I am taking a shower when I finally wake up.My hands are braced against the porcelain wall, fingers locked in the ridges of the tile; my vision sways in and out of focus.Patches enter my brain through the veins of my upper arms and do what they are built to do Everything inside me erupted into high definition. It's like I'm almost healed. I feel sarcastic.I feel pretty as blazing shower water beats down on my skin. Of course, I know it’s in my head, but that's the point. I feel pretty, so the psychology works. But that's not my favorite Kick. I love the Emotional/Teenager/Hormonal one.The flood of feelings that enter me is amazing; the pain from the hot water flinches into my skin, my mouth struggles for a breath as the steam clogs my nose, and my heart beats faster as I think about the hellish exam waiting for me at school.537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFXdxA92kC
I love every minute of it. I love the soft give of my towel as I wrap it around my skin, stepping out of the shower. I don't care if in several hours, when I'm back home, deep in the covers of my bed, this feeling will disappear again.For me, the here and now is what's important. My mind races a million miles a second, and I hurry to get dressed, rushing down the stairs. 537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXz47cVcpd
I see my mother in the kitchen, making coffee and wearing a fitted classic black V necked suit, and by the look in her eyes, her Kicks haven't reacted yet. It takes ten minutes, and to me, they feel like agony.I could never go a day without Kicks.I can barely survive the morning, waiting to feel that rush as my soul becomes 3 dimensional again.Even looking at my mother's eyes in the morning sends bad shivers through me.I keep thinking about how my eyes look exactly like hers, that , and I realize that that's how I look before my Kicks. I step closer to her, one hand on my backpack, and my lips part in greeting, but I hold the words back. There’s no point. I’ll just text her later. And so I lace up my boots and give my mother one last glance before stepping out into a new day.
The air outside is frosty and cold,and I zip my jacket up to my chin,breathing in breaths of froth. My boots crunch against ice as I walk by the rows and rows of single family homes that occupy most of the suburbia I live in.They're all the same; three story
houses made of painted white cedar, wide windows covered and
frosted with the ice from the North.Giant ferns and evergreens litter the landscape,and fresh sod and nutrient infused fertilizer mingles with the cold air.It has been centuries since the new government,and all the continents have been slowly drifting back to Pangaea.This has caused a lot of temperature change,especially in regions in what was formerly known as Canada.I wish it were warmer. This late October weather is a killer.537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsybcrj8CRN
The bus stop is only a half mile away,in front of my neighborhood,but it feels like forever in a chill like this. I find myself missing the shower I stepped out of this morning. If I could live in a shower, I would.Though that was probably just the Kick talking.That's what sucks about them.I know that my crazy thoughts are manufactured by a chemical and changed in my brain.If I don't take Kicks,and let myself walk around like the true emotionless shell I am, I would think completely logically.I would never do that though, of course. 537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvg3z08vvLp
At my high school, junior or not, its still social suicide to do anything but sleep without being on a Kick of some kind. The kids who can't afford them are called Corpses, among other things. I feel bad for them.I get that there are more important things in life, but it's not like anybody is homeless.Everything's controlled by the U.G.E(Unified Government of Earth), so while not everyone's situation is the same, everyone on the globe is sheltered, watered and well fed.Plus, the whole of Earth is one nation, so there aren't any......... wars.537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3bqI4UXz5
Wars.I shudder just thinking about them. We've learned about life before the U.G.E in History many times, but I can't imagine fighting for no reason. And how did it get so bad that the United Nations had to give pills out and erase emotions forever?That's why I do appreciate that emotions were eradicated.I know I'm not built to fight in a war.Luckily, I can see the bus stop.537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUHEFSp17A
The regular suspects are there, all huddled around facing away from the wind.I walk over to them, hitching my backpack over my shoulder. I wave hi to some people I know, trying to steer away from other white people.One of the rules of Johnson Day High School is diversity.I always hang out with kids of a different race from me.It's common sense.Finally, the bus rolls down the street, coming to a stop with a puff of exhaust.We pile into
it, sitting down in our usual seats. I head to the back, sitting down.
I reach into my backpack, taking out my Sm@rt Fone. I check the Webs
for a while, finally settling on Kick Feed.It displays the latest Kick Fads across the nation.It also has really great weekly deals on Kicks, called Kick Packages. After scrolling past a celebrity's' diet Kick story and a retired model's Gluttony Kick, a Kick Package catches my eye: Love isn't hard to come by anymore! Buy love at a discounted price!537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NHWDx0DUj
I've seen things like this before,but the rates are so low this time. I keep staring at the ad ,barely realizing the bus has stopped and people are getting on until Nizjhoni plops down next to me.She's my friend who I have known for a long time. She grins when she sees what I'm looking at.Happiness,Dark Humor and Pretty/Self Confidence are her favorite,every day Kicks. 537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvWc5Ha1JA
"You saw the ad?It's cool,right?".
"Yeah.If you're a romantic type.Which I'm not." I reply.She snorts.
"Everyone's a romantic type.That's why the Love Kick was the first one invented.We should find guys to pair up with,since its so cheap." 537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYuGVEDecK
I try to suppress my slight excitement,but Nizjhoni sees right through me as usual. The Love Kick used to only be used by people from rich families,and it always irked me to see the rich kids in Johnson Day walk hand in hand with one another,knowing that I couldn't afford the emotion.Now,it was so cheap,I could be in on the action too.I could hold hands with someone.I could go on dates.I would finally have the emotional capacity to have my First Flame another person. There was no way I couldn't be excited.Nizjhoni smiles at me.
"We are totally doing this. All we have to do is find a guy for each of us and put in a request for lengt and level-"
"Level?What's that?" I ask.Nizjhoni looks at me like,really?
"Fine.Let me explain the whole Love Kick idea to you. Unlike other Kicks,love ones can be done two ways.There's matchmaking,where you state your sexualorientation,your favorite Kicks,and the time and intensity for a romance.Then,matchmakers find a person compatible to your statsand location,and you take the patch and find each other and go on dates.Normal stuff..Now,there's another thing called requesting,where you and someone you know decide to have the capacity to love each other.You put in a request online,and a Patch is delivered to your door.Voila! Instant couple. But before all that,your times have to match up.They go up to a year,but you can always renew it.The fun part is choosing an intensity level.They're five of them.Level 1 equates to one or two dates,nothing crazy.Level 2 means you want a dating relationship.Level 3 means you want to go steady,or move in together when you turn 18.Level 4 gets hot and heavy,veering towards the smitten territory.And Level 5..."537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK435oeFaig
Nizjhoni smiles,and I can see a slight blush erupt against her dark skin.537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssyY0tNlQc
"Level 5?What's Level 5?" I ask.
"Fine.I'll tell you.Level 5 is the crap that happens in the cinema.Its the baby making,saxophone playing,jazz level. Couples in this level ,like, act like their living in their own,little bubble away from the rest of the world.Its also more expensive than the other ones,as you can see."She says.I shudder.That sounds a little creepy to me.I look outside the window as we near the school,the giant building threatening to swallow us up.As the bus rolls to a stop,I look over at Nizjhoni.
"Lets do it.Let’s find some guys and get the Kicks."
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