finger to my lips to show that I would
keep our interaction a secret. Then I grabbed her hand, and pulled
her gently behind me.
Once the door
to the hallway swung closed I whispered, “Are we able to talk in
here?”
The girl shrugged.
“Look, I’m a Prime now. I get to make the
rules. And I am saying that you may speak to me freely,” The girl
looked worried, her brow furrowed and she bit her lip, “Now tell
me, what is your name?”
After a few
moments of silence, the girl lifted her gaze to look me in the eye,
“I’m Eva,” she whispered.
“What a beautiful name” I said. “How old are
you, Eva?”
Eva shrugged.
Norms often weren’t told their age, because their parents didn’t
like them to count down to their Cure date.
“Well, Eva, would you like to explore my new
room with me?” I asked.
Eva nodded enthusiastically, finally
forgetting her fear of the Primes in charge.
We opened the first door. Inside was a vast
floor of glossy tan coloured tiles. In the centre of the room stood
a large stone tub, with spa jets embedded in the sides. The room
had a WallScreen stretched across the far wall. I switched it on to
find it was a makeup station, already programmed with an image of
my face, to which I could apply millions of cosmetics on the
screen. At the press of a button, a pair of arms extended from a
hole that appeared in the wall to then replicate the design onto my
real face. Eva stood, entranced by the enlarged image of my face,
twirling on the screen. I gestured for her to apply any of the
make-up she desired. She used the blusher to give the hologram
version of my face a pair of bright red cheeks. She pressed the
‘apply’ button and the mechanical arms extended from the wall. They
grasped my face with a rough grip, and held my head still as a
makeup brush swished over my cheeks. The arms finally released me
and I stepped back, turning to Eva. She burst into a fit of
laughter upon seeing my scarlet cheeks.
“You look like a dolly!” she squealed in
delight whilst I used the back of my hand to rub the makeup from my
face.
My mother used a make-up station daily, but I
had never experimented with it before, and vowed never to use one
again. Next to the make-up machine was a hairdressing station,
which had countless options for hair colours, styles and dos. Eva
asked me to try out a new hairstyle, but after catching sight of my
still far too red cheeks in the mirror, I decided not to mess
around with the hair station. Those machines were ruthless.
I left the bathroom, towing Eva behind me,
and entered the next room, which turned out to be my wardrobe.
Across the back wall of the wardrobe room stretched the largest
WallScreen I had ever seen. There was a holographic image of me
projected in front of the Screen. A perfect replica of my body was
spinning in leisurely circles wearing only plain black underwear,
waiting to be dressed at the press of a button. I backed out of the
room quickly, disturbed by the eerie, translucent version of
myself. I missed my WallDrobe back at home, where the clothes were
shown on a faceless mannequin instead of on a life-sized Avery
duplicate.
The next room was much more to my liking. A
smaller, quainter room with shelves stocked to the roof with books.
A single, massive red beanbag sat in the centre of the floor. I
made my way over to the shelves and ran my fingers over their
spines. I pulled a large brown-covered one off the shelf and opened
it to the middle. A cloud of dust spilled from the pages and I
breathed in the enchanting scent, feeling at ease for the first
time since I awoke that morning.
Eva finally
managed to drag me away from the bookshelves, and led me to the
last door. My bedroom was the largest room yet. The bed was built
into the floor, with the top of the mattress at floor level. It was
adorned with so many pillows that I could barely see the gold
trimmed duvet beneath them. The rest of the room was decorated with
a huge sofa, a small
keep our interaction a secret. Then I grabbed her hand, and pulled
her gently behind me.
Once the door
to the hallway swung closed I whispered, “Are we able to talk in
here?”
The girl shrugged.
“Look, I’m a Prime now. I get to make the
rules. And I am saying that you may speak to me freely,” The girl
looked worried, her brow furrowed and she bit her lip, “Now tell
me, what is your name?”
After a few
moments of silence, the girl lifted her gaze to look me in the eye,
“I’m Eva,” she whispered.
“What a beautiful name” I said. “How old are
you, Eva?”
Eva shrugged.
Norms often weren’t told their age, because their parents didn’t
like them to count down to their Cure date.
“Well, Eva, would you like to explore my new
room with me?” I asked.
Eva nodded enthusiastically, finally
forgetting her fear of the Primes in charge.
We opened the first door. Inside was a vast
floor of glossy tan coloured tiles. In the centre of the room stood
a large stone tub, with spa jets embedded in the sides. The room
had a WallScreen stretched across the far wall. I switched it on to
find it was a makeup station, already programmed with an image of
my face, to which I could apply millions of cosmetics on the
screen. At the press of a button, a pair of arms extended from a
hole that appeared in the wall to then replicate the design onto my
real face. Eva stood, entranced by the enlarged image of my face,
twirling on the screen. I gestured for her to apply any of the
make-up she desired. She used the blusher to give the hologram
version of my face a pair of bright red cheeks. She pressed the
‘apply’ button and the mechanical arms extended from the wall. They
grasped my face with a rough grip, and held my head still as a
makeup brush swished over my cheeks. The arms finally released me
and I stepped back, turning to Eva. She burst into a fit of
laughter upon seeing my scarlet cheeks.
“You look like a dolly!” she squealed in
delight whilst I used the back of my hand to rub the makeup from my
face.
My mother used a make-up station daily, but I
had never experimented with it before, and vowed never to use one
again. Next to the make-up machine was a hairdressing station,
which had countless options for hair colours, styles and dos. Eva
asked me to try out a new hairstyle, but after catching sight of my
still far too red cheeks in the mirror, I decided not to mess
around with the hair station. Those machines were ruthless.
I left the bathroom, towing Eva behind me,
and entered the next room, which turned out to be my wardrobe.
Across the back wall of the wardrobe room stretched the largest
WallScreen I had ever seen. There was a holographic image of me
projected in front of the Screen. A perfect replica of my body was
spinning in leisurely circles wearing only plain black underwear,
waiting to be dressed at the press of a button. I backed out of the
room quickly, disturbed by the eerie, translucent version of
myself. I missed my WallDrobe back at home, where the clothes were
shown on a faceless mannequin instead of on a life-sized Avery
duplicate.
The next room was much more to my liking. A
smaller, quainter room with shelves stocked to the roof with books.
A single, massive red beanbag sat in the centre of the floor. I
made my way over to the shelves and ran my fingers over their
spines. I pulled a large brown-covered one off the shelf and opened
it to the middle. A cloud of dust spilled from the pages and I
breathed in the enchanting scent, feeling at ease for the first
time since I awoke that morning.
Eva finally
managed to drag me away from the bookshelves, and led me to the
last door. My bedroom was the largest room yet. The bed was built
into the floor, with the top of the mattress at floor level. It was
adorned with so many pillows that I could barely see the gold
trimmed duvet beneath them. The rest of the room was decorated with
a huge sofa, a small
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