There's a picture of Kevin on the side. Check it out!
==oOo==oOo==oOo==oOo==
CHAPTER ONE
●○► AT THE LAKE
There is a moment of silence between Heather and me. Heather looks into my eyes and crosses her arm on mine. “Okay,” she says, her foot stepping forward to the Writing Supplies. “Let’s buy the dairy and the notebook now.”
I take a deep breath and sigh. “Okay.”
There are three rectangular tables at the Writing Supplies. The writing materials are lying on top of each table. There are placards indicating the supply too. They are Diaries, Notebooks, and Papers & Pens printed on a laminated coupon bonds.
As we get closer to the tables, I see a security guard walking nearby. Well, stealing is very prone in places like this, and the store has no cameras to record what is happening inside. So far, I think there are seven or more guards keeping an eye inside the store. When you are caught stealing something, even if it’s small or big, you will be reported to the government and you will be executed on the day you’re caught. That’s how strict Depton Republic is.
“Oh,” Heather says quietly, “there’s a guard.”
“Well, what do you expect then?” I murmur.
“A hot guy with tattoos, of course,” she answers.
Few days ago, I remember what Heather told me about her getting completed. Being complete is when a girl finally lost her virginity and is already pregnant after making out. In Depton Republic, boys are asked for permission whether they like to have sex with girls. They say our culture is very different from the past. Because a few hundred years ago it was boys who asked permissions from girls to have sex. Maybe it is due to the fact that girls have fewer years to live.
“We’ll ask someone if we find someone, okay?” I tell Heather.
She rolls her eyes at me. “Promise me that, Mary, or I’ll pray you won’t have a child.”
“Oh, Heather. I promise I’ll do it soon for you.”
“All right. Let’s go.”
We reach the tables at the Writing Supplies. Heather takes a look at the notebooks in the Notebooks table while I search the diary I have planned to buy at the Diaries.
While picking, I picture the diary inside my head. It has a pink leather cover and a chain with two hearts as its lock. I look at the diaries one by one, checking if the pink diary is still there. When I come into the other side of the table, I catch a glimpse of the chain. I go to the side where it is and see that the cover is pink. I do not hesitate. I pull the diary out of the pile immediately.
“Heather?” I call out, not looking at her. “Have you found the notebook yet?”
My eyes are fixed on the diary in my hands. Heather never responds to me after a few minutes. Then she walks over to me, and asks, “Is that the diary?”
I nod in reply.
“Okay, let’s go to the counter then.” Heather pulls my hand and drags me to the counter. She takes the diary in my hands when we reach the cashier. Afterward, when the diary and notebook has been bar-coded, the cashier puts a sticker on them that means we really purchased the supply.
The store never bags the purchases if it can be carried by the hands. We walk to the exit now and the guard checks us up again. He checks the sticker on our purchases as well, because without the sticker on it means that it has been stolen.
“Alright,” says the guard, “you can go now.”
We walk back home with our arms crossed with each other. Our house is located on the east side of the store. The houses in Depton Republic are not so big. The poor ones only live in small houses. The rich ones live in the Mansions. When they are born, the government gives them longer lives to live, which is very unfair to us.
Once we get to the house, the others girls aren’t inside. Yes. There are three more girls living with us. They are Janine, Kate, and Beth. All of them are thirteen years old. And their lives will all end when they reach the age of sixteen.
“Where are the others?” I ask, looking around the living room/dining room.
“Oh, they must be completing themselves,” Heather says jokingly. “You know, Mary, I think we should already ask a guy. That way we can have a baby earlier.”
“I don’t think that’d be a good idea.”
“You don’t want to get pregnant, do you?” She makes a face, arching her eyebrows and pursing her lips.
“I don’t want to get pregnant to someone I don’t love,” I tell her.
“Oh, my God, Mary. Love is not important anymore. You can taste every hot guy in the country if you ask them to make out with you, you know.”
I cannot argue with Heather in this matter. So I say, “Okay. I’ll ask Kevin later if I can.”
“Good for you,” she says quickly. “You know, Kevin’s a yummy guy.”
“Could you please stop talking about yummy guys and stuffs?” I insist. “Stop talking about Kevin.”
“Oh, sorry,” she replies, as if embarrassed. She pauses for a second and I think she will never speak one more time. Then she adds, “But it’s true, you know.”
I scowl under my breath and shake my head, frowning. I never answer.
3 HOURS LATER
I’ve prepared myself to go the lake; Kevin is probably waiting for me there. Heather is lying on the floor/bed, her notebook hugged against her chest. She’s asleep, I think. Well, that’s better because she can’t come with me.
Before I walk to the door, I face the mirror first to look at myself. I wear an orange sleeveless shirt and a pair of tight blue jeans. My long black hair is tied into a cute ponytail and I apply some powder on my face to make it look fairer and oil-free. Now I’m ready to go to Kevin. But I’m not sure if I’m going to do what I told Heather I’m going to do.
When I go out of the house, I close the door soundlessly behind me. Heather is the only person inside the house because the three girls are not at home yet. I start to walk toward the lake as I successfully close the door.
The lake is two hundred meters away from the house. On the other side of the lake rise the trees that lead into the forest.
In a few minutes, I am already a few meters away from the edge of lake. There are 10 to 15 people out there on the lakeside, and I look around to find Kevin.
Finally I see him, sitting a few meters away from the edge of the lake. He wears an unbuttoned checkered shirt and a plain white shirt inside. I walk over to him with petite steps. “Hi, Kevin,” I say, a little shy.
He turns to look at me, a quick smile flashing on his face. “Hi, Mary,” he replies.
I feel my lips spread into a small smile. After a few seconds of standing there, I finally go to sit beside him. “How long have you been here?” I ask, not breaking my gaze at him.
“I just got here,” he says. “I’m so glad you came. I was waiting for you.”
“Really?” I sigh heavily through my nose. “How long have you been waiting?”
“Couple of minutes. Maybe ten.”
I nod. Then he turns his head to face the sun.
There is a moment of silence between us. He stays silent in the next few minutes and I stare at his face, into his glinting green eyes.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” says Kevin. “The sun, I mean.”
“Yeah,” I say.
“You know, my father and I used to come here when I was a kid. We always watch the sunset. How about you? Have you had a bonding with your parents?”
I shake my head. “No. My father died when I was inside my mother’s womb.”
“And your mom?”
“She died three years after my birth.”
He nods his head to me and raises an eyebrow. “Well, that’s sad. But I think my story is a lot sadder.”
“Why do you say so?”
“Because my father died in front of me. He did not reach his expiration. Actually, he was accused of stealing the mayor’s shoes. He was killed while we were walking here.”
“I’m sorry, Kevin. But how about your mom?”
“Oh, I’ve never seen her. I was one year old when she was killed.” Kevin manages to smile.
“Who do you live with now?”
“I live with my friends,” he murmurs. “You?”
“With Heather and other three friends.”
He nods to me and his eyes turns to the sun again.
Heather might have known about Kevin already. But I don’t think Kevin knows about Heather. I want to talk about her right now but this is my moment. I have to use it wisely.
Later on, something pops inside my mind. It’s about asking Kevin to have sex with me. Well, should I? Or should I not? I don’t know exactly what to do. Kevin might reject me. But, Mary, I tell myself, you can do this. I’m now encouraging myself to do it.
“Kevin,” I call his name after earning my courage. He immediately turns his head to me. “Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
I take a deep breath. “How many years do you have left?”
My question seems nothing to him. “I have three more years to live,” he answers, nodding. “What about you?”
“I have two more.”
Again, he turns to face the sun. It shines not-so-brightly at us so it’s not that painful to the eyes anymore. Kevin isn’t blinking. And his silence is the best opportunity for me to ask the other question.
“Kevin,” I call again.
He turns his head to me and say, “Yeah?”
It takes me more than a few moments to say it. “Can I have a baby with you?”