The buzzer sounded, and high heels clicked into the classroom.
“Good morning, everyone.”
Ms. Evans’s honey-sweet voice echoed through the room. She wore a dark jacket and black leggings. Her long black hair was tied back in a ponytail. Her large forehead was sweaty, and her eyes appeared small yet friendly. She held a stack of papers in her arms, placing them on the desk.
“It’s the twelfth of the month again,” she sang, overly cheerful. “You all know what that means.”
From the very back of the classroom, Morbus had a good view of the other students. Someone with wild, reddish hair slowly raised his arms in the air and responded with a deep, newly broken voice.
“Hooray. It’s Memorial Day again,” he said with sarcastic enthusiasm
Ms. Evans responded as if he genuinely meant it. “Exactly. Today is an important moment to reflect on the history of Catsroes, and particularly, that of Aquinox.”
She turned on her laptop and started the projector. As soon as it powered on, the Aquinox logo appeared.
As always, we begin with the introductory video. Afterward, you will read independently and complete the exercises.
Morbus heard Tomou, who was sitting next to him, groan. “Man, we’ve seen that video, like, a billion times or something. Shit’s coming out of my nose. Can’t we like, skip it just once?”
“Rules are rules,” Ms. Evans said sharply. “The video is meant to make you aware of the terrible times we’ve been through. Only then is it possible to live in pure peace and pleasure. That’s why we watch it every time. But the choice is yours. You could also go to the bathroom to clean your nose, if you prefer.”
A few people in the class chuckled softly.
Tomou didn’t find it funny. “Hilarious, ma’am,” he said dryly. “T’was just a joke. I’ll survive, don’t you worry.”
She responded cheerfully. “Good! Then it’s time to cry, feel, and empathize.”
She pressed play, and the film came to life. A neutral, formal voice came through the speakers.
“Catsroes is a country with a rich history. We know the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, the golden age, the romantic era, and the conveniences of modern times...” Scenes from the nation’s past appeared.
“...But we also know another side. We Catsroans have always suffered from the water. Various floods have dragged our country down multiple times...” Now there were black-and-white images of the 1985 flood disaster.
Ms. Evans stood at the back of the classroom. As always, she was clearly moved by these images, holding her trusty handkerchief to dry her tears.
“...After 1985, such a thing could never be allowed to happen again. So, it was decided to build a structure that would forever keep the water out of our country: the Delta Works...” Footage showed the construction of the massive storm surge barriers in the early nineties. “...It took some time, but by 2005, the Delta Works were complete. Over twenty years, nineteen storm surge barriers were built. From now on, the country was safe from future water disasters. At least, that’s what we thought...”
The screen showed a man around forty years old. He wore a neat suit, had a high forehead, and a small, compact face. A narrow, round pair of glasses sat on his nose.
“...Out of nowhere, a new politician came into view. John Previs had been active as a minister for some time, until one day he had an epiphany about the future of Catsroes. He called it a ‘predictive vision,’ which foretold a new flood disaster in 2023 that would plunge the whole country into anarchy. No one believed him at the time, as everyone had faith in the strength of the Delta Works.
Minister Previs, however, considered his vision as the truth. He decided, entirely on his own, to take action. In his powerful position, he began building massive, steel walls around his hometown Aquinox from 2009 to 2016...” The walls appeared on the screen. “...Thirty meters thick, nearly two hundred high. These would protect the city during the 2023 disaster.
Since Previs drained the state treasury to build these walls, he was suspended as minister, and new leaders took power. But Previs remained active in Aquinox. He devised an emergency plan. Once the disaster would strike, he would take control of Aquinox and reorganize society. This is where the Category Plan was born...”
The film showed a few elderly men in suits sitting in a conference room, making arrangements.
“...And then the moment arrived. On July 12, 2023, storm surge barrier 17 broke, just as the prediction had foretold...” Morbus saw drone footage of a flooded Catsroes. Ms. Evans sobbed loudly as she watched these scenes.
As always. She’s so predictable.
“...Catsroes was wiped away, and only Aquinox stood tall, thanks to the Walls that held back the water. From that moment, Previs appointed himself president of Aquinox, and since there was no longer a government, also president of Catsroes. Life could continue here, thanks to President Previs’s foresight and the emergency plan he had kept in reserve.
He immediately took control of Aquinox’s citizens and introduced the Categories. This meant that Aquinox’s residents had to choose one of four Categories to focus on for the rest of their lives. In exchange, they would receive ration cards to trade at food points for food packages...”
A map of Aquinox appeared on the screen. From the three gates in the south, west, and northeast, the main roads led to a large square in the center, Previs Square. This way, the city was divided into thirds.
So funny they still haven’t removed the west gate on the map, Morbus thought. It is completely useless now as the new water levels have crept above the entrance height.
The right section lit up, and the voice continued. “...The first Category, Agriculture, focuses on providing Aquinox with food and wood. Here, people work long days in the fields, both caring for crops and maintaining forestry. Then comes Science...” Now the lower-left area lit up. “...Here, people research new technologies, manage electricity, and maintain water supplies. They are seen as the hope for humanity’s future...”
Groan. That’s us.
“...Then there’s Management...” The focus shifted to the upper part of the map. “...This is where future leaders reside. Together with President Previs, they plan to keep Aquinox livable. They ensure that all other Categories can function smoothly...” Finally, the boundary of the city lit up. “...And the last Category is Enforcement. They form a group of thousands, many of whom are stationed on the walls 24/7. They keep the city safe, ensuring no one gets inside the Walls...”
If only they told us who or what’s left outside the Walls... mabye then this video would finally start to get interesting.
A quadrant appeared on the screen, each section showing the logos of the Categories.
“...Everyone 21 or older must choose one of these Categories. But since you aren’t that age yet, you’ll attend school in one of Agriculture, Science, Management, or Enforcement...”
Again Morbus groaned internally. It was always so awkward when the voice addressed them directly at the end.
“...But no worries. It’s always possible to switch Categories. Try to decide before you’re 21, though. At that age, it’s harder for your brain to absorb new things.”
The sections disappeared, and Previs appeared on the screen again. This was a selection from a press conference shortly after the 2023 disaster. He was now the 64-year-old man they knew. His high forehead was exactly as it had been, except that his neat ministerial hairstyle hadn’t survived. The gray tufts remained as his only head covering.
“Thanks to the Walls, we are safe here,” boomed the president. “Thanks to the Walls, society can continue in Aquinox. Thanks to the Walls, humanity has a future!”
“Long live President Previs!” the people shouted. “Long live Aquinox! Long live Catsroes!”
Then the president concluded the speech with Aquinox’s familiar slogan. “Live protected. Live forever.”
As the screen faded to black, the logo appeared, surrounded by the recently spoken words. Ms. Evans walked back to the front. Her cheeks were a forest of tears.
“That last part always gives me a lump in my throat,” she sniffed. “Really special.” She cleaned her face with her handkerchief. “I wish you would watch this every week.”
The class remained surprisingly silent at her comment.
She opened her agenda. “Today, you can continue from page 106 to 115. Focus especially on the exercises at the end of the section.”
A girl raised her hand. “Ma’am?”
“Yes, Mora?”
“What parts of history are on next month’s test?”
“Everything we’ve covered. I’ll post the exact material on the student portal. But don’t just study for good grades. The point is to truly understand the horrific things that happened. With an emphasis on horrific.”
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Mora nodded and bent over her textbook.
Ms. Evans turned back to the class, her eyes still red from crying. “Alright, now get to work, everyone.” After a few seconds, she added, “That includes you, Morbus.”
Morbus only just realized that he’d been staring at Mora’s back since her question.
“Or is something wrong?”
Morbus felt his cheeks flush red. “No, sorry.”
He started reading but quickly noticed he couldn’t concentrate at all.
Urgh. Mondays are the worst.
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When the bell rang, it was time for lunch break. Morbus and Tomou walked through the school hallway toward the cafeteria.
“So, how was your weekend, buddy?” his friend asked.
“Oh, nothing special,” said Morbus. “Did homework, chilled, that kind of thing. Yours?”
“Fine, fine. Dude, yesterday night, I was GONE, man. I think I’m like, still half in bed.”
Morbus believed it immediately. From the sound of his stoned voice, he really had been tripping. His face betrayed him too: dark circles under his eyes, his short black curly hair in a mess, and his brown eyes staring dreamily ahead like he was still in a haze.
They turned into another hallway and entered the cafeteria.
“I need coffee, man.” Tomou said it like his world was ending. “Want some?”
“No thanks, I still have water.”
“Go find us a spot, then.”
He walked over to the coffee machine on the counter, and Morbus scanned the cafeteria. Here and there, some students had already taken seats around the characteristic picnic tables in the center. It was still relatively quiet, but that would change in about five minutes.
He headed to a quiet corner at the back and sat on a bench against the wall. A moment later, Tomou joined him, holding a steaming plastic cup of black sludge.
“So, how long has this been going on?” he asked.
“What?”
“Don’t play dumb, man. I saw the way you were looking at her.”
Morbus tried to keep from blushing. “That was accidental, okay? There’s nothing deep going on.”
“Maybe not this time.” Tomou smirked mysteriously. “But I know you better than that, man.” He clapped Morbus firmly on the back. “You like her, don’t you?”
Morbus stayed silent, unable to stop his ears from turning bright red. After a bit of quiet, Tomou added, “Come on, man. You don’t have to hide it. What are friends for?”
Morbus nodded in understanding.Tomou really was the only friend he had here. The kind of friendship that just happens naturally when you sit next to someone in class long enough.
He glanced around to make sure no one would overhear. Luckily, Mora was nowhere in sight, and everyone else was far enough away.
He sighed. “Alright then. To answer your question: a few months. It’s just...” He searched for the right words. “Her slender figure, her long brown hair. That almond-colored skin. I—”
“Hey, it’s alright, man. That’s totally normal for guys your age.”
Morbus shot him a fake-angry look. “Was it the same for you?”
Tomou took a big gulp of his coffee. “Yeah, I once dated a girl. But it ended quickly. Right now, I’m a loner.” He stretched out the last word like it was elastic.
“Man, that sucks,” Morbus replied in his friend’s style. Tomou shrugged. “I’m totally fine on my own, man. Just gotta do the things you love.”
Like drugs and alcohol?
Tomou continued eagerly. “But you’ve totally got a shot, man. Girls like that want nothing more than a good guy like you.” He ruffled Morbus’s oily black hair and then gently stroked his bicep.
“Stop that! I don’t want people to think we’re—”
Tomou burst out in his infamous, booming 500-decibels laugh. Everyone in the room looked up in their direction.
Awkward.
When everyone looked away and the cafeteria noise resumed, he continued. “It’s just a joke, man. I’m only teasing you.”
“Make it a decent joke next time.”
“Aye, aye.” He took another sip, finishing his coffee.
After a long, pleasant silence, Tomou brought up another topic. “So, my friend, do you know what you want to do after school?”
Morbus shrugged. “Science, I guess. But I’m not sure yet.”
That last part was a lie. The other three Categories were absolutely not for him.
“What about you?”
“Dude, I’ve always wanted to work on those Walls,” he said with a grin. “Nice view, bit of chill. Totally my thing. But I don’t know yet. I have to decide in two years, though.”
Morbus grimaced. For him, it was still a bit further off; he was three years younger than Tomou.
He thought about the times Tomou had talked about his brother and got curious. “What did Uzya choose?”
“Hard sciences, man. My bro was a total pro. He made it all the way to Kosrov Island.”
Morbus’s jaw half-dropped. “Kosrov Island?”
He had heard of it. It was a small island under Asroes’s jurisdiction, and secret experiments were conducted underground there. Nobody knew exactly what. Only the best scientists from Catsroes received permission to research there.
“Then he must have been really good,” Morbus concluded.
“That’s what I just said.” Tomou crushed his empty cup and threw it perfectly into the trash can from the bench. “So dope.”
“Do you know what kind of work he does there?”
Tomou made a pouty face. “Sadly, that’s secret business my friend. I only know that everything they do is meant to make our country habitable again. Nothing more.”
Morbus wasn’t sure how much of that to believe. It would still take a long time before society was restored, after all.
The bell ended their break. Time for afternoon class.
Thankfully, no history, just math with Mr. Ro. Much better.
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When everyone was back in class, Mr. Ro closed the door.
He walked in slowly, almost like a monk. He may have been old and gray, but his eyes and smile were as radiant as a child’s.
“Well, let’s get started,” he said in a friendly, relaxed voice. “We’ve actually covered all the material already, so I have a fun assignment for you this afternoon.” He smiled mysteriously, taking a piece of paper and scissors from his desk drawer.
“Watch this.” He showed the paper to the class. “I’m going to transform this piece of paper with just a few cuts...” He made four snips, one in each corner, parallel to the paper’s edge. Then he folded the edges inward. “...Into a box.”
He sounded fascinated, as if he had just discovered a new law of nature. “As you all know, the formula for volume is given by length times width times height, correct?” He wrote it on the board. “My question for you: what’s the largest possible volume? In other words, how large should the cutouts be so that when you fold the edges inward, the volume of the box you get is bigger than any other?”
The girl sitting next to Mora raised her hand. “Are we assuming that all four edges are the same height?”
“Certainly,” Mr. Ro replied. “Otherwise, folding it would be rather—”
“Then it’s really simple,” she replied. “You just have to—”
“Quiet, please, Irania.” He held up his hand. “The idea is for everyone to think it through themselves.” He gestured to the class. “Feel free to work together, by the way. In fact, I encourage it.” He placed a stack of similar sheets on his desk. “You can take one of these too, if it helps.”
A murmur filled the room. Soon, everyone seemed to have formed teams. Morbus and Tomou were the only ones left.
“Well, just the two of us again,” he said, walking over to Mr. Ro’s desk to grab a sheet.
They often ended up paired together when working on assignments. But that usually worked out just fine; between the two of them, they had all the knowledge they needed. Math and physics were Morbus’s specialties, while Tomou felt right at home in chemistry. He especially loved to ‘mess around’ during experiments, as he liked to put it.
His friend returned with a small stack of sheets.
“Why so many?”
“We need to experiment, man. You really think I can make the perfect box in one go?”
Oh my god.
“That’s not the point,” sighed Morbus deeply. “You only need to measure the length and width.”
Tomou raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Genius has already come up with a plan, hasn’t he?”
“Well, see,” Morbus began. “If you assign a variable to the cutout... And then set up a function based on that... Then you just have to... find the value where it’s maximized. Right?”
“What have you been sniffing, dude? Sounds like mumbo jumbo to me.”
“It’s just applying what we’ve learned. Just differentiate and—”
“Uh, can we work with you?”
Morbus looked up. Two girls were standing beside their table. One of them was Irania, the girl who had raised her hand earlier. She had short, blonde hair and a forehead dotted with pimples, and she always seemed to have a scowl on her face. Next to her stood a girl with light brown skin and even more brown hair, but Morbus had recognized her the moment he heard her voice.
Mora.
Morbus’s heart skipped a beat.
“She means, of course, if she wants to work with you,” said Irania in a sneering, nasal tone. “I already solved the ‘problem’ ages ago.” She made air quotes with her fingers.
Morbus was still searching for words but found nothing.
Crap, what do I say?
Tomou came to his rescue.
“Absolutely, join us, ladiez. We could use all the help we can get. The more, the merrier.”
Morbus’s heart raced.
Mora tried to explain herself. “I mean, I have a hard time with math, and... it seems like you two are really good at it.” She lowered her head.
“Then you’re in the right place,” Tomou replied, nodding at Morbus with his thumb. “The real mastermind is right next to me.”
Morbus’s ears turned bright red.
Mora looked up again. “Thanks, guys.” They walked away, came back with two chairs, and sat down across from them.
Mora sat directly across from Morbus. They exchanged a glance.
Help.
It felt like the individual beats of his heart had fused into one constant buzz in his chest.
“Good luck with that,” Irania said mockingly, who sat next to Mora. “You’ll probably need boxes of time to think it over.” She cackled at her own joke.
Mora looked Morbus directly in the eyes. “So, you already had an idea of how to do this?”
Double help.
The heat from his ears spread to the rest of his face. “Y-yeah, I w-was already... I... I was—”
Tomou was his saving grace again.
“Dude, you literally just cracked the code. Don’t tell me you forgot it already.” He slid a piece of paper under his nose. “Write down what you’re thinking, man. Maybe even I’ll understand it then.”
Morbus picked up a pen, trying to keep his trembling hand steady enough to write legibly. Stammering, he explained his plan to Tomou and Mora.
Sigh. This is going to be a long afternoon.