wording ‘Celebrate Barat! Chancellor Dominic Erato.’ Small national flags hung from short poles jutting out from wrought iron light fixtures that were evenly spaced on each side of the road. Trash cans and triangular sidewalk announcement boards had images of a man Coraset never seen before. She didn’t understand what in the world there was to celebrate. She put it out of her mind and decided to get off the streets. It never looked good to Federation Constabularies for people to be just standing around outside. She’d be apprehended and questioned. Coraset decided to go home and quickly.
When she returned back to her apartment door, she stopped. There was a new numbered key board at chest level on the left side of the door. Coraset wondered if the apartment was given to someone else. She knocked on the door. When no one answered, she pressed 7772 in the keypad. She figured it made sense because that’s the only number she could think of, and the Federation assigned it to her. The number buttons turned bright blue, and the small screen above the keypad flashed: fingerprint required . Coraset pressed her forefinger to the screen. The keypad turned green, and the door popped open.
She wondered what else had changed since she left. She was expecting to see her apartment empty, but instead, she found everything as she left it. The computer was still on the coffee table. The black leather furniture was in the same spot. The window curtains were still open showing a panoramic view of the afternoon day. There was a light film of dust, which normally bothered Coraset.
She went directly to her bedroom , and placed her bag near the foot of the bed. Coraset pulled out her cell phone and placed it on a black solar plate near the window. She waited to see if it would respond. With one single beep, the Federation crest appeared in the center.
Satisfied that it would charge, Coraset went over to her dresser and pulled out her lacy white underwear and matching bra from the top chest of drawers and found a long tank top that stopped around her calves. Coraset went to the shower, and she immersed herself in the sprays of the hot water from the tiled walls.
Coraset noted for the first time in a year and a half she could take a shower without being watched. The water wasn’t cold. She could use her favorite peach smelling soap instead of the hard unscented prison brand. She scrubbed her body, wanting to get every part of her past down the drain. By the time she was finished, Coraset was exhausted beyond words. She quickly changed out the sheets and comforter on her bed and with a sigh of relief, she crawled under the clean linens, and she let the sleep takeover.
C HAPTER N INE
The next morning arrived with the rain hitting Coraset’s bedroom window. She sat up in bed, still exhausted, but she was glad to see and hear the rain. The desert didn’t give such a gift, and she took a moment to take it in. The rain drenched the window, distorting the view. Coraset smiled and settled back down into bed. For the first time in a long she was relaxed and not worried about a thing.
Her room was like an abyss, devoid of any semblance of human attachment. There were no pictures depicting the family she once knew, not of her biological father Michael Prescott or her mother Rhea Jefferson. Not even her two sisters Salina and Penny Prescott.
When Coraset first left home, she ventured off to college, excited for a brand new start. She hardly came home during school breaks. Living with her parents were always difficult, the arguing, the fighting, and she didn’t want to go back to that turmoil. Coraset worked all she could when she wasn’t in school, and she barely called home. When her dad left her mom, she kept going with her life, never stopping to take sides or to hear her parents’ explanations. Coraset already knew the reasoning for the dissolving of the marriage. Rhea was overbearing, strict, and a workaholic. Michael loved
When she returned back to her apartment door, she stopped. There was a new numbered key board at chest level on the left side of the door. Coraset wondered if the apartment was given to someone else. She knocked on the door. When no one answered, she pressed 7772 in the keypad. She figured it made sense because that’s the only number she could think of, and the Federation assigned it to her. The number buttons turned bright blue, and the small screen above the keypad flashed: fingerprint required . Coraset pressed her forefinger to the screen. The keypad turned green, and the door popped open.
She wondered what else had changed since she left. She was expecting to see her apartment empty, but instead, she found everything as she left it. The computer was still on the coffee table. The black leather furniture was in the same spot. The window curtains were still open showing a panoramic view of the afternoon day. There was a light film of dust, which normally bothered Coraset.
She went directly to her bedroom , and placed her bag near the foot of the bed. Coraset pulled out her cell phone and placed it on a black solar plate near the window. She waited to see if it would respond. With one single beep, the Federation crest appeared in the center.
Satisfied that it would charge, Coraset went over to her dresser and pulled out her lacy white underwear and matching bra from the top chest of drawers and found a long tank top that stopped around her calves. Coraset went to the shower, and she immersed herself in the sprays of the hot water from the tiled walls.
Coraset noted for the first time in a year and a half she could take a shower without being watched. The water wasn’t cold. She could use her favorite peach smelling soap instead of the hard unscented prison brand. She scrubbed her body, wanting to get every part of her past down the drain. By the time she was finished, Coraset was exhausted beyond words. She quickly changed out the sheets and comforter on her bed and with a sigh of relief, she crawled under the clean linens, and she let the sleep takeover.
C HAPTER N INE
The next morning arrived with the rain hitting Coraset’s bedroom window. She sat up in bed, still exhausted, but she was glad to see and hear the rain. The desert didn’t give such a gift, and she took a moment to take it in. The rain drenched the window, distorting the view. Coraset smiled and settled back down into bed. For the first time in a long she was relaxed and not worried about a thing.
Her room was like an abyss, devoid of any semblance of human attachment. There were no pictures depicting the family she once knew, not of her biological father Michael Prescott or her mother Rhea Jefferson. Not even her two sisters Salina and Penny Prescott.
When Coraset first left home, she ventured off to college, excited for a brand new start. She hardly came home during school breaks. Living with her parents were always difficult, the arguing, the fighting, and she didn’t want to go back to that turmoil. Coraset worked all she could when she wasn’t in school, and she barely called home. When her dad left her mom, she kept going with her life, never stopping to take sides or to hear her parents’ explanations. Coraset already knew the reasoning for the dissolving of the marriage. Rhea was overbearing, strict, and a workaholic. Michael loved
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