Operation Home

Chapter three

Adriana woke up the next day, feeling scared and even madder. She hated when people hid something form her. Her parents were hiding something from her, Teddy, and even the government. For the next few days, Adriana didn't find much about herself or about the government. She just gave her father's computer back and stopped looking. She was going to have to find answers in another way.

"What are you thinking about?" Teddy asked her. Every day, she and Teddy would hang out at the park. It was the summer vacations, so she had all day with him. He was nice, kind and comforting. He didn't know it, but he helped her with her stress. Today, like every other day, they would climb trees to eat lunch.

"Nothing... just nothing," she lied.

Teddy didn't believe her. He knew something was wrong.

"Tell me. You shouldn't hide it from me. Come on. I won't kill you."

"You might not, but I don't think it's allowed here. To think of what I'm thinking."

She looked at her friend. She had read the rules of her town. No smoking, no fighting, no hurting. Lots of rules, but one was scarier or stricter than the other: no leaving. She was trapped here, but her mind was traveling around the unknown. It was going up all the mountains, and the valleys. She thought of the deepest oceans and most wild creatures. She would even think of things nobody else knew. She would think of other living beings. Not other humans, but others like animals. Nobody knew about animals here. They all thought they were extinct. But they weren't. They were hiding in the forests, or in the clouds.

"What do you mean?" Teddy asked.

"Do you ever think about what's out there, in the unknown?"

"No. We are perfect here."

"But what if this was a lie. What if we weren't who we are?"

"Stop it, you're scaring me!"

"Think about it, Teddy! People are hiding things from us! They are trying to control us!"

"STOP IT!" Teddy yelled. He jumped off the tree. "You know exactly why they are hiding things from us. We are too young to understand."

"No, we're not. Please, Teddy, think about what I told you because I don't feel at home here. You're the only one I trust," Adriana pleaded. She had to tell someone about how she felt, and she did. She felt a huge weight being lifted off her shoulder. Se was free from keeping everything to herself. She could feel a bit safer now. That was if Teddy agreed to help her.

Teddy stood there, looking at her. He realized she wasn't the same Adriana. He knew something was wrong. And what if she was right. What if this perfect world wasn't so perfect after all? What if they were hiding big things from them? Millions of questions flooded his head as he answered his friend:

"I'll help you... because that's what friends do."

Adriana invited Teddy to her room, to show him all the work she's done. She took out the many sheets of paper from under her mattress and the huge bard forms her closet. The papers were lists of everything she knew and the questions she needed to answer. The beard was pictures of her and her parents and everything she knew about them. SHe had also searched them up, and it turns out her mother is from Canada, and her dad is from Washington DC. She still needed to find out what those places were.

"How did you find all of that?" Teddy asked.

Adriana hesitated, but answered.

"I steel my dad's computer almost every night to find out new things."

Teddy, amazed, read about his best friend.

"Where is Wisconsin?" he asked.

"I don't know... it probably in the unknown."

As Teddy read more about Adriana and her family, he started to think she was really right. He decided to trust her and to help her with everything.

"I'll meet up at the tree we ate at today, around midnight," Teddy said and left her house.

Adriana watched as her friend left.

"What were you guys talking about?" her father asked as he stepped in from the back yard.

"A new game called Operation Home," she answered. Teddy had found that name. It fitted perfectly with what they were doing. They needed to find their home.

At 11h50, Adriana left her house, wearing her white dress. She sneaked to the park and climbed the tree. SHe climbed as high as she could.

"Hey," whispered Teddy.

"Hi. I brought my dad's computer," she said and opened it. She logged in and found the working file. She opened it.

"What is your full name?" she asked.

"Theodore Gonzalez."

She typed it and waited. There he was. His picture, and everything about him.

"I'll share it with you. What's your email?"

"Teddy_*_GONZ_*_--#@.utopia*."

The night went by, and the morning came back. Today was the day they had to find h=things about the unknown. They had to find everything about it to be able to survive.

"Hey mom, does it ever get cold here?" she asked.

"Sweety, the snow system failed years ago. The government decided not to fix it," her mother replied. "Now eat your eggs."

After breakfast, she left to the garden where her father was working.

"Hey, dad... what do you know about the unknown?" she asked.

All the colors in her father's face drifted away. He looked up at her a weak smile on his face, and looked back down at his computer, trying to ignore her.

"Dad!" she yelled, anger filling her voice. He was hiding something, and she was more than sure it was important.

"Number 12667, breaking rule number 23! No yelling at the parents!" a robot's voice said out of nowhere. A small drone was flying over them, flashing red light on Adriana.

"It's okay. I forgive her, and so should you. It was my fault she got mad," her father said. The drone turned green and flew away.

Adriana stood there, fascinated. Never had she seen a done before. She had broken so many laws, yet only on this unimportant one, she got in trouble. Life in this place made no sense.

"Adriana. I want you to go inside right now. And don't come out till snack time. This is the first time you get in trouble. What if it happens again?" her father, both mad and worried, yelled.

"It was just a small silly mistake..." she tried to look natural.

"No, it wasn't! Now up to your room!"

She ran up to her room. This was so unfair. Her parents were allowed to do whatever they wanted, but she had to obey the rules. Just because she was younger doesn't mean she is worthless. What was wrong with raising a voice? What could possibly go wrong if anything happened bad again? She didn't understand. She tried, but couldn't.

At snack time, her father knocked on her door.

"Adriana. Come out to eat."

"I'm not hungry. Leave me alone. I'm trying to do something right now."

Her father left. She stayed in her room, looking at the drawing of an outfit. She had drawn a black outfit. She was never going to wear this, she didn't really wanted to, but she still had fun imaging herself in it. She magined life out there, in the unknown. She felt trapped, misstreted. She wanted to be free. Why was she the only one like this? Why was everybody okay with not knowing. She needed to know.