Population levels have reached critical, forcing the government to step in. A new system is built - an assigned mate for 16-year-olds, one child per family, all done with a computer algorithm. Careers are determined by what job is needed and best su...
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The moment the door closed, I jumped up, practically tripping over my own feet as I made my way to the face-down clipboard. I could feel my heart racing as I turned it over, my eyes darting to the door.
Curiosity killed the cat Rebecca
There was a yellow sticky note wedged underneath the top of the clipboard, handwritten in swirled lettering. I froze for a moment, processing the implications of it. I tried to scan the document below it, the official government seal. It had my name, birthdate, career. Underneath it listed reasons for referral.
How did she know I was going to look?
There was a beep from the door, a key-card being scanned. I quickly turned over the clipboard, stumbling back towards my seat and throwing myself against it just as the door clicked open. My mind was racing from scenarios circling in my head.
I turned to see Jake arriving with Hannah, trying to hide my panting. When my eyes met with Jake, I could see there was confusion as he looked around the room. Hannah moved to the lounge chair, dragging it to place it beside mine. Behind her desk, there was a chair which she wheeled to the front.
"Right," she grabbed her clipboard, her eyes darting across mine for a moment. She unhooked the yellow note from the top, scrunched it in her hand before carelessly tossing it in a small waste bin beside her desk. She clicked her pen again, looking to Jake, "Would you like to take a seat?"
"Am I not getting individual therapy?" he asked hesitantly, taking a seat beside me. Hannah looked at him for a moment, her eyes drifting down the page. When she looked back at him, she appeared a lot colder.
"Apologies, according to this I cannot provide that. If you have an issue with this I'd suggest bringing it up with your Law Enforcement Coordinator," she said, and Jake slowly nodded, sinking back into the chair with a frown. I didn't know what his work had to do with therapy.
Or if it had anything to do with mine.
"Now, in typical situations, it can take months to grow close to a partner," she began, crossing her legs again. Her eyes glazed over to me now, and I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, "However, given Jake's unique job position, it's recommended that you two try and create a strong bond within the next few weeks,"
"What does his job change about anything?" I asked, sitting forward. Hannah looked at me, clicking her pen. I felt as though I should have kept my mouth shut, remembering the note that I had seen. It was as though she was trying to remind me of the note too, just by looking at me.
But it just made me want to know what was being hidden.
"I'm afraid that's classified," she said slowly. She looked down at her notes, writing something, before turning over the page, "Now as it is still early days, I believe it is crucial that you two begin to know one another further. So I would like you two to face one another,"
