Fated Love- A Collection of Short Stories

SOTW- Part 4.5

I open my desktop eagerly, looking forward to chatting with Ivy about the book. Thanks to Everly at least I have some sort of idea about things I can ask about. I smile at the thought, it's nice to have the conversation going instead of stopping awkwardly at times. But more importantly, it's comforting to think about how entertained she would be if she could talk about her interests rather than having to explain every now and then. It was delightful to think that I could connect with her through a common topic.

After she offered to meet up, this sense of satisfaction and eagerness only amplified. She enjoyed talking to me. And to me, that was quite nice.

[I'm free around two months from now. Would you like to meet up then? Perhaps on Saturday evening? We can confirm the exact time later.]

{Sure!}

[By the way, how is the book going?]

{It's going quite great actually! I am about 3/4ths the way there}

I sighed in relief. Everly was also around 3/4ths of the way through the book.

[What is currently happening?] It shouldn't be awkward to ask this. After all, now that I'm actually aware about what was exactly happening, I didn't have to ask about characters again and again. The fact that I asked about this rather than seeking clarification about prior events though, seemed to surprise her. I smirked. It felt good to impress her.

{You read the book? I thought you didn't have enough time to read it with all your contracts and coursework. Aren't you majoring in Engineering? I heard from a senior in my math lectures that it's a lot of work.}

[I'd read it if it were for you... Weren't you in Literature? Why did you have a Math lecture?] This made me a bit curious. The math lectures that I had with Professor Chance were the only reference points I had about math lectures. But as far as I knew, those lectures required a lot of interest in the subject to be able to comprehend them. They weren't even mandatory according to either of our programs. But more importantly, Professor Chance didn't just specialize in math. He was an old medical student. An exiled one.

I leaned back into my chair, thinking about that conversation I had with him after class one day.

"I noticed that you had an interest in the way our historical world once worked. Do you know how schools used to operate Zaiden?"

"No sir." I replied, setting down my cup of coffee. That day, I wondered why Professor Chance would come talk to me, but it was only a while after that I figured it out, he wanted someone to talk to openly. He chose a small cafe with a private ambience and no cameras to record our conversation. He really wanted to vent out his thoughts.

"Schools used to be very different. Especially the programs available and the way that the exams work. Regarding the other programs open to the public, like the ones at our school, you can take whatever courses you want as long as you pass the final exam, though most students don't do that. These days, studying any health related programs are restricted to a certain organization, the DHGO." I gritted my teeth. Chance noticed this and quickly continued. 

"Taking a Med-school program requires money, talent and loyalty towards the higher-ups. There is no concept of free healthcare like there used to be. The only reason this foundation exists is because ever since 2050, the world has been plagued by genetic mutations. Everyone is concerned about it and the DHGO monopolises the fact that they are the only ones who have a "solution" to the problem. People have just started accepting this as the way the world operates. If you have money, you get healthcare. If you want to become a doctor, you swear loyalty to the organization and get rich quickly."