Novels2Search

pages 2-4

The woman is known as 0501.4117.4117.1336 by the government. Her parents gave the name Alexis, friends call her Ally.

Physically the young woman is cute if you are generous, plain if you are truthful. Alexis just recently hit her 18th solar year. Most kids are almost 2 meters tall with her height barely 1.47 meters (58 inches) makes her seem like a kid compared to many of her. She has 50 kilos (110 lb.) on her frame that other teens give her grief about as she has a pudgy look of baby fat she has not outgrown.

She has two features that most notice. The first is her hair that is a brownish red that many have claimed is from a bottle. She tries to keep her hair straight but there always was a curl on the right side. The other is her hazel eyes that change shade with light making it hard to know what color they are.

The room she is in had aged with some grace, but not much. There are marks of repairs of cracks or other damage over the 70 plus years it has been operating. Rows of mismatched plastic seats hold others who center their attention, at least supposedly, on one figure standing in front of them. They all are dressed in white uniforms of the school. Behind the man is a large screen showing graphs and timelines they should have learned years before.

“With the end of the old system the world was united in the equality system. Now we all live and work in a society without greed and avarice. There are outside elements but they are kept in check and dealt with.” The teacher in a sharp blue suit says causing Alexis to privately snort.

She learned all about the social order from her father. She learned it well and does only enough class work to look slightly below average. Scores were averaged so she knew the brains would drag her and the rest to a good average C, what the government wanted. It would not do to look too good as then she might be marked for Elitism. She is bright but only when at home, when others cannot see or judge. Her father sent her a number of data pads loaded with information to help her hungry mind. Her mother she barely knew as the woman was taken away when she was very young due to the illegal desire for unapproved breeding, she wanted more then just one child.

“Mankind has worked hard at balancing between the have and those that have not. History shows many reasons for this need but those who had it did not want to share it. The wars it caused are now a thing of the past. Our current government has been enlightened and so we live better then any generation before. Along with any other civilization before.” The teacher drones on. Alexis listens with only half an ear to the teacher as he bashes simple knowledge at the slowest students. Her interest was mildly amused by what Todd and Blizz were talking about. She twisted her hair with a finger as she listened in on the two talking in the seats in front of her. She eyes at how tight their uniforms are in an idle thought that will never happen.

Blizz to Todd, “You see the soccer game last night?”

Todd nods, “Hulue was amazing with 4 scores.”

Blizz, “He is an Elitist. You know he will be kicked out for it. They can not allow such a person to ruin the game.”

Todd, “Come on, he is no Elitist. He passed the ball often just he was lucky. Without him the Vultures might not make it to the playoffs anymore.”

Blizz, “There is no Elitist in team Todd. He is out of there and the Vultures will be better off without him.”

Todd shakes his head, “If he goes there goes the Vultures.”

Blizz smiles, “But it’s good for the rest of the teams and will be closer games. More exciting and closer matches are fun to watch.”

Todd, “You are right.”

The ring of the archaic bell lets the class know its time to go. Alexis grabs her data slate to go and finds Alexia in front of her walking slowly as she talks to Gramie. The blonde does not give a backward notice of those she is delaying. The girl has been Alexis’s bane for the last solar cycle with the girls calling her the ‘Other Alex’. The short girl does nothing to her this time since the teacher watches the kids file out. Fighting was prohibited and she learned early on boys will not tell but girls will. This and her habit of fighting dirty made the boys learn not to bother her but she did work hard to try to keep other girls as her friends even if she has to ignore their insults. The slightly pudgy young woman was only in this class to get her Conforming Modern History credit needed to finish off her school points. She goes to the stairs grateful this class is only on the 13th floor unlike her Socialist Social Studies that was on the 45th floor.

Alexis gets a surprise. She is hip bumped by Feliny 3451 as she walks to the massive stairway, “Hey Ally. You lowering another classes average?”

“Fel 34 you keep that up and I will thump you.”

The taller girl teases, “Only if I wait for you to get a ladder out.”

“I can reach your shins.” She mock kicks her.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Feliny 3451 dodges back bumping in to a guy who just says sorry for getting in her way. She giggles going back to Alexis. “Oops that was embarrassing.”

“With how you like to be close to people…”

“Well not everyone is a frigid bitch like you.”

Alexis’s eyes go wide and she laughs, “I am not frigid. Just waiting for the right person.”

“Well you have been with what, two boys since I have known you?”

Alexis twists a lock of her hair self-consciously, “I only used them for their brains.”

Now is Feliny 3451’s turn to laugh. “If Ghim was for brains then you really are dragging down the class averages on ability.”

Before Alexis can respond a teacher in a blue dress tuts and motions for them to move along. The two keep going down the stairs to one of the sky walkways to go to the dorm skyscraper.

The way to Feliny 3451’s room is different then Alexis’s and the two break up one going up the other down. Alexis has to go up to the 36th floor. The room Alexis has is one of the larger ones from previous generation. Its furnishing are as sparse as they give the kids with two beds and separate workstations to learn at. There is an entertainment unit built in to the wall. It has room for a third and should rightly so but lack it. When entering her room she finds the nuts are in again spread out between the beds. Zara is with her religious group talking about the newest writings of the Prophet. They are in serious violation of the uniform dress code wearing the red robes of their faith.

Zara looks to Alexis when she enters and once more asks of she wants to join them.

“Sorry not in to your cult.”

A boy Urbile replies, “We are not a cult. Four generations of Prophets have been around. We are a qualified faith and…” Alexis turning on music to drown them out cuts him off, she leaves it on with the mandated timer running. Zara and them mutter and the group goes to another dorm room. The only trouble with her habit of using music is that she is only allowed a set amount of time and sure enough Zara and her group comes back shortly after the music is shut off.

“Well Alexis are you done with your tantrum.”

Alexis just glares at them and reads from a dataslate her father has sent her plotting against her roommate. They have been at odds over the religion and other issues all during their stay together. Alexis smiles as something comes to mind.

It takes her a day to gather the materials for a ‘Science Project’ she lets sit and age. She knows the group has to meet and can’t do so in other rooms at certain times. The next week she opens the container hiding it and leaves the room before the odor gets to her. When she returns the smell is almost overpowering and the group in the room is looking a bit green.

Zara, “What is that you left open?”

Alexis walks over noticing they closed the container and have it on her bed. With an inner smile she accuses Zara, “You ruined my project.”

The group yells at her when the entertainment unit goes crazy blaring music and lights flash on and off. The group looks at Alexis and yelling at her about what she did. She is looking at the unit not understanding why it turned on when the door splinters open.

Uniformed men in brown clothes flow in to the dorm room swinging shock batons. Alexis is surprised having never seen a Police force in action and falls over.

Her falling saves her from a baton swing that just missed her head.

Urbile gets up and two of the men hit him. The voltage of the batons causes the boy to jerk in a sick parody of dancing. He collapses with the men going further in to the room.

Others are screaming but the music is covering most of it. Alexis puts her arms up to try to stop a baton that comes down at her. She feels fire running through them as the electricity rips in to her body. She arches a bit and is panting.

Never has Alexis been taken in for criminal actions so the rough treatment she now receives is shocking. A big hand clamps her arms and tosses her on to her bed. A baton touches her giving her a powerful electric current when she tried to rise. The stunned woman has her hands bound with a plastic stripper clip.

Alexis turns her head, “Why are you?” She sees one of the religious group gets a baton in the stomach and is shocked in to unconsciousness. She quickly tries to stammer, “You do not need to…” Electricity seizes her body again and she is unconscious.

Waking up she finds herself with something bound to her right arm. She lifts it up and notices it goes to a medical rod. Someone moans to her left. She looks over and finds there is a row of medical beds with others in them. The room is in subtle shades of pink and whites. Nature calls and she leans herself up more insistently.

A nurse in peach colored dress comes over, “You should not get up.”

“I need to go.” She feels woozy.

“You are not going anywhere.”

“It is just to a toilet.”

“We have…”

Alexis interrupts her, “I know how to use a toilet and with some help getting there I can do it.”

The nurse relents and Alexis thinks it is just so she will not have to deal with the bedpan. She limps over with help. Inside the communal bathroom Alexis gets her first view of herself in a mirror on the way back to bed. Her arms and face have bruises that look not to bad.

She is trying to remember how she got them as she is led back to her bed. On the way she is surprised to see Zara in a bed barely recognizable. While she looked bad Zara is worst with bandaged hands with both eyes swollen shut. Her face has a bruise going along one whole side of it.

Getting to her bed there is an older man in brown clothes that teases Alexis’s memory. He is seated and has his hands steeple waiting.

The nurse helps her in to bed and the man tells the nurse to go on break. She looks to and fro before leaving. She only pauses at the entrance before disappearing.

The man looks over to the injured woman with a false smile. “I do hope you are feeling better. I need to ask you what you remember of the accident you suffered.”

“What accident?” Alexis is befuddled.

The man points toward Zara, “The accident you had with your friend.”

“I was in an accident with Zara?” Alexis tries but her memory is blurry.

The man keeps probing, “You were in an accident with some of your friends. That was three days ago. Are you sure you do not remember it?

Alexis twists a strand of hair thinking. She can’t remember anything but that they were in the room, “Nothing. Three days, accident? Where was it?”