A hundred years from the present time in the future.
ROJUM'S POV
My alarm went off with its usual tone. It's Monday. I carefully stood up from my bed and went straight to do my lists after tucking the sheets of my bed tightly into the corners.
30 minutes of exercise.
20 minutes in the bath.
20 minutes of school preparation.
10 minutes for breakfast.
5 minutes toothbrush.
"To-do list, check. Schedules, check. School tasks, check. Home tasks, check. I can feel it. I'll have a big increase in worth of digits." I hissed before slinging my bag to my shoulder. "I'm going to school," I called to inform the people in the house.
I stepped out and started walking to school. Jyz and Leigh passed by riding in their car. They looked joyful; they might had an increase. Good for them, but mine was higher. I thought and smirked, then looked at my tag.
But to my surprise, my tag shows...' 0.00000000 '
NO!
It could not be happening.
What happened to my worth digits?
Then an unfamiliar sound echoed, catching my attention and distracting me from worrying about my digits being lost.
Hahaha? What was that?
As I looked at the surroundings, it started swirling, I began falling.
No! Please no! My worth digits!
"Master Hazaki, your breakfast is ready," Mr. Yukihari bluntly greeted, his voice resonated in my ear, waking me up from a nightmare.
I shot up from my bed panting hard and sweating profusely, examining my surroundings to make sure I was already awake.
Sweaty, terrified, and half awake, I immediately looked at my tag.
'0.00034589'
"It was just a nightmare," I sighed so deeply in relief. "Less than three zeros. I'll be worthy enough to exist on my own." I murmured after realizing I just had a very bad dream.
"Master…" Mr. Yukihari repeated.
"Fine. I'm coming. How about Father?" I asked while putting on my personalized slippers and specially fabricated robe. Mr. Yukihari remained silent and I said, "I know. Nevermind answering. He was busy with his own worth."
I stood up and walked past Mr. Yukihari, who remained standing behind me with the most disgusting look on his face.
I hate it. I'm not a charity. Why pity me when I could actually have anything I want, except for increasing my worth? But I could not do anything or even let out my disgust. If I let out such emotion, which was against the rule, I'd probably lose all my worth. This emotion I had been keeping inside, was not right. I'd end up with the Worthless.
I sat down and ate the breakfast prepared for me. I ate fast.
"Thank you for breakfast," I said after eating.
I did my usual routine and took my time preparing for school.
Often, I'd spend hours, but today seemed different.
I glimpsed on my tag.
'0.00034600'
Nice! An Increase.
"Lia, power on the engine. Self-drive to the front door." I spoke on my phone as I walked out of the house.
'OPERATON UNKNOWN' The phone responded.
What? My father must have denied my access to our cars.
"Mr. Yukihari, my car key, please," I asked, trying so hard to keep the unusual disturbance inside my chest.
"Mr. Hazaki, your father declined all your access. I will be driving for you, from now on. Let's go?" He calmly explained.
I sighed silently and had no choice but to oblige. The drive down to town was as lifeless as it was. While Mr. Yukihari mumbled my father's schedule, I lazily looked out the window of the car.
Same busy, dull streets. People were walking like programmed machines, hassling through the swarm of emptiness.
I let out a very deep sigh. Ever since the norm was taught in school, I always felt something was wrong, or the wrong was in me.
Children were born and raised away from their parents; people from the Visrion were the ones who would take care of and raise them. Then, at age five, they would be sent to school to learn the rules. They would be prepared until the age of seven. The year of Transfer.
At seven, I was sent to my parent's home after completing the requirements for the Transfer, but I only got my father since my mother was said to be one of the Worthless, so she should be separated from the Norms.
There, I grew up to achieve worth digits so that I would be as Worthy as those 'machine people', I always loathed to see on the streets. And that would be able to make me worthy of living with the Uppers someday. My father rarely touched home because of his goal of being in the Upper. However, I always thought that something was really off about me because my father seldom saw me.
Upper was the highest place in Visrion. Those living there had all the advantages and control over many things.
Since I learned about my mother, questions kept swelling inside me, to which I badly needed answers. What made my mother one of the Worthless? What happened?
My thoughts were interrupted when I saw someone.
She didn't look normal. She had no tag.
"I'm stepping out here," I told Mr. Yukihari without taking my gaze off that unusual lady.
"But…" Mr. Yukihari was baffled, but he let me.
The weather wasn't something Anori, the name called to the place where Norms lived, had on a normal day.
I watched the lady walk around like she hadn't been around here her whole life. Maybe from another country?
Helping her out would give me a sufficient amount of worth of digits, I had nothing to lose if I tried to have a glimpse.
I started walking towards her, but I halted.
"What is she doing? What is that water coming from her eyes? And what sound seems to be coming from inside her?" I murmured in so much confusion.
I even got more puzzled when she climbed up the giant old tree inside the forbidden circle.
My tag suddenly turned red. It was a warning when someone was about to do something against the rule.
"Maybe she lost her worth digits. Losing a digit is like not living at all. Existence has no value when you have no worth." I mumbled, convincing myself to turn my back and ignore her.
"I can't lose a digit just because of her. This abnormal thing inside me whenever I see someone hopeless or losing worth is overpowering me."
But it was too late. I jumped into the circle without hesitation and caught her from falling the tree, making a loud sound when both of us thudded on the ground.
"Wait, you! That water thing? What is that? That sound you made, what is it? I heard it in my dream." I asked curiously.
I stared into her eyes. Something was different about her.
The sky turned gray, which I noticed when the lady leaned in closer to my face.
My chest was pounding so hard.