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Chapter Three
Expectations
When the room alarm sounded on Sunday morning, my eyes popped open with anticipation. It had been a few weeks since I’d last seen my father, and he had promised to be at Visitation on the day after Incorporation.
When breakfast was finished, we were sent to the medical center to have our arm bandages changed, after which we were directed to the gardens for a mandatory walk, and finally we were shuffled back to our rooms to wait. Lily and I were faced with two long hours of busying ourselves before Training Tech would allow any visitors to walk through the door.
Lily flopped down onto her bed and proclaimed that she would be sleeping. “Wake me when it’s time to go,” she said as she pulled the covers over her head, blocking out the light.
“Sure thing,” I said and patted her head, which was just a lump under a fuzzy blanket.
“It’s still weird, eating around the boys,” Lily said through a yawn.
“It’s only day two. I’m sure we’ll be used to it in no time,” I reassured her.
“I guess so,” she mumbled.
“Go to sleep.”
“I’m just about there. Stop talking to me.”
I laughed. “You stop talking to me.”
I grabbed my tablet to scroll through its contents. It contained a variety of educational games, dramas and comedies acted out on video, and written stories… all of which had been approved by Trainer Alpha. I wasn’t in the mood to play a brain game so I scrolled through the video selections that appeared on the screen. Nothing looked appealing. I always knew the outcome; every character did exactly what was expected of them. I could tell you what would happen at the end, within the first fifteen minutes of every video. Whenever we watched one together, Lily would shush me every time I opened my mouth; for fear that I’d spoil the story for her. I found it hard to connect with the characters. The actors spoke so politely to each other, even when the words coming out of their mouths were filled with anxiety.
At least when I read a story, I could imagine the characters acting with great feeling. Crying so much that their whole body ached… or laughing so hard that their face hurt and they couldn’t breathe… or caring so much that they would do anything just to make a companion happy. Sometimes, I didn’t even read the last chapter. I didn’t allow the heroine to do her civic duty… I didn’t allow the hero to act according to plan… I wouldn’t let the characters sum up their lives and tie everything up in a pretty little bow. I imagined my own ending. Maybe the heroine was truly confused… maybe the hero didn’t want to follow each and every order… maybe they went off in search of their own answers. The story carried on that way. The bow didn’t have to be tied up. I left the ribbon just hanging there, all limp, loose, and unsure. The story didn’t have to end.
I selected a story and decided to read until the visiting bell sounded.
Lily and I rushed down the hall and were the first students to burst through the door into the Visitation Room. I couldn’t wait to see my father.
“Mother! Father!” Lily exclaimed upon seeing her parents. She rushed ahead of me and was immediately pulled into a family embrace. Three big smiles, six arms grasped together, and I could feel the genuine emotion from where I stood.
A pang of jealousy and longing rushed through me.
I saw a head peeking around Lily’s father. My father was leaning to the side, standing behind Lily’s family. He smiled. I waved and smiled back as I started toward him, my steps faltered when I noticed that she was standing beside him, but I continued toward them.
“Father, Aspen, so nice to see you again.” The smile that was on my face became stiff and strained at seeing my mother. I’d been hoping she would skip Visitation. We had been told to expect a full house because the day after Incorporation was historically a day for celebration, but I had secretly hoped that just my father would attend.
“So nice to see you, Bluebell,” Aspen smoothed, her voice unusually sweet. “Jackson, what a grown-up girl we have.”
My father let out a small nervous laugh. “Yes, dear. I’m so glad you agree. I’ve been telling you that for months.”
“I know, Jackson darling, and I have tried to make it. I have just been so busy with the house, and my meetings, and planning her homecoming.” Aspen moved her hands as she spoke. The jingle of the rows of bracelets she wore on her left arm punctuated her words.
“My homecoming?”
“Yes, child, your homecoming. There must be a Grand Gala to celebrate your graduation from Training Tech. Every family member of 1.15 has had a Grand Gala. Mine was lovely. Have I ever told you about it?”
I shook my head. “Um, no, Aspen, I don’t think you have.” She hadn’t told me much of anything about herself… EVER. Well that wasn’t exactly true. As far as our family history went, she’d told me story after story. I knew, without a doubt, how important and influential the past members of 1.15 had been. Aspen had made sure of that.
“The décor, the fashion, I remember every glittering detail. All the best families attended my Gala. I met your father that night. He looked so dashing in his formal attire. But Jackson wasn’t even invited, originally. It was just fate that brought you to me that night, wasn’t it, dear?” Aspen smiled.
“I guess it was,” my father answered. “Monty never stood a chance with you.”
“Not after I laid eyes on his older cousin,” Aspen sighed, stood up on her tiptoes, and kissed my father on the cheek.
That was a display of affection! I just stood there with my mouth open.
“Are you feeling all right, Bluebell?” My father asked as he reached out to smooth my hair.
“I’m fine,” I said, wondering who these two people were… surely not my parents. Aspen wasn’t nostalgic and sweet. She was bored, possessive, and well… absent most of the time. “I was just wondering who Monty was,” I stammered, not wanting to admit what I was actually thinking about.
“Monty is my cousin. His father and my father were cousins. My parents died when I was Year Eleven and I went to live with Monty’s parents when it was time for me to start at the Career Education Center,” my father explained.
Aspen patted his arm, interrupting him. “Montgomery and I went through Incorporation together. Well, I guess it was a few weeks after we left Training Tech… yes, just a few days before my Gala, that I got a video message from him, asking if he could bring his poor, orphaned, older cousin with him. I don’t know why I said yes. Montgomery looked so hopeful and I was just so excited about the celebration that I couldn’t refuse him. Plus, I knew the boy was sweet on me, and he was so cute back then. But when Jackson walked up with Montgomery, and introduced himself to me, all thoughts of cute little Monty were washed away. Your father is a very striking man, don’t you think so?”
I nodded my head. My father wasn’t just striking; I thought he was an amazing looking man. I’d inherited my dark hair and dark eyes from him. There was a quiet strength in his appearance. He stood tall, he walked with a confident stride, and he looked you in the eyes when he spoke to you. You just knew he was being sincere.
“He’s lucky I let Montgomery bring him along.”
Actually, I thought, you’re the lucky one, Aspen.
“Oh, I’m a lucky man alright. Lovely wife, lovely daughter, life is good,” he smiled. “So, how did it go yesterday?” he asked, looking down at my bandaged wrist.
“It was fine. No big deal.”
“That’s my girl. And it will heal up in no time flat. Then it will be time for another,” he said, referring to the second mark I would receive at the end of Training Tech.
“Can I see yours?” I asked. My father was always in a long sleeved shirt and tie when he came to visit. The sleeves covered any trace of his Citizen Brand.
“Of course,” he answered, pulling up his sleeve.
I traced the black circle on his skin with my finger. The brand had faded. It wasn’t an angry red burn anymo
re, not like mine was under the white bandage, not after so many years. But the black would always remain.
“Do you remember what it felt like?” I asked as I traced the smaller black circle that had been placed in the center of his Brand, marking him as fertile.
“Not really, my dear girl. Memories fade, you know. I do remember the medical center, all white and sterile. But I don’t remember much more about that day, other than Trainer Alpha and some film that I slept through,” he smiled sheepishly.
“I fell asleep too,” I whispered.
“No more talk of things gone by,” Aspen hushed us. She pulled at the sleeves of her embroidered jacket and adjusted the row of bracelets that adorned her arm, a nervous habit that I’d witnessed whenever she came to visit. She liked her bracelets to be just so and completely covering her Citizen Brand. A glance around the room revealed that she wasn’t alone in her choice of adornment. Stacks of big metal, ribbon, lace, and gemstone bracelets lined the arms of most of the women who had come to visit. But not Lily’s mother; she wore a simple, but beautiful, yellow dress. The sleeves stopped just below her elbows and a single slim gold watch was wrapped around her wrist. The double circles of her Brand were clearly displayed.
Aspen cleared her throat, pulling my attention back to her. “Bluebell, my father is looking forward to seeing you again. You are a fortunate girl to be the grandchild of such an important man. He’s probably the most influential man on The Council, as your father will be someday,” she said, playing with the tips of her multi colored hair.
Her hair was light blonde at the root, but had been dyed a dark blonde a few inches down, then a few inches below that it was light brown, which then became dark brown, then black at the tips. One color faded into the other with seamlessness. The great mass of it was curled and styled to perfection. It must have been the latest trend. Aspen was always altering herself in some way.
“I’m not sure about that,” my father shook his head.
Aspen ran her hands down the front of his jacket, smoothing out invisible wrinkles. She always wanted him to look perfect. “Of course you will be, Jackson. What other option is there?”
He nodded his head, conceding to her words. “Your faith in me is all I need, Aspen. Blue, what new friends did you make yesterday?”
“Let’s see… there was a boy named Fisher and his friend Stone. Lily and I met them right before lunch. And then they introduced us to a few of their friends… River, Ash, Clay and… oh, what was that other one’s name?” I paused trying to pull the name from my memory. “Ridge. Yes, that’s it.”
“That’s six of the seventeen on the first day,” Aspen noted. “I understand that one was put on hold from each group.” Her statement didn’t surprise me; she was always primed with facts.
“Yes, that’s right. Ivy from the girls and someone named Stream from the boys,” I supplied the missing information.
Aspen shook her head in disapproval. “That boy’s father works for our butcher. It’s no surprise that he wasn’t able to produce a respectful child. But Ivy’s mother is my dear friend Georgia. If that girl doesn’t start making better choices then Georgia will lose some standing with society. Poor, dear Georgia. But Jackson and I don’t have to worry about any such nonsense from you, do we, Bluebell?”
“Of course not, Aspen. I know exactly what is expected of me. I would never want to shame you or Father,” I answered.
“You are aware that I exchange messages with Trainer Alpha on a regular basis. She has assured me that your Training is coming along quite nicely.”
“I was not aware, Aspen. But you have never had cause to worry.”
My father put his hands on my shoulders. “Aspen, we have a very capable, caring, and confident child here.”
“And I concur with Concord,” I added, providing more words that began with C to his description.
My father smiled at my silly joke. “Correctly so.”
“We all concur with Concord. Concord Reigns,” Aspen smiled dutifully, vacantly, and without seeing the humor of our words at all. “Bluebell, please remember, as you begin to interact with the young men, that several of them are from influential families. Some of them could be someone with whom we could potentially secure a Marriage Contract for you. Although you are at least a year away from any such decision, and the results of your final test will have some bearing on the choice, you must always present yourself in a manner befitting a family of our, well, our standing in society. You do understand, don’t you?”
“Aspen and I want you to have the best of everything. She, I mean, we want you to conduct yourself accordingly. You’ve always received such good reports. I have no doubts that you’ll breeze through this section of your schooling as well,” my father added.
“The Gala will introduce you to society as my daughter…”
I interrupted Aspen. “I told you, I know what is expected of me. I do, really. There is no cause for worry,” I assured her.