OUR WORLD IN RUIN

12/05/2545 - Monday

"And what do you think, Miss Aura?" Professor McVille's words echoed in my ear as I snapped back into reality. I quickly scribbled another mental note to stop daydreaming in class.

"Regarding?" I pressed. His eyes narrowed at me in disgust.

"See me after class." He mumbled, "Again..."

I huffed, feeling his eyes roll at me for the billionth time this lesson. I had no more desire to pay attention and simply placed my head in my hands, letting my platinum locks fall from their bun to conceal my face. I knew that I should have been listening, but had anyone told me we would be covering the French Armada for the eighth time this semester, I would have pursued a different career. I guess I was just looking for answers that I knew I would never receive.

I glossed my eyes over my textbook, its pale brown cover a sly metaphor for the bland taste of Professor McVille's lessons. 'War and Royalty: A Modern Approach." I couldn't help but snicker, it's as though the mutants truly thought we were stupid. There was certainly nothing modern about it. Some of the language used had been extinct for generations, not to mention there wasn't a single colour picture throughout its entire content. Considering that I'm the only one who ever seems to be annoyed, I often imagine that my fellow peers are merely robots, simulated by this government to eternally test my patience. But I know that's not the truth, I know they hate it too. But what can they do? Speaking out would only lead to all sorts of repercussions. So instead, they hid.

I tried to tune back into the lesson, but my mind continued to wander. Even the sound of the clock desperately ticking was more entrancing than the mumbled slurs of Professor McVille's programmed lessons. It seemed as though the minutes had turned into hours as I awaited his final words. But when they finally came, the feeling of anger began to sink in. He and I were not on good terms as of late. To be more exact, Professor Mcville described me as a know-it-all with an intrinsic talent of sticking my nose where it didn't belong. Call it as you may, I like to think he was just jealous of my natural aptitude to learn. Regardless, he knew I longed to know more, and as much as I hated to admit it, I knew that he was trying to look out for me.

"Miss Aura, Nice to see you tuning into my lessons as usual." He called out as the final students filed out. I could almost see a bead of sweat forming at his balding temple as he anticipated yet another debate.

"I mean 5 points for attendance am I right?" The only response that warranted was a deep glare. "Listen, Lewidian."

"Professor McVille."

"Sure." I cleared my throat. "I could recite you the entire French Armada, and pretty much any armada in our textbooks. Better yet, I could probably tell you the entire history of the world before this godforsaken curse fell upon it. Not to mention, I know I'm one of your best students, so you can't possibly think I'm lying." I could feel my heart pounding as I worked myself up. "There's no other way for me to tell you. I'm bored."

"And I've given you access to all the resources I can."

"I don't know if I'm the only smart person in this institute, but can I remind you that just because some of these resources are given new covers and pretty pages, it doesn't help the fact that the newest one was published nearly 550 years ago." I took a deep breath. "It's not enough."

"Miss Aur-"

"No. There's something missing. I know there is. Aside from my grandmother's stories, I barely know anything about my family from the past 600 years, let alone the entire human race. There's this void inside me that needs to know." I stared angrily at Professor McVille, my hands, now balled into fists, were shaking furiously as I tried to overcome my emotions. "I just don't understand how everyone here can seem so contemptuous with not knowing."