Voiceless

Chapter One

I glared at her angrily.

"Aisling... I wasn't in last week since you pushed me into a rosebush and my allergies resurfaced. My face was swollen for three days! Those stupid insta-meds didn't work and so it was your responsibility to remind me and update me on things like that. Plus, we live in the 22nd century! Could you not have just used your phone to inform me? You always have it with you" I scolded her. Aisling abruptly stopped and looked guilty, her smile dropped once she realised that it was her fault. Although now I knew that I just wasted half an hour of precious sleep I didn't want anyone to be upset because of me. No way, I was too much of an angel for that to happen. Cue the uproar of fits and sarcastic laughter.

"It doesn't matter, let's just get to home room then since we got free time" I told her, patting her lightly on the shoulder and pulling Aisling along. We both walked through the hallway passing portraits of excellent students who made the university proud. The pictures were holograms, replaying the time when they received their prestigious awards, only they were placed really high so no students could touch them. When I first arrived at the university, entering the rich mauve coloured corridors for the first time, I looked at the portraits with such inspiration, hoping one day that my own hologram would be up there. But now at the age of twenty-one, the dull coloured walls reflected the emotions that overwhelmed me every second that I laid my eyes on them.

                                                              Ξ ☼۞☼ Ξ 

We entered the homeroom to see an unfamiliar sight. Usually, all the students from our class would have been dispersed around the room, either sitting on the sofas or completing last minute work on the computer workstations with the irritating sound of their fingertips tapping away on the glass keyboards. However this time everyone was standing in front of the TV in silence, their eyes fixed on the screen.

"What's going on?" I asked Derreck. He was standing on top of the table to have a better view. Looking down at me, he brought his hand out and pulled me up beside him.

"Some new drug made it onto the news. Calling it a major scientific breakthrough" he answered. I turned to look at the TV where a woman in a smart crisp red suit was talking.

Only taking six months to create, doctors and scientists both believe that it is almost the perfect drug for painless births. This new drug has been called Merudoxin. Scientist Kelly Hodge says that "The drug will reduce pain by 98% during labour and will allow women to have a stress-free birth". However, Merudoxin has not been tested yet which is a rare case. Scientists have said that animals have already adapted to endure labour therefore testing the drug on them will be pointless. It will not produce new data for improvements.

"She's talking as if it's okay to test on animals!" Derreck spat out in disgust. I squeezed his arm comfortingly, knowing how much of an animal-lover he was. He was training to be a vet so I understood where he was coming from. He was tremendously passionate about the topic. I turned back to the screen and looked at the volume icon and blinked three times to raise the sound. Then I went back to the woman who was still continuing: 

The government has decided that to test this new drug they are asking pregnant women from around the UK to be tested. Of course, this is a voluntary experience. To  sign-up just go to your local hospital and ask for a form. Fill it in and hand it back. A letter will be sent back to you to see whether you have been chosen. Remember this is all thought for the well-being of pregnant women.

The camera zoomed into the man beside her who asked:

"So, being a woman yourself,  what do you think about all of this Yolanda?"