Memories

World - Jayden

The day has finally arrived! Today marks the first day of world's, where five thousand kids from ages nine to eighteen, well age groups eight to seventeen but most people usually have their birthdays somewhere in the middle of the year, will compete for the chance to win it all. There are four days of competitions—two public judging days, a private judging day, and a public display day. The first three days are one of the public judgings, the private judging, and the public display. The final day is the reason nine year old me became famous. We work on a stage twenty feet by twenty feet and usually extends about thirty feet in the air. It's a huge space to work in and there will probably be around fifty squares with bleachers on either side of every single square.

"Welcome to the Center of Elements and Sciences." Walking into the building, I reach a line of tables and head over to the one with a big "17" on the front.

"What's your name?" The volunteer smiles, before I say it and she searches through the eight or so pages of names to find mine and hands me a badge with my name, ID number, and a picture of myself. We had to submit pictures a couple weeks ago, which meant my blue hair matched the picture, and mine was decent. At least decent enough for my mom to let me send it. "Good luck."

"Thanks." As I find my way back, the memories from the 01996 world's start to come back to me. Everything from what I built, to who I met, to what the Alcreek University in the North Region looked like back then.

"Hey, princess." I hear an all-too-familiar voice behind me and roll my eyes.

"I could have sworn I told you that nickname was off-limits." Turning to see Jaxx, he rolls his eyes, before I give him a much needed hug.

"Well, considering the person who gave it to you dumped you over a video call, I'm going to consider it available." The two of us head over to the growing group of seventeen and eighteen year olds standing in front of the big "17".

"Well, considering you picked a different nickname, that one was kind of off-limits," I retort in the same tone.

"So, what group are you in?" Jaxx wonders, grabbing my ID badge. "Eighteen? Dang. I'm six."

"Well, that just means we'll have to discuss everything after each day," I suggest, and he seems to agree.

"Definitely. So, are you staying in the city or are you heading home each night?" The Center of Elements and Sciences is roughly an hour and a half to two hour drive, depending on traffic, which is not worth it to drive every morning and every night.

"I'm at the Rouge Hotel a couple blocks over." The Rouge Hotel is the big historic hotel in downtown Laplis, and I paid for the nights myself since I have the money and my parents will watch online until the last day, just to see my performance live and say one last goodbye.

"Sweet, so am I. What floor?"

"Thirteen." In some countries, they prohibit the use of some numbers to label floors, and Oarkes' is six. There's some complicated reason that I don't remember, but it's not used to label a lot of things. Hotel floors, street names, house numbers, and more. At least six and sixth. If six is just in the number, it doesn't matter, as long as it's not the only number.

"Same here." A smile lights up his face until we are interrupted by one of the hundreds of volunteers.

"Hello, everyone here is in the age seventeen group, correct?" A few towards the edges leave, heading down the line of age groups to their own. "Alright, now, I know we don't have everyone, but let's get you guys split up. There are fifty volunteers behind me holding up a sign with the group number, so find your group. I'm number fifty, for those of you in that group." Alright, well, I'm not. I'm thirteen. But wow, there are a lot of people behind the main ten volunteers. I didn't even notice them until just now. Scanning the area for the number thirteen, I finally find the number and the twenty-five year old guy holding the sign.