Sunset City

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I drag myself out of bed and turn on the lights. God, my room is messy, but I don't have time to worry about that right now. I slip downstairs to our closet and pull on my clothes, a tanktop and shorts, as well as my hiking boots that I don't leave home without. Today's June 1st, the sign-up day for the Dawn and Dusk competition, a competition across Sunset City to see what area of the city(other then the Towerscape Area) has the most "potential" and deserves special treatment for a year or so. I grab a bite of toast to eat and rush to the door, but catch a glimpse of myself in the reflection of a puddle from our leaky roof, my pale pink hair is a horrible state. I run my hand through it and hope it makes it look slightly better, it doesn't. I ignore my hair and run out of the door, hoping to make it to the sign-up station in time.

I spot a taxi and frantically wave it over, I brought just enough money to get a ride to the station from the Overgrowth Area. I get in the car,  its engines start and we're flying. I always loved getting taxis when I was little, soaring over the city and seeing all the different Areas. It's a luxury few in the Overgrowth can afford, but I saved up for it just for today. The Towerscape Area is lit up in a rainbow of colours, each representing an Area, especially for today. We land outside the station and I thank the driver and tip him with a bottle full of Overgrowth Area native plants, which sell for quite a lot to the right people.

I walk to the station and see the lady running Sign-Ups. Her name's Goldie, quite fitting for someone of her status in the City. She grabs my hand with such force I nearly fly over the Sign-Up table. She pricks my fingertip with some machine they don't have in the Overgrowth. "Lotus Mayfield, 14-Year-Old male from the Overgrowth Area?" She asks. "Yes, that's me." I answer, shyly. I don't like when people say my last name. It makes me feel like everything's all serious. "Go on in for the raffle." She says, pointing to the City Square behind her.

I walk to the Square and find the "waiting area" marked with a green flower emblem. The waiting area is actually just a fenced in coop for people from the Overgrowth aged fourteen to seventeen to wait in. I stand inside it, not saying a word to my fellow Overgrowth citizens, for what seems like decades until Goldie steps onto the central stage.

"Welcome, welcome! I'm so happy to see so many eager people signing up for the Dawn and Dusk competition!" She exclaims, then her face turns serious. Or as serious as her face caked in rainbow makeup can be. "As you all know, only five Volunteers can be chosen for each Area to enter the final raffle. So we will start pulling names to pick our Wonderous Fives!" She puts her hand in the Jewelled Area's basket and pulls out five holographic rectangles, each with a name and age on it. "Shining Heartstone." Was the only name I heard. I've never been to Jewelled, since it's illegal for anyone but Towerscape citizens. But they definitely name their kids some silly things.

The next two Areas all have their "Lucky Five" selected, I hear a handful of names, and now it's time for Overgrowth. There's about 25 of us that volunteered, so a fifth of us will be selected. If we don't get picked most of us can try again next year, anyway.

"Rose Cardia." Everyone in the Overgrowth Square looks over to her, her face was widened in shock. I think I met her once before, in school or at the City Market, maybe. She's 15, and this is her second year of volunteering. She leaves the Square and goes to the stage with the other fifteen picked people.

"Poppy Ainsley." Poppy lets out a slight sob hearing her name be called, maybe she was asked to volunteer as a joke? She takes her place beside Rose and wipes her eyes with her sleeve.

The next two names are two seventeen year olds I've never met before, so I don't pay them much attention.

"And now," Goldie says, looking to our Square. "Time to pick the final Volunteer for the Overgrowth Area!"

I stand there, not daring to move while nervously watching her fiddle around in the green basket of names, finally she grabs one and pulls out the holographic slip and reads the name.

"Lotus Mayfield."