"Settle down everybody, the sound system is broken so you're gonna have to listen closely," Ms. Gandela shouted over the class. Eventually the chatter faded out and the documentary began.
"In 2060, Anna Acenk was elected as president of Axia," said a female voice from the Leanscreen. "She wanted to fight for the preservation of humankind and advocated for the specific effects of climate change, from hurricanes to rising sea levels. Immediately, Acenk began to take action, prioritizing burning fossil fuel restriction and eventually elimination. The people admired her plan of action, so it was no surprise she was elected for a second term. However, she was assassinated-"
"Hey, Aven," Maye whispered.
"Yeah?" I whispered back.
"There's this florage gathering tonight, you should come."
"But I'm not 18 yet, you know they won't let me in."
"It's fine, they will."
"Well, I have homework, so I'll be busy anyway."
"Miss Rohesia and Miss Nasse, I hope you both are paying attention or you'll have even more homework," Ms. Gandela chimed in. Maye opened her mouth to protest but decided against it.
The narrator droned on about the 2060's more, "Acenk's vice president, Camila Delvone rose to presidency in 2065 and shared her prior's ideals in preserving humanity, at least in Axia. She realized the inevitability of recessive genes disappearing. To keep recessive genes pure, she decided only those in the same genetic pool are to procreate. At the age of 18, florages are invited to attend events, clubs and parties to find and meet possible partners."
The school chimes sounded off and class was finally over. I grabbed my bag and began walking to the lounge.
The lounge was split into quarters of colorful carpet, chairs and tables. Machine dispensers stood in the middle with screens for selecting food appearance and taste. Pick from a variety of foods on the display and it would appear below. Everyone knew that what came out wasn't as it appeared, but nobody cared as long as it looked and tasted how they wanted. We had been taught as young children that the machines simply dispensed vital supplements and disguises them. Maye, Corey, and Jastin already had their food and were sitting in green bean bags. When I sat down, they were in a conversation about the food.
"What if the 'food' is actually poison?!" Jastin exclaimed, examining his food on his fork.
"That's ridiculous, if it was poisoned, you wouldn't have survived this long," Corey rolled her eyes.
"Technically, it could just be taking a long time to poison us, like the theory that oxygen is slowly killing us. Maybe it just takes 80-90 years to kick in," Maye said.
"Mayo, don't encourage him," Corey gave Maye a light shove.
"What about you Aven? What are your thoughts on the community's food system?" Maye turned to me with a mock microphone chicken drumstick.
"Um, it could very well be a possibility, but I trust in our government that's kept us alive this long," I concluded.
"So you agree with me?" Corey asked.
"Yeah."
"C'mon Avalanche, I thought you were on my side!" Jastin pointed at me.
"Sorry Jas, your theory's ridiculous."
"No-" Jastin began to object.
"Nope, case closed. I win," Corey proclaimed.
The rest of the day was filled with lectures and worksheets. When I got on the transpod at the end of the school day, Maye was talking to someone I couldn't see, probably her boyfriend. She found someone without even attending a florage party. I don't know why she even attends the parties anymore.
About 3 minutes into the ride home, Maye hung up her call and realized I was there. "Oh, there you are."
"I've been here for 3 minutes," I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah I know. Anyway, are you gonna come to the party?"
"I told you, I have homework."
"C'mon, you can do it tomorrow."
I paused to think, weighing out the pros and cons. Would this even be worth it? Would I get caught? I'm not 18 yet and I shouldn't even think about going. What homework do I have tomorrow and can I pile tonight's on top? After a minute or two of contemplation, I agreed.
