The Future Of Love (book 1)

Matched

I lay awake in my bed looking at the white ceiling of my apartment my family lives in together, mine is just one of the many scattered identically across the New World. They are all four bedrooms and this is scary to me, because I know tomorrow will be the last day of school and the beginning of the first day of having my own four bedroom apartment to fill. I don't think I would want kids for a while, if I got a choice, but the New world has strict rules on repopulation. I don't know if I want to do this, but again I don't have a say. everyone just said "do it for the new world" but I'm not stupid I know love exists.

I frown to myself and think of the time I asked my mother if she loved my father which she answered "its hard to explain, Bethany. I guess after so much time with someone whether you loved them at first or not, you learn to" my mother has always seemed happy and I've herd about people falling in love upon meeting their match, but I don't know if any of its real or not. maybe those are just the lies that have been planted in our minds to make us hopeful about the matching, to make us not fear or fight it.

my oldest brother Ben was matched two years ago and I never saw him again, they assigned him to live all the way across the New World from us.

I rolled over in my bed and felt tears come to my eyes as I remembered Ben telling me stories of a place he called the Middle World. he was always so creative and I tried to be just like him growing up. Ben wasn't afraid to laugh and joke all the time and interrupt things, he always use to make me laugh.

I woke up to the 7 am lights coming on. the Halogen bulbs flickered on lazily giving a sterile glow to my room the normal, plain, generic white room came with a white bed, a white small dresser, and a metal desk and chair. My room was different though, the white walls were covered in different drawings and art I had made over the years, making the plain room look more full of life.

I normally would wear my grey school uniform but today I had to wear something special. I looked to the neatly folded white shirt and skirt that would come down to about my knees. I felt my stomach fill with the dread of the finality of these clothes as I put them on. I took a deep breath breath and went down the hall way that led to the kitchen where my little brother and sister sat at the white kitchen table, both in their normal grey button up shirts and pants for school. their messy curly blonde heads looked at me in my different white uniform as I sat with them at the table. my mother looked at me with sadness and the same hair and face as the rest of us as she handed me a plate of eggs.

"I'm not too hungry today, mom." I mumbled.

"are you scared?" my ten year old brother Eric asked me with curls falling into his eyes.

"no." I lied.

"promise you won't be like Ben and you'll come see us." my six year old little sister Maggie said sadly with her shoulder length blond curls and brown eyes much like our mothers and mine.

"I swear." I said not knowing if I actually would be able to or not. I didn't want to worry them.

"do you think you'll love your match?" Eric asked me.

"hey, enough with the questions. I'm sure your sister is nervous and you don't need to make it worse on her. besides let's try to spend the last moment as her family in peace." my mother interrupted.

we sat in a silence for a while and the air that hung around the table seemed filled with grief. a chime went off and we all stood from the table. my mother instantly grabbed me in a hug then put her hands on my cheeks, only then did I see the tears pooling in her eyes.

"I love you and your father wanted me to tell you he loves you too." she said and I nodded and let go of me. as I went out the door I looked back at my mothers tear stained face.