The end of the week had a slightly different meaning than it did when we were in Training Tech. When I was there, we had six days of instruction and organized activities. After Training Tech, it was reduced to five. The Career Education Center actually closed down on Friday… and not at seven in the evening, as it did on the other days for after hours tutoring. On Friday the CEC closed its doors at five o’clock.
But it was only three o’clock and it seemed like five o’clock would never come. The day was going too slow. A big group of us had decided to meet up at Lily’s to watch the new comedy video that had been approved for release. She had a very open room with a wall screen that was perfect for a large gathering. Everyone was told to bring a snack and arrive no later than six o’clock.
I was staring a Cimarron, but I kept glancing at the time on my tablet, all the while trying desperately to remember what she just said.
“Isn’t that good news?” Cimarron asked.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I said I just got word that you’ve been approved for a family of four children, without the bother of Training Tech fees subtracted from your income. That is unheard of. Isn’t that good news?”
“Four children?” I asked, confused by her statement. I had been too distracted. It wasn’t making sense.
“Bluebell, stop wandering off. Pay attention. The Council has graciously allowed for you and your future husband to have four children and be exempt of all Training Tech fees. Being Lush comes with great benefits. That news will be of great interest to anyone seeking a Marriage Contract with you,” Cimarron smiled and nodded her head at me, expecting me to agree with her.
“Yes. What wonderful news. Four children,” I smiled in return, because it felt like the right thing to do.
Cimarron put her tablet down. “Of course you can have more than four. The fees wouldn’t begin until your fifth child turns five and is enrolled at Training Tech. Six would be an amazing number, don’t you think? There hasn’t been a family with six children for well over one hundred years. Half a dozen new Citizens for Concord… Concord Reigns! How exciting!” She clapped her hands together in one loud boom.
I jerked my head up and found the most joyful expression on her face. “Yes. Very,” I said.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to have six children. Although it did occur to me that if I spaced them out correctly, I could be sending the last one off to Training Tech just as the first one was coming home. I always thought it would be hard to have a child, send it away for twelve years, and then suddenly have a grown child at home again. Visits never seemed like it was enough real contact to make any deep connections. Sometimes it felt like my friends from school knew more about me, were closer to me, and cared more for me than my parents did.
But then, living with a child through its developmental years did seem like an even stranger concept. I wasn’t a trainer. I wasn’t equipped to deal with the physical and emotional changes all girls and boys went through. And what would I do with a boy? I didn’t know a thing about boys. I had never laid eyes on a boy from the ages of six to sixteen. I was quite sure I’d mess that up, no doubt about it.
Six was a lot though. For many years I had pictured myself giving birth to the one mandatory child that was required of all fertile females. I considered the possibility of two, knowing that twins do happen and that sometimes a married couple decides to have more than one. But I had never entertained the idea of more than two, let alone four or six.
It seemed that I was finally getting the answers to the questions that had plagued me since Dr. Odessa cut off the white bandage to reveal my Citizen Brand. What did it mean to be Lush? It meant being an ambassador to Concord, learning how to be a public figure, and resolving myself to the future travel and public appearances that were expected of me. It meant finding the best possible candidate to enter into a Marriage Contract with. It also meant having four children for the glory of Concord. Not six, I told myself. Four.
Cimarron tapped and swiped at the screen on her tablet.
“What’s next?” I asked, eager to leave the subject of marriage and children behind.
“We need to look at some of the speeches The Council has decided to have you film. It is just a preliminary thing. They want you to get used to speaking to a camera. So we will practice here pretending there is a camera and then we will eventually move on to a real one. On Monday we will make a visit to the video department of the CEC so you, young lady, need to practice these speeches tomorrow and Sunday. I’ve just sent them to your tablet. Make sure you look them over. No full day of rest for the Lush girl,” she teased.
Cimarron wasn’t very good at teasing. It seemed halfhearted and awkward for her to speak in any way other than a straightforward manner.
“Let’s read through the first one together,” she suggested. “Come. Stand by me. Good posture is step number one when in front of a camera.”
I got up from my chair and walked over to stand beside her. We began to read the text together.