I woke up that day early.
It was the last week of testing, and I needed study time. People tell me I'm brave all the time, which may sound nice, but here it's an insult. Everyday I'm bullied by peers for being too strong and fit. My dad was sent over the wall when I was 4. It was one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever experienced. But anyways, it's time to go down to the study rooms. I put on a pair of blue dress pants and forest green button up with a navy tie. We had to dress nice is we ever wanted a chance of living safely. I walked out of my dorm and into the bright sunlight from the skylight windows. I lived in the middle class section on the top level of the right complex. We were the ones most likely to go outside, but my friend Nathan's mom went into the upper class. There was still hope for me. Even if I did lose the tests, I would probably stay inside working a boring office job.
As I was going down the elevator to the study rooms, I looked at all the dead trees and foliage. My dad once took outside, when it was still safe. I saw a red tree with bright coloured leaves. My dad told me they were called Autumn leaves, and that it was his favourite season. The elevator stopped at the second floor and a large group of kids a bit younger then me came on. One of them was my best friend since I was 8, Lola. She immediately rushed to the back of the elevator and gave me a hug.
"How's testing going" I asked
"Um... I..."
"Yes?"
The doors opened and Lola walked into the dark room on the -10th floor. Two floors lower I walked out. I didn't really know what to expect from Lola. She's always kind if unstable, one day two years ago she snuck into the testing plant to have alone time with her then boyfriend, Jean. The guards killed Jean, but no one knows what happened to Lola. Some say the showed her the evil mosters and demons that roam the barriers, others say she was hypnotized and tortored. All I know for sure is that she was bound to silence. Lola usted to tell me everything, but whenever I ask about that night, she covers her eyes and dosent say a word. It's actually quite frightening when she get into one of those moods. My train of thought was interrupted by one of the girls in my class. She sat down next to me, a little uncomfortably.
"Hey" The blonde headed girl said.
"Um... Uh? Not to be rude or anything, but do I know you?"
"Well you do now" She smiled
"I noticed you weren't studying" she said
"Oh no! I definetly was studying! You uh, just didn't see me studying!" I stuttered
"Ok.. That's what I thought" She gave me a stern look and headed back to her previous seat.
I sat down, opened a book titled "History of herboligy in the 21st century" and started to highlight important sections.
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After a long day of studying for six hours straight my favorite pastime is painting and playing my bass Chello. Everyone in the right complex is required to learn two arts. Lola writes stories and bakes. My friend Marion plays the Oboe and the clarinet. But my real passion is painting landscapes of the world before the Underworld portal opened. The trees and grass and Oceans were all so beautiful back then. I barely remember it, but I long for it more than anything. I have dreams where I wake up on morning, look out my window and see the earth as it once was. I would go to Lola's dorm and we would explore the world together. I might even bring my other friends too like Greg and Marion but Lola's been there for the longest. This scenario really inspires my drawings. I took my pencil and skechted a mountain with a green valley in between. Drawing was always so calming, almost hypnotizing.
My trance was interrupted by a knock on my door. I opened the latch and saw a teary eyed Lola standing out front.
"Uh,Lola! What's wrong?
"I.. I think I might not pass"
"What?! What do you mean? Your the smartest girl in your class!
We walked through my door and sat on the couch in the crowded bedroom.
"You know me better than that , of course I'm not teacher material".
"You can take the test for another career" I mentioned
"I don't know...... Can I stay over tonight?"
"Sure, you can sleep on my couch".
"Thanks, Destin". She gleamed.
We ended up watching news programs all night. The only Chanel we have is the news. There's more complexes like ours out there. Here at the right complex we value knowledge and stories of the past. Others value physcal strength, science, communication, and beauty.
The news story on tonight was about people running into the wilderness, there was 28 people dead from all the programs together. One of my teachers got hit by this tragedy, his wife ran out. I fell asleep the the sound of Beck Right's voice from television reading a speach about the importance of history
