It is earlier than usual, but my schedule is going to be a little off for the next couple of weeks. Normality will resume when i return home on October 10th, but until then the schedule will be malleable. I’m still aiming for the mornings, but the time may vary. So let’s start with Monday’s prompt, ready? Great.
Not bad. It’s always strange writing in a different place. Hopefully it will be strange good. we’ll see.
Monday, September 26th: And this is where your journey starts.
“And this is where your journey starts,” The presenter smiled widely at them as most of the crowd cheered. Alec looked around him as the speaker walked off stage and those around him cheered as though it was a rally. When anyone looked at him, he forced a broad smile to his face.
Inside he felt the worry gnaw at him.
They were here because they chose to be. This was the life they wanted. Most of them spent their lives dreaming of being chosen to attend the Academy. They dreamed of being the elite of the elite and of living lives of adventure. He could understand the lure. He remembered the commercials and posters from his elementary school, before things went pear shaped.
He only attended that school for a few years before his family fell apart and he was transferred to a less prestigious school. His memories of the time before were hazy for the most part but remained more as a stark contrast to what came after.
There might have been a time when he was as enthusiastic about attending the Academy as the others around him. For all he knew when he was younger, before things changed he might have stared at those posters with longing as well. He couldn’t remember.
As the group broke up and the incoming class was broken into smaller orientation groups, the cheering died down but the buoyant feeling of enthusiasm remained. It made Alec feel like a half deflated ball bobbing along on a gently undulating ocean.
He wasn’t here because he worked for this moment. He wasn’t here because he came from the right family or had the right connections. He was here because it was the best option he was presented. While he and his friends had always been in and out of trouble, as their mandatory schooling was coming to a close and a life of routine drudgery in one of the industrial complexes loomed ever closer, their activities started to get out of hand. There was an element of desperation as if it was the last exuberance before they were chained down and forced to be productive.
Then they went too far. And suddenly it was not just a matter for their parents or the school, or even their local law givers. They drew big time attention. All of them were taken in and Alec remembered sitting there as the auditor went through every line of his record. Each of his standardized test scores and every recorded note any authority figure felt like adding. The same was done with the others, however unlike him, they were simply assigned a punishment. He was given an option.
He hadn’t realized that the others weren’t given any options until they were released. They had one small, supervised gathering where the others complained. Alec kept his deal to himself once he realized it wasn’t shared. Then the others were whisked off, each sent to a separate location. He went home to pack. His choice was either to suffer punishment like the others or put his brains to the test at the academy. He would either succeed her or fail and be sent to punishment with the others.
Not attending was not an option. He could only choose to pass or fail.
Ten til Midnight 