A cheerful chime rang throughout Kira’s small dorm room. The monitor that acted as a “window” to the outside displayed a budding sunrise cresting over a forested mountain range. Deep auburn orange and soft yellows filled the digital sky. The four ceiling mounted round lights copied those colors and perpetuated them throughout the room.

Kira had begun to stir from the slow wakeup protocol when the morning announcements began to play through a speaker in the wall above their head. A calm monotone feminine voice came over the speaker. “Good Morning everyone, it is 6:30 A.M. ,Wednesday, October 4th. Today will be a routine day of classes. There are no special events scheduled for today. Custodian staff would like us to remind the student base that the pool and locker rooms are currently unavailable due to construction. Have a wonderful day and remember, always push yourself to do better than yesterday.” The speaker shut off leaving Kira in total silence.

They pulled the covers off and rose out of bed. They looked out over their small abode for a moment taking it in. It had been a month since all of the thirteen year olds had been moved into their new, larger rooms but Kira still enjoyed appreciating it when they had the opportunity. It was not a large room but still not small by any means. Approximately seven feet by twelve. Much larger than the preteen rooms. These ones had their own sink and toilet in them. No longer did Kira need to make journeys to the communal bathroom in the middle of the night.

They began their morning routine of stretches and flash cards while getting ready for the day. The monitor embedded within the wall scrolled through questions while Kira recited answers. They had set it to random this morning as a bit of fun. Calculus questions followed physics or even history, truly random. It was their favorite setting.

After stretches they put their uniform on. It had been folded neatly and set on the counter next to the sink like always. The maroon red shorts went down just above the knee. The long sleeve white button up had maroon lining and accents around the buttons and sleeve cuffs.

They finished brushing their teeth then set to work on their hair. An unruly mess of red curls that seemed to have a mind of their own at times. Staring at themself in the mirror and biting their cheek they came to the decision that a braid will have to do. Buzzing it all off would be preferable. Kira liked it enough some days though, so they knew they would miss it too much to do that. A blue hairband to finish it off and they were ready to go.

“Computer. Time please.” Kira said while turning towards the wall mounted monitor. The digital sunrise within it was now full over the mountainside. Faint sounds of morning birds could be heard coming from it.

The screen of the monitor shifted to where the sunrise was now out of focus. A clock then appeared within focus on the screen and displayed the time. “6:57 A.M.” Good. I have time to go by Shen’s room before class.

Kira pushed a rectangular button beside their door and it slid open in a smooth mechanical motion disappearing into the space between walls. Outside was a familiar sight. Blank white walls six feet apart went on either way for a good fifty or so feet. They were intermittently disrupted by a metallic gray door imbedding an inch or two in.

Two other students occupied the wallway. They walked together towards Kira’s room and towards the stairs that lead out of the dormitories. A tall child with short brown hair carrying a binder and bundle of papers against their chest and a shorter one with shoulder length black hair carrying a satchel over their shoulder. Fin and Morra. Kiras’s other classmates within the same year other than Shen. They seemed to be talking about something and payed little attention to Kira as they passed.

They did not mean any disrespect towards Kira and they knew that. They were not taught the same social pleasantries normal children were taught at their age. Kira simply took it as a sign that Fin and Morra were having a deeply engaging conversation. Those two certainly have been spending a lot of time together here lately. Kira checked their bag and set off down the hall in the opposite direction of Fin and Morra.

A couple doors down a group of kids a few years younger than Kira ran by. They were getting tall, not too much shorter than Kira though that wasn’t much of an accomplishment. Two of the children ran off as a third one lagged behind fiddling with some papers and a binder. They passed Kira in a hurry towards the dorm stairs. A few moments later the third one followed suit. Kira stepped to the side out of the way as they slid by. They didn’t appear to be wearing any shoes and seemed to be gliding on one of their feet as if they were wearing rollerblades. Kira didn’t pay too much attention to the students who were more than two years younger. Though they did think they remembered the name of this one. Joan was their name.

About two minutes later Kira found themself outside of a closed sliding door. The gray of it seemed cold to them for some reason. A small nameplate to the right of the door displayed the name “Shen.” They haven’t been to class in a couple days and Kira was beginning to worry about them. Dr. Hall has said that Shen is sick and just needs a few days rest. Kira still worried, students rarely got sick. Come to think of it, Kira couldn’t recall the last time anyone at the facility had gotten sick.

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Kira stood there waiting for a few minutes. Eventually they got tired of it and decided to take action. They raised a hand to knock when the watch on their wrist beeped with an alert. It was time to go. Wait any longer and they’d run the chance of being late to class. Kira’s hand fell limp beside them as they sighed then turned and walked to class. Looks like no Shen again today.

Kira followed the flow of other children heading towards the dormitory stairs and out into the common room. A large room with couches, desks, and tables. A bookshelf filled to the brim covered the entirety of the wall opposite of a wall made entirely of glass. Outside Kira could see the courtyard of the facility as well as the massive pillars that held up the ceiling over it all.

The common room had been cleaned overnight like it always was. Kira could tell because of the faint smell of ammonia in the room. A custodian was still dusting off the window blinds when Kira passed through. They were much older than any of the other staff Kira had seen before. Short white hair made a halo on the top of their head. They hummed to themself as Kira passed.

It wasn’t unusual to see a custodian during the day but it also wasn’t common. Typically everything they had to do they were able to get done while all the students were asleep. Kira enjoyed seeing them around though. It gave a sense of the larger picture they were all involved in. Dr. Winslow always made sure to remind the students of everyone's importance within the facility. Custodians, students, teachers, they all had their place and no one person is more important than another.

Kira exited the common area into the outdoor corridors under the dormitory. They traveled along the outskirts of the central courtyard covered overhead by the second story balconies. Mulched flower beds lined the courtyard side of the walkway. A mix of purples, reds, and blues scattered the otherwise dull browns and grays of the mulch.

The facility was built in a large circular shape. The dormitory, learning center, and testing facility made up the inner ring around the central courtyard. The three buildings, the Trine as the students called them, were large. Six stories each at least. Their blockey gray cement would block out the sun for most of the day if the ceiling didn’t have an ever present glow. That was always strange to Kira. Why simulate a sunrise in the morning only for the sun to not move outside?

Beyond the Trine was a lush green forest with a few smaller buildings that were off limits to the students. A clearing had been made on the backside of the dormitory for recreational use. Soft cut grass covered the ground and a few play instruments had been implemented as well. There was however a large building directly between and behind the learning center and dormitory. The administration building. This one was off limits to students as well. That was where all the staff went when the day was over.

Kira followed a brick path into the center of the courtyard towards a fountain. It currently wasn’t running. Stagnant water sat in the lower pool. A small engraving in the stone along the edge dedicated the fountain to an old classmate of Kira’s that passed a few years back. Hito.

Kira ran their hand over the engraving remembering their old friend. Hito was only one year above Kira so they knew each other decently well. They weren’t as close as the other classmates that were in Hito’s year but most students within a few years of one another became close. There were usually only around four to nine students per age group so they all became pretty close just by proximity. His death hit everyone hard, students and staff included.

Kira was staring down at the fountains still water, deep in thought a ripple expanded over it coming from their left. Kira turned to look and found Shen perched along the stone edge, a finger dipped into the water. They looked tired. Deep blue bags hung under their eyes and their silver hair was a mess. They looked up at Kira and smiled.

Kira jumped back startled at the sudden appearance. “Shen!” They ran over and hugged them.

Shen seemed startled for a moment but hugged Kira back. It was a deep hug. One that had them both releasing a sigh of comfort as they embraced.

“Didn’t think you’d miss me that much.” Shen said with a chuckle.

Kira pulled out of the hug and gave Shen a stern glare. “You’ve been gone for three days! Three days! No warning, no communication, nothing! Of course I’m going to be worried about you!”

“I’m sorry Kira. They didn’t really give me the chance to say anything. I went to Dr. Hall because I was coughing and the next thing I knew they had me in a medical bed and rushed to the administration building.” Shen said with an apologetic voice.

“I’m just glad you’re back… Wait. Did you just say you went into the administration building?” Kira questioned.

Shen grew a smirk across his face. “Yeah, I did.” The smirk immediately faded as he leaned in closer to Kira and spoke softly. “I need to talk to you later. I’ve got something to show you.” Their eyes were darting back and forth across the courtyard as they spoke.

Kira was stunned for a moment at the sudden shift in attitude before they were able to shake out a response. “Ye…yeah of course. I want to hear all about it.”

“Good. Meet me at the forest's edge by the swings after classes today.” Shen said, then abruptly shot up from his position on the fountain's edge. He donned a more upbeat and ecstatic behavior as he motioned towards the learning center. “C’mon, we better get going or we’re going to be late!”

Still a little blown back by the sudden appearance of Shen followed by his strange behavior, Kira stood for a moment then nodded.