The Ark Diary of Dylan De Rovia Book One of De Rovia Diaries

Going to the Exchange Alone

Thursday January, 7th 2150

I have two outfits. This morning as I was getting dressed I noticed it. In my clothset are three blue mecha uniforms for work, two tops, a pair of denim pants and one floral skirt. My white t-shirts are in folded on the shelf. Socks and underwear are in the top of my metal dresser with my sleep shorts.  

Having a uniform job I don’t need lots of plain clothes Dad is the same way. Mom gets to wear what she wants mostly so all of us she has the most plainwear. I have no desire or style but I want to look nice.

Hailey  sits next to me, “So that guy that you had lunch with tuesday. Was that him?”

“Yeah that’s Kye.”

She rises an eyebrow. “Not what I was pictureing. He looks like a regular farmlander.”

I nod taking a bite of my fruit salad. “He’s an oddity as far Uppers go that’s for sure.”

“You two looked happy.”

“We are,” I tell her. Hailey  seemed to be probing me for information I don’t tell her much. There are  gossip sits on the Arknet, anyone can post an article. Journalism is a hoppy here with no set of rules I could write an article and publish it if I wanted to.

She doesn’t take the hint. “Come on throw me a bone here.”

“Why it’s no one’s business but us and when I’m sixteen and paired then it will my future husband and me and Kye.”

“So you don’t think you’ll match with him?”

I let a hard sigh. “I don’t know do you know?”

“No.”

I walk off to my next class of course it’s still in session so I sit in the hall. Reaching into my bag I take out my drawing book. I start a rough outline of a windmill. With weather on the planet there is wind. Mills will add another source of power to our solar and biofuels.  Speeds seem to vary depending on the region so wind power and solar energy are going to be the primary energy sources until we can get algae production going.

Alge here as multiple uses, as fuel and food. Algae as is edible but most people don’t drink it raw, it taste bitter and smells like old shoes. When dried it’s made into thin green crackers that are still bitter but don’t smell like feet. To make fuel it’s mixed with human waste that smells like a shitty old shoe. Which is why it’s made in the Lowers no one want to stand in raw sewage. It has to be continuously mixed or the chemicals won’t bind properly. It might be the one thing about being on the surface team would suck.

Turning a page I start a new drawing, I’m not standing in that. With a small ground team we won’t be making much fuel enough for the rovers and generators when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn’t shine. A small round basin would be good four feet tall and six feet in diameter. If I put a series of small rotors at the bottom close enough to each other that turning one will turn the other that should create a strong current.

I make the central propeller bigger than the others, a long metal will connect it to the a spinning wheel. A person or better yet a two person team would have to turn the wheel but it would turn the wheel. Still a physically demanding chore but not standing knee deep in others peoples crap. That’s worth it to me.

My instructor, Mr. Ulrich comes out of the class as it empties, this is his chance to get coffee. He looks down at me. “Miss. De Rovia your a little early.”

“Yeah I needed to be away from people.”

He looks at my book, “A diary?”

I shake my head showing him the drawing. “It’s just idea’s I want to apply for the ground team.”

Ulrich nods to the book. “May I?”

“Sure.” I hand over my book.

Turning the page he sees my water tower and the house. “These are good very good.”

I feel my face redden as he hands it back to me. “Thanks.”

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Walking around the exchange without my Mom or Lori was a bad idea. They have more of sense of style then I do, Mom is more practical kind of person with her black dress pants and pastel shirts. Lori on the other hand is a more of a printed dress and black leggings person. I’m nothing really I like baggy shirts and my cotton sleep shorts. But, I can’t wear that in public so there I was at the exchange. With only an abstract idea of what I wanted.

I’d already decided on getting a dress it would be easy to take off and on. The VR suit is black unitard that covers your whole body. Walking dejectedly to the exit I’m looking at my feet which is why I see the ball. It's a fresh soccer ball slowly rolling toward me. Picking it up I turn left going in the general direction that the ball came from.

In one stall is a girl who looks as excited as me about being here. “Are you missing something?”

“My ball!” Her eye’s light-up when she sees the ball. She runs to it hugging it close. It must be a christmas present outside of the Arcade regular sports equipment is expensive.

Reaching into my bag I pull out black marker I’d found it in my office. “What’s your name?”

“Tally.”

In block letters I write her name on the white squares. “So, Miss Tally what are you selling?”

She keeps hold of her ball but dutifully shows me the dresses and skirts her mother made. One of them is fall colored dress I like the length. “I’ll take this one.”

“Really?”

“Really.” I say holding out my card.

I walk home with the dress rolled into a lumpy cylinder in my work bag. When I open the door to our apartment I hear my mother singing along with a song. She must be in a good mood my mother has an excellent voice a clear soprano.

“Hey Little Bit.” She said seeing me. “I was starting to get worried.”

“Yeah I have plans this weekend with some work friends so I stopped by the exchange to get a new outfit.”

Now everything about sentence makes my mother visibly happy but she breaks it down. “You have plans with weekend?”

“Yes, Mother, with Cole we work together. He invited us on a double date with his wife.” Us, means me and Kye. I could tells she didn’t like the idea of this man encouraging me as she calls it. If she knew he was the one who I got drunk with. Let’s just say she’d definitely disapprove of him. She knows Kye is part of my life now all that’s happen but she’s still holding out hope that we’ll fizzle out.

“And you went shopping all on your own?” Her surprised tone makes me laugh.

“Mom, I’ll almost fifteen I can do most things on my own.” I say showing her the dress.

She looks it over approvingly. “That’s cute Little Bit. You’ll need to wear tights or leggings.”

“Lori said she’d loan me a pair.”

“Not fishnets.” We both say at the same time.

Then we both laugh. That happening more and more where we are the same wavelength of thoughts. I could do worse then become more like my mother. She sighed, looking happy but also sad like there was some known burden she was carrying. I wanted to ask what was wrong with her but we were having a nice moment.

Something is happening between my parents first I was worried now I’m not. They seem to be getting along better I see them linger on each other like some they’ve just discovered something new about each other. Maybe because the end is so near they’re starting to relax. Compared to other Pairs they had a good married life and I have wonderful parents. They will be wonderful grandparents.