Phantom Mice

Rain poured down on a gray cityscape. Neon lit skyscrapers rose up into the clouds, the soft light of office windows glittering like gold though the fog. Drops of water glided down a cloudy window. On the other side of the glass, a bored lot of students listened to a history lecture.

"After the division of Antarctica in 2051, oil drilling began on the Denman and Thwaites glaciers due to a united effort from the Western front-"

Orion spun a mechanical pencil around his fingers, staring out towards the clouded view of the city.

"The Shanghai conference of 2053 would soon make all international drilling in the region legal-"

He had jet black hair, wavy and rugged, wisps of strand hairs making up his bangs. He had an attractive face, large blue eyes that reflected the gray of his surroundings, and a skinny physique. Orion had the highest GPA in his class.

"Orion, are you listening?"

"-Hhmph?"

His eyes darted forward to the front of the class. His teacher, an older man with white hair, looked at him meekly.

"Could you recite the opening line of the Shanghai Treaty for the class?" The teacher said quizzically.

Orion slowly stood up, but his words were quicker than he was.

"It is the purpose of this committee to ensure easy access to much needed resources, and to combat the rising energy crisis that puts international supply lines in jeopardy." He recited.

The teacher looked mildly surprised.

"And why did this treaty end in rising energy prices?" The teacher questioned.

"Because oil reserves ran out in Antarctica 30 years later." Orion responded.

"Yes, that's correct."

Orion slowly sat back down. He noticed a few classmates of his looking over at him, but paid no attention. He gazed over towards the window once more as the bell suddenly rang.

"We'll be testing on Unit 4 tomorrow." The teacher raised his voice over the bustling of students. "Get some sleep, I don't want to catch any heads down next class!"

Orion slung a black bag over his shoulder and walked out his class into the crowded hallway.

Northeast State was a large Highschool in the upper United States, home to around 10,000 students. Formed in the early 2040s, it was one of the largest and most prestigious high schools in the country. The campus grounds are made up of four large buildings, each a different department. Their tall glassy entrances, dark marble walls, neon lit decor, and sharp angles blended into the cityscape. In the center of the four buildings was a large courtyard with old, broad trees, and up-kept gardens. The main entrance to the school was the South entrance, located in front of the Core Studies Building. The same building whose hallways Orion walked through at 2:00 o'clock that afternoon.

Orion rubbed his hand over his eye bags, which formed the gray battle scars of sleep deprivation. He had a slump to his walk, generally unaware of his surroundings. Going up to a vending machine, he slotted a crinkled note in and pressed a button for a bitter lemon soda. As he retrieved it from the pickup box, he walked outside to a small bus stop. His mind began to wander.

"I've got a student council meeting tomorrow... but I don't have anything ready."

Orion was a dedicated student. With his advanced curriculum having begun in Primary, he was now a part of 5 clubs years later, one being a national honors society. He looked devoted, but it wasn't like he was born this way.

Raised by uptight parents in a competitive environment, he was required at an early age to do his best at everything he did. They pushed him, constantly, almost to his limits, when he thought he wouldn't be able to take any more. His parents could never get the point across to him that they merely wanted him to do well, and live a successful life. That wasn't easy to do in the dangerous, unstable environment of the 22nd century. Having the opportunity of higher education was a blessing.

Hopping of his bus, Orion walked through a cracked concrete street, shadowed by large overhangs. Large, rising apartments covered in dull bluish green paint flanked his right, with neon signs and large advertisement posters plastered over the bottom floors. On his left was a large, deep canal, reserved for hover boats and small trade ships.

Orion walked drearily towards an apartment door. He rung a doorbell with the name "The Wisterias." There was a long buzzing noise as he pushed the door open and began to walk up the spiraling stairwell.

Arriving at a thick door on the third story, Orion inserted a key card and entered.

"I'm back." Orion exclaimed tiredly as he slipped his shoes off. The apartment was warmly lit, and had high ceilings, peachy walls, and wooden floors, with large windows looking out over the rainy neon cityscape.

His little sister rushed towards him - she was in primary school, with large eyes and long black hair.

"Hi Orion!"

"Hey Hana. Where's mom and dad?"

"Mom's busy in the kitchen, and dad's still at work." Hana grinned broadly. "We're having Entomo for dinner!"

Orion made a disgusted frown. Entomo was a dish made from boiled earthworms, rolled in breadcrumbs, flour, and paprika, and fried crisp.

"Really? I'm tired of eating bugs." He responded.

"It's the end of the month Orion, we'll have meat in a week." Hana exclaimed. Family pay came monthly in the Wisteria household - food by the tail end of the month was never pleasant.

"Uh, yeah - right." Orion stuttered. "Could you tell mom that I'm gonna just skip dinner and hit the hay at 6? I've got a Student Council meeting tomorrow and I reaaaally need the sleep."

"Student Council?" Hana parroted. "YOU'RE gonna run for president Orion?"

"Yeah, now look." He crouched down to Hana's level. "Mr. President could use your help right about now to sneak past mom-"

"And miss my wonderful cooking?" His mother responded, walking into the lobby. "We have some blocks of plastic cheese in the freezer if Mr. President would prefer that." His mother added with a tiny smirk.

"Ah, no no, it's all good." Orion smiled awkwardly, rubbing his neck. "I think Mr. President's gonna do some studying in the meantime, oval office type biz."

"Do well, Orion!" His mom called after him.

Orion opened the door to his room. It was dimly lit with neon blue lights, small, but had a high ceiling, with red cushioned chairs and a large table on one end. He had multiple monitors sitting on his desk.

"You're now listening to Sakura Dreams 82-99 F.M." A high-pitched voice announced from the radio. "Offering only the best in Cyberpop."

He sighed as he took a seat on his chair and opened up the main desktop to his computer. Suddenly, a call request popped up on the screen. He answered it.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Orion Wisteria? This is Mr. Anderson from the central registrar office." A deep, stern voice echoed from the call. "It has come to our attention that you still possess $320 dollars in late fees for this semester. We urge you to talk to your parents about this."

Orion's heart rate quickened.

"They're asking about the late fees again."

"Yeah... about that. My parents wanted to know if we could maybe set up, ah, some sort of staggered payment plan?"

"We cannot make exceptions, Orion. I understand this might be hard on your parents, but what would be even harder is a retraction of your educational support system and a ban from all extracurricular activities. Please assess the situation you are in."

Orion grit his teeth. His nails dug into his chair as he rocked slowly back and forth.

"Right, I get it. We'll get those fees in." Orion retracted himself from becoming too aggressive.

"That's good to know." Mr. Anderson replied. "Thanks for your cooperation."

"Yeah, no problem."

Orion was the first to hang up the call, sighing as he leaned back into his chair. His head turned to the window. Rain poured down even harder, the neon lights of the city glowing through the mist.