Nature Reclaimed

School

I looked at the watch fastened firmly to my wrist, it's leather band brown and worn, the silver timepiece tarnished, but it still shone. The hands of the clock struck every second, and two more marked the minute and hour. "7:50", I whispered to myself low enough that I could hear.

My father, a truck driver, would be gone already to work.
He drove from our village to the nearest city of Seattle on a daily basis, delivering logs and other things to be made into building material.

My mother, who admittedly, was also my teacher, was also gone, having already made the walk to school to prepare the class for students.

I dressed myself in a flannel, red checked, and a pair of worn jeans, strapping up my waterproof boots before giving one last quick glance into the mirror. Brunette hair shined, and the undercut sides and back were cleanly shaved. A quick sweep of my bangs made my appearance decent enough for school. I left the house and began the mile trek to the village.

The path through the forest was cleared, and as I walked, a serene sense of the beauty of nature washed over me. The air was clean, the birds flew and chirped with glee. A cold wind blew, ushering in autumn, and the leaves were just beginning to turn red and bright.

A village came into view, my village. Rows of small, uniform homes came into view and I immediately knew where I was.
The solar panels drew in energy from the Sun, and powered this small community of a couple hundred souls. Taking a shortcut through an alley way, I came upon the one floored, stone school that the people had constructed and I entered.

School was mandatory until the age of fifteen, I had just turned seventeen. Those of us who chose to stay, were mainly here to receive additional certifications and training in vocations.
My trade which I had chosen was carpentry, something about building things from my own two hands had always appealed to me.

A few people walked past me, most giving simple greetings of hello or good day, which I graciously returned to them.
The locker that was mine was down the hall and as I walked, mentally preparing myself for the day, a friend of mine, Tyler approached and said in his familiar sly voice. "Substitute in our second class today. Easy day, bro."

I gave a quick nod, and said, half questioningly, half excitedly.
"No joke?"

"Afraid not, bud."
Tyler walked on, as did I, walking to the locker and cracking it open. I eyed the books inside:
Carpentry, Political Theory, and a personal book, Richard Wrights acclaimed title Native Son.
I grabbed second of the three, Political Theory, and walked to class.

My mother, Mrs Bell, was the teacher but she never treated me any differently than any other student and kept a professional tone to her voice even when I came in late. "A little late I see, Lewis. Normally it would be a tardy, but today, we have a guest speaker from the Unity Party, so you're in luck."

I took my seat with embarrassment as all eyes were on me at that brief moment, and finally caught a glance at the guest speaker. A military man, from the Unity Party. They were the ruling party in the continental council.

Let me briefly stop my story to explain to you our current times system of government. We have a council that decides everything, comprised of three parties.
The Unity party stands for democracy and our American Ideals in the most patriotic sense of the word. They are very nationalistic and prideful of our heritage and history.
The Brave Frontier, is the second most popular party. They are imperialistic, and wish to exert our culture and way of life onto less civilised cultures around us, such as the South Americans.
The New Order, is the polar opposite of these two, they are against nationalism and imperialism, wishing to revert us back to a system of anarchy... But not in the way you're thinking, with all hell breaking loose and what not. They want civilised anarchy, if you could call it that.
Where the government doesn't interfere with your business and you don't interfere with theirs.
Each of these parties, has an armed wing. To ensure the protection of their ideals if one party ever gained too much power and tried to oust the other two. This man, he is from the armed wing of the Unity Party.
Our continental council has 100 seats, 60 belong to the Unity Party, 30 belong to the Brave Frontier, and 10 belong to the New Order. Back to the story.

I sat there as the man gave his introduction. "Welcome, as you all know, I'm from the Unity Party. Many of you are probably members of the party, you're older kids. 15 to 17, I presume.
I'm here today to tell you about the opportunity that joining the military can give to you.
My name is Major Branson."
He then grabbed some pamphlets and passed them to everyone in the class, which detailed all of the opportunities that joining the military could provide.

"You will not only be serving our glorious country if you enlist, but your future as well. The Unity Party rewards loyalty, as is our American way. The Founding Fathers, and the New Founding Fathers, knew that this freedom we hold so dear is something worth fighting for. That's why, if you meet with me today after school and enlist, you will be investing in your country and your future. All enlisted will receive an apartment, a college education, and the security in knowing that your future will be brighter. Any questions?"

I raised my hand.
"What's the age again, Sir?"

"Sixteen is the age you can enlist son, are you interested in what the military can do for you?"

I thought the question over for a moment and nodded. "I am."

"Come see me after school today. We'll talk more about it."

With no other questions, the man left the classroom, and left the students to mull over their pamphlets.

The rest of the day flew by and before I knew it, the final bell had rung and finally I was free.