Retrospect

Seven

As I stared straight ahead at the clock, a loud dinging sounded from what seemed like everywhere, filling my head. The clock now read 12:00 PM. I needed to leave as soon as possible. I was the only one maneuvering my way through the throngs of city-goers as everyone paused to watch any buildings with projections available. Not even daring to look up, I kept moving but listened for what they would say about me. Brief music played before a woman's voice rang out. "It is September 1st, 2080, and officially 12:00 PM. Late last night..."

I knew everything she was going to say so I focused on making my way out of the streets before the broadcast ended. I heard the lady say something about a red wig which brought back the memories of me being chased by the officers. If only I had had more time, the wig would still have been in my possession. I turned around a corner as the lady mentioned what I had supposedly done. Theft, which I had committed to (stealing the device), but the lady said I had stolen almost 50 cards with loads of money on them in under a week. That I definitely had not done. Either the real thief was experienced with stealing, or the people of this city were dumb not to put the cards somewhere somebody wouldn't get them.

The lady continued with something about me taking an extremely important item that needed to be found immediately. So it was true, they had figured out I had stolen the device, that much they got right. They never said what the item was, probably so no one would get any ideas of breaking into the worker building like I had tried.

I ducked into a nearby alley to listen to the rest of the broadcast. Her voice could be heard everywhere. "Anybody who finds this girl will be given an apartment in the Sera Section with as many cards as we can supply you with."

That much just for me? I would have felt honored if it was any other situation where I wasn't being tracked down. The Sera Section was the richest part in the city. People worked so much just to afford to walk on the streets there. And they were giving a bunch of cards to the person who turned me in? I couldn't process this. My head spun as I went through the alley and kept moving. It wasn't safe anymore to go anywhere.

If people saw my face after watching the broadcast, there was no way I could stay hidden. I was fresh in the minds of everyone around me. I stayed in the shadows of the alley until there was no other option but to go out into the open. Opening my bag, I sifted through my stuff, just to see if there was anything at all that could disguise me. I hadn't taken my makeup with me, and I needed to save the food I brought for when I was hungry even though a whipped cream facial could hide me. Who knew how long I'd be on the run for?

I pulled up my hood over my wig and took a deep breath, putting my hands in my sweatshirt pockets. If I had to scare anybody if they suspected me, I knew where my pocket knife was in my bag. I just hoped it didn't come to that because then they'd be more than likely to report me for carrying a weapon.

I stepped out into the sunlight and walked with my gaze trained on the ground. Surprisingly I didn't hear anybody call out to me or stop me to take a good look. I didn't know exactly where I was planning on going, but the store across the street had only a few people inside of it. It looked safer than the other buildings and if it had a bathroom, that would be another plus since I hadn't used one since before I went to the celebration last night.

I crossed over to the store, noticing it was for clothes, and opened the glass door to enter. A little jingle played and I heard an employee welcome me. I never looked up but I hoped they saw my nod to show I thanked them. Passing all of the clothes as soon as I had gone in, I went over to the sign that pointed to a door at the very back of the store. I opened it and the scent of lavender filled my nose.

Once inside the bathroom, I closed the door behind me and it locked automatically. The floor was spotless and the sink was made of a shiny metal. This bathroom was probably cleaner than me. I looked at myself in the mirror, noticing the dirt all over my face with still a little bit of makeup that hadn't washed off after everything I had been through. Maybe that had disguised me at least a little bit when I was on the street. I could only hope as I turned away from the mirror to finish up in the bathroom, even though the privacy I had in it made me never want to leave.