One Touch (2014 Watty Awards winner)

Naming

"Everyone's got a past. The past does not equal the future unless you live there."- Tony Robbins

3 hours after Ziach leaves I'm nervous.

Astronomically nervous.

Our society changed the way names were made. Until you are 23 you get a code the government identifies you as.

It's just a random code that hasn't been used. After someone dies they recycle the code. I am 3312. Why double 3's? I'm not sure.

I am 3312 until tonight.

Tonight is the naming ceremony where our supreme ruler chooses a name out of a colossal bowl. There are two bowls, one for girls and one for boys.

I live in a tiny apartment. It has two rooms. Sleeping and living room/kitchen. I only live with myself. Since I was cloned, I have no parents, like everyone else. I heard that kids from being born to age 18 lived with people that made them. How weird! Sometimes I wish I have parents, I wouldn't get so lonely. Though I guess you can't miss what you've never had.

At 5:30 it is time to go. I lock my white apartment door and walk outside the white building. I get in my white car (yes they still have cars)and drive down the black pavement.

Our supreme ruler is a women. Her name is Twith. She draws the names.

When I get to our courthouse there is a long line of 23 year olds. I can hear Twith inside introducing her self. Twith is a short pale woman, with slight pudge in the middle of her stomach. She had tiny pink lips and toe head blonde hair.

I dash quickly to the back of the line. I find out I am late. I get behind a boy. He is Albino just like me. What a funny coincident. The line gets shorter as we enter the black building. I see men and women in black and white here to spectate. All the people that were in the line go to the bleachers. I sit down next to the albino boy.

When I sit down, I notice he is dreadfully pale, just like me. He has eyes the color of pale honey and short white/blonde hair. His skin is smooth and his cheek bones are high. He would have been very handsome if he did not have large eyes and a long nose. He may not be handsome, but he is certainly not bad looking.

"Stop staring," He says calmly as he turns his attention to me with a smirk.

I jump and my eyes widen.

"I wasn't...um...staring, I was...ah...observing!" I say nervously. I bite my lip in embarrassment. I wish I was cloned with tan skin, then he probably couldn't see me blush a red rose color.

"Hey I was just teasing, if I were you I wouldn't ignore my good looks either," He says grinning. He is obviously quite full of himself. I almost forgot about the naming just looking at him.

I roll my eyes and scoff.

"You are not anymore handsome then I am pretty," I say with lots of certainty. I knew I was not pretty the day I looked in a mirror I have absolutely no cheek bones, full lips small eyes, and a large nose. It doesn't help that I am Albino.

"Really? Then I must be incredibly handsome, because you are absolutely beautiful,"He says staring at me in a very intense way. I suddenly want to change the subject. He is being too blunt. I look at him like he's a few currents short of a fruitcake.

"You nervous?"I say wiping sweat off the palms of my hands on my bell bottom jeans. I am trying not to act nervous, but I am shaking with anticipation and fear.

"To get my name? No," He says calmly. His answer surprised me.

"What? Why?"

"It's not like our names are going to change who we are," He says laughing,"Whats your code?"

"3312," I say eyeing him in a way that looks like he's grown a third hand.

"8914," He says. The atmosphere becomes awkward because no one says anything for a while. Thankfully the supreme ruler starts and breaks our tension.

She starts at the bottom of the codes, which takes forever! 9123,9124,9125 uggg! Finally we get to my Albino friend's code.

"8914!" She says. 8914 looks really pale. A little paler than usual. Twith smiles and then plunges her hand in the bowl of paper. She pulls out a name and yells.

"Leath."

Leath smiles .

"I Like my name," He wispers. I get goosebumps. If we didn't have force fields around us, he probably would have wispered that in my ear. Thats at least what I like to think.

Finally after what seems like my whole lifespan she gets to 3313, and her name is Anitwon or something similar.

"3312!"

I gulp in a breath and exhale slowly. I start to sweat and I feel like I'm going to faint. I don't want my name to be a whistle in the wind, I want it to be etched in the minds of the people. This name is going to define me, and I want it to perfect.

She takes her time retrieving a peice of paper that has my name on it. She smirks.

Did she smirk at me? No, must have been her smiling.

She pulls the paper out of the bowl.

The paper with my name on it.
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