by Eliza Taye
Opal spun around to see Garrett literally staring out the window and toward the sky. “Garrett,” she whispered.
Garrett came to and looked from her to Mr. Gargen. Noticing the icy glare of their teacher, Garrett leaned forward and whispered to Opal, “What’s going on?”
Opal pursed her lips and looked down at the empty desktop and back to Garrett repeatedly.
Garrett held up his hands, not getting it. “What?”
“Your LIFE PLAN, Mr. Gibbons!” shouted the teacher loud enough to turn heads. Even the girl who had spoken earlier snapped her head up, although her hand kept furiously writing as she glanced up and then back down at her sheet.
“Oh, yeah, right.” Garrett fumbled with his backpack, accidentally knocking it over, causing the papers and pens to spill out. The clatter once again made people in the class stare in his direction. “Sorry.”
Opal decided to focus on Crystal’s Life Plan and ignored Garrett’s bumbling movements as he took his time pulling out a sheet of paper and pen.
Garrett bit the inside of his lip and wrote his name at the top of the paper. Then he stared at the blank sheet in confusion as what to write. The only things in life he wanted to plan were the things he couldn’t, like when he would die and who he would marry. He wanted to specify that under no circumstances would he marry Miranda Lavarr. If there was anything he was sure of in life, it was that.
Tapping the pen on his paper, he glanced up to see that his teacher’s stare had never left his position. Pursing his lips and looking back down at his paper, he decided to make a list of all the things he wished he could plan but knew he couldn’t. At least it would appear he was actively writing something instead of sitting there like an idiot.
The final beep of the day released the students, and particularly Garrett, from their misery. Garrett rose from his seat stuffing his long list of things he wished he could plan into his backpack before Mr. Gargen could inspect it. He rushed out the door, waiting patiently adjacent to it for Opal to stop gabbing with Crystal and exit the room.
“Thanks for the encouraging comments, Opal. I’m going to City Hall now to submit my Life Plan for pre-approval.” Crystal’s bright smile made her dark-skinned face shine as she entered the hall.
“Okay, good luck, Crystal!”
“Thanks!” Crystal spun around and hurried out the front doors with a quick wave.
“About time,” muttered Garrett, as Opal started walking towards the door, Garrett kept pace with her. “So, Opal, do you have time to talk now?”
“Not about The Council. I’m volunteering at the Undecided shelter like I do every Fourth Moon.”
This time, Garrett rolled his eyes. “Come on, Opal, you’ve done that for what…three years now? Can’t you skip this Fourth Moon just once?”
Opal pushed open the outside door. “No, Garrett, I really can’t. To be honest, I can’t believe you’re even asking me to do that. You know how much I love it. They’re the reason I wanted to become a lawyer in the first place. If I blow them off just because you want to conspire against The Council, it gives the impression that I don’t care about them as much as I do. It wouldn’t be right.”
Garrett groaned in annoyance. He loved and respected Opal for her kindness, but sometimes he wished she’d be a little more selfish and take time to do other things.
“Don’t groan about it. Take the time to decide which careers you’re going to revisit tomorrow. I know you weren’t working on your Life Plan today, so maybe you can gain some insight into what you might want to do by revisiting some of the occupational tour locations. If the pre-approval for my Life Plan is released today, I can probably obtain permission to go with you on the occupational shadows tomorrow.”
Before Garrett had a chance to groan about this new idea, a wide grin began to grow across his lips as another idea popped into his head. He knew how he could uncover more information about The Council.
Chapter 5
The transporter slid to a gentle stop at the last station on the line. Opal waited patiently for the doors to open, then exited onto the uniform white mosaic-tiled ground. Most of the other passengers took a left, toward the residential area, but she took a right.
The transporter line ended about half a mile from the Undecided sector of the city, which meant Opal would have to walk the rest of the way, but she didn’t mind. She loved walking. It helped to clear her mind.
Walking alone on the ever-narrowing path from the transport station, her mind began to wander back to when she’d first done this three years ago by accident. She’d been reading a book about the different climates of the provinces for a research project at academy when she realized that she’d missed her stop. Figuring that the transporter would simply loop around and she’d have another chance to exit at her stop, she’d stayed on board. To her surprise, it had stopped at a station where everyone remaining on the train disembarked. Confused, she sat in silence until a voice on the intercom admonished her for not getting off.
Disoriented, she had taken a right from the station instead of a left like everyone else had. The other passengers had long gone, and she couldn’t tell which way they’d gone. Confused, she’d kept walking until her internal compass told her she was going in the wrong direction, but a magnetic pull forced her ahead. Before long, she stumbled upon the Undecided sector of the city.
In her thirteen years, she had met few Undecideds, but knew they lived in a different area than she did. Unlike her part of the city where most people lived in single-family homes, the Undecided sector was dominated by apartment complexes, townhouses, and duplexes. The white mosaic ground had transitioned to a hard-gray brick style that she’d never seen before. The streetlamps shone less bright and flickered from time to time. The faces of the people were more haggard than she’d ever seen. Fear had crept up inside her forcing her to quicken her pace further into the suburb in search of a transporter that could return her to her side of the city.
“Hello there, sweetie. Are you lost?” asked an old granny who’d had a kind smile and yellow teeth.
“Yes, I am. Can you help me find a transporter that will take me close to Macon Street?”
“There are no transporters from this side of town to that one, my dear. In fact, the nearest transporter is back in the direction from which you came.”
Opal recalled tears coming to her eyes when she’d realized just how lost she was. But now, in the present time, as the familiar apartment complexes of the Undecided sector came into view, she simply smiled. To think that she’d ever been afraid of this place seemed silly now.
A ball rolled to her feet and she bent down to pick it up.
A boy came running in her direction, beaming when he recognized her. “Hi, Opal!”
“Hi, Danny, how have you been?” Opal gave him the ball back and ruffled his short brown hair.
“I’ve been good. I couldn’t wait until you came back this week. All the other kids and I have prepared something special for you since it’ll be your last day with us before you start living your Life Plan.”
Opal’s eyes widened. “A surprise?”
“Oh yes, we’ve been working on this for a long time now. Ever since you left last week to be exact.” The boy did his best to tuck the ball nearly twice the size of his head under his arm and grabbed Opal’s hand, leading her towards the nearest building. “Come inside and we’ll show you!”
“All right.” Opal allowed Danny to lead her to the imposing three-story brick structure that lay to the righthand side of the street. Three short steps led from the ground to the short walkway before the front door which was propped wide open. The spotless windows appeared like eyes into the building allowing Opal to see children’s heads peering outside in spurts before dashing away.
Opal couldn’t help smiling again as Danny ushered her inside the building. This was the reason why she’d decided to become a lawyer. She wanted to help kids like Danny and all the other ones living in the shelter. Unlike the Decided,
the Undecided lived a life of complete uncertainty. They never knew what job they would have, when they’d have kids and how many there would be. They weren’t guided by the preordained lives of the Decided but instead lived a day-by-day existence. The only crimes in the city were committed by the Undecided, but Opal felt that some of them did it by necessity, not out of a desire to be criminals.
Of course, some lawyers would represent the Undecided, but many of them weren’t as passionate about helping them out. The few that did were way too overworked. In her province, there were only five of them and she was intent on becoming the sixth. She knew about these people, cared about them. Little Danny and many others at the shelter had lost their parents when they were young and had no guidance in their lives beyond those that volunteered their time to help them. She wanted to be there for these kids and make sure they stayed out of trouble; teach them how to write a Life Plan so they didn’t have to live their entire lives like this. If it were up to her, she would prevent every child born into an Undecided family from living their entire life as an Undecided.
Opposite the doorway, a staircase led to the second floor. On either side of the wooden staircase were hallways leading to the back of the building. Children ran down the halls laughing and giggling. Two girls turned, noticed Opal, and scrambled over to hug her.
“Hi, Opal!” they exclaimed in unison, hugging her from either side.
“Hi, Annie and Minnie,” Opal wrapped an arm around each one and squeezed them gently.
Annie and Minnie were twins with auburn hair that reached down to their waists. At only four years old, they were the youngest children at the shelter. No one knew what had happened to their parents. Still, they were the kindest duo there. No one entered or left the building without getting at least two or more hugs from each of them: one when someone arrived, and one when they left. In Opal’s case, it was closer to clinging when she left along with a plea that she stay forever.
“Did Danny tell you about the surprise?” wondered Annie, her gray-green eyes shining.
“Yeah, did he?” pressed Minnie, gazing up at Opal with the same colored eyes.
“He said there was a surprise, but he didn’t tell me what it is yet.” Opal put her forefinger against her lips, indicating that the two girls shouldn’t tell.
“Yeah, don’t spoil it.” Danny’s happy face morphed into a frown as he peered at the twins.
“Don’t worry, Danny. I won’t let anyone spoil the surprise for me until you are all ready to show me.”
“Well come on, then,” urged Annie, grabbing Opal’s free hand and yanking her towards the back of the building. For such a little girl, Annie had a vice-like grip.
Between Annie and Danny, it wasn’t long before Opal was clambering down the steps to the backyard with the children.
“SURPRISE!” came a shout from a cacophony of children.
Opal nearly jumped at the sound when she saw three rows of children ordered with the smallest in front and the tallest in back grinning broadly and pointing above their heads. Annie, Minnie, and Danny hurried over to the kids and joined in.
Looking up, Opal read in big words, “CONGRATULATIONS, OPAL! YOU ARE OUR HERO, WE LOVE YOU!”
Not one to consider herself a softie, Opal was surprised when tears came to her eyes. She lost her battle with them and had to reach up to wipe them away when a hand was placed on her shoulder. Opal turned to see a woman about a head taller than her standing beside her.
“They were so proud and happy to do this for you. I tried to tell them that Declaration Day is still over a week away, but they insisted on giving you your congratulations today and celebrating.” The woman’s kind brown eyes mirrored the smile on her lips as Opal’s blurry vision made the image waver.
“Thank you, Mrs. Shaffer. They’re all so sweet.” Opal finished clearing the tears from her eyes.
“And we got you this too,” added Minnie, holding up a satchel. “It’s so you can carry all of your law books in.”
Opal reached down to take the light purple satchel from the young girl who was struggling to hold it up on her own. Embroidered on the top of the satchel were flowers in a variety of colors with a decorative design flowing along the seams. A long, thick strap ran from one side to the other with an adjustable buckle. “Thank you, everyone, but this is too much.”
Minnie adamantly shook her head. “No.”
Mrs. Shaffer spoke again, brushing a loose honey blonde hair streaked with a single silver lock back. “All the children did odd jobs around the city to raise enough money to buy you that. They even helped me put on a bake sale this weekend. When they were still short of money, Minnie, Annie, Danny, and Michael accosted people in the streets until they donated money for it.”
Opal bit her lip as her eyes began to burn. She didn’t want to start crying all over again. “Thank you all so much. I will repay you by tirelessly serving your community.”
“I don’t know what that means, but thank you, Opal.” Minnie hugged her again.
As Opal patted her back, the other kids rushed forward to embrace her in a big group hug. Mrs. Shaffer couldn’t help laughing and she joined in as well.
“We’ve also made a little feast for everyone today in your honor, Opal,” came a voice from behind her.
Opal twisted against the crushing embraces to see another girl about two years older than her hanging out the back door. The girl’s raven black hair was pulled back into a single braid and her sage irises shone with happiness as well. “Thank you, Leena.”
Leena had only started volunteering at the shelter a year ago. She’d made a Life Plan to become a teacher and when she discovered there was a shelter in the Undecided sector where orphaned children resided, she’d volunteered to help teach them. Whenever she had time off from her studies, she was here helping Mrs. Shaffer and the other volunteers with the kids.
“Are you ready to eat, guys?” asked Leena, grinning down at the children.
“Yay!” They screamed, almost knocking over Opal, Leena, and Mrs. Shaffer on their way to the kitchen.
“Wow, now there’s a stampede,” stated Leena. Turning to Opal, she asked, “Are you nervous?”
“About Declaration Day?”
Leena nodded.
“In some respects, yes. I know that I’ve done my best on my Life Plan and I should receive the pre-approval results today, but there’s still always the element of uncertainty. How did you deal with it?”
“Well, I’d only outlined the broadest sections of my Life Plan since I wasn’t too sure of the finer details, so I was worried that I’d be rejected. I had an anxiety attack before we even went on stage. My mom and older sister helped calm me down, but I still fretted over being rejected. Yet, looking at these kids, I sometimes wonder if we put too much pressure on the whole system. I mean, it’s horrible to not know what’s going to happen in your life, but these children seem to be okay. They still find a way to be happy despite their circumstances. I’ve even seen some adults here that are happier than adults from where we live. So, don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I’m sure of it. You’re way more prepared than I was at this stage.” Leena slung a skinny arm around Opal’s shoulders and led her inside.
Opal knew Leena was right. She needed to stop worrying, but she couldn’t. Garrett was still stuck in her mind. What about him? He was nowhere near ready. What would happen to him on Declaration Day if he couldn’t make up his mind?
The children were already gathered around the table, waiting to eat. Those whose feet couldn’t touch the floor wildly swung them back and forth in anticipation. When the food was placed in front of them, they ate heartily, talking and laughing as they did so. After eating, they played games with Leena, Opal, and Mrs. Shaffer until it was time for them to go to bed.
The two moons hung high in the sky, approaching ever closer to one another. Once they overlapped and gave the appearance of one, the next day would begin.
Opal looked from the moons outside and to little Da
nny lying in the bed next to the window. “Goodnight, Danny.” Opal leaned down and kissed the boy on the forehead.
“Goodnight, Opal,” sleepily responded Danny, his eyes fluttering closed. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, kiddo.” Opal gently rubbed his stomach as he drifted off to sleep.
Standing and softly closing the door, she went to the next room to check on Annie and Minnie. Both were already fast asleep, and Leena was tiptoeing out of their room as not to wake them. Once in the hallway, the two girls acknowledged each other with a head nod and silently tiptoed downstairs.
Of the fifteen children who stayed at the shelter full time, none ever went to bed without being personally put down by someone. Mrs. Shaffer thought it was important to make each child feel that they were loved.
At the kitchen table, Mrs. Shaffer sat alone drinking tea. She was the only volunteer that spent most of her time at the shelter. Her husband had died five years prior and neither of them had opted to have any kids, so the shelter was all she had. Like other Decideds, she’d found out after the age of 17 that she did want kids, but it was too late to change her Life Plan. Instead, the parentless became children to the childless woman who’d desired them.
“Oh, hi, girls,” greeted Mrs. Shaffer as she watched them enter the kitchen. “Are they all asleep?”
“Yes, they are all snug in their beds.” Leena plopped down into one of the chairs and then leaned back so the front two chair legs lifted off the ground.
“Really, Leena, you should stop doing that. One of these days you’re going to tip over and break your neck.”
Leena rolled her eyes but smiled at Mrs. Shaffer as the chair legs returned to the ground with a soft thud. “No, I won’t. I’m always careful.”
Mrs. Shaffer cradled the steaming teacup in her hands, staring down into the liquid. “Sometimes, I think about these children and wonder what happened to their families. It’s so rare that we know where they came from and how their parents died.”