by Eliza Taye
As they had yesterday, the throngs of people thinned out as he headed down the side streets toward the library. By the time he turned the last corner and arrived at Darrington Street, all semblances of human beings disappeared. The houses on the opposite side of the library appeared to be uninhabited. No lights shone inside and the grass outside grew high as if no one bothered to maintain it.
Ignoring the ghostly presence of those empty homes, Garrett turned at the library and quickened his pace up the steps. Opening the door, he shouted, “April, are you here? It’s Garrett. You know, the guy who was here yesterday.”
“Hey, Garrett,” breathlessly spoke April, coming around the corner and startling him so much that he nearly yelled. She carried a stack of books that towered from her waist to the bottom of her tilted up chin. “So, you came back.”
“Yeah,” Garrett reached out, “here, let me help you with those.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. I’m used to carrying heavy loads of books on my own.” April turned toward the stairs and stepped onto the first stair.
“Are you sure? I can help you.”
“Nope, no need,” reassured April, blowing the loose strand of hair in front of her face aside and taking the next step.
Garrett followed April up the stairs, going slowly one by one. All the while, he kept thinking that he should have insisted on helping her with the books. Instead, he walked with his hands out, ready to catch her if she lost her balance and began to fall.
At the top step, April let out a short sigh of accomplishment, and Garrett unwillingly let out a sigh of relief that she hadn’t fallen.
“Why do you have so many books to carry upstairs anyway?” wondered Garrett.
“Well, every now and then, we receive donations from the Decided libraries uptown. They give us the ones they don’t want any more or the outdated ones. Sometimes, library patrons will donate new books to us out of the kindness of their hearts. Today happens to be one of those days when I got a new shipment of them. I don’t like to make a lot of trips going up and down the stairs, so I grab as many as I can and take them where they need to go.”
Looking at all the full shelves on the second floor, Garrett wondered where they’d all go. “Which kinds of books are on the first floor?”
“Children’s books mostly. There are a few other genres of fiction, but most of the collection is up here. The first floor is for those that can’t make it up the stairs and for people looking for sciorbs to use for the dataweb.”
“Ah, I see. So, there’s a room full of sciorbs downstairs?”
April finally made it to a short table and set the books down, then turned to face Garrett. “There is, but most of the sciorbs don’t work. It doesn’t matter though. Not many people come to the library. I guess everyone is too busy with their lives and work to worry about reading.”
Garrett watched the sadness in her downcast eyes grow as she talked about the absence of visitors to the library. Not knowing what to say, he remained silent.
“Anyway, since you said you’d be returning today, I selected all the books in the library that might have what you’re looking for. I perused through some of the newly donated books but found nothing concerning The Council. Well, in all but one of the books. I’ve stacked them all upstairs for you if you want to go take a look.”
“Sure,” agreed Garrett.
April nodded and led Garrett back to the spiral staircase leading to the third floor. When Garrett’s line of sight passed over the railing at the top, his eyes widened. Every speck of dust had been cleaned in the room and the wood shined as if it were brand new.
“April, did you do all this?”
She glanced back and simply smiled at him, nodding.
“Are you serious? You didn’t have to do this.”
“Of course, I did. We rarely get visitors to the library as I said before, and I didn’t want our latest visitor going around saying that we Undecided have a filthy library.”
Garrett would have worried that she meant it as an insult if she hadn’t been grinning from ear to ear. Still, he couldn’t help feeling bad.
“And besides, it gave me something to do this morning. Not to mention that I probably should have been keeping it up in the first place instead of having my nose in a book all the time. But since no one came up here, I figured why bother. You gave me a reason to clean it up.” April moved to a side table that Garrett was sure wasn’t there yesterday and gestured to a stack of six, thick, old bound books. “Other than the one you looked at yesterday, these are all that we have with mentioning’s about The Council.”
Garrett walked over and peered at the titles. From top to bottom they read: Taeopia’s Origins, Taeopia’s Cultures and Peoples Volumes 1-3,Taeopian Way of Life, and the last one was The Life Plan System. “Thank you, April. You really didn’t have to do all of this.”
“It’s my pleasure, fellow library-goer.”
Garrett chuckled once and pulled the book from the top. “I guess I’ll start here.”
“All right then, I’ll leave you to it.” April left in a flash to organize the new books.
Garrett focused on the book in his hand, reading the title twice, then placed it back on the top of the stack. Returning to the shelf where he’d taken a book from yesterday, he found A Brief History of the World of Taeopia and opened it back to where he’d left off.
Although April had added a side table, there was still no chair, so he sat on the newly cleaned floor and began to read. Reaching into his side pocket, he removed the notebook and pen he’d stuffed there and placed it next to him, ready for his notetaking.
For hours he read, skimming through the rest of the book to check for anything important. When he realized there was nothing of any importance, he moved on to the book on the top of the stack. It quickly yielded no results, so he moved on.
Halfway through volume two of Taeopia’s Cultures and Peoples, he slammed the book closed in frustration and stared at the remaining pile of books. Laying the book aside, he crawled over to the stack of books and braced the top two in order to slide the last one, The Life Plan System, from its place at the bottom. He skipped the first few pages, searching for the table of contents. Ignoring the first few useless lists, one toward the bottom caught his eye—the approval of Life Plans. Noting the page number, he skipped to it and began to read:
‘The culmination of each individual’s Life Plan is the approval of the esteemed Council. Each and every Life Plan must be approved by The Council, who meticulously examines it for any potential illegalities and flaws. Upon approval, the Life Plan will begin once it is announced on Declaration Day. Each citizen of Taeopia, whether they be of the Decided or Undecided sector of the population must submit their Life Plan by Submission Day at their city hall. Employees of the city hall will ensure that the Life Plan is sent directly to The Council for approval by Declaration Day. If you so choose, you may send your Life Plan for pre-approval. Pre-approval does not guarantee acceptance of the Plan you submit on Submission Day if it has been altered after the pre-approval process. Pre-approvals are checked by one member of The Council alone and they have the right to deem whether the Life Plan is likely to be approved. During the time the council member is checking the Life Plan for pre-approval, they are linked to that City Hall directly and are thus occupied. Pre-approvals are only accepted once they have been deemed by City Hall personnel to be legit and not a prank…’
City Hall? A council member was linked to city hall while the process of pre-approval was ongoing?
The corner of Garrett’s mouth began to rise. He knew what he needed to do.
Chapter 10
Back at home, Garrett began to devise his plan. There was exactly one week until Declaration Day and only five days until Submission Day. He had to enact his plan before then. All the while, his parents, teachers, and Opal would be breathing down his neck for him to get his Life Plan written. Somehow, he had to find a way to convince them all that he was working on hi
s Life Plan, when in reality, he was plotting to expose The Council to the city. Or at least, uncover whatever it was they were hiding. But to do that he needed one thing—to get into the Special Collections Room. And the only way he could gain access to it would be through City Hall. Surely, there was some kind of key or something hidden inside City Hall that he could use to gain entry to the secret room.
There was only one problem. He’d be breaking several laws to do so. However, Garrett hoped that with Declaration Day fast approaching, he’d be able to escape any kind of punishment. But, he’d have to be caught for there to be a punishment and he had no intention of getting caught.
Laying the loose white sheets of paper across his desk, he began to write everything he knew so far about The Council, City Hall, and Anaxia Library. It wouldn’t be easy to sneak into both the City Hall and the main library, but he’d have to find a way somehow.
Glancing at his list on City Hall, he remembered that he’d been able to tour it years ago and for a souvenir, he’d gotten a blueprint of it. It was a childish rendition with crazy drawings and symbols for what each room inside the building was used for, but it was all he had. Hoping he hadn’t thrown it away years ago, he began to tear up his room looking for it.
Amidst the commotion, he heard a knock at his door. “Garrett, sweetie, your father and I are going to bed.”
Mrs. Gibbons gawked at her son. “What happened to your room?”
Caught unawares, Garrett sputtered. “A few years ago, our teachers had us write a mock Life Plan with the things we wanted to get out of life, the kinds of occupations we were interested in, and so on. I was searching for it to give me some inspiration so I could start working on my Life Plan some more.”
Tears began to pool at the rims of Mrs. Gibbons’ eyes as she hurried over to where her son crouched at the pile of papers on the floor and embraced him in a suffocating hug. “I just knew you’d finally come around if I pushed you hard enough. I’m so glad you finally understand how important your Life Plan is.”
“Okay…okay…I understand now, Mom,” sputtered Garrett with the last few breaths of air in his constricted lungs.
“Oh, sorry, son. Well, you go on and make as much noise as you need. We’ll be fine,” Mrs. Gibbons nodded twice and left the room.
Shocked his lousy excuse had worked on his usually astute mother, Garrett stared silently at the door for a few moments before resuming his search. His mother would kill him if she knew what he was really up to. He decided to hastily write a fake Life Plan, just in case his mother, teachers, or Opal asked to see his progress. If his mother asked again, at least he could feign that he’d been working.
Deep down, Garrett knew they pushed him because they cared about him, but he’d just never been that interested in writing a Life Plan. Now, this conspiracy had absorbed his every thought. He had to figure out how The Council worked and why everyone else but himself seemed to be so complacent about them deciding who got to live the lives they chose.
Tugging another box from the back of his closet, he sighed in relief when he saw sitting at the top exactly what he’d been searching for. He picked it up and walked over to his desk, plopping down in his chair without looking. The chair slid backward, and he nearly fell onto his butt, catching himself on the edge of the desk. Frowning in annoyance, he made a face at the chair as if it were its fault he almost fell and then returned to the map in his hands. The outer walls of the building were traced in blue like a regular blueprint, but the inside ones were all different colors to denote the different rooms. Their city hall was technically four levels, with the bottommost level being the basement. The top level—the third floor—was only half taken up on the foremost part of the building with the roof being the rest. Large windows rested just above the ground floor and he was certain he’d be able to enter through one of them.
A pencil lay on the top of his desk and he picked it up and began to trace over every single line from the childish drawing. Frustrated at his lack of straight lines, he grabbed the edge of one of his folders and used it as a straightedge to make his drawing more professional. When he was done, he held it up and admired it. Maybe instead of being an artist, he could be an architect.
Shaking away the idea, he proceeded to continue writing his fake plan. During the next two days, students would still be taking occupational shadows and possibly submitting their Life Plans for pre-approval. The only time when City Hall would be empty and the area void of people would be late at night just before the two moons crossed each other’s path. That would be when he needed to break in. Unlike the Undecided sector, there were few security measures put into place in the Decided sector of the city because people didn’t commit crimes. Teenagers pulled pranks every now and then, but it was never anything extreme.
This would be.
Garrett had to hope that only the doors to City Hall would be locked. Inside and outside of course. All he had to do was figure out a way to pick the locks. If the locks could be picked, that is. Otherwise, he’d have to break a window.
With a frustrated sigh, Garrett leaned back in his chair and stared at the copy of the blueprints in front of him. There were too many variables and he hadn’t been inside City Hall in so long that he couldn’t trust his memory to remember everything in enough detail to be of use. What he needed was to visit it again to scope out the area, what type of security measures were in place, and what he would need to get in and out unnoticed. But other than submitting his Life Plan early for pre-approval, he had no reason to visit City Hall.
But Opal did.
Leaning forward once more in his chair over the blueprints, he located the room where the pre-approval submissions were taken. It was deep into the first floor of City Hall. If he could go with Opal when she went to pick up her pre-approved Life Plan, he could do his scouting then. Yes, that could work. He’d have the perfect excuse and it wouldn’t be suspicious at all. Just two 16-year-olds going to the one place in City Hall they were expected to go.
Garrett had already figured out the first part of his plan and how he would implement it. He would sleep well tonight.
Buzzing sounded off to the right of Garrett’s ear. He lifted his head and groggily opened his eyes to see the interwave flashing by his head. Something odd stuck to his cheek and he realized it was a sheet of paper. Gathering his wits, he picked up the interwave and answered it. “Hello?”
“Garrett?” Opal’s confused voice sounded in his ear. “Were you asleep?”
Garrett gazed around to see that he had indeed fallen asleep at his desk. The sheets of paper detailing his plans were strewn across the desk in various unrelated piles. Startled at leaving all his plans so utterly exposed, he began gathering them up and piling them together in one stack, not caring what order they were in.
“Garrett? Are you there?”
“Yes, sorry, Opal. What is it?”
On the other end of the line, Opal creased her brow and stepped outside the door to her house. “Don’t you remember that you agreed to let me help you with your Life Plan today? I’m headed to your house right now.”
Garrett jolted up out of the chair, the breeze from his quick movement causing the few top sheets of paper to fly onto the floor. “Right now?”
“Yes…Garrett, why are you acting so weird?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’ll see you soon. Bye!” Garrett swiped the end call symbol across the screen and looked at the mess in his room with wide eyes. He’d have to tidy up to keep Opal from getting suspicious.
Garrett rushed around the room putting away the mess he’d created the night before, stuffing most of it into his closet. Next, he focused on his desk, collecting each sheet of paper holding his criminal plan. He rushed over to his bed and stuffed them underneath the mattress. No one would find them there, least of all Opal.
He’d just opened his sciorb when he heard a knock on the door. “Garrett, can I come in?”
Garrett swept his gaze across the room, doing one last
check before shouting, “Yes, come on in.”
Opal’s smile diminished as she took one look at Garrett. “Weren’t those the clothes you were wearing yesterday?”
Glancing down, Garrett realized that he’d fixed every detail but one. Wincing, he replied, “Yes, I kind of fell asleep at my desk last night.”
Opal’s green-eyed gaze studied him for a moment before her face lit up into another smile. “Working on your Life Plan?”
What was with the two people in his life he cared about the most being so gullible lately? thought Garrett. Instead of fighting it, he embraced it. “Yeah, except that I kept tearing up the sheets and throwing them away.” He gestured to the sheets of paper piled in the trash can.
Opal glanced over at them and then laughed. “Now you’re almost acting like me. I think my parents threatened to take all the paper out of the house and leave me with only the sciorb to work on when I first started writing my Life Plan.”
Garrett laughed too. “When was that?”
“When I was five.”
By the way, Opal was smiling, Garrett couldn’t tell whether she was joking or not.
“Anyway, how far did you get?”
“Well, I got past my name, where I wanted to live, how many children I wanted, and what age I wanted to be married at.” They were all lies of course, but she didn’t need to know that.
Opal looked impressed. “Still unsure about your profession?”
“Yes, that’s the one that’s still bugging me.” Garrett paused for a second before adding, “Which was why I was wondering if I could go with you to pick up your pre-approved Life Plan from City Hall?”
Staring at her friend with a confused face, Opal asked, “How is that going to help you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe if I see the inside of City Hall…where I have to go to submit my Life Plan, I’ll feel a sense of urgency and get inspired to make a decision. I don’t know,” he repeated, leaning over and cradling his head in his hands. “I’m just starting to feel so overwhelmed.”