One Hundred-Four Eyes [RANDOM UPDATES]

Chapter 2- The Works

                        Chapter 2- The Works

                Date: 1st of Newcome, Year MMCLIV

                Time: 7:04

        -BLAIRE-

I sat in my sister's 'former, chewing on the skin of an apple. "So... how does the system work?"

"Okay," Kiana started, readying her 'former, "When we get to the head of the town, we get an application. We fill out our basic information there. After that, we have photos taken and fingerprints. Then we wait."

When the 'former started off, I asked, "How long?"

She shrugged, staring down the dirt path. "Maybe ten, fifteen minutes. After that, we go home. And we write."

"Write?" I questioned. What is write?

"To write is to make a note with a pencil and piece of paper. You simply write one small, straight line, That is called a tally. It shows how many years you haven't been chosen. If you haven't been chosen, you are rewarded."

"But, wait," I said, furrowing my brows, "Ninety-nine percent of people aren't Chosen."

"I know," she replied, intently staring at the road, "but we're rewarded, anyways."

"With what?"

"Stop with the questions!" she scolded. "The Monarchy doesn't like questions, especially from lowerclassmen like underage women."

I slumped in my spot. "I know."

Changing the subject, Kiana said, "Hey, we're almost there." She swerved across the road.

"Already?" I asked, slightly glaring.

"Mm-hm, now I just need to find a spot to park this scrap metal." She pulled her 'former over to a secluded area and hopped out of it. After a wallowed out, she located a button on the side of the vehicle and pushed it. Suddenly, before my eyes, the 'former was nothing but a compact block of metal.

Kiana grinned. "Shall we?" she asked, extending her hand.

"We shall," I replied. playing along with her game. We, now holding hands, skipped into the head of the town.

In the front of town 8, in neighborhood 46, was a baby-sized stand. On this stand were a stack of thin, white items, with print on them. There were funky-looking stick objects next to them, that looked as though they were made from a certain type of metal.

Curiosity got the best of me. I asked, "What are the stick things and the white stuff?"

Kiana laughed. "The white stuff? That is known as paper. The stick things are pens. You write on paper with pens. You haven't learned about that yet, in child work? I you would have by now."

"Apparently not," I replied, staring ahead at the itmes. They were so... foreign to me. I wondered why people would want to write when they had the luxury of broadcasts. Then again, I said the same thing about newspaper... MaybeI just didn't understand something. That's it, just a simple misunderstanding of sorts.

I filed into the line of girls, along with Kiana, and waited for me to get to the front. Once there, I grabbed a pen and paper, and found a spot to write.

That was about the time that I realized that I didn't know how to write. I stared over at Kiana, who was clumsily slopping something down on her paper.

"Psst," I whispered, grabbing her attention, "Could you please lend a hand? I sort of don't know how this write works."

"Oh, sure thing!" she replied, beaming. "First, you putthe pen in your dominant hand."

"Which hand is my dominant one?" I questioned. staring at them.

"Which one feels stronger?" she asked, looking at the creases of my appendages. I faced my right hand.

""Alright," she said, "place that pen in your right hand, like this." She demonstrated how to hold a pen... and it looked complicated.

However, I wanted to appear smart, so I replied with, "Alright, just a moment." I placed the pen in my hand and tried situating it the way that Kiana had shown.

It felt strange in my hands. The pen, I mean. And it looked awkward, more awkward than even Kiana's did.

"Heh... I'm ready. What do I do now?"

"Do you know the letters to your name?"

"Letters?" I inquired. What are letters?

"Oh, dear," Kiana said, bringing her hand to her forehead, "this is gonna take a while..."

                A/N: I;m sorry it took so long for Chapter 2. Someone in my family recently had a birthday, and... well, it was hectic. Not to mention mass amounts of homework (or child work, should I say?) has been given to none other than moi. Thank you all for understanding! Have an awesome day!