For the millionth time, I found myself on all fours on the ground, panting heavily. Sweat was dripping down my neck and forehead, making the strands of my hair wet and sticky. No, I told myself, I can't do this anymore.

I heard a "tsk-tsk" sound from the corner of the room and found Dr. Edwards looking at me sympathetically, the way a father would look at a weak child. His gray eyes were foggy and shielded by his thick-rimmed glasses, and his thin lips were pulled into a small smile. He checked his clipboard and said softly, "Margot, dear, when are you going to cope with the simulation?"

I wiped my mouth with my sleeve. "Just give me more time, Doctor–"

"Margot, Governor Red and the Sapphires will be coming next week to see if you and the other Variables have made any progress," Dr. Edwards interrupted, tapping his ball pen impatiently on his clipboard. "Look, I just can't see any effort coming from you–"

"I am putting effort," I said through gritted teeth, pushing myself up and sitting down cross-legged on the floor. "I just need more time."

"Time is everybody's enemy, Margot. That's Rule One here in the association. The other Variables have been making progress."

"I don't give a crap about those other Variables," I muttered fiercely under my breath. I stood up and grabbed my jacket hanging from the rack on the other side of the room, and walked past a stunned-looking Dr. Edwards. "Thank you for your time and help, Doctor."

"Same place, same time, Margot," he called after me as I shut the door of the simulation room.

Times have changed for the last fifty years. The Sapphires, the government body of our country, serve as the main providers for the people's resources like food, water, shelter and energy. The only thing is, there were so many people in the country that it the government found it difficult to provide needs for each and every one. Overpopulation in the country has been a major problem, which led to other problems such as poverty, strikes, inflation, and other economic situations. Without a choice left, the Sapphires made "rankings" between people– classifying them into four different ranks based on their wealth and socio-economic background, namely: the Highers, the Middles, the Lessers, and the Nothings. They would priorities first to the Highers, since they were the highest rank; and sometimes, if the officials run out of supplies, the Nothings get nothing at all. I'm lucky enough to be a Middle, because things are rougher than before. Survival is necessary, and if you don't live a life out in the world, dying is most probably the only choice left.

I'm Margot Wales, a sixteen-year-old from the year 2070. This is my story.