Chapter I: Nina

Emotions are unpredictable and irritating, what’s the point of life if some days you wake up and feel that nothing is worth happening because you’re too numb to enjoy them anyway? I’m not sure how to answer that question, at least now I’m not, which is probably for the best, a minute ago I nearly convinced myself that it was pointless. Though the slow painful wedge driving through my brain still nags at me, I think I’m all right now, at least for the interim. I guess I could write more, I just don’t feel right at the moment.

Nina closed the leather-bound book, she had recently decided it might be helpful to write down some of her thoughts. It was like having someone to talk to, but they wouldn’t judge you, at least as long as no one found it. It was the best she could do, too scared to actually express any of her real thoughts to anyone anyway. She sat back down on the pale white windowsill and leaned her shoulder against the cold glass. Leaning her head against the glass her disheveled wavy dark brown hair fell over her face as she involuntarily closed her eyes. The sun warmed her face as her thoughts became more erratic as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Awoken by the sound of movement outside her door she leapt up and scrambled to look productive, she did not want to explain why she was sitting passed out on the windowsill at, what time was it? She glanced over at the light green numbers on the digital clock under the old flat screen television it read 9:15, could be worse she thought.

The creaking footsteps coming towards her door she predicted were her father’s, they sounded heavy. She went to fold the bed she hadn’t even slept in; she knew what he wanted. A few taps on the door and it creaked open, “Nina, Nina you up?” her father asked as he peered in.

“Yeah dad,” she said trying her best to sound awake, knowing full well the red tinge on her right cheek from leaning on the window was still visible, when she looked up, her hair fell over the red spot, she made no attempt to move it. Her father leaned in the doorway.

Unlike Nina, her father was pale, he had the same wavy hair but his was closer to blonde and cropped short. Styled immaculately his hair was still a bit wet from his morning shower. She noticed his usually fitted suit was tighter than usual and a pale red was visible through the white button-down shirt.

“Look I know you said you don’t want to go,” Nina’s mouth moved to say something, her father continued, “but I can’t help but feel you’ll regret it, this is going to be the one, I can feel it.”

“You said that last time and we didn’t even make it to New Times Square before they turned us around… besides, its not as if I can just skip the Standards,” she said with a tinge of anger.

“Well…” her father began, “You could reschedule, there’s another tomorrow.” She glared at him and opened her mouth to retort.

Her father threw up his hands in surrender, “I know, I know, I’m not looking to argue, just thought I’d try to convince you before we leave, this one is the one Nina, the Color Guard are coming out of the shadow, if your grandfather were still here the old man would be hobbling up to Albany faster than me,” his voice was getting increasingly more excited, “All the deep forums say this is the big one, if we aren’t heard at the capital, they’re fighting back, for real, but I don’t think we need all that, this is going to work, I can feel it!”

“You say that every time,” Nina replied, feeling frustrated.

“Because it really could be anytime, you never know when you’ll succeed that’s why you continue to fight,” he moved closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder, looking into her bloodshot brown eyes with his pale green, “I know it may seem pointless sometimes, it’s not, change comes to those who are patient, please remember that,” he finished somberly.

“Yeah”, she paused, “Yeah sure dad,” she finished quietly, “But still, I’m not going, I’m sorry, but —”

“No, you don’t have to explain again, it’s okay, we’ll see you this evening.”

“I’ll come out to see you off,” she said, her father nodded and walked out of her room.

She knew this rally must have been different despite what she said to her father, that red shirt he was clearly wearing underneath his suit told her what she needed to know. The state had stopped producing colorful garments after the war, and subsequently banned importation of them as well. She had never quite understood why, but the status quo had been set before she was born, you wore black, white, or some shade of grey in between, no exceptions. Their world was quite colorless, she always thought it was a miracle that as children they actually learned colors at all.

The red shirt was a relic from her grandfather who had disappeared years before she had been born, he was likely dead, but no one really knew for sure. Nina liked to think he was still alive, she wasn’t sure why, but the mystery surrounding him always intrigued her. Equally intriguing was how her father managed to keep all those shirts from being confiscated.

Nina realized her mind was wandering and she should probably go out and say goodbye. She walked out her room and down the hall, directly across from her was her parent’s bedroom and next to her room was her younger brother Nick’s. The hall opened to a quaint living room attached to a small kitchen with a circular table that divided the two rooms, four chairs sat equidistant around it. They lived in the standard apartment given to a four-person family by the government, it was deemed the appropriate sized living space for a family of their stature, the entire building they lived in was made solely of these exact same tenements.

Nina walked toward the door on the opposite side of the living room where her family was getting ready to leave. She was always told that she looked like her mother, but she always thought her mother looked happy, and felt she couldn’t live up to that. Small wrinkles were beginning to appear around eyes that were evidence of thousands of smiles.

Her eyes were the same shade of brown as Nina as she looked up and smiled, “Ah, so you managed to get up,” she said teasingly, “Well, we’re heading out, wish us luck.”

“The way dad’s talking I’m not sure you’ll need it,” Nina replied instead.

Her mother laughed, “Your father gets a bit too invested with those fanatics, though the cause is worthy, your grandparents didn’t fight for this, reform must happen, and the people must be heard.” As usual light joking turned into a serious conversation about moral responsibility, it reminded Nina of the guilt that was beginning to pile up about her decision not to go. Even though, in actuality the decision was made for her by none other than the government her parents were so vehemently protesting.

Nick came through the door they were standing next to, evidently, he had been pacing up and down the exterior hallway anxious to leave. Nick was only a year younger than Nina but he was a lot more invested in attending the protests than her. He had recently started growing his hair out, Nina expected as a protest to the strict social norms, it wasn’t technically breaking any laws but it often drew attention, mostly negative. His hair was light brown and beginning to touch his shoulders.

“Mom are we heading out yet, where is dad, I thought we were supposed to leave ten minutes ago?” he asked anxiously.

“Chet,” her mother called, “Are we good to go, Nick’s getting anxious to leave.”

“I’m not anxious,” Nick protested.

“Yeah, just wanted to grab a few things,” Nina’s father emerged from the bedroom with a small leather duffel bag. Nina had a feeling she knew what was packed, “Just thought I’d bring a little something extra for us to use at the protest, I’m good to go.”

“Alright, let’s head out then,” her mother said to Nick.

“Bye Nina, have fun being a model citizen,” Nick said while mock saluting her, turning on his heels and walking out the door.

“Don’t worry too much about placement today alright, I’m sure it will be fine,” her mother assured, “We’ll see you tonight, or maybe tomorrow morning depending on how things go,” her mother pulled her into a hug.

“Yeah, I’ll see you later mom,” Nina murmured into her shoulder. They separated and her mother walked out the door.

Nina’s father once again put his hand her shoulder and looked down into her eyes, “I know were fighting against this system, but still give it your all toady okay, work is will always be essential and you’ve got to know what you can do, good luck,” her father pulled her into an embrace.

“I will dad,” she sighed, “Bye.”

“See ya’ later,” he said and closed the door behind him.

* * *

I suddenly feel like I’m missing out on something big. Dad left with a bag, more colorful shirts as I predicted, they were missing from his closet. Something he saw online must have got him going, the “fanatics” as mom calls them, he said something about the “color guard,” not sure what that means. I really wish he would just show me how he gets on the deep net, but I’ve almost figured it out, soon I’ll know. Parents always let us go to these rallies but I’m never really sure what the end goal is other than “fuck the government” there has to be something more, right? Again, I ask questions to no one. I guess I should get ready for this test, it does decide my future, assuming these rallies for change continue with the same rate of success, that being zero, or negative depending on how forgiving our benevolent oligarchs are feeling.

Nina sighed, stopped writing and closed the book. In absentminded thought she stared toward the sunlight coming through the window noticing the large greasy smudge where her face had been not too long ago, mentally noting to clean it off later. With that thought she stood up from the small desk that sat on the opposite wall to her bed and perpendicular to the window. She stowed her notebook under the mattress of her bed careful to make sure that it wasn’t obvious something had been shoved under.

The Standards, as they were called began at 3:00 PM and she needed to catch a train to get to the Capital District where they were administered. She had only been to the Capital District a handful of times; it was difficult to get into any city district that you weren’t employed by, but the Capital District was the only district where borders were enforced by the special police. Most of the high government operations occurred in the Capital District and all of the oligarchs lived there. Almost all the buildings in the Capital District were pre-war making them a bit more unique than the drab grey district that Nina lived in filled with boxy functional buildings.

At the age of 19, every, up until that point student, of the Socialist State of New York takes the Standards making it quite the big deal, hence the testing site was in the Capital District where all the power in the city-state lies. It was Nina’s turn to take the Standards and through the past year had poured her energy into prepping for it. Though in the end every job is the same in terms of what you get out of it, what you have to put into it varies a great deal. The Standards decide your future, plain and simple, rightfully so, Nina was overwhelmed by this prospect.

While nervously going over outcomes of the Standards in her head she walked into the bathroom next to her parents’ room. Stepping into the bathroom she caught her tired face in the mirror, the dark circles under eyes reminded her visually how little sleep she was currently operating on. Looking at herself in the mirror she tousled her hair around seeing what she could do with it in its current state and learned quickly it was truly a mess. Her hands continually got stuck on tangles as she yanked them though it. Methodically undressing she discarded her garments to the floor, turning on the shower before getting in.

Waiting for the water to heat up, she continued to mess with her hair. Stepping in to the cascading hot water felt good on her cold skin as she automatically went through her regular routine still anxiously thinking of what her fate would be later that day. Stepping out of the shower she dried off and wrapped the towel around herself exiting the bathroom and heading for her room.

After spending a considerable amount of time working through the tangles in her hair, she went to decide what to wear. Options were quite limited, top was a white blouse or grey, bottom was a choice between trousers and a skirt in all the colors of the rainbow, that being a black and white photograph of a rainbow. Individuality was a challenge so making the best of these combinations was all anyone could do. Despite clothing being the least of her worries she still fretted over picking out the right combination before eventually just defaulting to what she usually wore: grey blouse, black skirt, black stockings. Opting to let her hair air dry she kept the blouse off for now to avoid getting it wet.

Realizing she should probably eat something she went to the kitchen and opted for cereal, government issued cornflakes with a bit of sugar glaze. Bringing the bowl into the living room she sat on the couch in front of the television screen and turned it on hoping to see something that could distract her from the increasing anxiety. The news channel was on, likely her father, though he always complained that it was, “propaganda to soothe the masses,” he watched it every night without fail, occasionally yelling at the screen about “bullshit” of some form or another.

Nina left it on because they were discussing the protest in Albany today. Displaying an aerial image of that district with the banner bellow reading: RIOTS EXPECTED IN ALBANY DISTRICT, then the sallow blonde news anchor came on the screen continuing her speech, “… the police expect large scale riots to occur in Albany district after a sting operation uncovered plans today for ‘peaceful protest’ to which we remind our viewers is only a ploy by the rioters to mask true intentions. The military has informed us that they have increased presence in Albany district in interest of protecting local citizens and prevent any wanton destruction. Representative Markus Keratin of Albany implores residents to stay in their homes until the issue is dealt with. For SSNY news I’m Lydia Ryan.”

Another equally sallow anchor then came on, “Thank you Lydia, in other news, the Standards are today and we’re in the Capital District interviewing those who got here early…”

Nina turned off the television falling down a new rabbit hole of anxiety. The protests they attended were never shown in the media in any positive manner but never had she seen such a mobilization of the police. The feeling she was missing out on something big was growing, she wasn’t sure that was a good thing anymore. She thought she should call her parents, tell them not to go, but she knew nothing would stop them at this point. She went to her room and grabbed the small grey box with a currently black screen that was her phone, opting to text her brother:

You guys know about the all the cops right!?

just heard it on the radio, dad said the more the merrier

Of course

Pls be careful

u worry too much we’ll just turn around once we see em

like always

Ok, see ya tonight

yep

Despite their conversation, Nina still felt uneasy, but maybe it was just anxiety about the Standards. She checked the time on her phone, 10:15, four hours and forty-five minutes she said to herself. Trains ran through to the capital district every half-hour, it was likely too late for her to catch the 10:30.

She fell backwards on the couch lying down and trying to decide when she wanted to leave. She’d heard food was supposedly so much better in the capital district than it was in the upper districts where she lived, so it might be worth it to eat there.

Food was a big issue in the furthest west upper districts near the Finger Lakes, despite most of it being grown there. Everything is processed in the capital district before its distribution, leaving the furthest away the most shorted. Nina’s goal was to help solve the food crisis, working in agriculture management was her goal and were the topics for the Standards she studied the most in hopes of achieving one of those positions. Though she feared that lacking a bit too much could send her upstate to work on the farms, where no one’s voice was heard.

Nina continued to mentally prepare as she noticed that she was beginning to drift into sleep. Her leg involuntarily kicked out and she jolted awake, she sat up panicking having no idea what time it was. She picked her phone off the ground 10:30, it had only been fifteen minutes.

Rubbing her eyes swore at herself frustrated she couldn’t sleep all night but now she could. Returning to her bedroom she tousled her hair that was still a bit wet, trying to get it to sit the way she wanted to no avail, she sighed and opted to tie it back for the moment. Picking up the grey blouse she left on the chair she put it on buttoning it up to the last button before the collar. She never buttoned fully up like a lot of people did, she always felt it constricted her neck and she couldn’t breathe right. She grabbed the matching black jacket and her light grey backpack that held her laptop, a few tattered review books, an odd assortment of pens and pencils as well as a few other odds and ends.

Picking up a small white bracelet she clasped it to her wrist. The bracelet was encoded with her train pass to get into and out of the capital district. Putting the jacket on and throwing the backpack over her shoulder she walked out of her room down the hall into the kitchen grabbing a granola bar as a snack for later. Walking towards the door she picked up her phone lying on the couch dropping it into the pocket on the inside of her jacket. Slipping on her sleek black shoes she walked out the door.

Walking swiftly down the dimly lit apartment hallway she flipped her wrist activating the clock on the bracelet 10:43, seventeen minutes catch the train, plenty of time, despite that she still walked hurried.

She and her family lived on the seventh floor; despite this she took the stairs not wanting to wait for the notoriously slow elevators. Dashing down the stairs her shoes clapped against the loud concrete that echoed up and down the empty stairwell. Reaching the bottom, she took the door on the left walking out into the warm sun, feeling a pleasant breeze blow down the street. The day was nice, but the city as drab as ever, they lived in the electric district due to the career path of her parents, though from what she’d seen most districts residential areas were the same, blocks of grey concrete buildings thirteen stories tall each with a designation for the size of the familial unit. The yellow lines that separated the two sides were a striking splash of color to the shades of grey that made up the uninspired architecture. The bright blue sky of the day also helped to liven up the world.

Nina walked swiftly down the mostly empty sidewalks, it was Saturday, and most people were locked away in their apartments doing who knows what to relax before another long work week. Most of her peers would likely stay home until lunch and study, catching the 12:30 train. The train station was a little over ten blocks from her apartment, she figured if she walked quickly, she’d have plenty of time.

When she walked through the arched entrance to the train station, she heard the quite hum of the electric rail indicating the train was arriving. The train had the appearance of a snake as it entered the station, the white lights gleamed on the front like piercing eyes against the reflective black skin that wrapped the train. The windows and paint were the same color making it impossible to tell where metal ended, and glass began. Nina always thought the aesthetic beauty of these sleek trains didn’t fit with the drab world to which the architects of the city must’ve been aiming for. She knew why of course; the trains were one of the few things that were imported. Where they had come from was harder to say since the government obviously had no intentions of telling them. The only clue that anyone had to an origin, were the stylized symbol with the letters SV embossed a dark blue against the black leather headrests of every seat.

Nina figured she might as well take her seat though the train wouldn’t leave for awhile longer. She walked towards the train as the doors revealed themselves, sliding apart to show the inside that featured the same black metal. Entering the train Nina was scanned by computer that operated the train searching for the right code in her identification bracelet to open the second set of doors into the cabin. Unbeknownst to Nina, and most passengers of the railway the train also took into account all of her personal effects, checking for contraband and logging an inventory to make sure each passenger arrived and left with exactly what they carried on.

A stiff female electronic voice said, “Student citizen, Nina, Palmer, destination, Capital District, approved,” the voice then changed to a cool female voice stating the prerecorded message, “Welcome to the Socialist State of New York Transit System. Please be kind and courteous to all passengers and enjoy the ride.”

Nina gave the obligatory thank you that triggered the doors to slide open. She walked through as the doors quietly but quickly closed behind her nearly catching her skirt.

On each side of the small lane were rows of two chairs each all black leather with the curious blue SV symbol marking each headrest. It was in the cabin, that the sleek train began to show its age. The black leather seats had faded to more of a dark grey and the leather was cracked so the yellowish foam could be seen in certain spots. The train was old, how old Nina was unsure, only knowing it had to have been around longer than her, given that it had been in the same decrepit state as long as she could remember. Most of the seats were empty, a few people stared absentmindedly at there phones likely scrolling through government run social media feeding them the exact amount of useless information to keep them content as they killed time waiting for the train to move.

Choosing an empty row towards the middle, Nina chose the seat next to the window placing her bag in the seat beside her. She mentally took note of the people around her. In front of her to the left, an old, disgruntled man wearing all grey with his cargo pants tucked into what appeared to be old army issued boots. Behind her to the right, a woman with straight blonde hair so engrossed in her phone her long nose looked as though it was about to touch the screen. Closest to her was a fair-haired boy she hadn’t noticed who was nervously tapping his foot, dressed in a black suit with a grey tie, he was likely also on his way to take the Standards. Sitting down she felt the leather crack around her legs, glancing out the window she noticed a small line forming at the entrance to the train.

She grabbed her bag, rummaging through it trying to find her ear buds to listen to music. All the music available is hand selected by the music administration before it is allowed for the public to stream off the internet, resulting in mostly everything sounding similar as people desiring to be musicians began to learn how to appeal to the standards. Occasionally foreign music was approved but this occurred quite infrequently.

In his usual ways though, Nina’s father managed to obtain music from other countries, even from before the war. The variations in sound were so different and surprising Nina absolutely loved it and desired to hear as many different forms as possible that music could take. Unsurprisingly, listening to this music was against the law, though punishment wasn’t severe, so Nina wasn’t too afraid, though it was risky in public.

Finding the ear buds Nina pushed them into her ears as they powered on, her father encoded a gesture that activated the music on her phone, three swipes down, two up would play the songs while showing government approved songs on screen and if the ear buds were taken out the song would switch to a government approved one, requiring the gesture again to revert back, the songs were also encoded as to not be recognized by scanning software. The system he built was quite elaborate just to listen to music but when Nina said that to him, he commented, “government conditioning is elaborate as well.”

Nina lost herself in the music as more people began to file onto the train picking their seats. The train lurched forward and began to accelerate through the tunnels beneath the rows of buildings above so smoothly and quietly only those who knew the train’s exact schedule would know it was zooming beneath them.

* * *

Woken up by a particularly bombastic track, Nina flipped up the bracelet which flashed the time 11:50, they should be to the Capital District shortly she thought. As if on cue the cool female voice came over the loudspeaker, “The time is 11:50, arrival will occur in three minutes, please prepare to disembark, welcome to the Capital District.”

The train burst out of the tunnel onto a track cut on the edge of the capital district and the ocean Nina gazed out the window to sparkling ocean reflecting sunlight off its wavy surface. The train ran across the wall protecting the city from the ocean, further out in the sea she could faintly make out the tips of skyscrapers poking out of the ocean. Little of the old city was left the wall had been built, years before Nina was born, to protect the city from rapidly rising sea levels which now had risen halfway up the wall. Nina had heard rumors people still lived in the half-submerged skyscrapers traveling through a system of tunnels underwater between buildings. Nina had always been skeptical of how such a lifestyle could be sustainable, wondering if people could really survive off only what the sea provided.

Nina stepped out of the train into the Capital District station which featured large cylindrical white columns supporting a glass arched ceiling that shined light down on the grey tiles. On the far end of the station were the glass tubular elevators that took them down to the city streets. Walking to the elevator she chose the empty one, catching it just before it left, likely called down by someone below.

The elevator began slow but quickly gained speed as it hurled towards the ground. Nina leaned against the glass admiring the view of the city. Unlike where she lived, the Capital District featured remnants of another time, where it seemed as though people were free to make their mark on the skyline. Some buildings were towering spires of glass, others were stout made of fading red bricks unimaginably old. However, the creeping dark simplicity was beginning to rein supreme. The buildings towered to the height of the dam, some even above, the tallest structure sat in the center which was known as New Times Square. The building featured the same black reflective glass as the train standing out as one of a kind. Perfectly square it appeared to have been built for the sole purpose of being the largest building in the city, on top was a pyramid made of the same black glass where a bronze figure of a woman in flowing robes holding a torch above her head stood. The statue was called the Woman of the People, in her left hand by her side she held a scroll which was said to represent the will of the people.

The elevator began to slow as it neared ground level, Nina pushed off the glass and shifted the bag on her shoulders. A light ding indicated the door was about to open and before she could exit a large man shoved past her, clearly in a rush. His beady eyes gave her an angry look, she broke his gaze and rushed out the elevator. Unfriendly people were supposedly what the Capital was known for, Nina understood why now.

The elevator had deposited her along the dam which now towered above her. The wall of the dam was lined with the cylindrical glass tubes for two blocks in both directions feeding the flow of traffic between the surface and the train station. Nina took out her phone and opened the map trying to find the pizza shop her father had taken her years before, where she learned that pizza could be better than flimsy cardboard with a faint taste of cheese.

Navigating through the streets Nina examined the unique variety of the structures that inhabited the small spaces, a flair of artistry that Nina assumed had been lost between the generations as she passed blocks of near identical builds to her own home. In this clash of old and new she found the pizza shop which appeared to be the last surviving piece of whatever this building used to be.

Sandwiched between two concrete slabs was a building of cracked red bricks with the words The Simple Slice est. 1983 were painted in fading red and white letters. Nina had absolutely no idea how this place had survived, it was strange to her that such a blatant representation of the past existed at all. 1983 was an unimaginable time where the city likely looked nothing like it did now.

The shop was mostly empty a few pairs of people sat in wire frame chairs enjoying their food. The interior was just as strange as the exterior to Nina, this strange clash of her modern world of minimalism and what must have been a great time for materialism. Anything new in the shop appeared drab and grey while old peeling posters that must have advertised their superior slice hung on the wall.

Nina ordered from an elderly man who had clearly spent his entire life in the kitchen. He handed her a slice in a plain cardboard box and she paid with the tap of her wristband on the black screen of the countertop. The man would be compensated accordingly by the government. Nina had been issued one meal in the city for before or after the exam, she had now used it.

She ate as she wandered around the city streets, the pizza was as good as she had remembered. She enjoyed wandering the streets, seeing the old buildings made her feel more connected to a world she had never known, around her she felt the history of millions of lives that had passed through these streets. She felt as though she could wander forever but it was time to head to the center, the test would begin soon.

Nina navigated to the center, New Times Square, the glowing signs flashed images of smiling faces next to images describing civic duty, and the importance that each person does their part. At the center was the black glass building that towered ominously over the city square. The building housed the leaders of the city state, sons and daughters of the people who had built the world they now inhabited. The building was a symbol to Nina’s father of their absolute power a dark and ominous building that housed their leaders.

Nina would not be entering that building, few regular people did, if they did, they never left, so said the rumors. She was entering the nearly solid concrete block that housed the testing center of the education administration. The only detail on its blank facade being the larger double black doors currently swung inward. Next to the door was a simple digital sign that read in glowing blue letters: Class of 2083 STANDARDS.

Nina could sense her pulse quickening as she attempted to dry her clammy hands on her skirt. She flicked her wrist; it was quarter to three. She stiffened her herself and increased her pace towards the door. Crossing the threshold, the warm sun was replaced by the cool environment of the building in the narrow lobby there was a line of students waiting to enter the next set of foreboding black doors. Some people stood nervously in line staring at their feet or rocking back and forth, other eyes raced over tablets spending the last minutes reviewing. Some group of students chatted nervously while others joked and laughed feinting confidence.

Nina stepped in line behind a curly black-haired girl she didn’t recognize to wait in line for what begin to feel like an eternity though it was only a few minutes. When she reached the table a stiff woman in a grey suit shouted, “Last name?”

“Palmer,” Nina said trying to steel her voice.

After a few taps on her tablet the woman asked, “First name?”

“Nina.”

The woman tapped somewhere in the middle of the screen; a click could be heard from the black door next to her. “Good luck,” the woman said flatly.

“Thanks,” Nina muttered back as she advanced towards the door grasping the cool handle and crossing the threshold, she could hear the woman shouting “Next,” as the door clicked behind her.

The short hallway opened to a large amphitheater lined with chairs attached to small tables. Nina was forced to surrender her belongings to an attendant who locked them away in a locker, handing her a key card, she thanked him, and he wished her luck. Nina scanned the enormous room looking for someone she might know but saw no one. She sighed and chose a mostly empty section taking a seat to watch the large clock on the far wall count down to three o’clock.

Her left leg shook restlessly as she examined the tablet that would soon glow with the questions to decide her future, she twirled the stylus in her fingers as the seats around her filled. A tap on the microphone silenced the room, below the large clock a tall man with a large stomach spoke in an authoritative voice, “Welcome students to the Standards, this test is a turning point for your life so we implore you to respect the test and the process, actions taken for cheating will be drastic…” Nina’s thoughts raced through possible problems and solutions as the education director drawled through rules and regulations. She snapped back to reality.

“…so keep that in mind, good luck students, your time starts now.” On cue the tablets in the room glowed to life as the students hurried to write their name and begin.

* * *

Nina fell backwards onto her bed as she stared blankly at the ceiling, the test and all of the walking she had done had sapped her energy. She felt almost lifeless her mind was blank and burned out from its extended use, her feet were numb from walking the city in flat bottomed shoes with hardly a sole between her feet and the concrete. She felt hungry but was not motivated to eat. The exhaustion soon overtook her, and she passed out.