Before long winter came. My family was all sitting inside, eyes glued to their smartphones when the first snowflake greeted us from outside the window. The lovely star settled peacefully against the window sill.
I was the only one left out of the smartphone addiction since I still wasn't allowed my tablet back. I had of course long ago stolen it back and put it somewhere safe. Thankfully my parents hadn't noticed yet. Zoe had found a boyfriend and was going through puberty, which meant her rebellious side had awoken. My parents were not too thrilled about it. Currently, she was most likely texting him.
My dad meanwhile was reading the news about a coup in Yudila, a neighbouring country. I learned about what happened yesterday night, while I was up reading. Nighttime was the only time I could bring my tablet out. Dad looked extremely shocked and for a good reason. The right-wing government there was an ally of Clestia. Now it was overthrown by a supposedly Socialist military coup d'etat, led by one of their more respected generals, the Ork leader Franco Vagan. It was hard to tell how our government would respond to this.
Clestia was considered one of the major powers in this world. Meanwhile, Yudila was merely a minor power. Clestia had always tried to maintain dominance over Yudila's affairs. Yudila's oligarchs were well-connected with Clestia's elite. The coup had definitely thrown a wrench in Clestia's plans.
"Hey, can I go visit a friend?" Zoe asked.
My parents looked at each other, communicating purely through eye contact and head movements.
My father sighed and replied, "Hmmm fine, but make sure you come back by eight. Any later and you're grounded."
My sister rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure, of course. Yo Sam, wanna tag along?"
I pointed my finger at myself and asked incredulously, "Uhh Me?"
My sister looked around the room confused, "Is there any other Sam around? Mom, have you seen any other Sams by any chance?"
My mom shook her head.
"Ok fine sheesh. I was only surprised," I replied. "Let's go."
"Come back at eight the latest," my dad called out one last time as we left the apartment.
We went to Eaglecourt station. The station was one of the more well-built stations in the country. It had mosaic art installations, plenty of shops and lots of open-air and sky windows. We passed multiple holographic displays advertising all kinds of things.
"So where are we going?" I asked.
"Meeting up with a couple of friends at Circlehill."
I nodded. I knew a couple of Zoe's older friends, but over the past year, she has gone in a bit of a different direction, which worried me. She had started hanging out with older kids who seemed kinda like bums. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but if the worst came to be, I desperately needed to intervene before it was too late. I had an acquaintance where something similar happened, which I don't want to think too much about.
When we arrived at Circlehill, I looked around. The train station was smaller, but also cozier. You had small coffee shops, and flower shops, mixed with colourful boutiques. Circlehill was known as one of the cultural heart of New Norstoen. It was once the center of intellectualism in Clestia. Many of the most famous scientists, inventors, politicians, philosophers, etcetera, etcetera would gather here and discuss their theories over a nice cup of coffee. A couple of decades prior many left radicals had been here. Autonomists had squatted empty buildings and transformed them into communes and cultural centers. The government had initially attempted to stop them, but the movement was too strong and the government was too preoccupied with other matters. Instead of risking increased escalations in violence, they let them be, hoping the movement would eventually fade, which it did, but its legacy was still etched deep into Circlehill.
We went outside to the fresh world of glistening white. Throughout the time we had been in the metro snow had been falling, transforming the world into a white landscape. Protestors were marching through the streets, holding up signs in support of the coup in Yudila. We moved through the echelon of people. We passed by numerous free-standing areas filled with art installations, performers, playgrounds and discos. The streets felt free and open with the buildings naturally blended into the environment. There were lots of trees and parks in between.
Zoe's friends met us in front of a giant mall complex. They all looked like they were between the ages of 14 to 16. One of them was a punk-looking Orc with lots of tats and an Iro. The guy next to him was more of a hippie-looking dwarf with dreadlocks and worn-out clothes, reeking of cannabis. Two girls accompanied them, one a goth-looking girl in a revealing black outfit and the other a blonde party chic. These were the exact bad influences I was worried about. There was no way in the ever-loving hell, I was going to let Zoe hang out with them. However, making teenagers see reason, was a near-impossible challenge.
The hippie dwarf walked up to me, "Whoa, that the lil'bro I'd been hearing about. What's good man." He put up his fist for a fist bump.
"What's good," I decided to bump it. "Do you have a toilet, I've been meaning to go for a while."
He gestured vaguely in a direct, "Right round there."
"Alright, Zoe can you come along." I looked at her pleadingly.
She sighed, "Yeah sure, let's go. I'll be back, just sec."
"Sure man," the dwarf said.
At the restroom, I turned to Zoe with teary eyes, "I don't like those people."
Zoe looked confused, "What? But you barely know them."
"I liked your old friends. Those ones are terrible," I gestured at her group of friends. "They smell terrible and they are probably going make you do bad things like drugs."
"No, no, you haven't properly met them. They are cool and chill, and they know I'm too young for drugs. I swear they are not like what you think."
I was sort of out of ideas and I really didn't want Zoe anywhere near these people. I started to break down and cry, "Promise me, promise me...(hic) that you will never take drugs...(hic) not even a little bit. Please...(hic) at least until you are eighteen. Please don't...(hic) ruin your life."
She started to hug me, "Shhh, yeah ok, ok, I promise. I promise as your big sister."
"You always said...(hic) that you'll protect me and...(hic) won't let anything bad happen to me, remember?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"I also...(hic) don't want anything to happen to you."
"I know."
"I love you."
"Love you too."
We ended up ditching those losers and went to the arcade playing games and winning prizes. Afterwards, we managed to sneak into a crust-punk concert. A band of Orks were playing some of the most energetic and brutal music ever. There was a section that sounded almost like ancient tribal war chants where the crowd went crazy. The day with Zoe turned into a fun day and we arrived home before eight.