How much do you really know?

three

    I was sitting on the couch, our torn up, probably 50 year old brown couch, when it all started. It seemed that everyday I would find another hole in that vouch and I was always the one to sew it up. Even though I was only nine, I practically ran the household of two. My mom was upstairs, as she was most of the time, while I was watching TV. I was engulfed in the show, leaning forward, elbows on my knees, staring at the full wall TV. Then, the episode ended.
    "What!" I jumped up form my seat. "They can't just end an episode like this! Now I have to wait a whole week!" This show had been my escape for years.     It pulled me in, cradled me, then dropped me as it left the episode on yet another cliffhanger, every single week, every Friday, 8-9. My favorite hour of the week. I sighed and walked over to the kitchen, dragging my feet along the dirty carpet that wasn't soft anymore. Our kitchen was just as run down as the rest of our house. We didn't have the latest cooking gadgets, the latest technology. We didn't even have the newest TV. Ours was probably ten years old.
    I opened our tiny refrigerator for the hundredth time that day, hoping that we would magically have more food to fill my hungry stomach. I scanned the fridge, hoping for any changes, knowing there would be none. Cake? Obviously no, too hopeful. Carrots? Too healthy. Leftovers? No those were a week old. As I was pondering my options, I heard something interesting from the TV. I stood up straight and looked at it from over the refrigerator door.
    "Latest news: The government has just added new laws that restrict our freedom. The government has added several new laws in the last year, including having a sample of everyone's DNA and picking people's jobs for them. People are taking a stand as they feel their freedom has been stolen from them. Yesterday, September 17, 2040, more than 1,000 people gathered in front of the White House, demanding action. However, the government has thrown away our constitution, our amendments, and our bill of rights! The people protested for an entire day before the government decided it was time to get them to stop. They immediately took a violent approach and threatened everyone at the protests with guns." I gasped and closed then fridge door. I had seen the things the government had done lately, but I never really thought about it because it never directly affected me at my age. Now, they were threatening people who were protesting for their own rights, the rights the government was supposed to be acknowledging. We were supposed to be in control of the government, not the other way around. The woman on the screen seemed calm and collected, as if she had recited this a dozen times.
    "The people did not leave, they did not back down! They shouted at the government officials, telling them that we are the boss, that this country was built on different morals."
    The screen changed to show an aerial view of the White House with a huge group of people out front. Behind the gates were soldiers with machine guns at the ready. The people were holding up fists and signs. The guns did not scare them, but my face turned white at the sight of them. I had to turn away, my heart pounding. I looked at the clock reading 9:15 as the woman continued speaking.
    "Then, things took a dramatic turn. The soldiers shot into the air as a warning and aimed the guns at the crowd. One general shouted through a megaphone. 'This is your last chance before we shoot into the crowd!'"
    I couldn't take it anymore. I ran into the living room without closing the fridge and turned off the TV. The wall went white and I fell onto the couch. The only sounds were my heartbeat and my quick, sharp breaths. I squeezed my eyes shut and formed my hands into tight fists. I forced my mind to keep the memories at bay, instead telling it to control my breathing, slow my heartbeat. With my eyes closed, I rubbed my sweaty hands on my jeans, then pulled back at the sound my palms rubbing the denim made. I hated that sound and feelings. I continued to breathe. In and out, in and out. Then the silence was interrupted by a beeping. My eyes jerked open. At first I was confused. Was the government here for me, about to blow up my door? The beeping continued at a steady pace. Then I realized, I never closed the fridge door.