Carry On, Chapter I

I met Joseph, a month ago. And I think I'm in love with him. Ever since we met the boys things have been different around here. We live in a boarding school. We weren't supposed to meet just yet. We had very little contact with the boys school, which was right in front of ours. But the doors were always sealed, they were supposed to open when we were 17. But the boys managed to open it now, most of us are 15 going 16.

Andrew, Joseph, George guided by Alexander broke into our school, this fall, exactly a month ago. They wanted to meet us, and Alexander discovered a way to fool the machines.

"Don't be scared girls" Alexander said when he saw us for the first time. We were scared, we didn't know why he was in our school, though we knew about their existence.

-Who are you?- Anne asked
-Alexander, a student just like you-
-Why are you here?- said Vivian
-I wanted to know if you know something about the grown ups-
-No. Do you?- I asked.

Alexander sighed, all his hopes were gone when we told him we didn't know about the grown ups either. Later when we compared notes, we knew exactly the same about what had happened and how we had ended up in a boarding school run by smart machines, computers, recorded voices and human holograms.

-So there's no parents, here?- Alexander asked surprised.
-No-
-Have you ever seen your parents?-He seemed worried.
-No, we don't even have pictures or holograms of them-
-Those are here, but we're supposed to see them when we turn 17-
-How do you know?-
-I know where everything is kept. We've seen our parents already-

Days passed by and more boys would drop by often to our school, we also were curious and we decided to see theirs too. It was exactly like ours, except for the manly colors on the rooms, towels and even sheets.

Joseph and I would take long walks around both the schools, since we had the same classes, though different teachers, well hologram teachers, we decided to create our own mix classes, so the boys and girls could study together. Have some changes finally in that life we had been leading, where everything was the same.

-Girls are beautiful and you always smell good- he smiled.
-You don't smell bad either- I teased him.
-Thank you-
-Talking of smells, I think Greg steals some of our perfumes, he said he liked them and that at your school, you are not given any-
-Don't mind Greg, he's been weird lately, I think he likes better your school, he was always weird around us-
-gay?- I was surprised.
-Well, there had to be one- he joked.

We both laughed at his last remark. Suddenly he bent over and almost kissed me, but I couldn't. I got too nervous and gave him my back. I sat near a window. He moved close to me.

-Do you remember your parents?- I asked him.
-No-
-Do you think they're alive?-
-I hope so-
-I wish I could remember my parents, I knew I had a sister, though-
-Really? I don't know if I had any sibling. But don't worry, Alexander will show all of you girls your parents-
-He's smart-
-And bossy too-
-If he gets to know we're alone...- I sad hesitating.
-Alexander can't control us-
-He is a control freak-
-Well, he broke the rules, he feels responsible for everyone of us- he said pissed off.
-I guess-

There was a big silence, and we watched the sunset together.

-Alyson, I like you... I...- He tried to kiss me again.

I started to shake, I didn't know what I was feeling, Joseph was so nice, kind, and handsome. I loved his dark hair and blue eyes, his child smile.

-There you are, you two, you know the rules, you can't be alone! We were put apart for a simple reason: NOT TO BREED. Do I have to remind everyone? What if there's an unwanted pregnancy? We don't know if there's still infected people out there! We can't risk losing one of us. We're...

-200 girls and 200 boys, Alexander, we know that- Joseph replied pissed off.

-Well, then don't forget it. We're the future! In science we learnt that a girl's body is not ready enough for a baby, we could lose Alyson, we cannot let that happen. I won't let that happen.- Alexander declared.

-We could call the doctors Alexander- Joseph stated.
-If they're still alive, when was the last time they called any of us?-

Alexander walked away from us. He was bossy, but we also hated most of the time he was right. He was smart and handsome, girls were crazy about him. But if there was something important for Alexander, that was rules and order: "Without them, we'd be animals." He'd say often.

Alexander was the kind of guy you knew you could trust, he was brave, smart, which he didn't like hiding, he was also quite arrogant, but there was a charm on him. His height, had a lot to left to be desired though, he was not much muscled either, unlike the other boys. His eyes were also of a beautiful blue, his hair was like the color of the sand, though we had never seen a beach in our lives.

-One of those days I'm gonna crush that midget- Joseph said pissed off.

-What's Alexander's problem?- I wanted to know.
-He's the only one that remembers life outside, and also he's younger-
-Alexander is younger?-
-Yeah, he's just 13-
-I thought that was forbidden. I mean, here we all have the same age. How come Alexander is different?-
-Only Alexander knows, but he's alive because he's got his older brother here: Stephen. He's so annoying and bossy too. It must run in the family- We laughed.

Joseph and I got know each other a lot better, we'd go to the movie room often. Alexander had made a few changes, and on our library, he made a bigger movie room. We used to have one in each school, but since we were doing things together, Alexander arranged everything. For Alexander's disgrace, we usually used it to make out.

A month had passed by since we met, and my feelings for Joseph are something I can't describe, he's sweet with me, and he's got this crook smile that makes me shiver and want him. Which is totally knew for me, a feeling unknown. Good thing is, I'm not alone in this, all girls and boys were experiencing the same, though going in different speeds. But we could say that half of our people had a boyfriend or a girlfriend.

Finally, after a month, the question room Alexander had been preparing was ready. All of us could meet our parents, or the records they left for us. Alexander had everything in order. But that day Joseph knocked my door early in the morning.

-Here, change your clothes, you're gonna meet your parents Allie-
-Great! But my family name's Collins, I thought it was gonna be alphabetical-
-I convinced Alexander to let you be the first girl to meet her parents-
-Thank you, what did you do?-
-The less you know, the happier you'll be-

I put my Wednesday uniform on and I let Joseph walk me to that room, he turned on the TV and my parents were there. I had my dad's brown eyes and my mom's blondish hair. Everything was so surreal, it was like I could talk to them, of course, every answer was recorded.

"Alyson, you're 18 now. By now you must have started dating, seeing boys and everything. We hope that in that school they taught you well. Sadly we won't be there when you get out. The diseased infected Hannah, your older sister, and we decided to stay with her. By the time you see this record, we'll be dead for a few years. I'm afraid you are all that's left of our family. You have no cousins or grandparents. Our whole family died in the first wave of this disease."

As I kept asking questions to my parents, I could see how the seasons changed, days and nights in the room they recorded the video. In some days my parents look normal, in others they just looked sad, in some my mom wasn't even there, which I assumed she had been dead by the time my dad recorded that. Hannah is there in a few questions, but only a few and once she looks terrible sick she stops appearing.

-Where am I?-

"We don't know Alyson, the government made those schools in secret places, so infected or survivors couldn't find you. Never trust the survivors, treat them like you'd treat an infected person. You could never know if that person's infected or not. Besides, survivors could hurt all of you."

-When will the disease die?-

"When all the infected ones die, Alyson Something you must know is that you'll go out when you finish college. Or when the army makes sure the world is clean again."

After a while I got depressed by watching my family. It was 9 am already, so classes were about to begin. Most girls were excited about this week, 200 girls, an hour session per each, after classes. That would probably take more than two weeks to please anyone. After that Alexander promised anyone would have to make an appointment to go to that room and talk to their parents again. The boys had been having that system for months.

-How are your parents, Joseph?-
-My dad was fat, he's very funny. My mom's always sad-
-Do you look like them?-
-I have my mom's light blue eyes, and her smile. My dad's hair color, so black- he said smiling.

We were walking to class when Stephen appeared out of nowhere and punched Joseph.

-Why did you have to hurt him? I told you not to lay a hand on my brother!-

Joseph fought back, though he wouldn't have a chance, Stephen looked like those quarterbacks we've seen in movies and sport books. Joseph was thin, though muscled, but not near as tall as Stephen was either.

-Do you want me to tell Alexander why you weren't there to protect him? You were doing the forbidden thing with Nancy.- Joseph threatened him.

Stephen let Joseph go. I walked with Joseph to the boys sickbay, there a machine would take a picture of the damages, and after a few minutes, it'd give us what the patient would need to nurse his wound. The phone call would only be used when there was an emergency. The machine only gave us some band-aids and alcohol, with some instructions, that were no needed. After all, we all had first aid education every Saturday.

It was getting late, and though Joseph suggested not to attend school to keep ourselves busy with other things, I told him class was very important, and then he remembered he had tennis classes. We were on our way to classes when I realized I had forgotten my schoolbag in the sickbay, so I went back. I found Alexander there, he had his lips broken, a black eye, and he seemed a bit hurt.

-Oh, I'm sorry, Alexander, this is my fault, I was so excited and Joseph...-
-Joseph is an idiot! And I don't know what you see in him-
-Joseph isn't that bad-
-What's wrong with girls? You really let guys impress you over nothing, huh?- he was trying to nurse himself, but he was in pain.
-Let me help you with your wounds-
-Thank you, Alyson, but you don't need to. Class is important-
-You are important too. Each one of us, remember?-

He smiled, but even that hurt him.

-I'll talk to him, I can't believe he beat you up this badly-
-Well, he didn't do it only for you, he really had it in for me too-
-You're a bit bossy...-
-Don't come up with excuses for him-
-I'm sorry Alexander. Will you attend class, I can make you company-
-I just want to be alone, Alyson- He coughed
-You look exhausted, I better stay, you may have a cold or something-
-I'm infected-
-What?-
-Scared, huh? Imagine if that could be true. We need to rely on ourselves. Be strong, stay 401, you know-
-I thought we were 400-
-Well, yes, to have an even number-
-So it's true, what people say, you are an extra person here-
-Yeah. In case someone has an accident, then I'll be in the A team-
-Don't be hard on yourself Alexander-
-Why not? Everyone hates me, if it wasn't for Stephen... but don't worry, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger-
-How is it outside, what do you remember?-
-So this is the real reason you wanted to stay with me-
-Well, I really like your company...-
-We've never talked much 'till today, Alyson-
-I'm sorry, I can leave you alone if you want-

Alexander didn't say a thing, he looked at me with those beautiful eyes of him. Suddenly I noticed he also had sensual lips, and part of me wished I could pass my fingers through that sandy hair.

-I thought you'd like to finish what to started- he said pointing out at me nursing him, I wasn't finished yet.
-Of course!- I smiled.
-I was 8 when I was taken here. My mom couldn't send both of her boys. Children under 5 had less chances to survive on their own. So Stephen was chosen to live, he was 5 and I was 3, when he was sent here. It was the right choice, our father had died of that disease, and we didn't have much money.

-Money? I thought this was planned by the government.
-Yeah, but anyone could try bribing
-Only my mom and my uncle were alive then. My uncle's whole family had died too, so he helped my mom. My uncle Peter was a scientist, he had joined the army, so he knew where the school my brother was sent was. He took me here when my mom died.
-What do you remember of life outside?-
-Deserted places, empty houses, being cold, chaos-
-How did you survive?-
-Uncle Pete kept me alive, he took care of me after the death of my mother-
-Did he die?-
-I don't know- he seemed sad, almost whispering those words.
-Why he took you here?-
-It was too dangerous outside, not safe enough, the winter was coming. So he memorized this location, and took me here. He told me he'd go back to the army, since he couldn't take me there, he decided I'd be ok in a school, they could make little room for me here-
-Did they?-
-You are in my room-
-What?-
-I made of the sickbay, my room, there were empty beds here. My brother makes sure the machines wash my clothes, and he asks for extra food, and that's what I eat, his desserts and fruits, in other words: his leftovers-

-Oh, I didn't know-
-Well, I think in this school, they assumed at least 20% of the students would be fat. So they got ready, just in case.- he winked me an eye.
-It's sad-
-No, it's not. The machines make sure this room is the cleanest of them all-
-What happens when the doctors come to visit?-
-I hide-

I hugged Alexander, I still don't know why, and in that moment, he kissed me. It was different, more sweet than when Stephen kisses me. I pulled him away though, it was weird.

-I'm sorry, Alyson-
-Yeah, I don't wanna provoke you get beaten up again-
-Really?-
-Yeah-
-Joseph just want a thing from you, Allie-
-Well, he's my boyfriend-
-If I was your boyfriend, I'd see your company more than a way to your pants-
-You are still a kid, Alexander-

Those words seemed to hurt his feelings.

-You have more classes, Alyson Take Care, see you around.-

I walked out from "his room". Troubled about my feelings, I was really in love with Joseph, at least I thought so. I knew Alexander was wrong, and I'd prove him so. I was sure Joseph wasn't like Alexander thought. Alexander, such a strong name, such a strong everything in him. But he was a kid, but he was in some way so beautiful.