Life Designed (Life Plan Series Book 1), Eliza Taye [great novels .TXT] 📗

buildings were scattered across the city almost as if they were an afterthought to the city’s planners. City Hall sat toward the outer edge with a large park in front of it. Garrett and Opal exited the transporter on the far side of the park and walked the rest of the way to City Hall.

Today was Sixth Moon, the only day of rest the city had where no one had to go to primary academy and most people didn’t work. For Opal, it was always her catch up day. Whatever she couldn’t finish during the week was pushed to this day. Clearly, it was the same for others as well because there was an ever-flowing stream of people walking in and out of the city hall building. Only a mere second or two passed by before someone else exited the building.

“Why is it so busy today?” wondered Garrett.

“For one, some people our age are submitting their Life Plans for pre-approval. Others are family members of the pre-submitters who are trying to solidify official preparations for the transfer of the pre-submitters from their households. There’s a lot to do before Declaration Day and the whole city feels it,” explained Opal reaching the first step.

Garrett pondered Opal’s words, but then he remembered he should be scouting City Hall. Craning his neck back like he was stretching, he looked at the pillars holding up the roof of the second story overhang of City Hall. There were no monitoring cameras or other surveillance of the sort in the area.

Satisfied, he followed Opal into the inside of City Hall and unabashedly turned around and looked at the entire place as if he’d never been there before. He took a mental note of all the doors, hallways, and other passageways within the building from his line of sight. He searched for cameras, monitors, or guard stations and found nothing of the sort. To lower Opal’s suspicions about his odd behavior, he stated, “I forgot what this place looked like. It’s been so long since I’ve been here.”

“Well, then pay close attention. You don’t want to write and finalize your Life Plan just to have it late because you got lost in City Hall on Submission Day.”

Garrett smiled to himself. Paying close attention was exactly what he intended to do.

Opal led them both around a corner and Garrett found himself face-to-face with the one thing he dreaded.

Reflective glass-like walls formed a circular room. Hallways branched out from the central hub of the room but could only be accessed by a door that slid up into a hidden cavity above the doorframe and then came back down, preserving the seamless appearance of the room. The mirror-like walls gave the room a sense of infinite space, while at the same time allowing the person sitting at the central desk to see every inch of the room. A security guard sat gazing at a monitor in front of him on the desk. He looked up as someone approached him.

Garrett’s heart sank. The featureless front of the building must have been riddled with unseen cameras.

Opal ignored the security desk and made straight for the hallway at the far end of the circular room. The doorway stood open for her and Garrett followed, keeping his head down and turned away from the guard at the front desk. No need for the guard to see him now and be able to easily identify that he’d been there earlier that day looking suspicious.

“Hey, Opal, why does this building have a security guard?”

She frowned as they walked down the brightly lit blue-gray corridor. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is why does City Hall have a security guard when most places don’t?”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“No, I’m not.” Garrett furrowed his brow as Opal opened the door to a room with a single window on the left and a row of four chairs against the wall on the right.

“When a representative of The Council is in the city, a security guard is always present at City Hall. It’s for the representative’s protection.”

“Protection?”

“Yes,” Opal’s gaze turned from puzzled to confused. “Don’t you remember that we learned about this on our field trip?”

“No.”

“Several decades ago, an Undecided who was frustrated with their miserable life tried to kidnap a representative of The Council. No one knew how he identified the council member or when they would be arriving, but it was such a close call that security guards are mandated to be present wherever a representative of The Council is.”

Garrett nodded, the wheels in his head turning. A member of the council representatives was here in the city. If he wanted to gain access to Anaxia Library, this would be the time to do it. All he had to do was find some kind of authorization given to a representative of the council and that would allow him into the secret room. The only issue with his plan was that he didn’t know whether he only needed a security code, or the physical presence of the council representative was required. Just one more thing he would have to figure out in the remaining time before Submission Day.

“Hello, I’m here to pick up my Life Plan. My name is Opal Carneth.”

“Very well, let me see where it is.” A shuffling could be heard behind the window as the curly-haired woman searched several files.

Opal waited eagerly, tapping her fingers against her thigh in anticipation.

“Ah, here it is, Opal Carneth. It appears as if you are one of the lucky few to not only have yours in early but also be approved.”

Stretching out both hands and receiving the small packet of papers, Opal cradled them in her hands like they were made from solid gold. “Thank you very much!”

“You’re welcome, dear. Good luck with your life. It looks like you’ll have nothing to worry