The Color of Knowledge

Chapter Three (pt. 1)

The thought of spending time with Tima and the rest of her graduated class made Ivy less worried about the coming decision she had to make. The Square, where everyone met, was at the center of The Society. A few restaurants, small shops that sold basic necessities, and one building where citizens had the opportunity to show off their talents, surrounded it.

Pulse Lounge was the only source of entertainment one could find throughout The Society. It was always full of people trying to get in a good laugh or cry. To prevent overcrowding, the club manager came up with the idea to have timed one-hour intervals in which people would be able to enjoy acts put on by others in their age group.

Since the younger kids had an earlier curfew, their one-hour interval was first. Ivy could hear the applause and laughter echoing across The Square as she met up with Tima and the rest of her class. Their curfew was not until twelve, so they had one of the last time slots.

Sitting outside at the base of a large clock in the center of the artificial lawn, everyone exchanged stories about their first day on the job. Ivy looked at the white shops and restaurants that surrounded the grassy area. Tuning out the laughter and complaints of her peers, she remembered the first time she had gone to a restaurant there.

Even the foods the chefs made were not allowed to have the forbidden colors in them. Ivy had stared down at the bland plate of food that was placed in front of her. She had hesitated before digging in and was surprised by the richness of the taste. What the dish lacked in color had made up for in flavor.

"Did you guys hear about Alex Turner?"

The question grabbed Ivy's attention. It was Zari Sororno who had asked, the redhead who had reluctantly accepted her job in the Secretary Unit just the other day.

"He fell off a pod today and is paralyzed—on his first day, too. Can you believe that? I always knew he was clumsy." Zari had captured the attention of most of the group.

Having already heard the news, Ivy tuned the sound of Zari's boisterous voice out. Although she had only ever exchanged a few words with the boy and didn't know him that well, she didn't want to hear about how clumsy he was from someone who hadn't even known him at all.

"They're going to have tryouts to replace him. Of course I'm going to try out; I'd do just about anything to get out of the Secretary Unit. Guess what they had me do today. Go on, guess." No one said anything, but Zari continued anyway. "All I did was sort letters. It's probably the most boring Unit to be placed in. It almost makes me wish I wasn't blessed with being so organized."

Ivy became aware of why she had never had a conversation with Zari.

"Did you know they were having tryouts?" Tima asked Ivy, who was sitting next to her.

"My dad told me this afternoon—"

"Well you're going to try out, right?" Tima interrupted. "I'm pretty sure you would get the job before Zari does. I'd probably be more eligible than her," she finished, glancing at Zari with disdain.

"I have to tell you something." They got up to move away from the group, which had resumed swapping stories about their placements.

"Is it about work? I was about to ask you how that went."

"It went well. I think they placed me there because they noticed how well I take care of Spence."

Tima thought for a moment. "Now that you see they've placed you there for a good reason, you think you might grow to love it? That's a tough decision to make."