Terranovus

“Hey dad?” I asked over breakfast the next morning.

“Yeah?”

“After school, can I please visit you at your work?”

Mum and dad slowly placed their toast down on their plates and glanced at each other. I took a deep breath and continued, “it’s just that, I really enjoyed spending time with you after school Mum, but I feel as though what I need right now is just a good distraction. I can’t stop thinking about my friends back at home...”

“Of course sweetheart,” immediately said dad. “I’ll speak to my boss first thing and ask for permission. I’m sure it will be okay. Our neighbours, Mr and Mrs Sook, their son visits his father all the time I heard.” I looked up at that.

“Their son?” I asked.

“Yeah, oh, what’s his name? Hun or something.”

“Hyun?”

“Yes. That’s it, did you meet him on the school bus yesterday?” asked dad.

“Sort of,” I replied. I gulped down another spoonful of cereal and looked at the time, “I better start getting dressed.” I dumped my bowl into the dishwasher and exited the room. I was halfway down the corridor to my bedroom when I heard my mum turn to my dad.

“But Paul, it’s just your second day, will your boss be okay with that?”

“It’ll be fine. I don’t have any work to do yet, I’m still doing my induction. It’s Tilly I’m more worried about.”

I rolled my eyes and shut my bedroom door. Trust mum to forever worry. I picked up my school uniform I dumped on the floor yesterday afternoon and stared at it with hatred. Day two and I still detested skirts.

As I dressed, I thought back over the plan I formed last night. I was definitely not going to hear any Army gossip at school so my safest bet was at dad’s work. Hopefully there I’ll be able to overhear bits and bobs. Anything to stop the resistance from hurting Tommy.

Once dressed I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and grimaced. I looked like a zombie, a weird zombie with an arm still in a sling. My hair was a mess and my eyes were sunken and dark.

“Iris, how much time do I have until the bus arrives?” I asked the room.

“One minute and fifteen seconds,” she replied instantly. I groaned, messy bun hair day it was.

Exactly one minute and fifteen seconds later I clambered onto the school bus and sat next to an ecstatic Maria. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

“Ready for day two?” squealed Maria. This was another reason why I preferred boys; Tommy, Simon and Jack weren’t morning people too.

“Sure,” I said and watched as Hyun ran out of his house, through his front gate and jumped onto the bus breathless.

“Does he do that every morning?” I asked as he flopped himself down on the front row seat.

“Pretty much,” shrugged Maria then immediately pelted into a fast and excitable talk about her Chemistry assignment.

My first class of the day, mathematics, passed by uneventful and quickly, which I was glad for as my next class was the one I was most looking forward to - graphic communications.

Fortunately, I found the class quickly and as I walked through the doorway I realised none of my peers had arrived yet. Mr Alderton, the graphic communications teacher who was an old but able man, greeted me.

“Ah, you must be Tabitha McKinley,” he said, “it’s my pleasure tutoring you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“You have?” I asked surprised.

“You won the Best Young Architecture Vision of the Year award, am I correct?” he asked. I felt myself blushing a bright beetroot red.

“Yes, I did.”

“Then I think you’ll be pleased to hear the announcement I am about to make,” he said with a small smile. Some students trickled through the doorway and joined the class. “Why don’t you take that spare desk there next to mine?” Mr Alderton suggested.

Not keen to appear a teacher’s pet, I nonetheless smiled and nodded. I sat down and pulled out my tablet then glanced at the other students. I didn’t recognise any of them. I turned back to my tablet and opened the Learning app and navigated my way to the Graphic Communications subject. I clicked on Mr Alderton's profile. Qualified with a Masters of Architecture and a PhD in Design, Mr Alderton had designed this school and been a part of the committee that had designed Primus. He was currently working on the next city of Terranovus, Ziller.

Mr Alderton fiddled with the electronic whiteboard, and once turned on, turned to the class who were now all seated and clasped his hands together. Suddenly the classroom door opened-

“Sorry I’m late Sir, I was helping Ms Zhou carry some things back to her office,” spoke Ava.

“That’s okay Miss Waverton, why don’t you take a seat there behind Miss McKinley,” said Mr Alderton. Ava’s head snapped towards me and immediately her sweet smile turned to a scowl. I groaned and looked away.

Once she was seated Mr Alderton turned to the room again.

“Class, I have a special project to announce today. As you know, works are in progress to complete Ziller, the second city of Terranovus by mid-to-late next year. The Commander of the Army himself, has asked for students from Primus Academy to design the city’s transportation hub.”

Immediately the class erupted in excited whispers. Mr Alderton smiled pleased.

“Quiet everybody,” he said and waited for the room to fall silent again, “this will not be a group project. Instead, you will be required within two weeks by today to submit a proposal with a model and visual images of your design to me, which will be discussed by Ziller’s planning committee, which I am a member of. The winner must have all votes from the committee and those that place fifth and above will be invited to the Mayor of Primus’s home for a formal dinner in three weeks time. Now, please turn your attention to the board and take notes of the criteria.”

Instantly my mind flew out of the classroom and to a place filled with sleek, modern and eco-friendly designs. The transportation hub would be crucial for Ziller’s residents and for those who will be commuting between Ziller and Primus. It had to be functional yet attractive, and match Terranovus’s high level modern and unique standard of design. And all within two weeks? I had a lot of work to do. And the chance to dine at the Mayor of Primus’s home could not be missed, especially if I were to find gossip for the resistance.

Throughout the lesson, I studiously made notes and listened to every word Mr Alderton said. After the bell rang signalling lunch, he wished us luck then dismissed us. Everyone turned to each other excited, the opportunity to design a brand new building and not just amend and improve an already existing building was incredibly rare back in the districts. I smiled to myself with hope and placed my tablet carefully back inside my bag.

“If you think you’re going to win, you better think again,” spoke a voice behind me. I rolled my eyes and turned around.

“I thought we agreed we’d stay out of each other’s way,” I told Ava.

“You said that, not I,” she stated matter of factly and stood up from her desk. “My father is in the planning committee of Ziller, so if you think you have a chance of winning, you better think again,” she said and walked off out of the classroom. Immediately my hopes plummeted, was she serious? I sighed and swung my school bag over my shoulder.

“I’d take what Miss Waverton just said with a pinch of salt,” spoke Mr Alderton from the front of the classroom, he was looking at me sympathetically, “I know her father, he is indeed on the committee, but I’ve also seen her designs. I don’t think the Commander of the Army would like a pink transportation hub, do you?” he said with a small smile. I smiled back and felt my hope rising again.

“No, I don’t,” I agreed.

“Good,” Mr Alderton said, “Terranovus may be great and wonderful, which is why some call it utopia, but remember every utopia undoubtedly becomes a dystopia at some point. You can filter the poor but the rich aren’t necessarily the kindest and smartest, don’t you think?” he asked. I paused for a moment, unsure what to say. Mr Alderton seemed to notice my uncertainness. “Don’t worry,” he continued, “time will allow fate to take its course, good luck with your project Miss McKinley. I’ll see you on Thursday for your next class.”

“Thank you,” I said and quietly made my way out of the classroom puzzled. You may filter the poor but the rich aren’t necessarily the kindest and smartest. What did he mean by ”you may filter the poor”? Then suddenly it clicked. Mr Alderton knew the lottery was fake. He knew the Army was using the lottery as a means to hide the fact they were handpicking the elite and intelligents to populate their new island. And if he wasn’t afraid to share the fact he knew the truth with his students, that led to the question, who else knew?

I watched Ava ahead join her friends outside of the cafeteria. She flicked her long hair behind her shoulder and readjusted the Ingo on her wrist. Suddenly it became clear. How naive was I? Ava knew the lottery was bogus too. How could I have not realised before? She admitted to it yesterday. This is my country, she had told me after English. And back at the ball, what had she said? I can’t wait for this to be over. This country is such a bore. She knew the Army were hand selecting its Terranovus residents. And if she knew, who else knew?

I walked into the cafeteria and spotted Maria sitting with her friends. Only a few amount of people had to know the truth. I watched Maria excitedly retell a story and I felt certain she definitely did not know the lottery was bogus. Maria was too innocent and carefree and loved everything about Terranovus. She acted as though she was lucky to live here, not privileged. And Umi, Juan, Malin and Dahlia? I didn’t know them as well, but I had to find out if they knew.

“Hey,” I said as I approached their table, “is it okay if I join you guys again?”

“Definitely!” declared Maria, ecstatic as always, and she shimmied along to make room for me.

“How’s your second day so far?” asked Umi. I shrugged and withdrew the lunch my mum had prepared for me from my bag.

“It’s okay. Mr Alderton announced a project competition to design the new transportation hub in Ziller,” I said.

“Ooo! That’s so exciting, I’ve heard Ziller is going to be amazingly cool,” said Dahlia.

“What’s Ziller?” asked Malin. I striked Malin out of the who knows the lottery is bogus list. If she didn’t know about Ziller, everything in Terranovus had to be new to her.

“Ziller is going to be the second city of Terranovus, it’s going to look so pretty,” cooed Maria, “I can’t wait to start my design concepts, what do you have in mind Tilly?” Damn, I forgot Maria took graphic communications too.

“I’m not too sure yet,” I replied.

“It has to include glass for sure,” stated Maria then she pulled out her tablet from her bag and opened the criteria Mr Alderton had posted onto the design workspace. “Has to be modern, sleek and sophisticated ... perhaps with a glass roof,” she mumbled to herself. Annoyed and worried about Tommy, I realised I couldn’t be bothered with the whole warming up to people and slowly finding info technique

“I also overheard Ava say the lottery was bogus and it was used as a coverup to hide the fact the Army self-selected it’s new citizens,” I told the group. Dahlia dropped her fork in shock. Bingo.

“That’s not true,” quickly said Dahlia, as the tips of her ears turned pink. I placed a gigantic mental tick next to Dahlia’s name on my list. Moving on, I ignored her and turned to the others.

“But how do we know that? Ava always acts like she knows everything. Her father is in the Ziller planning committee,” I pointed out.

“But why would the Army do that?” whispered Malin, scared the table next to us was listening to our conversation.

“To keep the peace obviously,” piped up Umi, he leaned forward and whispered, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you guys about this. I’ve done the math. The lottery has run for about four weeks, right? That’s about 28 families, 84 individuals, right? But there’s way more people here than just 84. Obviously they’ve been flying people in on the sly.” My heart skipped a beat. How had I not realised this? Umi continued, “I rewatched all the lotteries a few days ago and cross-referenced it with the people I know who are here. You’re right Tilly, Ava’s name was never called in the lottery. And Dahlia ... your name was never called too.”

We all stared at Dahlia. She looked down at her lunch ashamed and starting playing with her salad.

“Dahlia, is true?” whispered Malin. Suddenly Dahlia stood up from her chair and swung her backpack over her shoulder.

“I’m no longer hungry,” she declared and walked away. We stared at her speechless.

“I’ll go after her,” said Juan and he packed away his lunch, took Dahlia’s too and chased after her.

I put a big mental tick against Juan’s name too. He hadn’t said anything during the whole revelation.

Umi, Maria, Malin and I turned to each other surprised.

“So what Ava said was true,” said Maria hurtful, “why didn’t Dahlia say anything to us?”

“She must have signed a secrecy contract,” said Umi, “that’s why she wasn’t able to tell us. Ava however loves to gossip. She never keeps her fat gob shut.” I nodded along, not really listening, instead too preoccupied with my own thoughts. I felt like an idiot. Why hadn’t I done the math myself? With over 300 students at this Academy it was obvious not all of them had been picked by the lottery. If I were to save Tommy, I had to kick my investigation skills up a notch or two.