Metal Horizon

My Neighbor Commits a Crime

   I get to Cara's house around 2pm, towel, shampoo, and soap in hand. She comes outside to greet me and I whisper in her ear the news about my father.

"Cara he's not letting me do it. I don't know what's up but...he said no" I tell her

Her face drops for a bit but then lights back up.

"I'm about to go out with my parents to get myself a bid for the exam, do you want me to see if I can get you one. I doubt anyone would notice, it's going to be so busy today." She whispers.

In order to be able to take the entrance exam you have to first claim a bid. To do so you must wait until the officials come to your town, there, they will have a booth set up where you can claim your bid. The difficult part is, you have to have your legal guardian(s) with you for some sort of verification. The whole process is kinda weird, they don't release much information on it. They give us the requirements but not the reasons.

Other then having your legal guardian, getting a bid is quite easy. After you present some form of ID, you just take the number sitting on top of the pile and present it the day of the exam. They don't even take your names until the exam so in theory, Cara's plan could work.

I shake my head, "No, I can't let you do that for me. If you get caught you'll spend years in jail for treason! Your future will be ruined, not to mention your reputation." I whisper back.

She rolls her eyes at me and put her hands on her hips "Well behaved women seldom make history"

I laugh, knowing that whenever she brings that quote out it means there is no further questioning. She has set her mind to this and I can't stop her.

"Fine, but I'm going into town with you. Let me shower first" I say and walk into her house before she can protest.

After I get out of the shower and dress myself Cara, her parents, and I set off towards the train station. That's the thing about our little suburb here, no one has a personal vehicle. Pretty much everything you need is in walking distance unless you're going into the city, then you get on the train.

Once we arrive at the station Cara's parents turn to me and look me straight in the eyes.

"This is your first time going into the city correct?" They ask.

I nod my head. My dad never liked me leaving the house for too long, or just going too far I guess.

"Okay, then listen to what we're saying. Stay close to either us or Cara. It is very important that you do not get lost, if we lose you, you're gone. Because today is a very important day the streets are going to be extremely crowded and if you're not careful you'll ge-" Mrs. Angevin doesn't get to finish before a voice comes from the train.

"Hey assholes! Get in the train! They're not gonna wait any longer!"

As we start boarding Cara turns around, "Just stay with me and you'll be ok." She says sweetly.

When I was a kid I had a crush on Cara. I always thought that she was what beauty should look like. Her skin was as dark as the earth, and the curls of her brown hair were reminiscent of the whirlpools I'd see in lakes or rivers. But her eyes were the prettiest thing about her. When inside they were so black you could see your reflection in them. But when she steps outside, it's like they become the sun itself.

I get on the train and sit next to a boy who looks around my age. He has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and two piercings in his right ear. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. I feel like I know him, where do I know him from?

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." He says.

My face turns bright red from embarrassment and I laugh nervously.

"I'm sorry, you just look familiar is all. Pardon my rudeness." I say

"Whatever." He replies, looking out the window.

"I'm Aglet, it's nice to meet you." I say

"What the hell kind of name is Aglet. Isn't that like that thing on a shoelace?" He says with a chuckle.

His smile straightens into his resting face. "Carlos." He states.

"Huh?' I say confused.

"Are you dumb? I said 'Carlos' my name is Carlos." He says.

My jaw drops and I have to collect myself.

"Carlos? As in Carlos Mendoza? As in the pilot Carlos Mendoza?" I ask.

That's where I knew him from. I quite literally idolized this guy. He graduated the same year as me but because of his extremely high scores in school he was invited to start piloting before the new enlistment wave.

"That's my name and what I do so I guess you've heard of me." Carlos says with a smirk.

"A little" I lie.

He laughs and turns back to his window, "Whatever." He says once more.

We get to the city by 4:30 pm, we thought it would have cleared out some but everything still looked so dense.

Because of the enlistment officials coming our mayor decided to throw a festival in respect of those who have and will fight in the war. He calls it the Honor Festival.

Carlos slips by me and off the train without a word. I watch him as he walks away, my mind wandering.

I wonder what it's like to be him? Can he basically do whatever he wants? What is he like during training? Is he as mean to his teammates as he was to me?

I feel a tug on my shirt sleeve and get thrust out of my thoughts to Cara trying to get my attention.

"Come on Aglet we're walking now." She says.

"Yeah...yeah okay."

When we get to the festival we are greeted by guards with large weapons asking for ID. I present the biking license I got when I was 13. The guard lets me pass and I wait on the other side for Cara and her family.

We all walk together towards the pilot bid booth, right as we are about to step in line, the crowd of people around us separates, forming an aisle in the middle. Cara pulls me to one side so I am out of the aisle and I turn my head towards where the commotion started.

Walking down the aisle in probably the most badass way I have ever seen are the pilots, the ones chosen in the last enlistment. Everyone begins to clap and the pilots wave and smile, excluding Carlos of course, he doesn't really seem happy to be there.

I stand in awe, watching them pass is like a dream. I mean I'm pretty sure this has been a dream of mine.

Cara chuckles and I lightly smack her shoulder, she laughs and I roll my eyes. She knows how much I've always wanted to meet them. I should have figured that they'd be here today.

After the pilots reach the booth the line we were in lengthens significantly. Some in the line are only there to speak to the pilots.

Unlike our army, the pilots are like celebrities. Many people have trading cards of the pilots, and some of them even receive fan mail. The most popular by far is Carlos because he's basically every girls dream boy.

We get to the table finally and Mr. and Mrs. Angevin present their government IDs and Cara presents her biking license. As Mr. and Mrs. Angevin talk up the official Cara grabs her number...and mine.

My heart pounds as I watch her shift her hand to grab a second number.

This is it. She can do it. I believe in her.

Cara sneakily pushes my number up her sleeves, turns on her feet, faces me, and winks subtly. I hide my smile as she slips her hand into her purse and lets the number slide into her bag.

Her parents finish up their conversation and we all begin to walk away.

I release my breath and brush my hands through my hair. I was so scared something was going to happen. Although part of me wishes Cara wouldn't insist on doing such things, right now, I'm glad she did.

Right as we are walking away a voice echoes towards us.

"Excuse me, miss."