Olive Juice

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            Landon. Landon. Landon.

He's stalking me. Every time I turn a corner in the Lodging, he's standing on the other side. Every time I reach for my cup of coffee, his imaginary hand brushes against mine. Every time I think, he is the thought.

It doesn't make sense. It's almost as if ... as if I'm infatuated. Infatuation was rampant in the Prior Ways. It was known for inciting troubling feelings in youth and triggering a sudden loss of common sense in those affected by it. I wish I could say I want to see him again because I want to learn what happened after he was sent back, but I would be lying. I want to see him simply because I want to see him. Now, I understand the purpose behind the oath. Attachment such as this can't possibly be healthy.

A tap on my hand momentarily rescues me from my distressing thoughts of Landon. It's Wyatt. I stuff my hands in my pocket before he has the chance to continue patting. Hand patting seems to be a recurring thing with him. I need to let him know that some people don't like physical contact, especially physical contact that could be misinterpreted as something more than just friendly.

"You okay?" Wyatt asks.

I nod fervently, casting wisps of my wiry ginger hair out of my ponytail holder.

Wyatt doesn't look convinced. He turns to Freder and Gianna. "Does she seem okay to you two?"

"She's probably just upset because she's losing. It's your turn, Olive," Freder says, gesturing to the game board.

The board spans the entire living room floor. It represents the entire history of the world, starting with its creation, spiraling into the roots of civilization, lugging through slavery, genocides, world wars, and ending in Parity. Wyatt and Freder are already on the Quivalence Riot that happened 20 years ago, just before we were born. Gianna is only a few spaces behind in the Time of Assembly when infrastructure and the Companionship system were being built. And I'm nearly a quarter of the board away, stuck at the beginning of the Separation.

The oath that we live by was solely created to prevent something as devastating as the Separation from happening again. To escape the intimacy of human-to-human interactions, people raced to technology. They clung to their devices, which allowed them to take on new personas and avoid the judgment of their peers. Or in many cases, to unload as much judgment as possible because the person was not actually sitting in front of them.

It came to the point that people rarely went outside; social gatherings like parties were non-existent and taboo. Everyone was alone, sitting in a room with a screen and pixels depicting their lives. Social media giants dominated the world and the ones unable to procure mass followings on the sites were cast out, excluded, deemed unworthy. And those without technology were essentially cut off from the world. The majority of the population was unaware of their existence.

While the Separation continued and steamed towards its climax, businesses failed and buildings fell into disrepair. The economy collapsed. Farms were abandoned. Famines reigned. Few children were born. As the technology crazed people continued to chug away at perfecting their online lives, it became increasingly apparent to the ones not sucked into the void that something was wrong and something had to be done. They were tired of being left out. So, they fought.