Abby Dante

I was taking notes in Chemistry when I was first introduced to the influence of Miss Abby Dante. The door opened with a resounding bang, and two high-heeled boots followed it into the classroom. She sauntered right up to Mr. Martini's podium and handed him a small slip of paper. I glanced around and saw the rest of the class staring at her with the same look of astonishment I surely displayed on my own face.

The students of Bridgemont High School knew very well what was expected of them, and they were normally very respectful towards their teachers and classmates. To see someone break this unwritten code of acceptable conduct was to fill the room with an enlightenment of epic proportions, opening up a view of the world they had never seen before in their secluded lives. Spontaneity was simply not allowed in their world, and interruption was unacceptable. Surely she knew this. Yet she disobeyed. It was that day, that I got my first look at real rebellion.

She turned her head while Mr. Martini read the note, and she winked at me. I made no voluntary movement, but she took my silent stare as an acceptable acknowledgement, and looked back at the teacher. He glanced at her and cleared his throat. The class lifted their heads from their work and gave him their full attention.

"Class, this is Abby Dante. She will be joining our school as a new student. Please do not allow this small change to disrupt your daily activities. You will soon get used to her presence." He directed her towards an empty seat in the corner of the classroom. She smiled at us all impishly as she stalked to her desk. My heart nearly did a flip. This girl was not normal.

Everyone at our school knew what it meant when there was a new student. It had only happened once before, in the third grade, and that student had only lasted for about a week before mysteriously disappearing. It was unnatural for a person to move from their original placement. Each person was assigned a school at birth and raised as a citizen with a class of three hundred students. The only time a person left their home school was if they were criminals.

You see, the world used to be ruled by the malicious opponents of everyday citizens, and divisive subjects brought calamity to the lives of the people. Arguments became fights and wars. Opposition became such a dangerous crime, that in 2043, it was outlawed. Everyone would learn to accept all people, and conform to one way of thinking. In the beginning, there were many rebels, but they were quickly extinguished for the sake of the new world.

They started with little things, like closing churches of varying denominations and forming a new church: the Church of the People. This church would aim to work for the good of all people, to promote companionship and union. People were encouraged to give up those trivial things that made them different, and conform to the common will of man. A list of morals was created for the country to abide by, and the punishment for disobeying was severe.

They would start by warning you and giving you an opportunity to change your views. If you did not listen, you would be sent to a school for the "religiously confused" where you would be taught the truth about the psychology of the people and how best to make everyone happy. At the end of the course they would provide a test to see if you had really changed, and if so they would send you out to the different public schools for a second chance. If you were removed seven times and still showed no signs of improvement, you would be put to death.

This policy had been stringently followed for nearly sixty years. Most of the original rebels were long gone, and it was now a rare thing for a person to form their own opinion. The people were not taught creativity and philosophy, only the things they needed to know for their area of expertise, which was decided by the school board early on. Each person was told exactly what to do to succeed at their post, and they learned to do so with ease.

Why anyone would want to trouble themselves with controversial opinions, I could not understand. Though what was most difficult to determine was where they got these original thoughts. Nothing in the education system gave way to new ideas, and we were never taught anything other than the truth. To come up with an idea was to lie to yourself, just because you wanted to be different. There was no reason to be different.