A Science Fiction Romance

L2 ignored the tall shapely blond who had taken a stand in front of her desk and continued to direct all her attention on her still activated screen.

"You had best apply shut off," the intruder advised. "Everyone else has."

L2 met the cool blue eyes of her fellow classmate and her own eyes darkened, not with anger, or pleasure, but an emotion similar to grief, that is, had grief been allowed her.

"Perhaps I'll remain in Camp this time, J2," L2 announced defiantly, her eyes returning to her machine in the hopes that the girl would take the hint and leave.

"Nonsense," J2 laughed without humor, glancing around as though to see how many were sharing in L2's little joke. "You've already proven what a clever student you are. Now prove yourself a loyal Citizen as well by celebrating B4's great honor."

"It is no honor B4 has been given, but a death sentence!" L2 blurted out, leaping to her feet, her temper, as it had so often of late, unexpectedly flaring.

"L2, you mustn't!" the girl clasped her slender hands theatrically over her heart and took a step backward, her eyes darting to where the remaining students had gathered in a small cluster. "B4 has been selected for a great honor!" she said raising her voice so that others might hear her declaration of loyalty to the State. "Would that I could go in her place!"

"Your time will come soon enough, J2. That is, unless they decide to send you to the red camp instead."

"That too would be an honor!" J2 snapped, her chin tilting up proudly. "Honestly, L2, I don't know why everyone thinks so highly of you. If our Superiors could hear how you speak when they're not around they might change their opinion of you. Someday, you'll say the wrong thing to the wrong person and find yourself in Treatment, or worse." She warned before turning on her heel and storming away.

"That too would be an honor!" L2 couldn't resist shouting as J2 joined the students who were exiting the room.

How much J2's outburst had been a case of State loyalty, and how much a show should others be listening was questionable, L2 decided. Certainly her warning hadn't sprung from any concern for a fellow Citizen. J2 cared for one person, and that person and had J2 stenciled across the shoulder of her State owned uniform in wide, yellow lettering.

L2 sank back into her chair and stared blindly at her screen, unaware of the figure approaching her desk. Dressed in the same style of tight fitting silver body suit that L2 and J2 wore, with its wide white belt fringed with yellow that marked their camp this girl too was blond and beautiful. But where J2 had possessed a beauty that had been enhanced by make up and body language, this girl emanated an inner strength coupled with a lack of self awareness that drew the eye and respect far more often than did the J2's of their world.

"That last remark was a trifle mean spirited, wouldn't you say?" the new arrival asked, taking a seat in the vacant desk next to L2. Few would have been able to detect the amusement lurking behind the gray green eyes and solemn face, but L2, whose friendship with D2 went back to earliest childhood, saw it clearly. "Aren't you afraid she'll report you to the Lead Superior?" D2 asked.

"J2 will be busy primping for the Great Celebration," L2 said, dismissing the threat. "And by the time she's through, she'll have forgotten what passed between us."

"I hope so. But you've a higher intelligence than J2 and, in the opinion of many, more pleasing to look upon. The fact that the other students like you only adds to her resentment. I wouldn't be surprised if J2 didn't place a report hoping that you would be removed from the White camp. You needn't look so skeptical. Citizens have been known to betray one another, and for far lesser offenses. Remember F2?" Humor left D2's voice and her face sobered as she recalled the petite, honey blond citizen who had grumbled to a few others about their regimented lifestyle. That same night she had been whisked away and hadn't been seen or heard from since. Rumor was that she had been taken to Treatment and from there transferred to the Red Camp. L2 cringed at the thought and tried to erase the memory.

"Of course I shall attend the celebration," she said, pushing the off button and flipping the screen of her machine down over the keyboard. "But it is getting harder and harder to pretend that everything in this closely regimented society is as flawless as our Superiors would have us believe."

"Hush, L2!" D2 warned, her eyes darting around the now apparently deserted room. "This is also a world where walls have been known to record private conversations."

"The Camp Counselor has warned me that I must demonstrate a more submissive nature," L2 admitted as she rose to her feet. "After all, we are well cared for and in good health. Perhaps it is best to accept our lot and live for the present, as we have been advised."

"Programmed, you mean!" D2 corrected. "It's not that you need to be more submissive, L2, for haven't you always done exactly as you were told? It is just that your face and voice make your thoughts too obvious. It isn't safe for one of our kind to be so open. You must learn to exercise greater control. But be assured that you're not alone in your displeasure with the system. Others think as you do. Given enough time, things will change."

"Now who is being careless?" L2 asked with a smile as she linked arms with her friend. "Come, we must return to our quarters and prepare for the festivities. We shall attend the Great Celebration and congratulate B4 on her great honor and toast the well being of the State. We shall mingle with our esteemed Superiors and renew old acquaintances from the other Camps, pretending that we are overjoyed to be who we are and where we are. Than you and I, dear friend, will return to our quarters and quietly mourn the loss of B4 and all those Citizens who have come before and who shall follow after her."

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