"The day's finally here." Sylvia says. She's usually peppy in the morning but today she seems to almost burst from excitement, all remaining gloom in her eyes vanquished by the small twinkle now within.

"Yeah, it is." I can't help but smile. Whatever insecurities I had yesterday no longer haunt me but my mind is far from clear.

"So how are you feeling?"

"Is there anything else to say but excited?" I yawn before covering it with a sheepish grin. "And maybe a little bit tired."

"Didn't you sleep well last night?"

I shake my head. "I kept waking up."

Sylvia flashes me a grin. "Too excited to sleep, huh?"

I nod and Sylvia turns to her desk, clearing it for the next batch of students to use once they move up.

It's true that I didn't sleep well due to constantly waking up but it wasn't because I was excited. I kept on having the same reoccurring dreams but every time I'm about to figure out what is happening I wake up. They feel like memories but the memories aren't my own.

Every time I woke I felt an urge to look for the black microchip accessory and it wasn't until I finally wore it that the dreams stopped haunting me. When I wore it the hauntings stopped, all but one. For some reason the hauntings manifested from my aptitude test but instead of the third person point of view it was as if I was looking through the man who looked like a preacher's eyes.

I watched him hide the microchip accessory which I now have and through him I feel an even stronger attachment to it. I know I can't ever leave it but I don't know why - he just had a single priority - keep the microchip accessory safe at all costs. When I lived through the preacher looking man his mind was wild. I couldn't make out a single thought but words I couldn't understand kept on repeating; "Small sister", "Revolution" and "Big brother". Other than those words I can't shake out the face permanently etched within the preacher looking man and now my mind. The face of the man burned into my memories before the preacher looking man's mind went blank.

Trying to shake the cold sneer from the recesses of my mind, I fight the inevitable. Not even a day ago my life was perfect, I had only ordinary worries that simple weather could dispel and the largest obstacle was the aptitude test. But that's where it all started. A problem with my test, a strange link between reality and simulation and even just this morning I'm losing my mind. I swear just yesterday I saw a scientist on the way to my Upbringing and when I got home I saw him again in a newspaper article. I was actually excited about that and decided to cut out the article from the newspaper but when I tried to show my friends I had no proof. Most paper disintegrates within a matter of hours in Mytopia and my friends reassured me that newspapers only get delivered every odd day so I couldn't have possibly read a newspaper yesterday as today's an odd day. Things just seem to get stranger and stranger but maybe that's how it is for everybody and Doctor Soy's warning might have been for this very situation.

Taking a deep breath I collect the remaining evidence of my Education leaving behind on my desk only the few things that will benefit me in my future career. There isn't much accumulated over the years other than the yearly portfolios which hold all of the periodically assessed assignments used to identify which students excel in certain certain subjects and which students need individually tailored work.

I grimace at the memories of my tailored history work. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the 1000 history hours scattered throughout my Education, in fact I loved learning about the past. Some of my favourite time periods were the Gulliver's era where our world was inhabited by a number of different human species and the Thomas era where a large wall was built to protect them from The Grievers much like how The Worm built us a wall to protect us. Although these era's are fascinating, due to the history being written down a long time ago, we only have fragments of the past instead of the whole story. That's where I struggled in history. I wasn't able to fully grasp the content when many eras were so alike. I distinctively remember always being confused between the Beatrice era and the Katniss era. Both were split into factions or districts and our aptitude tests are influenced by the quasi-utopia that one of them provided. The other provided some sort of game but due to the incomplete history we don't know what they were about for sure, however, it must have been a bad era as The Worm hasn't included it in Mytopia.

Letting out a sigh I don't know if it's because I won't have to do history again or due to the weight of my yearly portfolios. I'm only taking them to the recycling joint at the corner of my school but as they tower slightly above eye level I find it difficult to navigate my way. In hindsight it might have been better to have made two trips but due to my slight stubbornness I decide to quicken my pace instead hoping my arms don't let out. Taking in deeper breaths I increase my strides and I almost see the walls blur as I imagine I'm in one of the many movies I've watched where humans have super speed. Faster and faster I walk and almost as if luck is against me I crash into something and horrifyingly I feel my flesh substitute dislodge. Normally this wouldn't be such a problem but I still have my invisible microchip accessory implanted due to it fitting underneath my flesh substitute accessory.

Wincing, I hear the sounds of each portfolio hit the ground. A thud. A thud. A thud. An Owww! A thud. A what?

Opening my eyes slowly I look at my work scattered on the floor. Glancing around, I try to identify the strange sound. I'm sure I just heard an 'owww' but as I take one last look up and down the corridor I dismiss the sound as maybe a bird or other small animal outside. I place my hands on my hips as I figure out where to start picking up my work. It took long enough to sort it all out in the first place and now the pile looks even bigger than when I started. What makes it worse is that my flesh substitute fell out and as I feel my temple it's apparent that my microchip and invisible accessory are also somewhere hidden within the mound of work.

Deciding to start at the edge and work my way inwards I neatly stack the portfolios into two piles, hoping to avoid falling again. As I pick up my third portfolio something looks amiss and I realize it's because there's a shoe underneath my work. I tug at it slightly and I let out a small shriek as a hand erupts from within the center of the pile.

I cup my hands over my mouth as the events unfold so anticlimactically that they're almost, just almost climatic. Portfolios create a mini avalanche as they slide down each other revealing an arm and then an elbow and then... it stops. I walk closer to the epicenter to see who's trapped and I pray to The Worm that they haven't suffocated under the workload. I get closer and closer, edging my way slowly and cautiously. I've watched enough zombie movies so when I see the portfolios shuffle once more I take a few steps back ready to run in case of a gene mutation like the one caused by cordyceps in the past.

The mountain of portfolios shuffles, then quakes and finally erupts. I thought I'd be ready for the apocalypse but my legs refuse to move in any way except for vibrating on the spot fast enough to compete with the speed of sound. Cold sweat runs down my face and I shiver in fear but as a mop of dirty blond hair peeks out from under the portfolios my shivers change from fear to surprise and laughter. I clutch my sides and bite my lip to stop but I've never seen Sebastian with such a pure expression before. In the end I might lose my mind but not from a zombie virus but instead from the difficulty of processing Sebastian's innocent composure. He just looks so out of place that it's almost cute.

I feel my face heat up. I didn't just think that did I? I meant to say something like... uhhh... something like... I purse my lips trying to think of something but I come out blank. I shake my head, what I'm thinking isn't important right now. A student is sitting on the floor with no clear signs of conscience and I'm doing nothing. He could have amnesia, a concussion or the mutation maybe hasn't set in yet.

I turn around in circles trying to think back to my first aid lessons. Do I need a splint? I don't think so. A bandage perhaps? What about an ice pack? I almost feel my head burst from all the mental shaking.

"Umm. Hey Aegis, can you help me up?"

"Oh yeah, sure."

Now where was I? Maybe not an ice pack. I need heat spray! No, cool spray! No no, it was definitely heat spray.

"Aegis. Hello? Mytopia to Aegis."

"Just give me a sec will ya?"

I shake my head. Kids these days right? Always thinking that they are the priority when they clearly... I turn my head slowly a gulp as Sebastian has less than an amused face.

"So do I have to do this myself?"

"Uhh, no, no." I offer my hand to which Sebastian takes it. "Sorry about that."

I feel a spark where our fingertips touch but dismiss it as static electricity. After all it's not like the first time we've shook hands or anything but then why do I feel so strange? Feeling the weight of Sebastian as I pull him up he dusts himself off with one hand. He hasn't said anything so far, perhaps he's waiting for an apology?

"Sorry."

"Hmm?" Sebastian glances at me. "What for?"

"Well," I start, "You know, for..."

"Almost crushing me under the pressure of an exhaustive workload?" Sebastian suggests, his lips curling up into a small mischievous smile. "Not to mention blatantly ignoring me to come up with theories that I've been zombified."

At that I almost chuckle and Sebastian shakes his head with a hand covering his eyes. He flashes me a small smile before raising an eyebrow as he takes in the mess around us.

"I guess I should help you clear this up, huh?"

"If you don't mind that is." I say wistfully.

Sebastian nods rubbing his chin in fake contemplation. "Alright then. So are you going to start or are you just going to stare at me all day?"

I roll my eyes. "As if anybody would want to stare at you all day."

"Yeah, yeah." Sebastian dismisses before starting on a pile.

With two people the portfolios get stacked a lot quicker but every so often I take a second to shoot a quick glance at Sebastian but unlike earlier I don't feel anything. The truth is, lots of people do stare at Sebastian. Although he's one of the quietest he's also one of the most popular boy's among the girls but in a different sense that I am. He's not super social but he seems to have gotten better, but that might just be my opinion, since he became my study buddy a few months ago. He just seems to have some sort of charm that draw people to colloquially call him a 'future partner'.

Although he's called that, partners are only chosen by The Worm and are only partnered if it improves work efficiency. This means partners can only be from the same careers and partners must be one male and one female for some reason. That's why it makes no sense for me to see Sebastian that way. Partnerships are a by product of allowing humans to keep emotions. It's been an ancient debate as to whether or not emotions actually benefit humankind, however, The Worm has decided it so and a repercussion of that is considering 'future partners'. Honestly though, I don't see the point of a future partner and as I take another quick glance at Sebastian he just looks like another one of my classmates - nothing truly outstanding. Then why did I consider him cute earlier but not now? I am long past the future partner phase which generally strikes out of the blue during the start of teenage years and during that phase I, like many others, didn't feel anything. But just now, as clear as the portfolios in front of me I felt something. It was like a rush, a tingling sensation, something I have no words to properly describe but... now there's nothing. I don't know why but I now somehow feel emptier that I did before.

It takes me a few seconds to register that's somethings wrong when I see a clear floor in front of me only covered by two stacks of portfolios. My hand reaches toward my temple and my body feels an onset of panic as I realise that my microchip is missing along with everything else that was with it. I check in between my portfolios to see if it somehow wedged itself in between them and I almost start to break down when Sebastian taps me on the shoulder.

"Missing something?"

I nod slowly. I feel my heart sink in my chest knowing that I'll be in big trouble for not only losing my microchip but also my flesh substitute. What's worse is that I've lost the disappearing accessory as well and for some reason I know that it will cause something bad to happen.

"It wouldn't happen to be this would it?" Sebastian continues drawing a hand out of his pocket.

My eyes scan every movement as he slowly uncurls his fingers. My heart skyrockets as I see a gel type object then a black shiny microchip and finally my disappearing accessory which thankfully didn't reappear out of nowhere. Sebastian's a close friend and I would normally be able to trust him with anything but the mystery behind the invisible disappearing accessory and the preacher like man isn't something I can drag other people into.

I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that all is there and accounted for. "Thank you."

Sebastian hands me my microchip, accessory and flesh subsitute and watches me turn them over in my hand. I don't look at him directly but I can see from the corner of my eye that he's interested and as I turn the microchip accessory around revealing the faded double B I swear I see a flash of knowledge in his eyes.

"An Upbringing present?"

Without even having to ask I know he's referring to the disappearing accessory. "Yeah." It isn't the whole truth and I can see Sebastian is tempted to ask more but he doesn't. He learns from observing, that much I know for sure.

"It's rare that two accessories can be used at once," Sebastian continues as he picks up a stack of portfolios, motioning for us to walk and talk. "But I guess I can see why. The smaller accessory hasn't got any fancy designs on and it doesn't provide the size to act as a buffer so you still need to use your flesh substitute. It must have some sort of function though." Sebastian shoots me a curious look with a touch of what seems to be interrogation. "After all, if it didn't have a purpose it would be pointless wouldn't it?"

I nod slowly not giving an answer. I can tell that Sebastian won't pressure me any more, if that was the case to begun with which for some reason I'm confused about. Sebastian isn't the type to pressure people for an answer but the way he talked just now feels like a snake slithering around my body threatening to crush my body. I internally shiver at the mental image but as I look at Sebastian as we walk in silence he just wears the same plain expression as always, no hint of betraying what he's thinking. He can't possibly know about the disappearing accessory could he? There's no way but then why is it that I feel like I'm the one in the dark? Sebastian was right about one thing though, the microchip accessory must have some purpose. Why do I need to hide it? Why did the preacher like man risk everything to save it? What can it do other than camouflage?

Lost in though I almost believe I heard Sebastian say something but that's unlikely. Unless prompted Sebastian likes to generally keel to himself but when I hear him say something again I have to forcibly remove myself from my daydream zone.

"Not very talkative today are we?" Sebastian winks.

"As if you're one to talk. If nobody said anything to you all day I bet you could pass off as invisible." I retort to which I swear I see a small smile of victory escapes his lips.

"Perhaps."

I wait for further conversation but when there is none I tut in frustration. "You can't just say that and then just leave me hanging."

"Mmm, hmm."

"Fine." I tut again. I try to think of a good topic to discuss and then realise Sebastian's the only person I haven't told, or pleaded to believe me, about the smart guy in the newspaper which did or didn't arrive yesterday. "Yesterday," I begin, "I saw a man."

"Great story." Sebastian says sarcastically but although I can tell he's joking it still hurts a little.

"I wasn't finished." I tut for the third time. "Okay, so I saw a man. This was around just before dinner time and he was talking to this man in black."

"A man in black?" Sebastian repeats.

"Yeah, he wore all black, even black sunglasses and black shoes and a black tie."

Sebastian has an almost worried look in his face, "Did they see you?"

"No." I say confused. "Why?"

Sebastian shakes his head with a comforting smile. "I'm just glad they didn't see you. A man in all black? I don't think I know that career but if they wore a suit and a tie they must have a very important job."

"That's what I thought. I thought if they were really important and I heard what they were talking about I might have gotten an infraction."

Sebastian nods clearly agreeing with my reasoning.

"But," I lick my lips, "When I got home I read a newspaper article about the man who was talking to the man in black. The thing is though that paper disintegrates really fast so I didn't have any evidence when I told our friends."

I look at Sebastian to see if he thinks I was dreaming like everybody else but he doesn't show any signs of doubt so far.

"You think it was just a dream don't you?"

Surprisingly Sebastian shakes his head. "No, I believe you."

My eyes widen and I almost drop the portfolios once again. "Really?"

"Yup. Some things don't add up but you know, honesty is the best policy and I have no reason to not believe you."

I feel my eyes light up and I can't help but grin. For some reason having Sebastian believe me makes all the difference but before I can say anymore he dumps his share of portfolios into the recycling heap. Dusting his hands off, I copy his movements and he taps me on the shoulder just as I was turning back to class.

"How many people have you told the story to?"

Although I had the opportunity to show Keanu and some others yesterday I actually only had the thought today. Mentally beating myself up, I internally grown. If I showed some of my classmates yesterday then I wouldn't be without evidence today.

"Just you and our other classmates."

"Anybody else?"

I shake my head to which Sebastian nods slowly taking the information in.

"Alright then. Don't tell anybody else."

"Huh? Why not?"

Sebastian lowers his voice. "Just believe me on this. You don't want to tell anybody else."

Sebastian walks away and I follow him back to class. The walk back isn't as awkward as the walk earlier but it doesn't appear as if I'm going to get any more information out of Sebastian. A few months ago I would probably be agitated in a situation like this but I've gotten used to Sebastian's mysteries moments and so far all of Sebastian's mysteries have worked out for the better.

Knowing the walk back will take a few minutes I distract myself by putting my microchip back in place. As Sebastian has already seen it I don't worry about him seeing me but I still make sure to cover the microchip when the accessory camouflages. Having Sebastian know that I'm wearing a microchip is one thing but having him know that I have a microchip accessory that can camouflage is a completely different story. I still haven't figured out what the microchip accessory's true function is but if it has the capacity to turn itself invisible it must be hiding something that I know I have to find out. Even though I trust Sebastian I can't tell him. Not yet anyway.

Even after having marveled at the microchip's complex yet mystifying design for extended periods of time it still amazes me every time I take a closer look. From afar it just looks like a tiny black tile but if you look at it closely you can see tiny veins like leylines running across the obsidian plateau. I run my fingers across the microchip taking in every detail and as I near the bottom I anticipate the words that bind me - "Police officer".

I do a double take, rubbing my eyes with my free hand. I must be even more tired than I thought because now I'm even hallucinating. Maybe I should see a therapist but the daunting idea that I'd have to explain the evil sneer and how it connected to the disappearing accessory isn't something I want to do willingly. After all, all I have to do is pay closer attention. When you're tired your mind relapses out of focus so all I have to do is really concentrate but then why does the microchip still say "Police officer"?

Sebastian casts a quick glance over his shoulder. "Do you like it?"

I raise an eyebrow not knowing what he's talking about but then my eyes widen as I realize he's switched the microchips. "Wha- When?"

Sebastian shrugged as if it were the easiest question in the world. "When you were turning around in circles talking to yourself."

"But you can't do that!"

"Well..." Sebastian starts, "We aren't officially assigned to our careers until we log our microchips and since you've always wanted to be a police officer I thought it would be a good idea to switch."

"Doesn't that mean you have to be a wall builder?"

"Yeah, I suppose that's not the best career but it's close to the wall so I'll take it. I've always wanted to be a sentry but I guess wall builder is the next best thing."

I nod in understanding. I do really want to be a police officer and since the aptitude tests didn't officially assign us our careers we do have a somewhat more flexible choice. Besides, Doctor Soy did say that the microchips we were handed were 'facilitating' so it shouldn't matter who got what microchip and nobody knows our official careers until we start work as Sebastian said. It still doesn't feel right though.

"By the way, the mayor said it was alright."

"The mayor?" I question raising an eyebrow.

Sebastian nods. "I was just talking to him before I started off back to class and you decided to tackle me."

I feel my face heat up again and I avert my gaze to the floor.

"What were you doing talking to the mayor?"

"He actually approached me first." Sebastian puts his hands in his pockets and looks up at the ceiling trying to remember his encounter. "I was quite surprised at first since the aptitude test was supposed to be kept confidential but being the mayor I guess he would need to know everything that goes on in Mytopia."

Sebastian shuffles a bit in discomfort. Perhaps his encounter with the mayor wasn't as smooth as he would have liked. I feel the urge to ask him if anything is wrong but evidently if he wanted me to know he would have probably told me.

"He also told me to hand you this." Sebastian continues pulling a white folded square out of his pocket, his slight awkwardness but a moment.

I take the paper but before I can unfold it Sebastian catches my wrist. "Don't open it in public."

"Why?"

Sebastisn shrugs, "I dont know. Thats just what the mayor told me to say to you."

"Okay," I say burying the paper in my pocket. "If the mayor said so then I guess I'll just wait."

Again, Sebastian looks forward, expressionless. From my view he could almost pass off as a wax statue and the only clue that he isn't is the repetitive cycle of his feet hitting the ground.

As we walk closer to our classroom the familiar chime of laughter draws us in like the aroma of a cup of hot chocolate on a winter day. Sebastian allows me to enter first, the door not wide enough anymore to allow two of us through as we did when we were younger. My shoulder brushes against his as walk under the door frame and in little more than a whisper Sebastian says one last thing before we finish the final clearings of our classroom.

"Be more careful with your microchip accessory in the future. It's looks quite valuable so try to keep it invisible."

I tilt my head upwards in acknowledgement before seeing Sebastian blend in with the crowd from the corner of my eye. I repeat the final sentence in my head, something about it not seeming completely right.

Keep it invisible.

There were so many other words to choose from. He could have said hidden or even safe but out of coincidence Sebastian just happened to say invisible. Just a coincidence.

Purely by coincidence.