Utopia

Chapter 2

     My alarm buzzes in my ears. It's quite an annoying thing, but it's not like I can get rid of it. I could never get up early without some sort of aid. My hand flops around the desk until it hits the power button. I roll over onto my back and sit up. The sun shines through the window, allowing me to see the tiny dust particles that are always floating through the air. I yawn and stand up. I stretch and wince, disappointed that my few hours of sleep didn't make me feel refreshed. I look at the time. 6:03. I head over to my bathroom and flick on the fluorescent lights. I walk to the button stand for the shower and turn on the water with the touch of my finger. I then adjust the temperature of it and hop in.

     I stay in the shower longer than I should have, but to be honest I am way too tired to go to school for the whole day. You see, school is getting rather complicated. I'm still in high school, but I have the option to come and go as I please throughout the day. Today I have six classes. I have my exam for environmental science at 7:15-9:00. From 9:30 to 10:30 I have math. 10:45-11:45 I have AP English. 12:00-1:00 is lunch. After that I have three hours to go about as I please around school property. Studying, doing homework, other stuff like that. And then 3:15-4:15 is political history/endless propaganda about our glorious leader. Trust me, I'm in it for learning about how great it was when we could vote for who we wanted to run our country. 4:45-5:45 is physical education, which I am forced to take. 6:00-7:30 is dinner/evening break. And then, finally, I have tech studies from 7:45-9:00. After that I have a half-hour to pack up, study a bit, and then leave. Or, if I choose to, I can stay the night in a nasty, dirty dorm. I usually stay until maybe 9:45 and get home around ten or, most of the time, a few minutes later. I hurriedly get dressed in a pair of dark jeans, silvery combat boots, a white shirt, and a black leather jacket. I rush downstairs to eat breakfast and see my mom, who's got the day off.

     I pop some bread in the toaster and walk around the table to my mother, who's drinking a cup of black coffee and reading the newspaper like it's actually interesting. I sit next to her and wait for my toast to pop. Now, most people would dismiss my mother like some face in some crowd, but she's pretty cool. For a mom, I mean. She has super curly hair like mine, but she got it permed so it's straight. She's twisted it into a low bun. Her skin is several shades darker than mine, her eyes match mine to a T. Or rather, mine match hers. If she was younger, taller, and had lighter skin, she could pass as my sister. Our noses and eyebrows don't match. But I've inherited most of everything, almost nothing from my father. I got his slightly darker hair, straight nose, and his height. My mother is 5'9 and he's 6'3, so there's only a 5-inch height difference. I smile at my mother and she smiles back. "Morning, Georgia. You're up rather late today. Let me guess...you have that exam, correct?" She asks. I nod and my toast pops, driving me away from a possible conversation. I spread jam on my toast and start eating as I head upstairs. I pass a family photo in the hall. It shows a 13 year-old me standing in front of my parents alongside my brother, who was graduating that year. I don't see Nathan much anymore, as he went up north with his wife to start a family in the mountains, where they purify the water and do some mining. My father stands behind him, grinning broadly at his son. His deep brown eyes are lit with pride. His buzzed black hair grew out at that time. It grew to his shoulders before my mother begged him to trim it. I yawn and walk to my room, already bored with the nostalgia.

     I stuff all my books in my bag quickly and make sure I have everything. Homework, notes, supplies. I stare at the map on my wall and sigh. It shows the resources. Basically, we have fishing and foresting in the west, the agriculture in the south, and as I said, the water purifying/mining in the north-west, the livestock and medicine in the east, electronics and energy are located in the north-east, and, in the very center, lies the epicenter of the country: The Capital City. That's where I live. All we do is provide entertainment. All the celebrities, TV shows, movies, it's all from here. We also provide leaders in the law. The headquarters for the Leaders is here. We have it easy. It's pretty easy living in the other places too, though. In a Utopia, we're all equal. But some people, like me, don't agree. I think it sucks how they killed so many people in order to make a perfect world. But nothing can be perfect. I keep this thought to myself. I don't fancy being executed.

     I rush out the door, looking at the car parked in the driveway. My father's is gone. He's off to work. I look out at the sky and sigh. It's very clean here. The air is fresh, plants everywhere. I stare out into the big city. Towers scrape the clouds, public transit systems weave between sky-scrapers, moving at speeds so fast they blur. I sling the other strap of my backpack over my shoulder and start walking to the station. It's hardly thirty seconds away, and I'll miss my tram if I'm not careful. I scamper to the top of the stairs that hold the little station and sit at the stop. I admire my small neighborhood. A small semi-circle of houses encases a little green park. Our neighborhood has a hundred people tops. When you're out of the semi circle, it's all little buildings leading to downtown. A few shops, some short buildings, office buildings, the houses seem almost out of place. but the station takes us to the action. The station is a raised platform. The tram glides by to us on it's raised road and we pile in. A two-minute ride takes us downtown. My ride is three minutes, because the school is right in the middle. A few other kids my age sit next to me. Kailee and Lucas are their names. I only recognize them from my parents, who like inviting neighbors over. Also, they go to my school. They're in the grade below mine. The tram speeds towards us and I stand. It stops without a hitch and the doors glide open. These things are truly amazing. No one drives them. They glide along with hardly a bump, so smooth and fast. I take a seat on a simple white bench. Kailee and Lucus sit next to each other. They soon start chatting. From what I gather (sorry, I was eavesdropping. But I was bored out of my mind) they're dating. Pfft. Boyfriends are overrated. I could get one if I tried, but I think I just intimidate them too much. But there's no way in hell I'm changing for some guy. 

     Joy to the world! I'm here! I stride out of the tram and take a look at the building I go to five days a week. It's not that tall, maybe four stories, but it's big. After all, there's quite a few people in this city, and there's only a few schools. It's just glass-paneled windows as far as the eye can see. It curves around a big, green courtyard filled with trees, fountains, and little ponds. It's quite nice for a school. I walk in the doors, ready to start my long, long day.

     I take a tram into town for lunch. I get a chicken salad and some water at the little cafe I like. I take my time, glad that the exam is over and I can breathe. I take the tram back to school and spend my three hours completing homework, looking over some notes, and wandering the property to kill time and get some fresh air. At 6:00 I take the tram home where my mother and father have concocted a meal for dinner. I eat with them and have a shower to wash the sweat from physical education off of my body. At 7:20 I take the tram back to school and do tech studies. And then, at 9:58, I go home. The trams don't operate at this time of night, so I'm forced to walk.

     I walk down the empty roads. It's 10:04 and I'm supposed to be home by now. My parents should be sleeping at this time...I hope. If they catch me all hell will break loose. So I rush home quickly. Fortunately, I time my routes just right and don't run into any trouble with guards. I reach my house by 10:13 and silently shut the door. Thank God: my parents are sleeping. I creep up the stairs and slip into my room as quietly as possible. I plunk down my heavy backpack and change into a pair of pajama shorts and crawl into my be. I check my tablet and see that xxChloexx has replied to my previous message. I message her back with my final movements and drop into sleep with my tablet still in my hand.

It's been a long, hard day.