Aequalis

Never-Ending Friendships and Goodbyes

"Nice to see you, Aiden." Nick, my best friend, greeted.

I forced a smile, "Nice to see you too, Nick."

"Are you ready for the test?" Nick asked, as I walked up. I bowed, glancing over at the councilmen strolling past us.

They snickered, watching as we bowed to each other.

I wanted to be angry. I wanted to tell them off. I wanted to pounce on one of them. To burn their smirks off their faces with hot iron. But I could never do that. Because every time I saw one of their leather white suits, and chocolate brown whips, fear paralyzed me.

And it was all because one of the guardians I had lived with. A councilman. An abusive man. Always beating me when I forgot to put away my toys or books. Always picking on the eight year old.

But I had only lived with him for a few weeks before it was found out that he had a personal item and killed.

It still scarred me. Mentally and physically. Scars laced my back for the whip he had used on me for his pastime. His face still haunted me every time I saw one of them. I could never bury those memories enough.

"No. The test scares the crap out of me. To think that tomorrow, metal devices will be drilled into our heads. It's terrifying." I whispered.

Another patrol of councilmen walked past us. And it wouldn't be the last. The intermediate level needed more supervision because teenagers were rebellious in nature. We needed extra "reminders".

And because people over the age of eighteen didn't need to be told to be good. They were already brainwashed.

I wished that the schooling would stop at eighteen like it used to be. But the Council had ruled on it and decided that it was best to stop schooling when the brain stopped growing. That meant even at the age of sixteen, I would have another ten years.

"Stupid slow-growing brain. Stupid people. Stupid rules."

"It does me too. But it mainly saddens me. We won't be able to say or do whatever we want anymore. That camera will ensure it. It will destroy us." Nick replied.

Yes, that was true. The implants they would give us would monitor our lives. It would take away more of the already small supply of freedom that we had.

"Is it actually true that we get a guardian too?" I asked. Nick shrugged.

It was a rumor that went around the school, but the older kids never talked about it, and everyone was too afraid to ask the adults.

Questioning an adult could be taken very disrespectful. But so could being late.

The nervousness returned to me. I gulped.

"I think it's time we get to class, Nick. We don't want to be in trouble." I said.

Nick shrugged. He wasn't too worried. He never was. It was just his care-free attitude like usual. But of course, he hadn't lived with the people I had. He had never lived with a councilman. He had never even lived with a strict caretaker.

But I had. Bunches of times. Ever since I was six. And that was why I was cautious. Why I had the scars and Nick didn't.

"Are you all right, Aiden? You look ghastly pale." Nick questioned. I shook those awful memories out of my head.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here. It's 7:58." I said.

The corridors stretched out in front of us, in swirls of black and white. The shadows of passersby ran up and down the stairs. The constant ticking of the clocks thrumming through our ears as we passed by. It calmed me. The noise always seemed to calm me. A side effect from living in a busy city.