The Control Group

Chapter 1

"The Global Pandemic, known as the Corona Virus or COVID-19," The bald teacher started as Avery sat at her desk, VR glasses sitting on her slightly crooked nose, letting her be in class. "This was the start of the worst three years." Mr. M., the history teacher, looked around the class, seeing some students with their heads in their hands. While a couple was asleep, heads on desks, eyes flickering.

A boy in the front kept dropping his head and jerking back up, trying to stay awake.

"Everyone." Twenty pairs of eyes looked over at him. Avery cringed, feeling like she knew what was about to happen. When everyone started getting tired, there was only one thing the man did. "Why doesn't everyone stand up?" Groans were heard as everyone stood up. Avery twisted her back, feeling relief as it popped. "For every question you get wrong, you all will do jumping jacks." He clapped his hands before rubbing them together.

Avery did not care what was going on. History wasn't even her best subject; it was more like her worst, but she did not care. She'd rather be reading a book about weapons or practicing knife throwing. Avery knows it's not normal, but she lived on a farm and didn't care.

"Alright, we are going to start." Avery huffed before looking around, waiting for him to ask the first question. It was more like a pop quiz than a lesson. No one got to choose to answer a question, and if it was wrong, then everyone had to do jumping jacks.

Avery found herself messing with her fingers as the girl next to her got picked. The gloves on her hands started slipping off, making her pull at them. She told her mother that it was time to get new ones, but she was too high to remember, even when she kept asking.

"What was one of the major events that happened in 1912?"

"Um, World War 1?" Half the class looked at the poor girl who had just answered the question. It was wrong; even Avery knew that, and she never paid attention in class. She remembered falling asleep as her teacher droned on about the subject.

"Ten jumping jacks." Again, the class groaned before starting to do the jumping jacks. Avery hated exercising; she did enough of it outside of class. She was the one who fed the animals and the only one who ran the farm. That, and Avery was an overthinker, always feeling like people were judging her. She hated everything about it.

"Avery," The girl looked at her teacher with wide eyes and asked, "What was one of the major events of 1912?" She puffed out her cheeks as she thought back. She remembered reading something about the year in a book, referencing a movie. But what movie was it? Something about a rose, a Jack, and a boat Right away, the boat sank, even though it was thought to be unsinkable.

"It was, um, the ship sinking, the, uh, Titanic?" Mr. M clapped his hands, making the redhead jump a bit. Loud noises were no fun.

"Correct, I'm surprised, Avery; you were asleep that whole lesson." Some watched as her face went red, and some of the others started to snicker. Skylar, her best friend, rolled her eyes at class and smiled at Avery.

The two had been best friends since diapers. Before Avery's mother lost it and before her father was sent to the upper world.

"Alright, you can all sit down."

"Can someone tell me what happened after COVID-19?" Cameron, who was one of the teachers' pets, raised his hand. The blond boy had been the one with the highest grade in the class, always happy to answer a question.

"That was when China stole one of the US's bombers." They filled it with nuclear weapons. "They had their bomber with them, and they filled that one with just regular bombs." Cameron stopped to take a breath. He had always been a huge history buff; something about his parents' writing the textbook