Bright Side

Chapter 3

    I look up at the sun. Shoot! It was going set sooner than I thought. I pick up my speed and run down the street. I make a last-minute decision to run through the Middle-Class sector instead of around it. There are seven sectors in 15. Of course, it is divided up by social class, so my family lives in the seventh sector, also know as Termin. The 7 sectors are named First Class, 2, 3, Middle-Class, 5, 6, and Termin.
   
I get to the BMUD before the sun is too far down, which is great, but I had forgotten to check what we needed and bring berries and herbs to trade. Double Shoot! I just run around and collect whatever people will give me for free.
   
I'm pretty proud of myself for getting everything I can before the 45 minutes is up, so I go and find my friends Gi and Mimi. I find them by a corner just chatting. They must be taking a break or something. I walk over to say hi.
   
Mimi is my age, but we couldn't look more different. She has long arms and legs, ghostly pale skin, lots of freckles,  is thin, dark hair that is dark brown with a few natural highlights, and her eyes are a dark brown also but a few shades lighter than her hair. Today she is wearing her usual wardrobe of a baggy shirt with even tighter pants, but they still don't hug her legs that tightly. She makes money for her family by doing magic tricks for entertainment. She's pretty good, so she can make some extra change pretty easily.
   
Gi could not look more different than both of us. She is two years older than me and has chocolate brown skin and frizzy, hazel hair that goes to the same length as mine, with bleached tips. She is tall for her age towering over Mimi and me. She has an oval face with green-yellow eyes. She has an awesome voice and normally makes money off music lessons for the richer kids or just singing for entertainment.
   
"Hey, guys!" I call out to them.
   
They both look over and say hi at the same time.
   
"Whatcha talking about?" I ask.
   
They share a glance like they don't want me to know. I have no idea what it could be. There aren't many secrets around such a friendly town. Er, I should say a mostly friendly town, everyone has people they don't like. The people I don't like just don't live here.
   
"Just spill!" I tell them
   
Mimi sighs before telling me, "The Culling's tomorrow."
   
My eyes go wide. No, No, No! How in the world did I forget that! The Culling, the name of the event where a child from each dependency is selected for the Clash. Each year a family has the 'chance' to send their oldest child to try to get them a higher place in society. The child is chosen by a group of officers everyone calls The Rats. Actually, we call all the officers The Rats. Their only job is ratting out people who are trying to survive or just getting nosy. That child chosen has to spend two weeks on TV Interviews and with their partner. Dependencies 2 and 3 are paired up, 4 and 5, 6 and 7, 8 and 9, 10 and 11, 12 and 13, 14 and 15, and 16 and 17. On day 14 you are forced to go and overcome your greatest fear. You don't get to find out your greatest fear until the night of Day 14 on a televised interview in the morning so you have no time to prepare. You are in a small room with a glass wall dividing you and your partner. You have to sit in that room for a period of time unknown to the children in the room, they are called 'hopefuls'. Normally they somehow get the number of days just right, so not a single hopeful makes it out sane. If you manage to make through the time period sane and alive then you and your family will either move up in rank or Dependency. If you don't come out sane then you and your family might be moved down in rank, but normally in Dependency.
   
This year it is very likely that I will be chosen, given that we are ranked the lowest in 15, and the only way someone else could be chosen is if they do something horrible, break the law, or disrupt the 'perfect flow' the government says they have in the Dependencies. Every once a while a kid ranked maybe second or third to last will be chosen, but that is very rare.
   
I have a plan worked out if I get picked. I just have to talk to my friends about it.
   
I'm brought out of my thoughts by Gi snapping her fingers in front of my face.
   
"Sorry!" I quickly say.
   
"All good," she replies.
   
"So speaking of the clash," I begin as if I didn't just completely zone out and my friends aren't looking at me with faces full of concern and pity. I hate pity. "I need to talk to you and the girls tomorrow." Mimi has a sorrowful look on her face and Gi just looks at me with more pity. "And please no pity!" I decide to add.

"Ok, so should I just get everyone to the coffee shop at our normal time?" Mimi asks.
   
In response, I nod my head, the coffee shop is our meeting place because Sash's Aunt and Uncle own it. There is no way I could ever afford anything there, though. We normally just sit and talk. "I'm gonna need your guys to help with Zath and Catnia," I say, and both their eyes show full of pity even after I asked them not to pity me.
   
"So, I can't be there obviously," Gi says. Because she's two years older than us, she is in her last year of school and can't usually meet us.
   
"All good," I tell her. "Mimi can fill you in right?" they both nod their heads. "Good. Thanks." I say. Suddenly realizing that I need to get Catnia, I slap my forehead.
   
"Got to go! Bye guys! Gotta pick up Catnia on my way home!" They both say goodbye, and I run off to get my little sister.
   
When we arrive home Zath and I make a tiny dinner and I get both him and Catnia in bed. I decide not to remind or tell my siblings about the clash and culling until tomorrow. Why ruin the mood? They may already know, but just don't want to bring up a sore subject on a good day, anyways. Who knows?

Before going to bed I sit at the window and look for the biggest, brightest star. It never seems to move and is just in the right place so I can see it from almost everywhere here in 15. I call it my bright side.
   
"Hello, my star. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can please tell Mom I say hi and love her, 'cause I believe you can. I'm just gonna make a quick simple wish tonight. Please watch over Zath and Catnia. I know that I'm gonna be chosen tomorrow at The Culling and won't be there to protect them ever again, even if I make it out alive, I will never be mentally stable again. Just please watch over them. They will need help."
   
When I finish I walk into the bedroom to see my siblings asleep. I get in bed and toss and turn all night. Around 11 o'clock I hear my father walk in and around 4:30 I hear him leave. No hello, no goodbye, no good luck, and no I love you.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️(☞ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

How is this coming along? I really don't know what to think so...yeah....

Remember God loves you

1321 words

Happy_hoosier