Life Designed (Life Plan Series Book 1)

by Eliza Taye

  “Well, if you still have your interwave, you can call me whenever you want.”

  Huffing, Garrett responded, “If they haven’t blocked all calling from the Undecided sector to the Decided one yet. I wonder how much it’s going to cost me to keep my interwave. Probably more than a day’s wages for sure.”

  “Garrett, you don’t know that for sure. Just give it a try right now and we’ll find out.”

  Garrett called Opal and waited.

  Opal held up her interwave as it rang to show him the call came from his interwave. “See, it still works. So, please, call me. It’s hard to think of you here. We’ve been together most of our lives and now my best friend lives far away from me, it’s hard.”

  “I know it is…but at least you can come visit me. I’m not even allowed outside the Undecided sector after 8 or 9pm, I’m not sure which.”

  Garrett’s mentioning of time made Opal’s eyes bulge. “Oh, my goodness, I need to go. I’ve got class at 8am tomorrow and I’m not sure which transporter line nearest to here is still operational.”

  Garrett stood as Opal leaped to her feet. “I’ll walk you to the exit of the Undecided sector. The enforcers won’t let me go any further than that.”

  Opal’s eyes saddened at her friend’s downcast face. “Thank you, Garrett. I’d appreciate it as I’m not quite sure how to find my way back.”

  “I know, it’s a maze around here because they don’t have street signs or addresses like in the Decided sector.”

  “Yeah it, is.”

  Garrett led Opal out of his apartment and walked her to the exit of the Undecided sector. Few people were still on the streets, but those who remained were the shadier characters. Garrett noticed Opal shift a little closer to him as a few of the gruffer-looking men passed by. Grateful that April had showed him the secret to finding his way through the main throughfares of the Undecided sector after they bought his groceries, Garrett confidently led Opal along toward their destination.

  When they reached the exit, Opal turned to him and gave him one last hug. “Take care of yourself, Garrett. I’ll come to see you again soon. You know I’ll be at the shelter every Fourth Moon. You should drop by sometime.”

  Garrett hugged her back. “I’ll see if I have time depending on my work schedule for that day.”

  Before Opal released him, she slipped something into his pocket and then walked off, passing under the tunnel bridge and into her side of the city.

  Garrett waited until he was back in the relative safety of his apartment to see what she’d dropped into his pocket.

  He drew out 25 trecins.

  Chapter 26

  Garrett survived his first week as an Undecided through sheer will and determination. Although each day started with a level of uncertainty, he discovered the first day was the hardest and it got easier from there. Opal’s donation of 25 trecins allowed him the luxury of riding the transporter instead of walking all the way to his job the following morning. The gesture had made a world of a difference to his aching body for which he couldn’t thank her enough for.

  After work each day, he visited April at Darrington Library before heading home.

  “Hey, April,” greeted Garrett, striding with confidence into the library.

  “Upstairs,” came April’s muffled response.

  Garrett jogged up the stairs and found April in the room housing the collections of old books.

  “Hey, Garrett! So you survived your first week among us Undecideds.”

  Leaning against the wall with the bookshelf closest to the door, Garrett responded, “Hey, you make it sound like I’m not one of you.”

  April re-shelved one of the books from the pile in her arms. “True, I guess I keep forgetting sometimes. In my mind, you’re still the Decided guy who came to this room looking for answers about The Council.”

  Garrett appraised the room, remembering the hours he’d spent going through the books researching The Council and trying to figure out how they worked. Had that really only been two weeks ago?

  “Hard to believe it wasn’t long ago that you were a pre-submitter wasting your time researching The Council, huh?” April leaned against the bookshelf nearest to him.

  Garrett couldn’t help releasing a small laugh. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

  “So much has changed for you in the past two weeks, hasn’t it?”

  Garrett stared down into her caramel-brown eyes, watching the small smile rising on her lips. “Yes, it really has.”

  April cleared her throat and leaned away from the bookshelf. “I guess you never would have envisioned your life being like this two weeks ago.”

  Feeling a little hurt at April’s sudden distance, Garrett lowered his arm from the wall and replied, “No, I really wouldn’t have. I hadn’t decided what to put in my Life Plan yet. My entire focus was on the Council. I had nothing on my Life Plan beyond my first name.”

  April chuckled, crossing her arms and shaking her head at him.

  “April?” shouted a voice from downstairs.

  April’s face shifted into one of concern as she fled the room without a word and raced down the stairs. Garrett followed her, alarmed at her sudden change.

  “Mama, is there something wrong?”

  A woman slightly shorter than April stood in the entryway to the library, hands clasped together, wringing them nervously. Raven hair hung loose down her back almost to her waist. The skirt she wore had patches in several locations, but her blouse was immaculate.

  “Mama, are you okay?” April fled down the last few steps, grasping her mother’s hands in hers.

  “Yes…yes,” stammered her mother. “I’m just in so much shock I don’t know what to do.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Garrett finished descending the stairs, sitting on the last one. He didn’t want to interrupt them with his presence, but he didn’t want to miss what her mother had to say either.

  April’s mother’s long, black eyelashes fluttered as she responded, “I received my job for today and could hardly believe it.”

  “What was the job?” April was getting a little impatient at having to draw the explanations from her mother, but she didn’t want to be rude either by pressing her.

  “The job was working as a medical assistant in a clinic. It was all basic work, nothing highly skilled, but when I was done, the attending physician asked if I’d like nurses’ training.”

  April blinked several times before she frowned. “But that’s impossible.”

  “I know,” emphasized her mother.

  “For one, you should have never been assigned the job of a medical assistant…and then to be offered nurses’ training. Well, that just doesn’t make sense.”

  “But, April, in an odd way, it does make sense. In my rejected Life Plan, I had wanted to become a nurse. So, in some odd way, it’s like I’m finally getting to live part of my Life Plan.” April’s mother’s face brightened as she spoke, the fidgety nervousness fading away.

  “But, Mama, it’s too late, your Life Plan can’t be fulfilled now. It’s thirty years too late for it.”

  April’s mother nodded. “I know it is, but here it is happening.”

  “But it can’t,” breathed Garrett, his jaw slack.

  April’s mother turned to Garrett, noticing him for the first time. “Who are you?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Mama. This is my friend Garrett Gibbons. He’s the one I took the towels and sheets to.”

  Once he’d been introduced, April’s mother’s face brightened, her white teeth shining. “Ah, you’re that friend. April has told me so much about you. She hardly talks about anyone else. It’s nice to finally meet you. My name is Zayna Selendery, but you can just call me Zayna.”

  Garrett gave her a polite wave. “Nice to meet you too, Zayna.”

  “Mhm, I’m sure.” Zayna grinned at Garrett for so long it became uncomfortable and he had to look away.

  Feeling embarrassed at her mother’s response, n
ot to mention her reaction, April redirected the focus on her mother. “Mama, how is it that you received a job for a skilled worker? For someone who would normally be training to be a nurse or a doctor?”

  “I don’t know,” responded Zayna, “but isn’t it wonderful, April? At long last, I’ll be able to live a little of what I’d planned.”

  April still couldn’t come to terms with her mother’s admission and neither could Garrett.

  “Zayna, you said that it was part of your Life Plan to become a nurse, but you live in the Undecided sector. How can your Life Plan come true now?”

  “I have no idea, Garrett, but it has.”

  April gave Garrett an incredulous look and he responded with a shrug. April couldn’t figure out how this was happening. For all intents and purposes, it shouldn’t be happening.

  Zayna took April’s hands in hers again. “Look, April, I know you’re trying to figure out how this is happening with that beautiful, smart brain of yours, but maybe it is a way of good things finally coming to us.” Zayna reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of trecins. “Why, look how much money I earned today: 300 trecins! Can you believe it?”

  Garrett’s eyes widened. Three hundred trecins a day was an average wage for the Decided sector, but in the Undecided sector that was a fortune. Zayna was lucky she hadn’t been pickpocketed on the way to the library.

  April glanced at Garrett again, worry, terror, and confusion evident in her eyes.

  “That was a pretty difficult assignment, don’t you think?” wondered Chloë as she and Opal exited Trenton Hall.

  “I’d say. It was a pretty heated debate between the positives and negatives of being a Decided versus an Undecided.” Opal cradled the textbook for her next class in her arms.

  “You bet it was. I think I’d have to side with the Decided arguments though. I’d rather know the major events of my life than to leave them to chance. I’m surprised we still even have Undecided sectors. It’s better to make up your mind, than live the way they do. I mean, everyone gets the opportunity to submit a Life Plan when they turn 17, so what excuse can you have not to submit one?”

  During Chloë’s rant, Opal had grown quiet. By the time she’d finished, Opal burst out, “Well, not everyone can make up their mind and know what they want to do by 17. Some people are afraid of what could happen if they choose wrong. To them, it’s just as bad as not knowing what your future will be.”

  Chloë held her hands up in defeat. “Woah, Opal, I’m sorry I hit a chord. I didn’t know you felt so strongly about it. Wasn’t your position on the positive effects of being a Decided?”

  Opal sighed, realizing that she shouldn’t have blown up at Chloë like that. “I’m sorry, Chloë.”

  “No, it’s okay, speak your mind. Don’t be afraid to. I mean, we’re going to be lawyers. If we’re afraid to speak our minds, then who will?”

  Opal released a puff of laughter at her statement. “That’s so true. We should be unapologetic about what we say. Someone’s going to have a problem with it regardless.”

  “There you go,” approved Chloë with a laugh.

  Opal’s interwave started buzzing. “Hold on, I’ve got to answer this.”

  Pulling the interwave from her bag, Opal saw it was from her dad. “Hey, Dad, what’s going on?”

  “Opal, is there a way you can come home?” Her dad’s voice was flat, emitting no emotion.

  “Yeah, I just finished my debate for my public speaking class, and I don’t have any other classes to attend this evening. What’s wrong?”

  There was a long pause at the other end of the line until her dad said, “Just get home and I’ll tell you then.”

  “No, Dad, please tell me now. I’m concerned. Is something wrong with Gabby or Mom?”

  Her dad gave a long pause again, then responded, “It’s your mom…she lost her job.”

  Opal ended the call with a perplexed expression on her face.

  “What’s wrong? Something happen in your family?” asked Chloë.

  “Yeah,” Opal lowered the interwave, staring blankly ahead in confusion. “My mom lost her job.”

  “Really? But isn’t your mom a teacher?” Chloë’s face began to mirror Opal’s in confusion.

  “Yeah, she is.”

  “But don’t teachers usually remain in their positions for life? I mean, sometimes they may switch academies, but it’s rare, right?”

  Opal nodded blankly. “Yes, you’re right.”

  Chloë looked at Opal expectantly, waiting for her to elaborate.

  Snapping out of it and recognizing the severity of the situation, Opal exclaimed, “I’ve gotta go, Chloë. I’ll catch up with you later.” She took off running.

  “Yep, well see you later then,” replied Chloë to empty air as Opal was already long gone.

  A seemingly long public transporter ride later, Opal opened the front door to her house. “Mom, Dad, Gabby? Where are you guys?”

  At first, there was no response, then Gabrielle ran into the living room, throwing herself into Opal’s arms. “Oh, Opal, it’s horrible. Mom won’t stop crying.”

  “What happened?” questioned Opal. “Mom loves her job and she’s always had good reviews there. Her students love her and their parents appreciate her too.”

  “I don’t know,” Gabrielle wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve. “It’s so weird.”

  “Opal?” Holly walked into the room with puffy red eyes and cheeks.

  “Mom!” Opal ran to her mother and embraced her, then wound up holding her up as her mother nearly collapsed into her arms.

  “Oh, Opal, I don’t know what to do. I love…loved my job and now I can’t work there anymore.”

  “Why, Mom? Why can’t you work there anymore? Did they fire you?”

  “No, they didn’t fire me. They just said they didn’t need me anymore…that they were going to merge Landon Primary Academy with Camden Secondary Academy.” Her mother sobbed into her arm upon finishing the sentence.

  Opal guided her mother over to the couch. Although she wasn’t a heavy woman, Opal had a difficult time holding her up all on her own. “So you weren’t the only one who lost your job then? Several other teachers did too?”

  “Only me, Mr. Carlten, and Mrs. Bernhart. The rest of them will be moved over to the new academy and will teach there.”

  That didn’t make any sense to Opal. From what she knew, both Mr. Carlten and Mrs. Bernhart were beloved at Landon Primary Academy just like her mother was.

  Her dad entered the room at that moment. “Merging academies is what’s odd. They’ve never done that in Galaxcion before.”

  “Right, why would they do that now?” sobbed her mom.

  “Do you know if it’s been done in any other cities, Dad?” wondered Opal, patting her mother’s back as she spoke.

  He shook his head. “Not that I know of…but throughout Taeopia, who’s to say? I’m sure it’s happened somewhere.”

  “But Mom should have been offered a job somewhere else by now. Her Life Plan didn’t stipulate that she wanted to retire for at least another twenty years,” complained Gabrielle. “At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work, right, Opal?”

  Opal looked into her sister’s hopeful emerald eyes. She realized the reason her family had wanted her there was because of her comprehensive knowledge of Life Plans. At first, she’d thought they’d wanted her there because of her law studies, but she reasoned that made no sense since she’d only been in college for six days.

  “Well, Opal, Gabby’s right, isn’t she?” prodded her dad.

  “Yes, from what I know, if someone isn’t slated to retire yet, then upon losing a job in their occupational field, they should be offered another one soon thereafter,” Opal explained.

  Clasping the sleeve of her daughter’s shirt tighter, Holly cried, “But there’s been nothing! It happened the day before yesterday and I’ve waited all day yesterday and today for a new job to open up somewhere. But I’ve checked t
he entire city and there’s nothing.”

  Now that was beyond odd. The new offer should have occurred within 24 hours, not more than a day later. Something was wrong, none of it made any sense. Opal pondered the possibilities as her mother’s tears soaked deeper into her shirt.

  Garrett stood outside his house, just watching it. He knew his parents would have the blinds closed by now, but he couldn’t help but stand there and gaze at his childhood home in longing. He knew the risks if he were caught in the Decided sector after hours, but he couldn’t help it—he missed his parents.

  After seeing April talk with her mother Zayna and the joy she’d had over part of her Life Plan becoming a reality, he knew he had to see his mom again. She’d been so devastated over what had happened a week ago on Declaration Day and he hadn’t been able to properly talk to her since then or say goodbye.

  Feeling like an odd outsider, Garrett walked to the front door and pressed the doorbell. Shuffling sounded on the other side of the door and then it opened, spilling light onto the path.

  “Garrett!” exclaimed his father, yanking him inside the house and then enveloping him in a tight hug once he relocked the door.

  “Garrett?” came his mother’s troubled voice, then it rang clear as she repeated his name with more confidence. “Garrett!”

  Mr. Gibbons stepped back as Garrett’s mother hugged him so tight, he was sure his internal organs would rupture. “I thought I’d never see you again,” she cried.

  Pulling him back out at arm’s length, she ran her gaze from his head to his toes and back up again. “Are you eating well? Where are you staying? What sort of jobs have they been assigning you? Have you been getting enough sleep?”

  “My goodness, Raya, give him a chance to respond,” complained his father, gesturing for them to sit on the couches in the living room.

  Garrett shifted over to the couch, albeit a little awkwardly as his mother refused to let go of his arm. She sat beside him, scooting so close their sides pressed together.

  “Yes, I’m eating, sleeping, and working.” Garrett didn’t specify how well he was doing them since he knew it wouldn’t be up to his mother’s satisfaction. “They’ve been giving me typical jobs of the Undecided.”