Maturing

Chapter 10

Emerging from the bedroom I am greeted with eager faces who bombard me with questions. I put my finger to my mouth, signaling them to be quiet. They comply and there is a thump that sounds from the mail shoot. That would be dinner.

"Tonight we had two problems to work around, one being that Lyric is a vegetarian. The other being that restaurants serve 2 people maximum since people either live alone or with their partner. Tonight I have ordered Italian. We have three large bowls of varying pasta salads. Meat lovers, pure veggie delight, and the ever popular Italian blend. You have your choice of meat and pasta, vegetables in pasta, or veggies and meat combined with the pasta. Enjoy." I announce to my silent audience.

"Genius. That way everyone gets what they want. Good job." Lyric says seemingly astonished. I bow and move to set the bowls on the table. Jason reaches plates out of the cupboard and organises them on the table along with forks and spoons.

We sit at a rectangular table with five seats. Lyric takes the seat at the end of the table and I take one of the seats next to her, Jason taking the one in the other side of her so he sits across from me. Star sits on the other side of me with Pine across from her. Silently we begin to eat.

"Are you excited for your radio broadcast tonight?" Jason asks breaking the silence.

"I completely forgot about it. What I want to know is where my office is." I reply. Nobody ever told me where I'll be working at.

"Oh. It's through your closet. Secret door. Pull the red hanger down to open it. All the equipment you'll need is in there including a new laptop since your last one was destroyed." Jason answers off-handedly, busy pushing around the pasta on his plate. He chose meat lovers. At first I think he's joking but he remains quiet. If he were messing with me he would have said something by now.

"How do you know that? And what do you mean my laptop was destroyed? It was fine when I left my old apartment. Did the government destroy it? How do you know this stuff?" I ask baffled. Jason's face goes red and he almost chokes on the pasta he just put in his mouth.

"Erm. Trenton told me about the office. I was, uh, just guessing about your laptop." He mutters quickly as he runs his hand through his hair nervously. For whatever reason I don't believe anything that he is saying.

"Hey Saku, what's that around your neck?" Lyric interrupts. I glance down, noticing for the first time that my transporter has slipped out from under my shirt.

"Oh this is my transporter. The government gave it to me as part of our deal. I had decided to leave but for whatever reason they want me to stay. They threatened Jason, but I managed to get a short visit time occasionally to the outside world in exchange for training you all in your powers and working a radio show at night. It's also how I'll pick and drop you guys off." I explain. I'm not sure why Lyric switched topics but I'll go with it.

"I've always wondered what it's like out there. That's why I took ag classes. I decided a long time ago that I'm going to go to the outside world. I've been preparing myself." Lyric gets a dreamy look in her eyes as she speaks.

"Why would you want to go outside? Anybody that goes out there has a death wish. You'll be dead within a week. Don't waste your time and more importantly your life. If it weren't for the government deciding Saku was worth their time she would be dead by now. She should be thanking them!" Jason blurts out. Star and Pine had been quietly conversing but now the table goes silent and we stare at him in awe.

"They took away my choice! They bullied me into staying! This is not a real life! To live alone forever only conversing with people online. I want a real human experience. Things never used to be like this. People lived. Truly lived. They had families and friends that they actually saw in person. I can't believe you!" I exclaim angrily. The realization hits me that the government wants it this way for whatever reason. They destroyed my laptop because my matchmaking program threatens this way of life. They want bad matchmaking to ruin the human experience. I don't understand the logic but I know that this is true. It's my gut feeling.

Angrily I storm away from the table. How could he? I thought he understood. Tears flowing down my face as I run to my bedroom. I lock the door and collapse on the bed, releasing all my built up tears.

"Saku. We need to talk." A knock sounds and I recognize the voice as Lyric's. I unlock the door for her, re-locking it once she is in.

"I know this is the last thing you want to hear right now but you need to hear it. Jason is a government agent. They played you. You have fallen in love with the enemy. Worst of all, between your unhappiness with the government and your speaking power they can convict you as a terrorist. That's the reason they gave you the radio job. The radio job implies you can spread civil unrest.  I walked by the bathroom and heard Jason on the phone. He said the name Trenton a couple times. He's reporting on you. Any minute now they will be here to arrest you."

When I started this chapter I planned to take it a different way. But I like this better 😊 What do you think Saku will do? Do you believe Lyric? Please vote and comment. It means a lot to me. Thank you for reading 😁 Watch out for technical difficulties.