Fourteen and Counting

Chapter 7

Melissandra groaned at the shrill beeping that surrounded her as her alarm went off and her pod popped open. She groaned and opened her eyes, dreading the day ahead of her. She finally drifted off at some point, but she could tell from the throbbing headache that she didn't get much sleep. She clapped twice so the lights blinked on and tried to stifle a yawn. Her heart dropped when she realized what day it was: Mausoleum day.

There are two mausoleums in each state. One mausoleum is for the people who receive numbers greater than 14. After they receive their numbers, they are given a shelf in the mausoleum. They get to choose where their shelf is so they can be closer to family and friends. Those who receive under 14 are put in the other mausoleum. They call it the "special" mausoleum. It's really just called that to give families and younger kids a false sense of comfort when their family member is there. No one wants to be there.

Melissandra swings her feet over the side of the pod and presses them to the cool concrete floor. The sudden change of temperature is inviting after spending the night in her pod. She runs her hand through her curly black hair in a vain attempt to release some of the tangles. She walks over to the dresser and pulls a gray bottle out of the top drawer. The bottle was stamped with the government seal and read: "Tangle releaser." She wasn't sure what was in it or why it worked but it always got the tangles out of her hair. She sprayed a generous amount and grabbed her hair brush out of the same drawer. She ran the brush through her hair relieved that the tangles were coming out quickly.

Melissandra placed the two items back into the drawer and stripped her gray striped pajamas off of her body. She threw them into the laundry chute which would then drop them straight into the washer. Melissandra walked over to her closet and pressed a button so that the closet spit out the outfit she wanted. In her opinion, that was one of the coolest technologies. She took a moment to study her school uniform. It was a plain gray jumpsuit with a neat row of buttons along the side that she would undo to open the outfit. The thing was made of scratchy gray fabric. She hated wearing it, but she was required to. She unbuttoned the fourteen small buttons on the side and slipped her legs into the leg holes. She pulled the suit up around her body and rebuttoned the buttons along the side. She positioned the long fabric stip over the buttons so they were concealed.

"Melissandra!" Sashara's voice rang through the halls. "Mica is at the door! Get your lazy butt down here!"

Her breath caught in her throat when she heard Mica's name. She had seen her friend since they kissed and she was afraid he was going to be mad at her. "Tell him to go without me!" she called back.

Sashara poked her head though the doorway. "You know he won't do that."

"I wish he wasn't such a good friend sometimes," Melissandra huffed as she closed the top of her pod.

"What's wrong, Pumpkin?"

"Mica kissed me last night," she said flatly.

"You act like that's a bad thing," Sashara said. She walked over to her only daughter and tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear.

"It is. He made everything awkward."

"Are you sure he's the only one who did something wrong?"

"I didn't do anything!" her daughter protested quickly.

"You kissed back, didn't you?"

Melissandra looked at her mom and grabbed her bag. What her mother said angered her. She went down the stairs and grabbed a muffin pouch and a water bottle from the kitchen. She took her coat out of the closet, buttoned it and walked out the door. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Mica. What her mother said angered her. That was because her mother was right.