Silent Rebellion

Chapter 3.) New Rooms

I lingered for a moment, then smiled and waved to Nick and left for my train car. That video? How did he see it too? Why were people seeing this? I walked back to my car. When I got there, I heard the shower running, so I knew Dawn was in there. I strode over to my dresser to look at what else was there. In the bottom drawer was a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a hairbrush. In the middle drawer was a notebook. I leafed through the pages, but it all was empty. I tossed it onto my bed, looking for a pen to write in it. I found one underneath my nightgown. I quickly undressed and slid it on. I neatly folded my clothes and placed it on top of the dresser. I grabbed the hairbrush and began undoing my braid. I brushed it out then tied it into s ponytail on top of my head. I placed the brush on the dresser as well and sat on top of my bed and began to write.

Day 1:
Dear Alan,
I met some new friends here, but the kid from Muri seemed, as we expected, mean. I also saw something very strange. When we can speak in person, where I know our chats are confidential, I need to tell you. Anyway, you'll never believe the showers here! It took me a while to figure out all the knobs and stuff. They also gave me a tablet. This is amazing! Hope to hear from you soon!

Your beloved sister,
Evelyn

I closed the notebook and laid it on the nightstand next to my bed. Dawn appeared from the bathroom.

"So, you and Nick." She said, wiggling her eyebrows. I laughed.

"Oh please. We were just getting to know each other. He's just a nice guy."

"Don't you 'oh please' me. I know true love when I see it." She said. I shushed her.

"Nobody can know," I whispered, "it can't happen. The leaders choose who you love and you know that." I said." Dawn hopped onto my bed and whispered, "You like him. He likes you. It's meant to be, Evelyn. I saw the way he looks at you. And when you first met him, he acted all shy."

I gasped. Could he really like me? I didn't know what to say! There were so many thoughts. What will happen if the leaders find out? What if I was to be with him all along?

"Evelyn, you gotta stop thinking about that, okay?" Dawn said, interrupting my thoughts as if she could read them.. I nodded. Soon after, we went to bed.

• • •

I woke up to the sound of my tablet beeping. I suspected it was like an alarm clock, since Dawn's was beeping too. I hopped out of my bed and walked over to my tablet and tapped the little clock that appeared on the screen. It opened a video that had Dr. Skilling's face on it.

"Hello, Evelyn, this is your new alarm clock. I will be only talking to you for this first time. Your first alarm will be at 8:30A.M. You will have exactly 40 minutes to shower and dress. At 9:10, your second alarm will go off. You will then head to the dining hall. Your lunch will be at exactly noon, and dinner will be at 5:50. You should be in bed by 10:30. Please, feel at home. We will be arriving at the City in 1 hour."

Her face left and the screen went black. I went into the bathroom and started the shower. I undressed and hopped in. I've figured out how to adjust the temperature so that it's the way I want it. I brushed out my hair and threw on the clothes in the dresser. I checked the time. 8:53. Dawn had showered in the other shower in our large bathroom. She emerged and brushed out her hair hurriedly. We walked into the dining car and filled our plates with pancakes and all sorts of things. I wasn't that hungry, but I did help myself to a few. Nick motioned me over to where he and Jason were sitting. Dawn and I sat down with them.

"Were you scared to touch your tablet
today too?" Nick asked me. I nodded. Everything was fine, thankfully, and I was glad for that. We ate, talking about our families. He had 3 sisters. Suddenly, as we were finishing eating, Dr. Skilling came into the room.

"Attention children! We have arrived in the City. You will be directed into the building. There will be absolutely no socialization with the people that are waiting to see you. You will be shown your rooms, and there will be no classes until Tuesday of next week. I will come up to your rooms around the afternoon. When I do come, I will show you to a small department downstairs. You will need to find a suitable formal outfit for tonight. You will be attending the annual ball that the City holds when our young leaders arrive. That is all for now. Enjoy your time in the City." She strode out of the room with a swish in her walk. Dawn leaned over to me and whispered, "Dresses! City dresses! I'm so excited!"

"I've never worn any fancy dress before. It's been worn out hand-me-downs. I've never had a dress that was actually 'mine,' you know?" I said back. Her mouth gaped open. "I'll help you choose one. I always wanted to be one of those stylists in the City or one of the rich districts." She replied, smiling. I nodded in agreement. Nick looked at me, "All the fancy clothes are hand-me-downs too. I've never even worn an actual suit either."

"My father had one back in Fringe." I said blankly. He leaned over the table, "How much will you bet that Logan will try to nose her way into getting a professional stylist." He said, nodding to where she was sitting. I looked over my shoulder. She didn't look happy. Hope was trying to calm her down, but it wasn't working. I looked back over to Nick and laughed. We stood up and waved goodbye, heading to our cars to gather our few belongings. As I left, a woman handed me a bag. "For your stuff." She said.

I thanked her and ran to my room. I stuffed the nightgown, notebook and pen, tablet, hairbrush, and the clothes I was wearing when I first got here. I ran out and joined the others by the doors to the train. We waited until all of us were by the doors. We stood in a line, then filed out the doors to the train. There were cheers and points and flashes of light from cameras. I walked, my mouth open, surprised that all these people have come to see us. We picked up our pace and soon entered under a pair of large, iron gates. They closed behind us when we all made it inside the area. We made our way into the building. Dr. Skilling directed us into 5 groups according to where we stayed in the large building. Jason and Nick were in our group, which meant that their room was close to ours. A short and chubby woman led us into a large elevator and we went up to the top floor. She held a piece of paper in her hand as she walked down the hallway. She pointed to a door.

"Mr. Striver and Mr. Quincey." Two older-looking boys stepped forward and she gave both of them a card and demonstrated how to use it to unlock the door. She continued down the hallway.

"Ms. Green and Ms. Raven." She pointed to our door and handed us each a key. We unlocked it and entered our room. It was

beautiful!