What Are You?

Chapter 1/The City

Edited version of this story. I hope you like the story. If you get to the end of the book and think that the ending is horrible, don't worry I am going to definitely refine that part, but for now, please enjoy!

 

        "Come Elizabeth. It's time to go to school." I open my eyes to see a man at my bedside.        

        This cannot happen. WHY is this man particularly in here? It’s against the rules of our city and leaders. "Dad? Why are you on this side of the house? What's happening? We haven't even had the ceremony yet to choose which school I should go to!" All these questions spiral through my mind while my father just smiles at me with that smile I see everyday, but he only ever puts it on for my brother, not me.

        My father is a tall man, but very skinny. His brown hair is starting to turn gray at some points which makes me laugh because he used to try to dye the gray hairs, but now he just gives up and lets time do the work. From what I can tell, he loves reading the newspaper and cooking. He is also very secretive with the possessions he has. He has one box that he has only opened up once, but when he opened it, he waited until my brother was out of the house so he could be alone.

       "Well, we have to go now. You don't belong." I raise from my bed.

       "Where don't I belong?” I don’t know how he has gotten into this part of the house. I look around quickly and don't see my mother in the other bed. Where is she?

       "You don't belong in the school."

       "Which school father?" Only silence comes from him. "Which school are you talking about?"

       "Both. Whichever one you go to, you won't fit in."

Well that's promising.

Then I see the sign. The symbol I have been seeing for almost three years.

       The symbol is an 'X'. Just a plain and simple X. I don't know why I see that symbol in particular, but I see it in nearly all my dreams..

       "Beth?" I look around the room and don't see my father anymore. The voice is coming from a girl. "Beth!" My body starts shaking. It literally starts shaking, and I can't stop it from happening because I'm not even sure what's causing it.

"Wake up Beth!" Am I not awake? What is this girl talking about?

The next thing I know, I blink, and I am back to reality. I look up and see my friend. Tali.

       "Sorry I was just...dreaming" Tali's eyes goes wide.

       "Which symbol did you get in your dream?" I roll my eyes at her.

       "You know the leaders don't want us to tell anybody." I raise my head up and a paper from a textbook I was reading is still stuck to my face. "Now come on. I need to go home to submit the sign for the leaders. Like we usually do after we wake up from a night dream."

       She smiles at me and we pick up our books and start walking out of the library and onto the girls’ designated sidewalks. Someone bumps into me on my way out, making my books fall out of my hands. I try to get someone’s face, but I only get a girl with black hair walking away. Tali helps me grab my books off the floor and then we are walking again.

       While we walk, I look around. Our neighborhood homes all look exactly alike. White and square. Except, of course, for the big building. The building where the leaders work. "So...which school do you think you're going to be in?" She doesn’t even whisper her words.