Across Nature's Circle

1: Zyra

"Matra! Can we go to the DAP to play Cladball?" my brother asked Matra eagerly.

"Yes. Be careful!" she shouted to him, but he was already sprinting out the door.

"Hello, Matra," I said and flopped down on the couch next to her.

"Oh. Hello, Zyra," Matra said.

"What are you watching?" I asked, getting comfortable next to her.

"A documentary on the Founders."

The Founders are the three, now immortal, women who saved humanity and put the Originals on Clada. We only see them January 18, April 23, July 27, and September 5. Those are the holidays that celebrate the day the Originals were put on Clada, Aniti's, Gieden's, and Neebie's birthdays, respectively.

"Could you do me a favor?" Matra asked about 10 minutes later.

"Yeah."

"Would you go down to the DAP and make sure that your brother doesn't kill anyone."

"Sure."

I walked over to the teleporter, scanned my chip, then selected the DAP. After my eyes adjusted from the teleporter's lights to the outside, I saw the sign that read "Deliverer's Designated Area of Play." When I found my brother and his friends, I sat down to watch their game.

The Designated Area of Play is a circle at the edge of each social class' Circle of Living. Each DAP contains the only nature in the country, besides Nature's Circle where Government workers live. All DAPs are a wide expanse of grass, arranged perfectly so that The Building (where all Government operations take place) is at the heart of each DAP. There are four circles, all equally sized, for the different working classes: Servants, Cleaners, Writers, and Deliverers.

The families of Government Workers aren't supposed to mingle with the common folk, so they play in their own homes and don't have a circle. Since my mother is a Deliverer, my family and I spend our time in the Deliverers' DAP or DDAP.

"Go Tad!" I screamed as my brother threw another ball to the side, getting another point for his team.

Cladball is the most popular sport in Clada. There are seven players and 15 balls lined up at the mid-line. The goal is to collect the most balls. The game ends when all the balls have been collected or the 10 minutes are up. The game can get brutal.

"Message from Patra," said an automated voice.

"Read message," I said almost instantly.

"Come home quickly. Matra has some big news to share with you," the voice said.

I brought my left arm close to my mouth so the microphone in the chip could hear me clearly, and said, "we are on our way."

"Yes!" Tad screamed as his team won.

"Come on, Tad!" I shouted to my brother. "Patra needs us back at the house."

"Ok," he said. "Kick your butts tomorrow!" he screamed to his friends on the losing team. Then we got into the teleporter and returned home.

"What is it?" Tad said as soon as the doors to the teleporter opened. Our parents turned around at the sound of his voice. Their smiles were the biggest I have ever seen.

"What is going on?" I asked.

"Care to take this?" Patra said, looking at Matra.

"I have been promoted."

My brother and I exchanged confused glances. She already had the highest job. There was nowhere to be promoted to, except a...

It dawned on both of us at the same time.

"We are moving to Nature's Circle."