Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Friends
A place where world peace has been met with open arms. A world where everyone loves each other and are completely blinded by the perfections of themselves. The imperfections glazed over with the words 'people make mistakes'. The world outside unknown and out of reach.
~
The hem of my floral dress fell to the ground, in what seemed like slow motion. My heavy breathing could be heard through the halls, and over that, my pounding heart. I walked down the rustic corridor at a steady pace. My two inch heels began digging at my old calluses, creating fresh ones. The footsteps of another rang through my ears, leading me to hide in fear of being found. I turned left into a room, but instead of it being a rustic chamber, I found myself standing in a green pasture. Daisies and poppies growing as far as the eye could see. I turned to leave or even close the door, but to my surprise the door had disappeared and I was only staring at the other half of the endless green fields, the blue sky filled with puffy white clouds. I bent down and slipped my beige heels off, relieving myself of the pain. A sigh escaped my lips and my anxiety seemed to have left my body. Everything seemed at ease. Seemed.
In the blink of an eye I was back to the real world. My light yellow bedroom walls welcomed me. I laid in my bed, staring up at the ceiling. That was my recurring dream. We were told to tell the Ward if we were having recurring dreams. It was a 'process' everyone went through once in their term. We're told in school that a recurring dream shows us the darkness of the world we once knew. In the year 2021 the world snapped into chaos. The survivors of what we call 'The End' came together and created 'The Beginning' which followed with the construction of "The Dome'. That's our history. They expect us to believe that these dreams we have are the worst of our past. Personally my dreams seem very intriguing. At the same time they don't make any sense. My dreams are puzzle pieces that don���t go together. My puzzle's are always sitting there unfinished. It just really nags at my OCD.
My thoughts were interrupted by the laughter of children at play. I glanced at my window realizing that I had left it open all night. I stared at the clear blue sky watching the tops of the trees blow in the wind.
"Good Morning Everyone. Meals will be distributed to your neighborhood shortly. Please be ready at your station to assist meal workers."
Every morning at 8:00, breakfast is dropped off at every neighborhood station. The station is where everyone eats together at the assigned time. Lunch is at 12:00 pm and dinner's at 6:00 pm. Our bodies grow accustomed to this system in the youth of our term.
I got myself out of bed and walked over to my white dresser to retrieve my outfit for the day. I chose a pair of blue clad jeans and a white button up shirt. To go with it I grabbed a pair of my mother's white sneakers that she told me I could use whenever I wanted. I passed my little brother Arti in the hall and gave him a friendly tap on the head. I heard him giggle as I continued to the bathroom. I brushed my hair and teeth and headed to the living room. Since we don't eat in our home no house has a kitchen except the 'Kitchen' itself.
"Macel, sweety can you help your brother with his shoes." My mother asked me tenderly.
"Of course." I responded in a similar tone of voice.
I walked over to my struggling brother as he attempted to tie a bow with his shoe laces. I chuckled at his lousy attempts.
"Silly, I've shown you how to do it before. Come on. Fold each end of the lace into a single "bunny ear," hold the "ears" in place between your thumb and pointer finger on each hand. Cross the bunny ears so that they form an "X" in the air and then loop the bottom bunny ear over and through the top bunny ear. Ta dah!"
My brother sat there with wide eyes. He was yet again amazed by my "skills" in tying laces.
"Teach me, teach me!" He squealed as he shook my back and forth.
"Arti, I just-" my words were cut off by my father's voice.
"Kids, time to go." My father was already standing at the door with my mother waiting to leave.
We both stood up after I quickly did his other shoe. As we walked down our perfectly symmetrical neighborhood I stared up at the sky. If you focused hard enough you could see the honeycomb shapes that made up The Dome. They gave off a hollow graphic shimmer that could only be seen with a keen eye. I happen to have a keen eye. My mother always told me I was just seeing things and that the dome wasn't actually there, but was more created in our minds. My dad said that it was there and that it has been the thing that kept us safe all these years. Either way they both think there's nothing wrong with the fact that we can't leave this place. I've had a curious spirit since I was little and my dream was to leave these invisible walls one day. I told my parents that and all they did was give me a weird look. Like I was insane or hit my head a little too hard as a kid.
As we neared the meal station I took in the smell of the food. The same boring Canet dish that we have every breakfast. I always hoped that maybe one day the Kitchen would make something different, but so far my wish hasn't come true.
I took a seat at a table with other kids that were my age while my brother and parents sat with their clicks. Clicks are people that you have personal relationships with. Most clicks only last a quarter of a person's term, but always end on a good note. I've only ever had one click and it lasted a few days, which in my case isn't a surprise. Her name was Petra and had a very quiet demeanor and manner. She said 'hi' to me and after that we hung out. Then she was later moved to a different neighborhood. It had something to do with her grandma's term coming to an end. Anyways I remember crying for days and not wanting to ever have a 'click' again. My parents told me I was being too dramatic, but deep down inside I felt like I had lost my other half.
"Mace, right? Or is it Macel?" A boy who sat to my right tapped my shoulder. His teal orbs sparkled as he pushed a strand of messy long black hair behind his ear. He had a very pretty face and seemed very composed.
Most boys I've talked to had a stutter as they talked. I decided to listen to the 'teachings' of the words friendly and kind. "Yeah. It's Macel. What about you?" I gave him a gentle smile.
"The name's Kota. My parents are your parents' clicks. Kind of funny, because they always talk about you." He said as he scratched his nape.
I tried to hold back a blush, noting that I'd bring that up with my parents.
"Yeah, my parents like to set me up. It's embarrassing." I palmed my face.
I heard a chuckle escape Kota's lips. "Nothing wrong with that. They just want you to be happy."
"I guess, unless they don't mention anything about it to me." I said, biting my bottom lip, attempting to hold in a smirk.
"If we continue talking we might make a click." Kota laughed out loud this time.
It made me happy inside to be a part of someone's laughter. Before I broke into laughter with him, Petra's face appeared in my mind. A sickening feeling stirred in my stomach and suddenly I lost my appetite. I gripped my abdomen as I looked to my lap.
"Hey you ok?" Kota noticed my sickened state.
Although I know all he meant was to be kind, my mind couldn't let go on the thought of Petra. When her face was replaced with Kota's in my mind I snapped. I stood up, pushing my chair away with my legs.
"I'm not hungry anymore." I quickly bowed and turned to run. My legs brought me to the neighborhood playground. I climbed into a plastic blue tunnel and let it swallow me up as I curled into a ball to cry. Tears poured from my ducts as I whimpered.
I quickly wiped the fresh tears away as I heard footsteps grow near. I bury my face in my knees hoping the person wouldn't find me.
"Macel…"
Kota's warm, tender voice made me feel a little relieved. I was glad my parents weren't the ones who came to give me a pep talk.
"Your parents are worried, but I told them I'd talk to you. They got all excited and said It was ok." His tone changed to a more sarcastic manner, but not so much that insulted.
"S-sounds like them." I hiccuped. A blush kissed my cheeks as I slowly climbed out of the blue tunnel. "They're probably thinking we'll make a click."
"Well...won't we?" Kota looked at me with furrowed brows.
Not giving him a straight answer, I looked and shook my head.
"Did something happen? You got all clammy." His eyes seemed genuinely worried.
I took a deep breath making a decision. "When I was in my youth I had a click. It only lasted four days and she moved away. It really hurt me so I told myself I'd never have a click again."
"Oh...I see." Kota stood there speechless.
We waited for each other to speak, but words never came. The silence was unbearable, but somewhat serene.
Kota took a seat on the nearest playset and looked at me with pity. Not a condescending kind of pity, but with pure kindness. "Well I don't plan on moving anytime soon."
��Yeah, but you don't know th-"
"Sure I do." Kota's signature smile returned. He got back on his feet and walked over to me. As he looked down at me he took my hand in his. "Macel, will you let go of your past click. You know I've gotten a chance to look in our historical dictionaries. There's billions of words that we don't use anymore. The one I found most fitting for this situation will definitely sound better." Kota crouched down still holding my hand in his, "Macel will you be my friend?"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Julezz
Julezz Hope you guys like how it's starting. I like 'fast starts' or whatever so I'll try my best to get into the good stuff quickly. For my readers let me know if you have any suggestions or things that you maybe want to happen and I'll see what I can do. I'll be updating at random, but hopefully at least once a week, unless I get super inspired. lol.
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