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

black one. Finding another loose sheet of paper, he wrote his name at the top in his best handwriting and placed it above his Plan. Closing the document protector, he exhaled. Thank goodness it’d all be over soon.

Just as he was about to exit the room, he noticed his mother’s badge on the smooth surface of the wooden desk. Remembering his agreement with Simon, he took out his interwave and snapped a picture of it, sending it as an attachment to him. Technically, it was a day late, but he doubted Simon would do anything about it. Besides, it was still early in the morning and whatever Simon wanted to do with the badge, he still could.

Leaving behind his parent’s office, Garrett went down the stairs and into the kitchen, his Plan clutched in his hands.

His mother spun around in front of the stove when she heard him enter. “Garrett, sit down.”

The lack of cheer in her voice made Garrett swallow hard. Based on her demeanor, she was clearly not happy with him and his father didn’t even place the article he was reading onto the table when Garrett walked in.

Placing his Plan on the end table of the living room and returning to the kitchen, Garrett did as he was told.

Without looking up from his article, his father asked, “What did you put in the living room, son?”

“My Life Plan,” answered Garrett flatly.

Lowering the article just enough to peer over it, Mr. Gibbons eyed his son curiously. “Your Life Plan?”

At the sound of her husband’s voice, Mrs. Gibbons froze and rotated slowly until she was facing the two of them at the table. “Did you just say your Life Plan?”

Garrett stared at the placemat as he replied. “Yes, I did.”

His mom moved closer to the table, taking deliberate steps, the spatula still in her hand. “A real Life Plan? Like one that follows the rules and has a chance of being accepted Life Plan?”

“One that includes more than just your first and last name?” added his father.

Nodding, Garrett responded, “Yes to both.”

Mrs. Gibbons and Mr. Gibbons studied their son. It wasn’t like him to be so quiet and wordless. The light and sparkle to his eyes were gone. It was replaced with a look of defeat so strong that they didn’t know what to do about it.

“Is the food ready?” Garrett mumbled, his gaze still focused on the placemat.

Breaking from her stupor, his mom replied with a glance at his father. “Yes, I’ll put it on the plates now.”

As soon as his plate was placed in front of him, Garrett began to eat mechanically. Both his parents continued to watch him in puzzlement, hardly touching their own food. Garrett ignored them and simply ate, placing one spoonful of food into his mouth, chewing it to mush, and then swallowing. When he was done, he politely excused himself, gathered his Life Plan, and went out the door. His parents watched him go, blinking in awe.

Opal walked down the street from the transport station with a pep in her step. Her stomach was full and overly satisfied from the feast her parents had prepared that morning. They’d also promised her favorite dinner for that evening and she had no idea where she’d put it all after the enormous breakfast.

As City Hall came into view, her thoughts once again turned to Garrett. What would he do today? Had he finally sat down and written his Life Plan or would her best friend be moved over to the Undecided sector tomorrow by default for not submitting a Life Plan?

Taking the steps of City Hall one at a time, Opal tried to push thoughts of Garrett out of her mind with each step and enjoy her momentous last day as a pre-submitter. Once she handed in her Life Plan, she’d officially be on her way to becoming a Declarer. Her life would begin and it’d be of her own design.

Following the signs, she joined a line of other pre-submitters. She recognized some of the students from her class at academy, but others were foreign to her. Miranda waved at her from up ahead, then started throwing glances to Opal’s left and right, clearly looking for Garrett. When Miranda’s eyes found Opal’s again, her eyebrows furrowed. Opal shook her head to indicate that Garrett wasn’t with her. With a sad face, Miranda returned her gaze to the front to await her turn.

The line wasn’t too long, but Opal was forced to wait 40 minutes to hand in her Life Plan. When she made it to the front, the same woman from the pre-approval office was there to accept them.

“Ah, one of the pre-approval students. It’s always nice to see another one whose plan is destined to come true.” As she accepted Opal’s Plan from her, she added, “did you make any changes since your pre-approval?”

Opal shook her head, a grin involuntarily gracing her lips. She felt so giddy inside she could hardly contain it. “No, I didn’t. I decided that I shouldn’t mess with something perfect.”

The woman smiled back. “Very true, dear. Best of luck tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll see great things from you in the future.”

“Thank you,” Opal gave the woman another quick smile and started making her way to the entrance of City Hall.

Inhaling a huge intake of breath and blowing it out, Opal closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them. A huge weight had lifted off her chest. All the years of preparing and planning. All the early mornings waking up hours before anyone else to have quiet time to write and focus on her Life Plan. All the worrying, the agony of wondering if she was making the right choices for herself…it was all over. She would finally be announced a Declarer tomorrow and her Life