02-06-2012, 05:51 PM
The all too familiar alarm tone rang throughout the private quarters of the D block, where everyone stayed. Having been up fairly late the previous night, ML was not greeting the day with joy. He groaned as he slid himself out of his cot. He had to get to the dining hall on time, if not, someone would come snooping. With the amount of contraband items that he had hidden in here, such as books or papers or candy bars, it wasn't worth getting caught. He didn't know why such items were banned, but they were. He would pour his soul into reading, wishing that he could enter all these fictional places. His favourite place was one called 'Edinburgh' which he read about in a book. It sounded magical.
Sighing and resigning himself to the fact that this was the real world, he went over into the small washroom that was joined onto his private quarters. Every room had one, which was nice. He washed his face and brushed his teeth. He preferred showering at night, so left that alone. He got changed out of his nightwear and tossed them in the corner of the bathroom, as he always did, and padded back into his relax and sleep area. Next to his cot was a small dresser with his shirts, underwear, pants and socks. He picked out a fresh one of each and slowly got dressed.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the smooth computerised voice of Glynda announced. "Breakfast will be served in ten minutes. Please make your way to the eating quarters, signing in as you go. Any person unaccounted for will face the consequences. Thank you and have a pleasant day."
Glynda was the heart of the world. She announced things almost all the time, such as meal times, lock-down and when it was time to partake in pre-set recreational activities. However Glynda wasn't the only one that kept things in order, there were also the blue coats, which were the law. They made sure you were keeping in check and obeying the rules. The 'consequences' if you didn't weren't worth fathoming.
ML slipped on his shoes and quickly left his room, not wanting to be subject to a lock-down or search. Slightly ahead he saw one of the blue coats, his friend, Jack. Jack is the only one of the blue coats that ML happened to like, he was the one that helped him get his books and things. On the condition that ML didn't land him in it if he was caught. All the blue coats had to be called either sir or miss, so no-one knew their identity. So in public, ML couldn't let slip that he knew Jack's name, or the fact that he knew several other blue coats' names thanks to Jack.
Jack was in charge of the rooms from 230-255, which included checking in residents and making sure they were in the right place at the right time. ML's room number was 239.
"239," ML said when he approached Jack, who was scoring room numbers off a list.
"Good day, ML."
|