How much do you really know?

seven- carson

    "Why don't we ever learn about the governments of different countries in this class? It's supposed to be a history class, but I don't know how any other country is run. Or really anything about any other countries for that matter." I was genuinely curious and had blurted this out in the middle of a lecture. We had never talked about a single different government, other than how bad America's government was before GORG.
    "Carson, that was very impolite of you. We do not question the authority of the teachers and the lesson planners. Now, if you will allow me, I am going to finish this lecture." Mrs. Helinben was an old lady. Seriously, I don't know why she hadn't retired yet. Her hair was as white as a sheet of paper.
    "You didn't answer my question."
    She turned sharply back to me and stared dead into my eyes. I stared right back without flinching. I heard a couple kids behind me stifling laughs.
    "Mr. McCaf, office, now!" Her eyes were wide. I had passed her breaking point. Apparently, her breaking point wasn't too hard to get to.
    I packed up my bag without a word and walked out. I would never see that classroom or those students again. I would never see that school again. I didn't know that though.
    As I walked to the office, I recalled other moments like that one in the classroom. Even before I came to school, I had to watch over my sister as my parents fought and went out drinking every night. Or they were both working and I was in charge. I had to learn to cook, clean, and protect us all while keeping a child occupied and happy.
    I don't know where she is now or how she handled living alone with our parents when I left to school.
    I was basically her guardian until they took me away. I was only ten, but probably had the mind of a 16 year old. I would take her out when my parents were yelling. I tried to shield her from all of that. She was only nine when I was taken to school. She's ten now. I only hope she makes it to the school. One more year and she will be gone from those parents.
    Being taken was one of the best and worst things that has ever happened to me. I finally got free from a life I hated and parents I hated, but I had to leave her. I left her all alone, to fend for herself. If I could have chosen to stay, I would have.
    I was always curious about how other places were run. I guess because I ran things in my household, I always wondered how leaders ran entire countries.
It was very suspicious that they only taught us about GORG and the government before it.
    I always asked questions, just out of curiosity. I had a bad habit of blurting them out. I never once got an answer. I guess they had had enough of me. Maybe they thought I was trying to get information to overthrow them, or maybe they just didn't want me to know how corrupt they really were.
    I walked into the principal's office and immediately, my vision went black.

    It seemed as if not a second had passed when my eyes opened again. For a couple seconds, my mind was spinning. It seemed foggy. I knew immediately that I was drugged. I couldn't focus my thoughts. Slowly, I began to feel a chair underneath me. I took the awareness up my body and felt my hands tied together behind the chair. I couldn't see anything, but I managed to get my mind passed the fog of whatever drug they had given me. I could feel it wearing off.
    Suddenly, a door opened. The light blinded me. They probably knew the moment I woke up based on the dosage of the drug and my body weight. Through the blurriness the sudden light had produced, I saw two large figures walk through the door and behind my chair. They grabbed my arms and pulled me up, but I mostly stood up by myself, not wanting to give them total control over me.
    I tried to stay one step ahead of the soldiers as they guided me out of the room and into a white hallway. I never let them pull me, only guide me. I made sure that when they sped up, I continued to walk faster than them. The white hallways were like a maze and I had no idea where they were taking me. There were unmarked doors all around us. I knew we were moving, but it seemed as if we weren't, or always ending back up in the spot we were two seconds ago.     Suddenly, I almost jumped as a person walked out from a connecting hallway. He was older, his hair almost gray, stubble on his cheeks.
    Then I looked him in the eye. Andrew.
    I knew who he was but attached no emotion to him. He was the second in command of GORG, and I had no idea why he would take time out of his day to walk kids through blank hallways.
    "Carson, a pleasure."
    I simply nodded. I didn't feel like conversing with someone with eyes as hard as his, but I still needed to show respect.
    He walked in front of me, not sparing a second glance my way.