The School *Unedited*

Official or Not?

Just as I'm thinking about all this, someone knocks on the door. My watch tells me it's a government official.

Let me explain. My watch is connected to my house. The cabinets and doors track me. It only opens things my parents program it to open. It works the same way at school, too. Sure, it's kind of annoying, but you get used to it.

I'm thinking, Well. What did I do? Jeez. I must have done something. Maybe I'll find out.

My parents have already opened the door by the time I get out of my room. They seem surprised to see him. I am too. It's rare to get a visit from one of them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bolden," the official says, "I'm here to collect your daughter."

"What?" I screech. It comes out way more high pitched than I had expected.

"You are allowed to bring three sets of your school uniform and three personal items," he says.

What is happening right now?

"Excuse me, but where are you taking our daughter?" Father says.

"To the correctional section of the Wisconsin Academy. She will arrive there tomorrow. We have no time to waste," Official says.

He looks at me in a way that shows impatience. Well, as close as it can get to impatience considering he's not allowed to show any emotion.

"Fine. I'll go pack. And, no, I wouldn't have liked some extra time to get ready," I mumble under my breath.

"You have five minutes," Official says and hands me a bag.

He must have heard me. There are rumors that they have surgeries that make them superhuman... I wouldn't be surprised if it was true, to be honest.

I go to my room and pick out the best three uniforms I own. That part is easy. It's the personal stuff that's got my thinking. What will come in handy? What kind of stuff would they be least likely to take away?

Well, Teddy is out. I don't even really care about him anymore. There's the gold locket my grandmother gave to me before her 85 birthday; the birthday everyone is, well, I don't know how to explain it. They die. But it's a controlled death. It's... complicated.

So, the locket is number one. What about the other two? Do you think they'll have books there? Well, duh. It IS a school, after all.

"Two minutes," I hear.

I need to hurry. I think I'll take my Tele-Pod and my mom's elementary watch. An elementary watch is what I have. I'll get a new one when I turn 18. Your parents pay for that one, and they have about 1205 qios saved up for mine.

"We have to leave now," Official says to me as I walk out of my room with the bag over one shoulder.

"Bye, Mother," I say, giving my mom a hug. "Bye, Father."

I see tears in my mom's eyes. I just wish I could do something about them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, Wisconsin?" I say to the official.

He just stares ahead as he walks to the hovercar. I think this model also has submarine functions.

He looks a little young to be an official. His watch looks new. Mine is pink and a little scruffed up. If he was under eighteen, his would be blue. But, his is the silver that has the slightest hint of blue in it that signifies he is an adult male citizen in the United States of America.

We reach the hovercar and he signals for me to stop. He lifts his wrist to the top of the door and it slides up. Then, he takes my arm and programs my watch to allow me to get in.

Hovercars are tricky in that way. The registered driver has to allow you to get inside. But, they're also thousands and thousands of qios, so there has to be some sort of security system.

Qios are our currency. Before, there were dollars and that sort of thing, but now, there are just qios. It would be closest to a dollar in Pre-war currency.

Anyways, I'm now sitting in the hovercar. The official is checking something on the outside. It looks like he twists something off, but I can't see a lot through the small windows on the sides. Then, he slides into the front seat by me. He takes my bag and puts it under his seat. He seems more relaxed now.

"So, what do you think about oceans?" he asks.

"I haven't seen one. They sound freaky," I say. "Wait. Aren't you supposed to stay quiet?"

"That would just be if I was a real official, you see. My name's Cleet," he says, starting the hovercar.

"What do you mean 'real official'?" I ask.

"Let me see your wrist."

He grabs my wrist and sticks it in a tube. There's a flash of light and I pull back my arm. The watch isn't there.

"What happened?" I almost scream.

"Well, we wouldn't want the government to listen too closely to our conversation, would we?"

"Only if we were saying illegal stuff."

"Well, I'm not supposed to talk to you. Luckily, the car blocks off the microphones, but the trackers are still there. Before the government figured out what was going on, I sent your watch to a hovercar headed for Wisconsin, where a girl that could pass for you is attending a correctional school."

"What? That won't work! I have fingerprints recorded!"

"You did. Now, they are replaced."

"What's happening to me?"

"Welcome to The School, Olivia," he said, slightly turning in his seat to look at me.

Then, he doesn't something I know no official would ever do.

He smiles.