The World of Tomorrow

Chapter Six

I the next morning I wake, slightly disoriented as I so often am. The veil shrouding my thoughts clears and I remember. My birthday. Today. I stare at my walls, the spiced cider smell not bringing nearly as much comfort as it usually does. Today at 8:42 am I'll be taken I a white van to a place I have no more knowledge about than a fish has about running. There's nothing I can do. Future is good at taking away loopholes. I shiver, even though my blankets are warm. I check the clock on the wall across from me. I never usually look at it. It's not something I'm particularly proud of. A white clock with straight black whiskers on the sides, big white ears on top, and a rabbit face, Anza got it for my fifteenth birthday. I hate it, but Mami would kill me if I ever took it down. So it's been silently, uselessly ticking away for...what, three years now? After reminding myself how to read an analog clock, I realize it's 8:30. I have less than fifteen minutes left with my family. God, I hate this! I don't deserve it, my parents don't deserve it! I've never done anything wrong! It's not my fault I have a disease! It's genetic, even Futures new technology couldn't have prevented it, much less tech from eighteen years ago! There's got to be something I can do, I can escape and hide somewhere, I can try to get cured...somehow!
I sigh, breathing out the anger and stress because I know there's no hope for me. I'm done for, there's no way to get out of this mess. In a few minutes I'm going to be taken away. I should be downstairs spending time with my family, not crying in my bed.
Finally deciding on a course of action, I pull the sheets off my body and stand, my legs wobbling for just a second. I hear voices downstairs, and whimpering. I walk down slowly and quietly, and at the last step I pause again. My last few minutes with my family. I smile, realizing that I'm not leaving them, not really. I know that they'll always be here, and they'll always be thinking of me, just as I think of them. The sounds come from the living room. It's probably Anza who's crying. Stopping by our game cannot before walking in, I pick out my favorite game, More-opoly. It's a classic, and requires clever players. Also, the
pale green board smells like spring grass.
I walk into the living room with a smile on my face. "Anyone up for a game?" I ask.
The scene in front of me is pitiful. My dad is holding my mom as she comforts Anza, face stained with tears. But I will not allow my last day to be sorrowful and unhappy! I have to make memories! After all, this is the last chance I'll get.
Anza looks up at me, confusion mixing with tears. After a moment, she begins to giggle, then full on laugh out loud to the surprise of my parents.
"Sure, Jibe. Let's play!" She giggles.
I set up the game on the coffee table in front of the couch, and Anza, the youngest, takes the first roll.
The minutes tick by as we play, laughing and trading and trying to build monopolies as quickly as possible.
"Ha, look at that! Yellow monopoly!" I shout, and the doorbell rings.
We all freeze. No, it can't be time yet. Quickly, I pull out my phone. 8:42 exactly. That's...them. That's them, this is it, they're here.
Anza, however, seems unfazed. "I guess we'll never get to finish our game." She says with a small smile.
"Don't worry," I say, smiling back, "we'll finish it when I get back."
Standing up, I hug my mother, father, and sister, thanking them each for everything they've done for me.
As I hug my mom she holds me tight and says: "Happy eighteenth birthday, baby."
"Thank you, Mami." I smile wider, a tear slipping down my face. They huddle and watch as I open the door to reveal a woman with curly brown hair slicked back into a bun standing in front. Her clothes smell like lilacs. Her face is stern and long, giving a severe look that  would've been too intense if not broken by plump, pink lips.
"Jibe Ortega?" She asks. Her voice is light but a little bit scratchy.
I nod my head. "Follow me." She says, walking out the door and back into the van she came from.