Alicard could feel the light coming through the window and hitting his eyes.
"Is it morning already?" Alicard groaned as he sat up in bed.
As much as he didn't want to get out of bed, Alicard had a strict schedule to keep. After all, in order to be considered to be a productive member of society, it was necessary to have discipline.
Climbing out of bed, Alicard rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He took a look around at the room that he had been living in for nearly 18 years. A single bed rested in the middle of the room with a small night table next to the left side. The lamp that rested on that table had just been turned on by him in preparation for his morning routine.
A small dresser was nestled in between two doors. Walking towards the door on the left he entered it. This room was sparse as well. A small sink with a rectangular mirror was directly in front of the door. Next to that was a toilet, and next to that was a small shower.
Upon exiting the shower, Alicard took a look at himself in the mirror. A square chiseled jaw was the first thing he looked at. There was a small amount of stubble that he needed to shave. No one that had not lived to be over 60 was allowed to have facial hair. Curly, green hair, draped down till his ears from the top of his head. Peeking out from behind his hair, you could see piercing purple eyes that were filled with vitality.
Alicard stretched as he admired his lean and fit body. Standing at 6'4, he was quite tall. Fortunately, his body was well proportioned. All of these things added up to the handsome man staring back at him.
"Alicard! Breakfast is ready!"
After hearing his mom calling for him, Alicard stopped admiring himself in the mirror and went to his dresser to get some clothes.
#
Soon enough, a well-dressed young man was seen by his family, walking into the dining room for breakfast. He gave a quick nod to his family before he sat down. Next to Alicard sat his sister on the left. Alice was dressed in her school uniform just like he was. A sleek, black shirt wrapped around her torso accompanied by a small, red bow tie. On the front of the shirt, over the heart, was the logo of the school that they went to. Alicard wore the same shirt and tie combination, but whereas he was wearing black pants to match, she was wearing a skirt down to her knees.
Alice had the same green hair as Alicard and the rest of the family. In fact, the majority of people living in the world had the same green hair. This was due to the fact that 600 years ago, the sun ran out of fuel. It was a dark time in the world, but fortunately, the government at that time solved this issue by launching an artificial sun. The newly launched sun, over the years, gave off radiation that caused different changes to the world. One of these changes was that people started to be born with green hair.
Besides that, Alice was a beautiful girl. Thin and lean, just like Alicard, this was the norm. There were none of the processed foods that they taught about in history class anymore and due to the artificial sun, a majority of crops were extinct. Some of those crops included things that were said to be delicacies like coffee, cocoa, sugar cane, etc. Alicard spent a lot of time thinking about how nice it would be to go back in time and try these delicacies.
Across from Alicard was his mother who Alice bore a strong resemblance to. Unlike her though, he looked more after his father. The table was silent all the way around as they all ate their breakfast. It was a simple meal consisting of oatmeal, a banana, and a small glass of almond milk. Their family was actually very fortunate to be able to eat fruit every day for breakfast. Alicard's mother, Freya, worked for the local government as an assistant and his father, Drake, was a teacher at their school.
Any life path that was related to the government or education usually paid very well, and fruit was very expensive. Since the introduction of our artificial sun, the government had been able to genetically modify both apples and bananas to grow. Even though that was the case, they only grew in small yields, making them very expensive.
#
After the family finished eating and the table was cleared, Drake pulled the sleeve of his suit up to expose a small tattoo on his left wrist. It looked like a small bracelet going around his wrist and at the very top was a black diamond. After using his other hand and pressing a finger onto the black diamond, a small screen appeared out of thin air. With a shake of his wrist, the screen flew over to a nearby wall and expanded to be clearly visible to the rest of the family.
Alicard and the rest of the family looked towards the screen. The next part of their daily routine was about to take place. In fact, the same thing was taking place in every household all across the world. This part of their routine was the daily news blast. Since TV wasn't a thing like in the old days, the government implemented a device that was in the form of a tattoo inside the wrist of every head of household. This device served no other purpose than the daily news blast.
After waiting for a few seconds, the blank screen finally showed a change. A man could be seen sitting on a large throne made of some type of metal. A long, purple carpet lead up to the throne, and all along it could be seen different important people. These people were the King's court, and of course, the man on the throne was the King himself. Even through the screen, the man radiated an imposing air. King Wilfred wore a black suit with a purple shirt underneath. A long, gray beard wrapped around his face and went half of the way down his chest while his head was shaved to make room for the extravagant crown that nestled upon his head. The crown was the same silver color of the throne, except while the throne was unadorned, the crown was inlaid with a single, large ruby in the center. It was this very man that began to speak to all of the citizens of the world.
"Good morning, everyone. Today is Friday. The 29th day of the 12th month of the year 699. Today is a special occasion for us all, since tomorrow is the last weekend as a child for so many of you all. Not only that, but three days from now will be the first life path selection of a brand-new century!
"I am pleased to announce that there has been zero crime reported in our kingdom. Three babies will be born today, and three elders will be retiring from our large community. The population continues to stay at the perfect number of 500,000. The final announcement that I have to make is the most important. Since the next life path selection marks the beginning of a new century, a new King will be chosen to usher in prosperity for the next 100 years! May you all have a blessed day!"
As King Wilfred finished speaking, the screen dimmed and went back to being blank. Drake waved his wrist again and the screen disappeared. The family all left the table together to head out of the door and start their days. Freya waved goodbye and walked left down the sidewalk away from their house while Alice, Alicard, and Drake went right.
"Son"-he looked towards Alicard- "what do you hope your life path will be in this upcoming selection?"
"I think it would probably be cool to be the next King."
He rubbed his fingers through his hair.
"But I doubt that is what the selection has in store for me."
Alice punched him in the shoulder playfully as a light chuckle escaped her lips. She proceeded to go on and on about all of the different life paths she wouldn't mind following after their father asked her what her thoughts were. The list was plentiful and although the selection was supposed to be random, there was a tendency for the selection to be similar to one's parents, although that wasn't always the case.
The three of them continued to banter back and forth for the remainder of the walk towards the school. As the scenery passed them by, Alicard couldn't help but look up towards the sky. Besides the sun shining in the sky, blue was the only thing to look at as far as the eye could see. It was like this every day. There was never a cloud in the sky because it never rained. The children were taught in school that it used to rain back when we had our original sun, but that was one of the things that changed when it burnt out.
Houses and stores and different buildings were spaced evenly apart as they walked. The sidewalk they were on was made of concrete that had been around since the old times, but all of the plants were artificial. There was no real grass in any one's yard and the trees all around were made of some material unknows to him. As fake as everything was, it really didn't take away from its beauty. The architecture was reminiscent of the old times as well. It particularly took after the well-known Victorian era.
Before he knew it, their short 15-minute walk to the school was over. Their father wished them a good day and went to join the faculty while him and Alice went to the main entrance. With education being so important in the modern world, the school was one of the nicest buildings around. The massive building couldn't be seen all at once as long as you were standing on the ground. An enormous arch marked the entryway to the building. To the left and right, extending in each direction, were massive columns that rose to the top of the building. Windows lined the walls, and some students and faculty could already be seen walking about the inside. Above the Arch and following the curve were the words, 'Memorial City School', and was one of two schools in the world. Memorial City School housed grades K-12 and taught all subjects for each grade.
"I'm so excited bro! It's finally the last day of school! Hey, wouldn't it be crazy if we have the same life path since were twins?!"
Alicard had no choice but to laugh at his sister's antics.
"Yea, that would be great."
Although he didn't show it, Alicard was really excited as well. After all, today was the last day of the beginning of his life and three days from now would be the most important day of his life.