Quinn entered and surveyed the area. Not large, maybe one-hundred square feet at most. A small wooden plank was secured to the wall by chains and placed upon it was a mat. Fitted on that was a brown sheet, and on top, an extraordinarily clean brown blanket and small pillow. You could smell the antiseptic in the air. In the corner was a thin brown curtain that hid the toilet, and right outside that, a sink with government-approved anti-bacterial soap and lotion. Next to that, a small brown shelf held clean brown towels. You could also place any possessions you might have. However, most people didn’t own many things if they owned anything at all. Since you technically might not be in the same place tomorrow, you carried anything you might have with you in your brown knapsack.
In the Shower Rooms/Laundry Dispensary, you got your clean tunic, pants, socks, and undergarments—turn in the old ones, pick up the new ones. Little changing/shower rooms accommodated your modesty. You simply disrobed in the coffin-sized cubicle behind the brown shower curtain. Then, you put your dirty clothes in an empty nook that was behind another little brown curtain, turned on the lukewarm shower (timed for exactly eight and three-quarters of a minute), and by the time you finished, POOF! New, clean clothes in your size were waiting for you in the nook and warm, high-powered air-jets dried you. The showers came equipped with dispensers filled with your standard government soap, shampoo, and conditioner. Everything smelled of eucalyptus and tea tree, both of which everyone had learned contained antibacterial and antifungal properties. It was a pleasant scent; although the odor was antiseptic, they had managed it so that it wasn’t in a sickly way. The aroma was fresh and clean, almost outdoorsy and green-smelling. But, if someone forgot for a moment where they were, their eye caught sight of the ever-lasting blue light that shone overhead, even in the showers.
After her shower, Quinn got back to her room; she lay down on the bed and tried to focus on the day tomorrow; she needed to try and get to sleep; there were so many things to consider and get right. But all she could think of was when she used to be on the third or fourth floors of the Pods, the family Pod rooms, with her mom, dad, and sister. Quinn didn’t even know where her family was or what may have happened to them. The last time she saw them was after listening to President Everett’s fourth inauguration speech. Then, she left them to go to the Courting Dance, the night Namaguchi took her. People went missing all the time, so it’s not like you could file a missing person report. Even if you got a Security Guard to listen to you, they’d likely say she took off, and she was an adult, so they couldn’t do anything. The Security Patrol simply did not have enough guards to go chasing every rabbit trail. She lay there in the haze of the blue light, listening to the slight buzz that was ever-present. She took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. Her eyes felt tired and heavy, and she rubbed them at the corners, trying to invigorate them. She had bees on the brain, as her mom used to say, so regardless of how tired she was, she knew sleep would not happen any time soon, and even when it did, it would be in fits, as her sleep usually was.
Quinn was also thinking of the lines you found down the middle of the roads. Roadways still existed; even though nobody had personal vehicles, there were transport busses. Quinn wasn’t quite sure why she thought of those, but she sometimes did. There was something about them that made her feel the way she felt about herself. She didn’t know who she was regarding certain things and tended not to pick either side. She saw herself as a down-the-middle-of-the-road nothing kind of girl. There was only one thing she was sure about, and that was Ana, who was now back in her thoughts. Even though Quinn was positive about her, there was nothing she would ever do about it. And Quinn found herself in the middle of the road once again.
That didn’t stop Quinn from thinking about Ana, though. Quinn started reflecting about the one time after Ana had her first baby. Ana had no idea what to do with Russell, her new baby, and now, he was sick. Throwing up like crazy, expelling milk as if his little mouth was a milk waterfall. Russell’s brow was hot and sweaty, and he had clammy hands, crying like he was in so much pain. After trying many things—cold compresses, lying down next to him and soothing him throughout the night, and Ana trying to breastfeed in short bursts throughout the duration, the little guy finally settled down and fell asleep. They kept a watch together, for hours, to make sure his breathing was even, and he kept his temperature and milk down. Once he was safe and sleeping well, Ana, tired and sweaty brow herself, looked at Quinn and started cracking up like she heard the funniest joke she had ever heard. “That,” she said, “was ridiculous. I have never seen so much vomit!”
Quinn started laughing too and went over to Ana to give her
