My Name Is Schedule

A Little Rebellion

It was hard to sleep that night. It was not the bed, because despite it being different from the one I had slept in my whole life, it was the exact same construction. It was not the house, either. Not my childhood home, but identical to it.

I supposed I had had too much excitement for the day. Perhaps it would take longer to wind down.

I shifted in my blanket to look around at my new house, the one for Kyran and I. I did not know why, as there was nothing to look at. Even the furniture set up was the same as my old house. I laid down again and closed my eyes. I opened them a moment later.

Married! I was married now! I was an adult! I was at the age where I ought to be mature, and compliant, yet here I was....

"Celeste!"

It took a moment for me to remember that that was my name. I sat up again, and looked at the bed across the room.

"Yeah?"

He was not in his bed. He was putting on a jacket, standing up by the door.

"Grab a coat if you want one. We might be outside a bit."

"Grab a coat?" I repeated, hesitant to leave my bed. "Where are we going?"

"HQ."

"Again?"

"Oh yeah." He grinned. "Don't worry, we'll be alright. No daylight, right?"

"Right..."

He took out something from his pocket, which looked like a piece of brown tile. He bit off a chunk and ate it.

"Want some?" He tossed me a chunk of the stuff, which I caught and looked over. It smelled sweet.

"What is this?"

"It's called 'chocolate.'" He grinned. "It was a treat, used to be really common before the Schedule Food System. It's good! Try it!"

I took a bite, and it hit my mouth like explosives. I was having trouble adjusting to this much sugar.

"Mm--it's--wow. That's...mm..really sweet."

He laughed at my expression. "Do you like it?"

"I think so."

"You will," he assured me. "Now c'mon! You're gonna love HQ once you get used to it. There's all these things you've never seen before. It's amazing."

"What kind of things?"

"Well, come on and see!"

I grabbed a coat, and followed him as he glanced out the windows and opened the door. It was cold outside, but it somehow added to the excitement. And I wasn't used to it, being outside at this time of night. It felt nice.

Kyran led me through some alleyways, confident and quick like he had done it a million times before. "Make sure you're quiet."

"I am quiet. You're the one splashing in the puddles," I remarked.

"What? No, I'm not doing anything."

He walked through another puddle.

"Kyran--"

He turned, a finger pressed to his lips. He nodded subtly as he could to indicate the dark figure that had darted in front of us. We both froze.

"Hey." The figure pushed aside the trash can.

"Zara!" Kyran mumbled. "You scared me!"

I could see her grin from the sparse light that came from where the trash can had been before she disappeared down the ladder.