A World Divided

Chapter One

I have the same routine everyday. I wake up at approximately 6:15am and arrive and do the school thing at 8:00am. School lets out at 2:45pm and that's when my best friend and I escape to the docks and go swimming. I run back home and end my night with a movie. I do this same thing day by day and that's my life.

This morning is a tad different though. I lay awake staring at my ceiling, then I look over at my alarm clock and notice the time. I'm up two hours before I'm supposed to be. The reason why? Well today is a very important day. This is the day where Madame Mayor displays her judgement. You see, in society thirteen, when you turn eighteen you're assigned a program. A program is an outline of how the rest of your life will play out.

My mom told me that her program sent her to college. Everyone in my school dreams of going to college. This is where you can continue your education and score a higher level job. Because of college, my mom is now a scientist. She also told me that it was written in her program that she would have the insemination procedure at the age of 27. She's now 44 and I'm her only daughter.

My name's June and I'm turning eighteen in two months. Today, I will be personally interviewed and judged by Madame Mayor and my results will go to some more important people and when I turn eighteen, I'll receive my program.

For anyone that knows me, I'm a hardcore planner. I love to plan my every move and it makes me so happy that this is how my future will be. Maybe that's why I'm up two hours before I'm supposed to be? I'm stressing out that my program isn't going to be how I want it. I want to go to college. I want to have a child. I want all the things my mom got and the idea of not getting that, stresses me out. My plan for today has already been ruined by waking up early. It's put me off track and if this is how the rest of my day will go, I'm totally screwed. 

My mind starts to crumble when things don't go the right way. I hate change, I hate the unexpected, and I hate spontaneity. Why am I overthinking all this? Because that's what I do. I plan and I overthink until I'm physically numb. 

At least my best friend, Maya, doesn't have to worry about this. She's as carefree as they come. I envy every aspect of her life. Her mom is the right hand woman to the mayor, everybody loves her, and her looks are flawless. My looks, on the other hand, are on the average side. I'm not too short, not too tall, and my eyes are hazel. The only thing different about me is my hair. When it comes to the insemination procedure, defects can occur. They're rare, but it does happen. For myself, I got lavender coloured hair out of it. 

My mom says they work every day trying to figure out where the defects are coming in. So far, they haven't found the solution. I don't mind though. My purple hair is what makes me different from everyone else, and as much as I hate the uncertain, this is the one piece of weirdness I can hold onto.

My thoughts are interrupted by my alarm going off, it must be 6:15. I slide out of bed and clumsily walk towards the bathroom. I always take a shower first thing in the morning. I heard it supposed to stimulate your brain cells or something like that, so that's my motive. Plus, I have this vanilla scented body wash that makes me smell like vanilla cupcakes, so I like that part too. 

My shower takes longer than usual. Normally I'm in the shower for approximately 15 minutes, but today, its been 20. I know five minutes isn't a big deal to most people, but it is to me. This whole judgement day has me out of whack and I'm not liking it. I woke up early, my shower took too long, and now I'm just waiting for the next thing to hit me. 

Now that my showers done, I move on to the next activity on my planner: get myself presentable. Luckily I don't have to worry about picking out a new school outfit because we have strict uniforms. Madame Mayor says that having uniforms keeps any form of self expression out of the picture. Apparently back in the day, people were allowed to wear t-shirts with inappropriate words on them and jeans with holes. Maya always complains about how self expression is forbidden, but I think it's what keeps me sane. 

I wear my hair in the same slicked back pony tail everyday and I always apply a little bit of mascara to make my eyes pop. Other than that, I'm pretty plain and blend in with the crowd. Just how I like it. I slip on my uniform sneakers and head for the door. At this time, mom is still sleeping. She works mainly nights at the laboratory and sleeps in pretty late to accomodate for that. I whisper a soft goodbye, grab an apple, and I'm finally out the door. Two minutes before schedule. I stop, look at my watch, and stand on my porch for a solid two minutes. Once that's passed, I start walking to meet Maya. 

The walk to school takes me 15 minutes, and Maya's house is along the way. If my routine goes as planned, I always arrive at Maya's at 7:40. That gives the both of us five minutes to get to school, which leaves us 15 minutes to gather our thoughts and prepare for the day. Our school system is very structured. It's been the same schedule since we were in middle school. First we have math, then history, and then we go on to our chosen elective. After our elective, we get to eat lunch and then we finish the day with women's studies and english, and science. 

I'm coming up on Maya's house and can't help but smile when I see her standing outside. 

Maya waves, "Morning June Bug!" 

I run up and give her a hug, "It's been a long three weeks." In our society, our school system is structured on a year-round system. We go to classes for nine weeks, have three weeks off, and then it repeats. When the three week vacation is taking place, Maya and I rarely spend time together. We like to take those weeks to refresh our minds and relax in our own company. 

"How did you spend yours," she asks me as we start to head for the school.

"Oh you know, the usual. I read a lot and planned out the rest of my time until my birthday," I look at my feet, "what about you?"

She doesn't answer at first, then says, "the usual for me too. Just hanging out with mom." For some reason, she's acting nervous. She's never nervous around me. I let it go though because today is judgement day and I can't have anything else going wrong, so I change the subject, "are you prepared for today?"

She laughs, "I've never been more prepared. I'm not too worried." Of course she wouldn't be. Her mom pretty much has a say in how Maya's life will play out. She's constantly in the ear of Madame Mayor and always by her side. Of course her daughter would take favor in that. 

"Yeah, I'm prepared too. At least I hope so."

Her arm wraps around mine, "Oh come on Junie. If anyone can nail this assessment, it's you." She's right. Out of everyone in our class, I'm in the top 3%. There's no way I would get an entry level job somewhere. I have to go to college. I will go to college. 

Maya brings me out of my thoughts, "Well, we're here. We're back in hell."

I stop walking and start to whisper, "Maya you can't say stuff like that. What if they heard you?"

"Oh they wouldn't do anything. I'm no harm to them. They have other problems they're dealing with," she states. Other problems? There hasn't been a single incident for two years, ever since Libby hall went rogue. She was a two years above us, and when she went in for her assessment, she never came home.  

"What kind of problems?" I ask. 

She hesitates, "I can't talk about it here. Class is about to start, we'll talk about it after school, at the docks."

I don't protest, I don't say anything at all. She takes my silence as a response and our conversation is ended with us rushing to get to class on time. 

Hi Guys! This is the first chapter in a long journey with this story. I hope you all like it and I know it's starting off slow, but it'll keep getting better! 

Who do you think should cast as June and Maya? Comment below! 

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