Undesirable

Chapter 1

The bristles of my broom sweep rhythmically over the floor. It is the song of my sorrows. I am living a predestined life. A life that no one would wish for. A life that is impossible to escape. I am an Undesirable.

I am doing my homework, cleaning my family unit. My family unit consists of 4 rooms- my sister's and my room, my parent's room, the living room and kitchen that are shared, and a tiny bathroom with a dripping faucet. It is in the Undesirable building. It is the oldest, most drafty, and certainly most creaky and termite infested building in Boarding Square. The Laws and Meds got rooms to their own, and I'll bet their faucets have never leaked a single drop. Their buildings are made of brick and the temperature inside is certainly different than the temperature outside.

The title of "Undesirable" is probably the most vast title in all of NewSoc, where I live. The Undesirable Division does not just consist of cleaning crew, like my family and me. It also covers sewer services, lawn services, construction services.... basically everything that no one dreams of becoming when they grow up... not that we are truly given a choice. We are all pre-programmed in the womb, our genes modified to only allow the certain skills and traits that we need for our division.

I never understood why I was condemned to a life of vast disappointment and the constant lemony smell of floor cleaner. You see, I did not exactly come out of the womb knowing how to properly wax a floor, but my genes are meticulously modified to where as soon as I'm taught, I will do the skill and do it well. It would be impossible for me to remember information that the Meds learn in their learning community, because my brain would simply disregard the information.

I do have some freedom of choice, however,or rather freedom to make a decision of behavior. There is a certain caste system in every division. My family is close to the top of the Undesirable division as maids. It would be very possible, however, for me to be demoted to, say, sewer service, because even though all of my intellectual training is in maid service, I am still genetically programmed to learn the skills of every Undesirable. It's the same thing with the Laws. The judges are the best, then there's the lawyers, then the police force, then security, then desk workers. It's a way to keep us all in line.

It seems like the perfect system. A place for everything and everything in its place. The mantra of NewSoc is "Rebuilding the world by getting every job done." It seems fantastic, but to me, it's very Undesirable.

I know my brain is made to be an Undesirable... but my heart is not.