Waterloo-9

Chapter 1

    She walked down the corridor, the click of her shoes echoing against the metallic walls, and the skirt of her uniform fluttered in the breeze created as she moved. She walked up to the door of an apartment and took a keychain out of the bag she carried, using one of the keys to unlock the apartment's door. She stepped inside and was greeted by a squat woman wrapping her up in a hug.

    "Anni I'm so proud of you!" The woman gushed in her native language, Icelandic. "Aren't you glad you're done with school?"

    She gave a flash of an insincere smile. "Mor, I don't get why this is such a big deal. Being finished with school isn't going to illicit much change in my daily life, so I don't know why everyone is acting like it will."

    "Because, elskan. You're all grown up now! You can start a job and move out in a few years! This is huge!"

    She pushed herself out of her mother's embrace. "I want to go to secondary school, Mor. There isn't anything worthwhile I could be doing with my current education, and we can afford it, so why waste the opportunity?" She stepped away from her mother.

    Her mother nodded. "Okay, Anniken. I understand. You are going to be in charge of applying and getting all that stuff done, though. Your faðir and I will just be in charge of paying for it. If this is what you want, so be it. But remember that to society, you are an adult, and your faðir and I are going to treat you as such."

    "I understand Mor." Anniken handed her mother the piece of paper she carried home with her. Her very last primary education grade card. She picked up her bookbag from where she had dropped it, and retreated to the bedroom she shared with her sister, Lilja. The younger girl was on her bed, studying.

    "Hej Lille." Anniken said, sitting on her own bed and falling back onto the covers.

    Lilja looked up from her Life Sciences textbook. "Don't call me that." She retorted. "So they're making a big deal about you finishing school?" She ran a hand through her hair, attempting to keep it out of her face as she read.

    Anniken sighed. "Yeah. I think I'm going to go to secondary school, though. I mean, we can afford it, so why would I waste a chance to get a better job than is available with a primary education?"

    "True. Hey, can you help me with my Life Sciences stuff?" Lilja sat up, tucking her legs under her.  She put her notebook on her lap.

    "No." Anniken rolled onto her stomach. "I have to work on applying to secondary schools. Mor said I had to do it myself." She pulled the tablet out of the wall and pulled up a page about the secondary schools in the upper-class area of the base their family lived in.

    "But for you it's nearly holiday! You have months before you have to start school again!" Lilja huffed. Her sister gave her an irritated look. "Fine, Tröll."

    An alert noise issued from the tablet in Anniken's hands. She was receiving a call. She pressed 'Accept Call' and greeted the caller.

    "Hej Anni!" The voice on the other end exclaimed. It was Astrid, a classmate of Anniken's.

    "Hej Astrid. Why are you calling me?" Anniken replied, a bit of irritation still creeping into her voice.

    "Well, I was thinking, since we are finally done with school, you would maybe like to come over and celebrate? I mean, it's totally cool if your parents are doing something for you or something, but it be awesome if you came!"

    "I'll just have to ask Mor." Anniken answered the barrage of words that was Astrid's proposal.

    "Okay! So... See ya later, I guess!" Astrid gushed. The call window closed.