This story was submitted to my elementary school's year-end publication by a 6th grader when I was in 1st grade. The author is therefore 13 years old-- and this was written a few years before our school had access to the Internet. This story made a lasting impression on me, and it's notable for being one of only two works written by young people that had such a profound influence when I was very small (the other one being the diary of Anne Frank). While it now seems clumsily set up and executed, I still think it's pretty good for a 13-year-old.
I sat in my pale green room listening but not really thinking. My computer sat in front of me. On the screen was my teacher's face, all wrinkly and tired looking. My teacher gave us our homework, and I shut off my computer.I have been working on a computer for as long as I can remember. I am now 15. I was sick of staying inside my house for 7 years and not having the freedom teenagers did in the past. I hate not having friends and not being able to go outside. The past ruined it for all us teenagers now. They ruined it for us because there were so many drugs and so much violence on the streets that the government restricted everyone to stay inside their houses, only communicating by computer. When everyone was restricted and technically locked into their homes, people were not able to go to school, to shop for food or to eat at restaurants. Every few hours food was transmitted by computer to the house and came out of a food dispenser in the wall. The food was usually horrible and I was getting restless.
I got up and walked to the living room where my older sister, Tia, was sitting on the couch doing some homework on her own computer. My sister is 18 and will probably go to college by computer. She is pretty, tall and thin but will probably never marry because she'll never meet anyone. She sat gloomily staring at our cracked ceiling. She also missed freedom and the malls. I looked into my sister's pale blue eyes and it made me just want to do something about all of this isolation. Then I went over to the door and pulled with all my strength in hope that the door would burst open and we would be free, but it didn't even budge.
"Vaga, don't even try it," my sister said calmly, "I tried it this morning and nothing happened."
My sister was as desperate as I was to get out of there. I staggered away from the door with no hope and sat down and thought. Thinking made me fall asleep. When I had slept for over an hour I assumed that it must have been dark because most lights were on in the house. Our windows were covered with steel plates that let no outside light in. I was hungry and I waited about 12 minutes until the food dispenser popped out two green, circular shaped blobs that were giving off a strange odor, so I decided not to eat.
I sat down on the couch again and thought. I thought about the life behind those locked doors and plated windows and I thought about how people everywhere (I assumed) were living in the same isolation that we were in. I also thought about the day when I was coming home from school with my friend who had been punched at school and was in a lot of pain when a guard dressed in a black uniform grabebd my arm. I was shocked. I did every thing I could to get out of his grasp, but it was so tight that I just gave up. I looked over my shoulder screaming for my friend's help, but it was too late and another guard had grabbed him too and all I remember seeing of my friend was his hand as he screamed for me. I had a feeling that was going to be the last time I was going to see my friend.
As I remember, the guard who dragged me was very muscular and very tall. He pulled me to my front step where he checked my backpack for escape articles. While he was rummaging through my bag I noticed for the first time that plates had been screwed to our windows. I don't remember the words exactly, but I knew that they were harsh. I also remember my last breath of the outer air that I had inhaled freely and the slamming of the door and the clicking of the computer that controlled the door. These flashbacks came to me so clearly and sharply now.
I was baffled when the guard pushed me into the door, smiled, and slammed the door. I also remember the tears that came afterward and the calm words my sister told me that made me feel more relaxed. "Everything will be all right," she kept repeating as my sobs let up. I also remember the strange feeling of first having classes through the computer.
As I returned to life again after moments of thinking I remember homework and scurried into my room to do it. After homework an idea came too me. I decided that I would see how thick the steel over the window was. Then I found a small nail under the bed that was left over from a science project that my mom thought was too cute to throw away. I took the nail and I found a hammer that my dad used when something needed repair. I took them back to my room and started to make small holes in the steel.
After about half an hour I had little holes all over the steel. Hour after hour went by until it was 10:30 and my eyes were swollen from the concentration and my wrist throbbing with pain from the vibration of the hanmmer. I was tired and needed sleep so I rested the hammer on the foot of the bed and laid my tired head on the pillow and went to sleep.
It was cold in my room when I woke up. A small shaft of light shone through the holes that I had made in the steel the night before. I then decided that I should skip classes today to work on my escape project, but first I needed breakfast. I went into the living room and was surprised to see my sister sitting on the couch working on her computer while sipping a hot cup of coffee and munching on a bagel, which was the tastiest looking thing the food dispenser had popped out in weeks. I looked at her, my mouth watering for one bite of bagel. I was very hungry because of no dinner the night before. She caught my eye and pointed to another one sitting on a plate. I took with gusto and brought it into my room where I locked myself in my room and worked on my escape project while munching on it.
After 4 hours of effort my job was almost completed. The holes were big enough for my hand to slide in and out nicely. Some of the edges were uneven, but that didn't matter. I couldn't wait to be free again and be able to run as far as I wanted to. I couldn't wait to smell the flowers that grew around our house. I worked more steadily now and more quickly than ever. I finished at around 11:30 at night and I couldn't see anything outside because it was pitch black. I knew I should save my excitement for the morning, but I couldn't help going outside for just a minute. I then cautiously stuck my arms through the hole, then my legs and then my head until I was completely outside. A velvet-like feel clung to me like a bearskin rug. Dampness caved in on me and it felt like I was being swallowed by a gigantic monster. I suddenly felt myseelf gasp for air and then I fell to the ground. It was not the soft grass that used to be there, but rough dirt that I sank into. Then I started to scream and felt dizzy.
It was light out when I woke up. I rubbed my eyes wearily. Then I slowly opened my eyes. All I saw was fallow land. The houses that had always been there were now gone. No flowers were left around my house. It seemed to me that no living thing was left on earth's surface. A tear ran down my cheek. I wanted everything to be back to normal. I wanted the grass that you could tumble in to be there and I wanted to have a life again. My tears turned into sobs and the sobs turned into pools on my lab. Life was over and only the dull memories of the past clung to me like a young child having a toy and one day losing it. It was over. It was all over.