T R A P P E D

Chapter 1

It is always silent at night here. We are all attached unconsciously to our pods, recharging. You can't wake up until the programmed time to do so unless it's an absolute emergency. But emergency's do not happen here, our systems are flawless unlike in the Old Days.

I detach myself from my pod, and walk downstairs. People used to lie on a wooden object called a bed Before where they would wait patiently for sleep to take them on a journey full of dreams. The pods are way more Efficient with minimal time wasted: our sleep sessions are long enough for energy to be restored but not so much that we become lazy. Laziness is a sin, it causes poor punctuality and systems will be out of correct timing: what could possibly be worse than that?

"Good morning, Violet, you're
Nutri-shake is ready for you, extra protein today as you have a gym session scheduled after school."

We don't eat food anymore, chewing isn't Efficient enough for our crammed schedules. "Thank you mother, where is Matthew, he didn't oversleep did he?"
"No, don't be ridiculous Violet! How dare you accuse him of such a Sin!"
"Please forgive me for my ignorance."
"It's ok, but don't let it happen again. He is having an extra gym session today at his request."
"Oh, that's nice."
"Yes, now hurry up, you're thirty seven seconds behind you're schedule and you don't want an Isolation session do you?"
"No, of course not mother!" I've never had an Isolation before, it's a punishment for tardiness, defiance or various other Sins. I only know a handful of people with Isolations on their record and they've never been the same since. I slurp my Nutri-shake hastily, before heading out of the door to wait for the HoverBus, it only takes three seconds before it arrives exactly on time, obviously. The HoverBus, along with everything else in this region is never late, if it was, there would be disorganisation and with that comes confusion which means time would be wasted and people wouldn't be so at ease as they like to keep us here. I step onto the HoverBus, taking a seat next to another boy in uniform. I do not know him, but we wave a simple greeting to acknowledge the other's presence, it wouldn't be polite to ignore each other, that would be frowned upon and I don't want to destroy my immaculate record. Not that it is very rare to have a record like mine: behaviour, like everything else, is perfect here. We respect the Seniors and their rules; they give us the gift of a comfortable life in return. It's a very fair organisation.

I arrive on time to school and see that Daisy, my assigned friend is already there, reading her notes from yesterday. I remember when we first got matched together for our school years, we were only five at the time. She looked up at me and smiled a toothy grin, her blond wisps of hair straying from her two ponytails. I waved at her and we continued with our first ever lesson in comfortable silence. Since then we have been inseparable but that was supposed to happen, they give you your school friend to company you throughout your years at school and it has to be done so that you will get along. To put people into their pairs, they analyse our data and match us with similar children with similar characteristics, behaviour and levels of intelligence. Daisy and I are a perfect match, we've never once disagreed with each other and have similar interests and hobbies which we do together in our free time. Not that we have as much now that we are sixteen and approaching the exciting adulthood we all daydream about as children. With two years left before the responsibilities and work life, we have all started working extra hard at school which was of course anticipated judging by our ways of thinking.

Daisy looks up at me and smiles, "Hello, Violet. We have a Biology lesson first, I presume you completed the homework."
"Of course I did! We have an assessment this lesson and I want good results."
"Yes, I even managed to squeeze in an extra study period after school yesterday as I asked permission to skip family time."
"Really? That's a good idea!"
"Isn't it just? They only let me miss it as a one off due to my poor results last time."
"Yeah, they probably understand your eagerness to improve."
"Of course they do, they know everything!"
"True, should we leave for Biology now?"
"Ok."

We briskly walk down the corridor to one of the laboratory's which we use as our Biology classroom. As everyone takes their seats, the screen in front of us rolls down, with a video of instructions on it.

"Hello class, you have your assessment today, please hand in your homework to the Bot coming around and collect your tests in return. You have one hour to complete the assessments, do your best."

As the Bot comes round, I pass it my homework and receive the assessment. I flick over the first page to see a list of questions which are manageable and I have good confidence in my answers; Daisy looks confused though. She has been struggling recently in Biology so I have been asked to help her like how she helps me with Arithmetic class. I feel sorry for her as her brow furrows further and I want to help her, but must complete my own work: it is a Sin to cheat.

The questions involve osmosis, diffusion, mitosis and most basic cell topics that we have been studying in class. I finish my work three minutes and twelve seconds before our time is up. I decide that it would be ludicrous to waste any of my time, and so check my work for any mistakes. Fortunately, I don't find any and believe that I have full marks again.

The bell rings and papers are abruptly shut before being collected by the Bot, rolling around the lab. Daisy smiles weakly at me as we leave the room, on our way to English Literature.