's got me down; I don't really care how we got to the place we are now. Plus, the only thing we ever learn about is the old ways of the Americans. Some pretty stupid people, in my opinion." I remarked annoyed.

Fletcher laughed. "Seriously. I mean, who lets people who have generations of incest in their families be part of the government? From that one, um... What were they called? states...?" He trailed off, trying to remember the name of the state where the idiot people came from. "Oh! That's it, Alabama!"

We all laughed and I looked over at him. God, I wish I could have kissed him right here, but what would have happened if I did? We both would have been dragged to the injection labs and shot up immediately.

Pushing those dark thoughts to the back of my mind, I started to slowly eat my protein supplement without much enthusiasm. The tasteless, pinkish colored brick was different than what I had for breakfast only in look, the flavor was roughly the same. Bland, just like everything in this god-forsaken place.

"Hy, are you alright?" Fletcher asked worried, moving a little closer to me.

I studied his face for a second, his dark brown hair pushed up in a natural, almost effortlessly perfect look. Thick framed glasses rested high on the bridge of his nose, hiding a splash of dark freckles which nearly blended in with his skin color. Dark brown almond shaped eyes looking into mine, filled with worry and confusion.