Nora Jones was fast asleep when she heard her sister's alarm beep. "Claire," she groaned. "Turn it off!"
"Sorry sister," she said, shutting off the alarm. "Can't be late you know. Today's initiation day." She sat up and looked at her twin. "You should be getting up anyways. Studies start back up today."
"Yeah, at eight sixties, not five sixties!"
"You should still get up now, you have to shower and get dressed. And of course, you need to eat. Why don't you join me? I'll shower and then we can eat, and then you can shower while I get dressed."
Nora mumbled something about bagels in return and rolled over. It's not fair, she thought. She got chosen to work for the government, while I have to keep going to studies. Why doesn't she have to go to studies? She's the same as me; she's my twin! Sighing, she sat up. Maybe she wants to avenge mother and father. For as long as she could remember, she and Claire had lived in one of the many orphanages, only moving to their own apartment in the past month. Their parents, so she had been told, had once worked for the government. They had been at a book riot helping to suppress the crowds when a mob of angry citizens killed them. Their children, babies at the time, had been placed in an orphanage and that was that. But Nora knew that Claire hated anti-governists, known commonly as "bookies", even more than the illegal items they sold. Nora herself wasn't so sire. She was curious; she wanted to see a real book. One that was filled with exciting stories, or hard facts.
Her thoughts were cut short by Claire stepping into the room, hair still dripping and a towel wrapped around her. "You coming?" she teased as her twin nodded, slowly getting out of bed.
The smell of bagels toasting greeted the girl when she entered the kitchen. "I'm making two!" Claire proclaimed happily. "Made," Nora corrected, pulling the slightly burnt bagels out from the toaster. She dropped them both onto the same plate as quick as she could, checking her fingers for burns. Claire had never been one to cook; she could barely make a sandwich without help.
Soon, the sound of burnt bagels crunching was the only noise throughout the whole house. Claire ate quickly, not wanting to be late. "I need to get dressed," she said once her breakfast had disappeared. She left her plate in the sink, and her sister followed suit. Nora waited until her sister left the room before pushing the green button next to the sink, starting the cleaning cycle.
Leaving the plates to be cleaned, she headed into the washroom and locked the door behind her. She removed her sleepwear before pushing a yellow button, engraved with the letter "N", to activate her shower, perfectly adjusted to her liking. She glanced at the identical button next to hers, only different by the "C" on this one. The same, like always.
A soft ding issued from the shower, letting her know the water was ready. She stepped in, and a dome was almost immediately placed over the top half of her head. Little metallic hands filled with shampoo began to massage her head, working the cleanser into her scalp. At the same time, more hands came out from the walls holding small bars of soap. These worked to clean her body while the dome worked on her hair. After exactly fifteen minutes, the shower shut itself off and the final two hands came out with a towel, which was used to quickly dry her off. The towel was then wrapped around her, fitting to her body, before the entire machine shut itself off.
"Claire, I'm coming in!" the twin called through the door that connected their shared room with the washroom. Without waiting for an answer, she barged in.
Claire was already dressed in her initiation outfit. The navy blue knee-length dress had been delivered three days prior, and Claire had immediately put it in the back of the closet, forbidding either of them to touch it. But it would be worn today, along with the 99 other outfits just like it.
Nora watched as two larger metallic hands emerged from the side of the full length mirror they shared. The steely gray fingers began to comb through the older twin's red hair, pulling it away from her emerald green eyes. The device began to weave the hair together into a tight braid. Pinching the end of the braid with one "hand", the robot then twisted the hair around itself. The final product was a high bun, but with a braided pattern all along the outside.
The younger girl had to bite her tongue yo hold back a laugh. Her sister's hairdo made her look at least three inches taller. Nora preferred short hair, much like her own pixie cut. There was no need for her to worry about styling it; she merely needed to brush it flat.
Last of all, two shoes were brought out from the closet, their color matching the dress exactly. When Claire put them on, they added another inch to her height. She backed away from the mirror, admiring herself and fixing her dress quickly before briskly walking to the front of the apartment. "I'll be back later!" she called, one hand already on the doorknob. "Make sure you get to studies on time!" With that she opened the door letting in the dim morning light.
Nora watched through the peephole as a holographic box popped up in front of her sister, the light casting a faint blue shadow on the ground. "Where would you like to go?" a robotic female voice asked. In a loud, clear voice, Claire replied "The Center!" There was no flash of light, no loud bang. Nora watched as Claire simply disappeared, fascinated by the holotran.
She stared for a moment longer before her own alarm pulled her away. So she headed back to her room to shut it off, letting her towel drop at the same time. She picked up her uniform and slipped into it, hating it more and more with each passing second. The khaki skirt kept brushing against her leg like a spider. The navy sweater was itchy and hot. The knee-high socks were too big for her, as were the black shoes. Not to mention the fact that her bright red hair clashed horribly.
Lying on top of her clock was a bow, made with one blue ribbon and one khaki. Nora completely ignored it. Girls were supposed to wear their hair up, but hers was way too short. Somehow, that seemed to earn her extra whispers and stares in the hallway.
Leaving the bow where it was, she headed into the washroom once again. Her sink was on the far end, and she couldn't help but stare at her sister's side as she walked past. Eyeliners and lipsticks were organized on one side, a comb, hairbrush, toothbrush, and toothpaste on the other. Nora let her fingers slide along the counter as she made her way to her own messy side. Her comb was in the sink, and her toothpaste was missing its cap. There was no makeup to be seen, save for two bottles of nail polish. She picked up her comb and ran it through her hair to smooth it out. Once she had finished she dropped it back down, not really caring where it landed.
Heading back into her room, she checked the clock. "Only six and thirty sixties?" she muttered to herself. Feeling rather bored, she wandered to the front door and opened it a crack. Her attention was immediately drawn to the orphanages, painted a bright blue so as to be easily recognized. Next were the red hospitals, and finally the few scattered white schools. She had been told the colors stood for something called "America" that had existed long ago, before the Great War. Tilting her head back, she looked at the Rolanian flag projected across the sky. The silver star shone bright, representing both the wealth and unity of the sector.
Eventually, Nora pulled her eyes down to a nearby clock. "Eight less a quarter!" she gasped aloud, hefting her gray school bag onto her shoulder as she prayed she wouldn't be late. The door swung closed behind her as she stepped outside, and the familiar click of the automatic lock seemed to resonate in her ears as she turned to face the rest of her sector.
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