Terra Prima

Accepted

Issabella D'Avignon sighed as she looked out the window. Father had said that, once upon a time, hundreds of years ago, the sky was blue. Blue like Marcus' eyes, he said. And Marcus' eyes were blue. Very blue.

She sometimes wished she looked like him, with his shaggy, blond hair and his blue, blue eyes. He was gorgeous, and had at least three or four girls-maybe more-vying to Pair with him. Not her-she had long brown hair so dark it was nearly black and was hopelessly curly. Her face was too wide. She had a nose with nostrils that were a little too big, but she liked her lips.

They were full and pale pink. And her eyes were a gorgeous paler blue. So, over all, she supposed she wasn't bad. Except her voice was too deep. Not the lilting, musical voice of her mother, or the soft, cozy one of her aunt. And she was outspoken. Very much so-like a boy. She stood up slowly, flipping a long lock of hair over her shoulder. It made no sense to mourn over her appearance. No matter how she looked, she would be Paired eventually. She was fertile-a rare case nowadays, as most girls became sterile after their sixteenth birthdays-and the fertile were the first to be Paired.

The sound of thumping feet made her whirl around, hair flying. Hope and anxiety welled in her eyes and they watered, more out of nervousness than sorrow.

"Issabella!" Fists pounded on the door, a desperate and urgent rhythm, telling of future heartache. "Let me in!" Issabella rushed to the door and wrestled with the stubborn, pollution-clogged sensors before the door slid open with a hiss. Her best friend and roommate since Third Year bolted in like a wild animal being hunted, her clear ReBreather over her nose and mouth to protect her from the toxins. She darted in, and the doors slid shut instantly behind her, hurriedly blocking out the non-purified air. As her friend plopped down on the couch, her chest heaving, the whirr of the cleaners scouring the air was the only noise other than Alise's wheezing. Issabella shifted nervously from one foot to the other, standing anxiously.

What if...

"Well?" She asked Alise eagerly. "Were we selected?" the chubby brunette held up a finger, signalling for a minute to catch her breath. Isabella plopped down on the window seat, her back to the foggy, grey sky, ripe with pollution. Alise was still trying to catch her breath. If they were selected, her overweight figure would have to be remedied quickly. The Fifth Pilgrimage was the last one, and neither girl could afford to not be selected.

"We..." Alise broke into tears, and Issabella felt her hope drain away. Stuck in this life, wearing a ReBreather, only allowed to have one child? Not knowing what the sky would look like when it was blue, or the things father called the moon and the sun-beautiful orbs that hung in the sky and lit it up? Not knowing stars? The smell of clean, unpolluted air? The things you could only see on old holos?

"You made it!" Alise screamed. Tears streamed down her round cheeks. "I was rejected!" Issabella froze.

What?

She made it?

She was about to shriek for joy when she saw Alise's miserable face. Slowly, she made her way over to the couch, perched beside Alise, and took her best friend in her arms, stroking her hair to comfort her. Alise shoved her away, her eyes full to the brim with tears.

"Go," she said hollowly. She sounded sulky, her sweet voice full of hatred and jealously. It made Issi recoil. "Go to Terra Prima and get Paired and have as many babies as you want, never worry about sterility and live in a world free of smog." Alise glared. "Without me!" she ran away sobbing. Issabella followed, but Alise ran into her room and the door slid shut. Alise locked it, and though Issabella pounded on it, she would not open the door.

She sank down and began to cry. She could go, but she could not bring her best friend? She sat there for a long time, crying and hearing Alise cry. Each time her tears started to dry, Alise would caterwaul and Issi would wail again.