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

“Garrett, an explanation of not knowing what to put in your Life Plan is not a good enough explanation!” shouted his father. “You could have made one up, why I’d have been less disgusted with you if you’d copied someone else’s. This is beyond a disgrace. This is worse than your Plan being rejected!”

“Keep your voice down, Benjamin,” Mrs. Gibbons chided.

“My voice down?” His father yelled louder. “The whole city knows what he has done! It doesn’t matter if I shout about it now or not!”

Garrett averted his gaze from his father, pretending the blades of grass beneath his feet were the most fascinating thing at the moment.

“Benjamin, please.” Mrs. Gibbons’ eyes scanned the crowd, watching the people glancing their way and then covering their mouths to obviously talk about Garrett and her husband. “You’re garnering extra attention that we don’t need right now.”

Returning to Garrett, his mother said, “Garrett, please, honey, explain to me why you chose this. You’re our only child. We wanted so much better for you.”

“Garrett Gibbons,” interrupted a baritone voice.

The entire Gibbons family stopped, turning toward the man who stood a whole head taller than Garrett, who was the tallest of the family.

“Yes?” Garrett answered.

“You are to come with me. It’s time for you to go to the Undecided sector.”

Mrs. Gibbons’ eyes widened. She grabbed her son, clutching his arm tightly. “No, we have the entire rest of the afternoon with him.”

The man’s gray eyes never changed. “Sorry, ma’am, that’s for the Declarers who don’t have their Plans rejected.”

The man reached for Garrett’s arm, but his mother swatted it away.

“My son’s Life Plan wasn’t rejected,” plainly stated his father. “He chose to become one of the Undecided.”

The man hesitated for a few moments, pausing to think. “That is true, sir. However, when a person is to be taken to the Undecided sector for a denied Life Plan, it occurs immediately after the ceremony.”

“As my husband just said, our son’s Life Plan wasn’t rejected, it was approved,” spat Mrs. Gibbons, still clinging to Garrett for dear life.

“I understand that, ma’am, but he is still going to the Undecided sector. The unusual situation of his Life Plan approval has no precedent, but the law clearly states that after the Declaration Day Ceremony, any persons requiring relocation to the Undecided sector are to be removed posthaste.”

“And what of those who are moving from the Undecided sector to the Decided sector. Is that to occur immediately as well?” questioned Garrett.

“No, that occurs the day after Declaration.”

“Figures,” muttered Garrett. “Always unequal treatment.”

The man’s hand clamped down onto Garrett’s forearm with slightly more force than was necessary. “You may consider it unequal treatment, but it is because there are typically several more Declarers coming from the Undecided sector than there are Declarers going to the Undecided sector. It takes additional time to process and find housing for them.”

As if he needed to, the man added, “Besides, you better get used to unequal treatment as that will now be your new lot in life.”

Garrett’s mother trembled, her lower lip quaking as she released a sob, “No.”

Before either his mother or father could protest, the man led Garrett away from them.

Deep within, Garrett felt the need to look back at his parents, even though the rational part of his mind told him he’d regret it if he did. Still, he turned back, his mother’s distraught red eyes met his and they tore at his heart. Finally, his dad’s angry face melted into one of concern and heartache as Garrett was pulled away from them.

When Garrett finally turned away and faced in the direction he was being led, his mother let out a wail he felt down to his core. Her agonizing cries could be heard from far and wide.

Garrett was ushered into a personal transporter and taken to his parent’s house. On the way there, he discovered the man’s name was Dave and he was an enforcer. He learned there was a whole department of the government responsible for enforcing the division between the Decided and Undecided sectors of the city. Garrett had never heard of them before, but he also realized he hadn’t purposely sought to either. However, when he thought back to it, their gray uniforms did stand out in the city and he had seen some walking around before, just never in the Undecided sector. It seemed like their whole existence was to keep Undecideds from slumming the Decided sector.

“Do you still have a key to the home?” wondered Dave.

“Yes, I do.”

“Hand it over,” he demanded.

Garrett did as he was told and followed the man across the yard and into his own home. Well, what used to be his home, he thought.

“Show me to your room.”

Once again, Garrett did as he was told, going to his room and turning on the light.

“You may collect your clothes, interwave, and any toiletries you own. Sciorbs and other such technology must remain in the home. You are not allowed to take such belongings purchased by you in the Decided sector to the Undecided sector.”

Shocked, Garrett asked, “Can I take a suitcase to put my belongings in?”

“Of course you can. What do you take us for?” Dave scowled and stepped toward the door. “I’ll be in the hall when you’re ready.”

Garrett pulled his suitcase from under the bed and started loading it with his clothes. He never considered that he wouldn’t be able to take his belongings with him. What was the deal with the sciorb? He had so much on his sciorb! Why couldn’t he take it with him?

Thinking back to the sciorbs in the Darrington Library, he wondered if anyone in the Undecided sector had access to their own personal sciorbs. For not the first time that day, Garrett wondered if he’d