Violet woke up to the sound of her alarm screeching loudly across the room. It was 0530, time to get up for school. School was a necessity in the city, all children between ages 4 and 18 were required to attend. Violet was in the 11th grade, 16 years old. The day started off normal, where the city woke up at 0530 to get ready for the day. She could hear her parents making breakfast downstairs as she stood up, surveying her room. Grabbing her clothes left out the night before, a simple pair of black pants and a blue polo shirt, she stepped into the bathroom to get changed. It was the Fifth Day, so she had a longer day of classes.

As she changed into her clothes, she also brushed out her hair. Everything had to be neat, so Violet put her hair up. She headed back into her room after she finished, cleaning up and making the bed. Everyone in the city does this, showing cleanliness in their everyday actions. Violet walked downstairs around 0600 to get breakfast, the daily meal of toast and oatmeal.

“Good morning mother, father,” she said, seeing both her parents in their usual spots. Her father was making breakfast while her mother set the table.

“Good morning, Violet. Are you ready for class today? I heard that you will have an assembly around noon.” Her father stirred the oatmeal, deeming it ready for serving.

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“Yes. The governor is coming down to school today to talk to us. I’m not sure what he’ll be talking about yet, though.” Violet took the offered bowl, putting it on the table. “It may be about the history of the city.”

“It could be. We had the same presentation at your age by the previous mayor,” her mother said, setting down the rest of the food. “Eat up, you need to leave in less than 30 minutes.”

As the family sat down, eating in silence, Violet couldn’t help but think back to the previous years. Almost every day was the same routine: wake up, get dressed, small talk, and then have breakfast. She didn’t question it though, as it was normal for her and everyone else of her age in the city. She did question internally on why it didn’t vary from day to day. When she finished, she washed her dishes and set them aside.

“I’ll head out early today, Alex wanted to talk to me before school started.” Violet grabbed her bag and put on her shoes. “Goodbye!” She called out, walking out the door.

As she walked down the paved path, she noted how every house looked the same. The same colours, yard decorations (or lack of decorations), and the same orientation. There was no variation to be found in the neighborhood except for the building numbers. She saw her classmates exiting their houses to walk to school. There were no cars as everything was within walking distance and it limits pollution. She waved to her friend, Alex, as he exited his house. Talking was frowned upon in the streets, so they walked towards the school building together.