The Beginning

Chapter 2

"And then when she did that brisé? Just marvelous!" Rachel recalls excitedly.

"Yeah," I half-heartedly mumble. Ballet was just as horrible as normal. I felt like puking the whole time- except that's unladylike, and I'd probably get Banished.

I look behind us, at the bright pink ballet studio. Then right next to it, at the royal blue workout gym. It's only for male usage, of course. They can't have girls be strong. They can't have girls be equal. That would be just absurd!

"...Ashlynn? Earth to Ashlynn," Rachel snaps her fingers at me to get my attention. "You didn't hear anything I just said, did you," she sighs once she sees I'm listening again.

"Something about a brisé," I answer.

"That was so long ago!" She groans. I smile a bit, but glance back at the gym. She traces my vision.

"You know you can't go in there, right," she asks, giving me a skeptical look.

"Yeah, I know," I sigh, "I just... I wish we could. Go in. I mean, why can't girls be as strong as guys? Equal? Be treated the same? Or at least have a choi-"

Rachel cups her hand over my mouth. "Shh!" They could hear you!" She looks around nervously, probably for NEOs.

NEOs are like a special kind of cop. NEO stands for "Normality Enforcing Officer." We have cops, too, for general crime, but NEOs specialize in making sure everybody's "normal." No girls acting "masculine," and no guys acting "feminine." NEOs have the ability to decide if you get a Trial or are immediately Banished.

If a NEO overheard me talking to Rachel like I did, he (they're always men because women are "too gentle") could put me on Trial or even Banish me, basically for having a mind of my own. There are a few NEOs that are more easygoing and let smaller things like that slide, but most are very strict and cruel.

I lick Rachel's hand, and she releases it from my mouth, gently wiping it on her clothes.

"We got lucky this time," she glares at me, though with no menace or anger. Rachel is pretty nice and easygoing, She's a bit more girly than I am, but she tends to feel the same most of the time. After all, nobody likes being controlled.

"Sorry," I watch my feet as we continue on our way home, "I've just had enough. This is ridiculous. You know I hate ballet,"

Rachel looks at me with understanding in her eyes. "Yes, I know," she sighs quietly, "And I don't like running to 'keep our figure.' Alas, I am not in control, either, and so I can do nothing about it," 

She looks at me with an expression saying, "That's enough."

Rachel may be a generally easygoing person, but everybody knows to avoid angering her too much- what Rachel says goes.

So we finish our walk home in silence, thinking about how much of a choice we really have.

I'm lying on my bed when I hear it- or should I say them- for the first time. I don't know exactly what they are, but they sound like screams. I get up and poke around my room, attempting to locate the source. When I can't find it up here, I go downstairs to where Rachel and her friend Reyna are talking. I look around in our hot pink cupboards to see if there's anything helpful in there when Rachel asks what I'm doing.

"I need a snack," I slowly answer, attempting to multitask.

"Okay, just don't get anything too big before dinner," Rachel replies before continuing her giggling with Reyna.

I finish looking and go to head up to my room when Rachel shouts up the stairs, "Hey, Ashlynn? Would you mind running to the store real quick? We need more tampons,"

"Sure," I sigh under my breath, "Be gone in a moment,"

I put my shoes back on. "Thanks," Rachel shouts as I'm heading out the door.

The store is only a few streets down, so it doesn't take me too long to get there. I'm in and out rather quickly. I'm heading back home when I notice the gym again. I close my eyes and wish I could go when I run into something soft.

There's a pair of big, innocent-looking, bright blue-green eyes staring back at me as I open mine.

"H-Hi," the boy who the eyes belong to nervously stutters, "I'm Ryan,"