Haven

Chapter 2

Bright sunlight streams through my thin curtains, tugging me gently out of the soft fog of dreams. My bedroom is small with wooden floors and walls, a large rug, one window, a chest of draws, a wardrobe and a bed. Jamie has a room identical to mine across the hallway. He will be moving out soon though with his own house and his own wife and his own children. I will still be able to see him and visit but it won't be the same without him here. Needless to say, I don't want him to go, but he will have to eventually. We all do.

Rolling myself out of my bed and onto the floor, I use my bed to pull up onto my feet. I'm not exactly what you would call a 'morning person' and this takes much more effort than it should. Squinting as my eyes adjust to the burning light of day, I yank open the curtains and peer outside. It almost seems as though everything should be different now that I know what I'm doing with my life, but our little street with rows of sameish houses and kindlly neighbours hasn't changed at all. The gaurds stationed along the streets are the same ones that I predicted would be here. A few years ago I worked out when each gaurd would be where on our street and realised there was a cycle. Red and I made it our summer project to work out their system. They are the same for two days, then they change and are the same for a week, then they change again and- Anyway, you don't want to know all that. Well today there is the cute blond boy opposite my window and the old dark haired man down the end of the road to the left. I tried talking to the blond boy once, but he told me that if the older man saw, he could get fired. They have these gaurds on every road to make sure there isn't any crime or violence and to make sure everyone is behaving how the Ministers want us to. Some people don't like it but I really don't see the harm, they're protecting us, aren't they?

The gaurds also look out for any rumor of rebels, of the Deceitful. They're the people that live outside the fence, even though the Ministers deny there is anyone there. There are stories of the Deceitful getting into the Havens and making people believe the Ministers are wrong and turning people against them. It's all just storied though. If I ever met a Deceitful I'm sure I would be smart enough to see through their lies and see how they just want to stir up trouble and start a rebellion against the System. For some reason they think it is unjust and takes away peoples humanity. But without the System, we would just go back to being savage, greedy monsters that nearly destroyed the world before us. I can't even imagine how anyone could believe their lies.

* * *

I left the house in a hurry that morning, jumping up on my bike and riding as fast as I possibly could across town. There isn't any school today because of the Moirai results and Red and I planned to meet up today like we usually do. When I finally dragged myself downstairs after getting dressed my mother and brother were still congratulating me and fussing about but there was something strange about them, almost sad. I guess it was because I'm growing up or something, don't all parents get sad when their children grow up? Anyway, that was why I was nearly late to Red's but when I finally pull up by her house and check my watch. I'm just on time. I have a key so I go in and run up the stairs, calling a hello to her parents as I go. It's not unusual for me to do this; Red's family may as well be my second family and I think they consider me their second daugher (at least I hope they do).

Outside Red's door, I pause for a moment, listening for any sounds of life but when I don't hear any, I turn the handle almost silently and walk in. It's unusual for her to not be awake and up by now and after yesterday, I'm a little worried about her. But when I look around the corner the hides most of her room from view of the door I see that she isn't asleep. She sits on her bed with her legs crossed, eyes red, hair messy and I can tell she didn't sleep much last night. Usually this would make me equally upset but today I know that I can actually do something about it. Barely managing to restrain from bouncing off the walls with excitement for what I'm about to tell her, I sit down gingerly beside her on her bed.