In 2160 Kanatah, the grid you're born into determines everything, from your clothes to your haircut, education, and job. Avah's only way out is by becoming a doctor, but with her poor schooling, that's almost impossible.
Her life takes a turn for th...
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At night, we sometimes had wheelbarrow races. It was something the police officers were willing to turn a blind eye to if you gave them half of the betting pool. Whenever we were out late, we dressed differently; cut-off sleeves and shredded pant legs. Hair bows and frilly scarves. Boots with spurs and knee-high stockings.
It was an opportunity for young people to show off their unique fashion taste outside the rigid rules governing what we wore during the day.
Some people wore eye patches or hid their faces behind black plastic screens covered in neon scribbles. To help Olivia blend in, I gave her a cardboard box that had holes for the eyes and mouth. With nearly every inch of her covered, people would no longer be able to tag her in photos.
Nearing the end of August, the nights were often cold, so Olivia wore layers to stay warm, but I was used to the chill. All I had was my shirt with its cut-off sleeves and a pair of jeans. I remembered Olivia's fingers grazing my skin earlier in the night as she had drawn black claw marks across the left side of my face with paint and a tiny brush. My ears warmed as I wished she would touch me again.
We stood side by side, our hands in our pockets. If I wanted to, I could stretch my hand across that small distance and hold her. It would take little physical exertion, but... I watched how the strings of light people sported as jewellery painted her box with vibrant colours. Being near her was more than enough.
She coughed and cleared her throat, reminding me our air was bad for her.
"You should go home."
"I'm fine."
"Go home."
"But I want to meet your friends, Avah Bear."
Olivia had started to call me Avah Bear after my father, the traitor, told her my full name.
I told her, "You can meet them another time... indoors."
"I want to meet them tonight."
She held my arm and leaned against my shoulder.
I sighed, surrendering prematurely.
We watched the organizers set up wheelbarrows in front of the starting line. One person rode inside while the other pushed; it was what we called a couple's event, a kind of coming-of-age ritual for people in Grid T when we found the right one. Here the couples could be hetero or homosexual as long as they could pay the participation fee.
The buy-in to participate in a ten-man heat was ten dollars. But if you won, you walked away with eighty dollars. We watched the first racers grin as they ran, pushing their lovers toward the end of the parking lot. Behind the track, which had been isolated by glow-in-the-dark ropes, were the dimmed lights of Tom's Younger Brother, Zach's Hardware Store, where I used to work as a cashier.
The crowd pulsed and rippled as little plastic tubes of sweet drinks mixed with alcohol were passed around. I bit one open with my teeth and offered it to Olivia while we waited for Jun and Brittney to arrive. She sipped it slowly, getting used to our sweet flavours.
