Echoes

Bright and Early

    The alarm buzzed through the Hub, its sound reverberating from the monitors embedded in the cavernous ceiling far above. Blurry, groggy eyes eventually focused on the smartphone's bright display. It read "05:00" in white numerals, along with a tempting notice stating, "Tap to snooze."
    Forsephore looked on with a wry smile at the Prime's attempts to crawl out of bed.
    On the Alpha platform, Sicstuphyve cheered Hope on with fist-pumps and fake punching. Her skin gleamed with Inspiration, though it seemed she needed none to get charged up. "Get up and seize the day," she called out at the screen. "You're going to feel better once you're done. Go make something of yourself!"
    The images onscreen showed Hope's point of view as she threw off the cozy blanket and headed toward the closet. Wooden doors opened, revealing several combinations of spandex clothes on hangers and a few pairs of athletic shoes. Most looked brand new, though several hadn't been touched since the beginning of the year.
    "This time's gonna be different," Sicstuphyve said to the other Alphas. "You'll see. Two weeks and still going strong! This ain't some New Years' resolution to be abandoned in a week or two. Hope's got a man to impress."
    Sevnynate sat back in her chair, head resting on one hand with a bemused smile while she watched Sicstuphyve's emotive display and Hope's actions onscreen. Despite its short but consistent nature, the morning ritual still entertained the Chief Alpha.
    The Prime picked the bright pink shoes and matching shorts she'd bought two days prior on a shopping trip with Claudia. She wavered between a baggy t-shirt or a more revealing sports top, then chose the latter.
    Forsephore noticed Tuwonyne brighten with Inspiration from the Prime. Hope figures Derrick might be there. She's willing to show out a little bit if it keeps his attention. And that means Tu isn't going off the Alpha platform any time soon...
    But Sevnynate's harsh words from their encounter replayed in Forsephore's thoughts. How long can this last? How much can I really change what Hope believes, who she really is inside?
    Hope looked at the mirror and sighed. Then determination set in and her jawline clenched. "No giving up, no giving in," she growled.
    The smartphone on the white counter dinged with a message from Claudia. "I'm waiting outside. You ready to crush some goals?"
    Hope snagged her phone, spritzed herself with a light body spray, and dashed for the door. "Let's do this," she growled in unison with Sicstuphyve in the Hub.
    Forsephore tried to gather some of that strength and glared at Sevnynate, though the Chief paid her no heed.
    No giving in. I don't plan to.

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For anyone reading this, I'm going to be participating in National Novel Writing Month throughout November, so this project is going to be on the back-burner (and has been for a bit). I will be back in December with another finished book draft and plenty of both time and desire to play around with this story once more.
Good luck to all the other NaNoWriMo participants! And if you're curious or want to give it a shot, come check out http://nanowrimo.org and look me up - my handle is SonWorshiper.