PATRIARCHY

two

chapter 2

the thirteenth of may, 2155

The blue clock above the door shows 11:07 AM, and I have yet again spent several minutes of History class just staring at it.

I can tell by Mr. Whicker's elaborate hand gestures that we are learning about how and why the Patriarchy was implemented, like we do nearly every history class. I'm not sure though, since I'm spending my time anxiously waiting for the class to be over.

"Around the 1920s, when democracy was still intact, females were given the right to vote on a national basis," I hear, once I move my eyes to the front of the class. Mr. Whicker's dark eyes scurry over the back row, and I force myself to pay attention. The talk with Father scared me, and it reminded me that I cannot afford to go unclaimed. No female can.

The atmosphere around me thickens once I glance over at Xander, scribbling something in his notebook. I slowly fold my sleeve back, my eyes shifting between my wrist and him. Ever since he traced his initials on it yesterday, It's like I've felt them there constantly. I only have thirty-eight days until they're really there, and... I have to know what they'll look like.

Xander Forge. X F.

I take a black marker out of my pencil case, and I look over at Xander again, this time his eyes directly aiming at mine.

The fierce blue in them reminds me of a whirlpool, sucking in anything it touches. It's one month until my ceremony, and he is the only one who has shown interest. Not only shown interest, but been persistent. It frightens me to think about how I'll have to look into those eyes every day for the rest of my life.

"With the following years, the suffrage movement proved to be a tremendous mistake." Mr. Whicker continues, catching my attention. A ridge between his eyebrows protrudes as they crease, his bulky face hardening.

"Shortly after giving females an equal voice to decide our government, we were sent into the great depression, one of the biggest economic crisis of all time." He insists, and I peek at the texts in my history book, corresponding with his words.

"It also boosted a movement that threatened the values and beliefs we hold so dearly today." The words drill at me as I take the cap off of the black marker. Xander's eyes are still on me, examining me, as the teacher's words intrude my reluctant ears.

"Moving into the 1960's, this movement gained momentum as society transitioned drastically over the next decades" I listen, carefully placing the marker on my wrist.

"The movement poisoned our social structures. Emasculating our men, giving females permission to have abortions, accepting and even praising homosexuality..." He lists, and my hand warily begins to write the X. I need to know how his initials will look like on my wrist.

"This corrupt, unethical, nefarious social structure lasted for nearly a century." I drag the coarse marker sideways to finish the X, and it feels like sandpaper against my skin.

I lift the marker once I finish the F, and I see the final initials manifested on my skin. Xander's eyes pull mine away from my wrist, and I feel a sickening tinge of nausea spreading from my gut.

I see him smirk, but I make sure to hide my wrist from his sight, even though I have this strange feeling he knows exactly what I've done. I weaken by looking at the letters, as it makes me think about what they'll mean. They mean that my life will no longer belong to me.

"And the movement that caused this huge blight on American history was called..." Mr. Whicker's voice reaches me again as frail shivers spread down my spine, staring at my own skin. Xander raises slightly from his chair, eyeing towards my arm. I panic, immediately rubbing my thumb against the area, wanting the letters gone. My heartbeat calms down and my lungs regain air as the letters disperse into one thick blob.