Utopia (ON HOLD)

Standards

The next day is sunny and warm. Weather in Utopia is becoming more and more unstable each year, which our weathermen say has something to do with a minor failure of the Special Dome Protecting Citizens (the S.D.P.C.). The dome is a really important part of the city, because without it, we wouldn't be able to control the weather (for example, the rain yesterday was to give the crops clean water), or stop citizens from entering the dangerous outside, which is unimaginable! What if people hurt themselves and couldn't return quickly enough for painkiller and treatment?

It's a school day, so I put on the standard blue-and-white uniform to go to the Utopia Academy No. 32, which is the one responsible for educating every student in Area 32. We have a standard system for everything!

Adults wear red uniforms designated for their jobs on Sunday, orange on Monday, yellow for Tuesday, green on Wednesday, blue for Thursday, indigo on Friday and violet for Saturday. Everyone 18 and under wears the blue-and-white gender-neutral uniform, and the apprentices (always 19-21) wear white breathable jumpsuits.

I walk to school, thinking about the standardised test next week. We take them regularly to make sure we're all equal in our learning, so young geniuses are moved up, while slow learners are moved down. This way, everyone learns at the same pace, and everyone is happy, according to the government's last study.

As I walk, I look around me and breathe in the refreshing processed air, which smells sterile and clean. Flowers like tulips and lilies and roses grow along the sidewalk in the standard positions, exactly a bush of a different kind of flower every 3 metres. This world is so colourful and beautiful---red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple, black and white. I've heard a story that we were once all different colours and knew millions more shades, but we don't need so much. I myself think that my red hair and green eyes are perfectly fine, like everyone else's looks. Most of us have yellow, red or black hair, with blue, green or black eyes.

I kneel down at the sidewalk and lean down to sniff at the flowers, and the sweet scent, the same as popcorn, refreshes me.

I stand up and notice that the required silver clip (which is really hard to remove) has come loose. I quickly reach up to adjust it, because the penalty for removed clips, even if it isn't on purpose, is death. It's the only thing in our uniform that stays for our whole life, and it's near indestructible. I wouldn't try to remove it anyway, because I wouldn't dream of betraying the government and my fellow citizens.

Everything smells like popcorn, we have seven colours and stable lives, and the government supports us in everything as long as we support them. And why won't we? This life is amazing.

Then how do I still feel like I'm missing something?