Her

Chapter two: Graduation (Edited)

Chapter two: Graduation

I sit next to Veronica in the Main Hall. The seats my year group sits on are teared, angling down to the stage in front of us. The City Leaders sit at a crescent shaped table on the stage. They are facing us, with calm, relaxed looks on their faces as the rest of my year group settle into their seats. There are seven City leaders and from what I had been taught in my classes I knew they were named after the seven cardinal virtues; Faith, Hope, Charity, Fortitude, Justice, Prudence and Temperance. However, I did not know which one was which because this was the first time any of us had ever met them. Yet my eyes scanned over all of them, taking them all in. Behind them are more rows of seat with people from every career in our city, they are waiting for us to be assigned so they can take us to our new home. But eyes go back to look at the City Leaders.

The one on the left end of the table; a natural brunette lady, with a clear face and dark eyes, she did not wear much to be desired and yet her natural beauty shone through. The one next to her; a blonde lady, her thick hair tied up in a bun, which sat on her head. She had white, sheer skin and wore all grey. The one next to her with jet-black hair and olive type skin, whose dark eyes and hard grimace made me feel intimidated under her gaze. The one that sat in the middle, had immaculate white hair and a small smile perched on her lips, she wore all white and looked like the leader of the group. I didn't have time to examine the others, when the middle lady stood from her seat and started speaking.

"Welcome, students, to your Graduation Ceremony. My name is Faith and I am one of your City Leaders. Good morning, students."

"Good morning City Leader, Faith," we say in greeting together.

"Together with my fellow City leaders, we congratulate you for completing your twelve years of schooling at our marvellous City's Institution of learning." The City leaders and the ones already assigned to careers behind them, applaud for us and my year group beams proudly at their achievements. "However," she continues. "Your learning at The institution is only preparation for an even bigger, more challenging task... your careers." We applaud. "Since our City's beginning the Careers and Faction groups has given our city organisation and flourishment because every City citizen knows where they belong and so, every year a career is assigned to each new graduate from The Institution in order for you to enter our city as working, contributing members of society. Each career is different and each career is assigned to a different zone in our city. This zone will become your new home and the people already assigned to that career, your friends. Our separate career zones, allows you all to associate with others who share the same career as you, so you can work together to do the best possible job you can do, to build a stronger, more vibrant city for all of us." City Leader Faith pauses to scan her eyes over every single one of us.

"The wall around our City protects this," she continues. "It protects our citizens, our rules and regulations and most importantly our way of life. It maintains order, as well as peace and harmony among our citizen by keeping them safe from the desert wasteland that exists beyond. The wall, along with the career zones and the careers themselves ensures our society's sustainability and flourishment, without them, we would perish." The room and the City Leader go silent for a moment as she lets that sink in, then she smiles. "So let us begin celebrating the graduates who today will be assigned their positions  within our society." The careers behind them applaud.

"Good luck," Veronica whispers from beside me.

"You, too," I say softly back as City Leader, Faith takes her seat again.

"All of your teaching at the institution has been to help you learn about every career available in our city. But today, we will assign just one career to each of you which become your career for life. Here are the leaders, and the teachers and the workers and Breeders of tomorrow. And I think you're in very good hands," she says as she looks around at her fellow City Leaders and giggles to herself. Faith then picks up a piece of paper I hadn't notice was infront of her and reads off it; "Number One; Karen."

Everyone's eyes instantly go to Karen, sitting at the front of our year group in the front row. She gets up from her seat slowly and nervously and walks over to stand in front of the City Leaders table. The City leaders look over her for a moment and then at each other. They then nod in approval as Faith reads; "Teacher." A bright smile stretches across Karen's face.

"Thank you."

"Thank you for your time at The Institution." When Faith finishes her last word, a loud applause bellows from behind them. Karen smiles and walks over to the other fellow teachers, taking a seat with them and staring back out to us. Then the city leaders continue. "Number two, Rose." Again, the same thing happens, Rose gets up out of her seat and walks over to stand in front of the city leaders. "Doctor," the city leaders choose and Rose has a slight disappointed look at her face. However, she doesn't say anything and wonders over to the doctors who are sitting behind the City Leaders. This goes on for a long time, the City Leaders reading names and assigning careers, each person getting something different. Some look happy about the outcome while others do not, as the city leaders get closer and closer to reading out my name. 

"Number 51, Veronica." Veronica grips my hand tightly at the sound of her name and I look at Veronica and she looks nervously over to me. But then she gets up from her seat.

"Goodbye," she whispers before she goes. Then she slowly and nervously walks the steps towards the stage before she comes to stand in front of the city leaders table. 

Goodbye, I think to myself. 

The City Leaders look over Veronica for a moment before nodding at each other. "Hairdresser," they say and then Veronica wonders over to her group and that was it, it was over, I knew I would never see her again.

"Leah," a girl I knew as Jess said in front of me. "They called your name." My cheeks flush red as I realised I must've not have heard them because I was too busy thinking about Veronica. But instantly I nod, standing up from my seat.

I make, what feels like the long, anxious journey towards the stage wondering what future will be chosen for me. Will I be a teacher? I ask myself. Or perhaps a lawyer? Will I be a nurse? Or maybe a doctor? Many potential careers circle around in my mind. Will I be a hairdresser or a carpenter? A beauty therapist or physiotherapist? Could I be a psychologist or a security guard? But my thoughts cut themselves off as I step onto the stage and come to stand in front of the City Leaders. They look a lot older up close, with wrinkles and fine lines drawn onto the face. But then I remember that I our City Leaders were our City Leaders because they were also our City's Elders; they had been here since the beginning, before this City was even created.  I just hoped that their old age would give them enough wisdom to pick a career that was right for me. The City Leaders look me over for a moment like they had done for everyone else and for a moment I feel very small under their many gazes. Then the City Leaders look at each other, all nodding in agreement. Faith looks down at the piece of paper in front of her and then back up to me. "Breeder," she says.