*****
Chapter Four
Tests
“It’s been three months of testing, Lily. I can’t take it anymore,” I whined. “I don’t want to see another classroom or another medical center again, as long as I live!”
“Blue, get up and get over it!” Lily commanded.
I had just slumped down onto the floor in the hallway between classes. We’d been in Incorporation for a little over three months and I was losing all my energy. The daily classes, and personality tests, and medical tests, and future occupation tests, and… it all made me want to pull my hair out; one single strand at a time. Actually, no, that would have taken too long and I just wanted the next couple of months to pass by as quickly as possible.
“I am over it! That is the problem. And I am so tired.” I yawned for emphasis.
It was the dreams again. That lady was screaming at me so often now. Get up, Bluebell! Run! I woke up in the middle of the night, every night, and spent at least an hour trying to coax my body back to sleep. It seemed like it took forever just to slow my heartbeat after I woke from one of those dreams.
“That’s exactly the problem. You are over tired. You should tell Dr. Odessa about how you wake up every night. Maybe she can give you something to help you sleep,” Lily suggested.
I shook my head and put my hands out to her. I needed help standing back up. “Goodness no. She’d put me through even more tests.”
Lily grabbed my hands and pulled me up. “You cry out sometimes, you know? How bad are the dreams?”
“I don’t really remember them. I just feel like I need to run away from something when I wake up. They’re not exactly scary or anything. They make me feel frantic. That sounds crazy. Please don’t tell anyone. Promise me.”
“What’s the big news there? Oooh, Blue has dreams,” she teased. “We all do. I woke up this morning just as I landed on a pile of purple satin, feather pillows that were at the bottom of a deep dark hole that I’d tripped into. Who wants to hear about that dream? Don’t worry about it, Blue.” She took a step behind me and pushed my shoulders, propelling me forward. “C’mon we’re late for Family Planning. This late pass expires in two minutes and I do not want Trainer Alpha docking us points. My father is giving me bonus money for every perfect score I graduate with, ”
I smoothed out my skirt. “Okay, okay, I’m up. Let’s go.”
We scanned our pass at the door as we entered and slipped into the empty chairs at the back of the room. Trainer Alpha looked up as the green light flashed on the door scanner and gave us a nod to let us know she’d seen it. We looked up at the wall screen to see the words Marriage Contracts.
“Marriage Contracts,” Alpha began, “are not to be entered into lightly. Once the details have been decided upon and agreed upon by both parties, contracts are signed and cohabitation begins. If the contract is not contested within twelve months, then the Marriage Contract is considered secured. A secured contract is unbreakable under Concord Mandates. The two parties may choose not to cohabitate, but they may never enter another contract for the rest of their lives.”
Rosebud, the tallest girl in our year, raised her hand. She had the brightest red hair and the pinkest cheeks. Which was probably why her parents decided to name her Rosebud. We started calling her Rosy when we were quite little. She always used to laugh so hard that her cheeks would almost glow. But that was a long time ago. She’d become quiet and kept to herself. She just withdrew herself from everyone and everything sometime during Year Eight, the same year her father stopped coming to Visitation Days. After that, her mother rarely came at all.
Trainer Alpha pointed at her. “Yes, Rosebud?”
“What about when a death occurs? Can a second Marriage Contract be secured at that time?” Rosebud asked.
“Excellent question. Yes, that is the one and only exception.”
“Are there ways to help someone find a second husband?”
“Of course there are. But even though The Council prefers it, not all people wish to enter into a Contract for a second time,” Alpha explained.
“But she might smile again. She might be happy again and stop looking at me with regret,” Rosebud whispered. “If she could love someone else, maybe she could look at me lovingly again.”
Rosebud had inherited her father’s red hair and fair complexion. Her mother rarely visited because every time she looked at Rosebud she saw her dead husband and was filled with despair. It took Rosy a year to admit to us that her father had stopped coming to Visitation because he had died. I had tried to comfort her then, but she never let any of us close enough to do it.
“Maybe that is something you could help her with when you move back home,” Willow suggested and reached over to rub Rosebud’s shoulder.
“Yes, maybe,” Rosebud smiled. She looked almost hopeful.
“But you young men and women do not need to worry yourselves with Second Contracts,” Alpha raised her voice, bringing everyone’s attention back to her. “Upon graduation you will know what track you are on. When you enter the Career Education Center you will know if a Marriage Contract is something that should be secured quickly, or if you must wait until you are allowed to enter into one. Not everyone will choose to marry. I did not. I chose a strictly career driven path when I was eighteen, once I was told that I wouldn’t be able to secure a contract for many years.”
“So, what are the determining factors?” Clay asked.
Alpha clicked a button, the wall screen flashed, and a list appeared. “Financial portfolio, social clout, career choice, and, of course, the results of your Citizen Brand.” Each line was highlighted as she read from the list. “They are listed in no particular order. Each has its own way of influencing your life and determining your path.”
I knew that her statement wasn’t completely true. “Money is a great determining factor,” I blurted out. Aspen had mentioned that to me often enough. Money and Council influence – Aspen said that life was bound to be a dredge of mundane tasks without those two things on your side.
“This is true, Bluebell. If you are infertile and lack the financial or social clout to secure an early Marriage Contract, then you must choose a job-training track. Depending upon what your skills are, you could become a Trainer, like me, a Doctor, like Dr. Odessa, a Guardian, or any other profession that requires so much of your time. Fertile women with money are expected to marry early and have a child right away while they have a higher chance of successfully producing offspring. Then they can begin to work in their field if they so choose.
“Conversely, fertile women without financial means must find a wealthy partner. If that doesn’t happen, they must first produce one child as a surrogate and then they are allowed to marry a man with a similar financial background. Men in the same situation must make donations to the fertility clinics before they can marry. But even then, after a single child is born to an underprivileged couple, subsequent children are usually placed up for a compensated “adoption” unless the couple can afford the Training Tech fees that are deducted from their wages for multiple children.”
Fisher raised his hand but impatience caused him to speak out before Alpha had a chance to call on him. “Why does our ability to, or not to, have a child weigh so heavily on our futures?”
“Fisher, please wait until you are called upon,” Alpha lightly scolded.
“I apologize.”
“With declining fertility rates, the advancement of our society is vital. We cannot have a future for Concord without a future generation. Controlled population growth and an orderly society are the keys to a successful and peaceful existence. The Council has mandated what is best for us individually and also collectively. We must trust their judgment.”
“Like outlawing the Second Wife Policy?” Holly said. “My mother told me that her father had two wives but nobody does it anymore.”
“It seems that waiting to be called upon is a virtue you young people are sorely lacking,” Alpha laughed
softly. “Actually, Holly, the practice is a rarity now but still in practice by some. In the past, occasionally, a fertile woman of meager means would choose to enter a marriage as a second wife. Second wives could only be taken if the first wife was barren. The situation provided a stable and secure home for wife number two and a child for the family. For a little while they became quite popular, but about ten years ago the practice of taking a second wife became severely frowned upon.”
I raised my hand and waited for Alpha to glance my way and give me a nod before I spoke.
“I know about this. Aspen, my mother, well, she was on the committee to end the practice. She said that it was never officially outlawed but the committee managed to attach a social stigma to the practice. Hardly anyone wanted to be known as a second wife after that,” I said. “I don’t think I would like to be in a marriage with more than one person. Sharing one’s husband or wife would be quite hard.”
Ending the practice of second wives was probably the one and only thing that I completely agreed with Aspen about.
Alpha sat down in the stool that was beside her. “I think it was, and still is, very hard for some people. It created tension in quite a few homes. Trainer Beta is a child from a home with a second wife. He has told me that although it worked well for his parents, it is not always an ideal situation for others.”