AfterLife

Chapter One

It's always the same, isn't it? I wake up in the morning every day and get dressed, eat breakfast, then go out the door and walk to school. It's not that far, but every morning feels like I add another minute to that walk. But right now I'm sitting at my assigned desk next to the windows of my homeroom. It's not a very big school, but to others it's huge.

Four stories, courtyard, multiple clubs, and nearly 40 kids per class. Yeah, that's a lot, but they're mixed years so I guess it would be One Hundred per graduating class. It's whatever though. I've lived here my entire life and haven't left. Probably never will.

The school bell rings and everyone around me goes to their seats. I sigh and pull out my history book from my blue backpack. Everyone does. We all look like AI's following the orders given to us. But we'd never know. So instead of dwelling on the idea I just stare out the window some more.

A bird flies up to the snow-covered tree closest to me and begins to pull off some tangled string in its branches. Why is this bird still around, I think. Shouldn't it have migrated to the south with all the other birds?

The classroom door opens and a tall man walks through. He wears brown trousers and a white button-up shirt with a black tie. I look at his feet and swallow a laugh. Yellow and black striped socks. Mr. Morton has been my favorite teacher ever since I started school. Then again the school gave you one homeroom for the rest of your life, so whatever your first hour was, you spent it with the same people. Over and over again.

The intercom rang and we stood for the pledge.

"In this new world, we built,

for a new god is ours.

We can rise and concord this

forgotten past again.

We are one, we are whole, we are The New.

Amen."

I never understood the last few words. "The New." Then again I never let it go so deep into thought before. Everyone sat back down and they continued with announcements. Games, club meetings, and prayer. Every day was the same. But every class was taught differently. And for Mr. Morton's class, I was grateful.

"Alright, students. Let's get this show on the road shall we?" Mr Morton addressed the class and took attendance. Then lunch. "Ok, for today's lesson we shall be learning about the Worlds War. Everyone groaned. "I know. I know. You've all probably heard this story many times before, but to complete any history class, push through it." He glared at everyone in the room. His gaze softened barley when he reached me, but it was gone as fast as it had come.

"Mr. Morton?" A kid in the front row raised his hand. "Why do we call it the World's War? Why not World War Four?"

"That is a good question, Amy. This is because it wasn't just for a few countries. This included everyone on Earth. And because of that, we don't consider it one of the Three World Wars." Amy nodded and slumped back in her seat. What sort of answer was she expecting?

"Anyhow, On July 4th, 2038 Japan launched five highly illegal missiles towards the USA. Only three hit their specific targets. Washington D.C., Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California. The other two hit Ontario, Canada and Mexico City, Mexico. Thousands were lost and all three countries fought with one another against Japan. Russia followed along with Great Britain. Germany and many other European cities were allied with Japan and fought among side them. But as months grew to years Japan became selfish. They attacked and conquered China and North and South Korea earning more explosive supplies. Doing so they attacked and won over many countries and states. Even Africa was getting involved with this violence." Mr. Morton paused to take a drink. It didn't matter how many times I've heard it, he made each one so much more interesting than the last. "Where was I? Ah, yes. After Africa got involved, Russia began bombing China and Germany without giving any knowledge to its allying countries. And because of this, Russia was removed from, let's call us the Allied Forces again, shall we? Russia worked by themselves and bombed pretty much every nation known to man, killing millions in their path. Japan began to take over and become one large nation within its self and the entirety of Europe and Africa. But with this America had taken two years of isolation with Japan and Russia fighting nonstop among themselves. But everyone didn't know was the bomb the Americans had invented. They called it the "Nation Killer." They launched it on November 5th, 2042 for Japan. It killed millions upon millions of not just people, but animals, vegetation, and resources. This left us with only 1.3 million to spare and rebuild our world like it is today. After years of living as we would have in the 18th century, a man named Ferard Jaxson came up with the idea. He dreamt to build a society with nine areas with specific tasks."

"Marl, which would be apart of farming and soils. Spar, for timber. Edifice, for building. Scour, for mining. Mill, for factory. Trawl, for fishing and sailing and Vend, for marketing and trades. But the most important is our capital. Lore, for our science and the most knowledgable. All these were created to keep order and harmony."

Another hand was raised. "I thought we had eight outside communities. What happened to that last one?" Mr. Morton sighed.

"I shouldn't tell you, kids, this, but it is history. Yes, there is an eighth community. We used to call it Zol, for explosives. But one day, a year before you all were born actually, something went wrong and an explosion went off in a lab. That one spark ignited everything around it. The dome went up in flames and explosions. Only three lived to tell the tale."

"Who are those three?" I asked without thinking. A few turned to glare at me but went back to the lesson.

"Their names are unimportant. But one lives in Lore, another in Spar, and one here. Right in Scour. Retired and with their family. Happy."

The bell rang and everyone began to pack up.

"Because tomorrow is winter break I expect notes over this last chapter we just read yesterday." Everyone groaned. "But it won't be due till the day after you all come back." Sighs of relief could be heard from all over the room. Gosh everyone is such an annoyance. "Goodbye everyone and have a good break!" He says to everyone leaving the room.

I'm about out when I hear my name get called.

"Catalina, may I have a word with you."

"Of course," I say. Turning around I head back to Mr. Morton's desk. "Yes?"

"How are things? You seemed dazed today." He asks.

"They're fine. There was this bird outside my window and I didn't know what it was doing here still. Would it have flown off south with all the other birds?" I reply.

"Answering a question with a question. You are a silly girl." He gets up from his chair and walks to my desk to look out the window. "Maybe, long ago they would have. Now they don't seem to know what's left from right. Can you think of a reasonable cause?"

I sigh. He knows the answer, of course. He just wants me to answer it for the sake of curiosity, why can't he just give me the answer? "Maybe because of the smog in the air." I finally say. "The air could've mixed his judgment."

"Precisely. Now run along, don't want to be late for your next class, do we?" He says. I shake my head. I've never been late a day in my life. Hopefully, I never am.

(1346 words)

Edited by Grammarly