Waking up early and not going to school is a lot weirder than I thought it would be and it's not because I never get up this early on a rest day. Speaking of rest days, today is the only day annually that everybody's at work as new interns such as myself have to be given the ropes thus making it impossible for each individual to follow their scheduled work and rest days. I can't quite remember how the schedule came to be but I do remember that it was a modified version of a calendar created by a group with a cool name like Sovnarkom.

Getting back to what I said earlier, waking up early to not go to school feels very weird. I've done some work experience before but watching the kids go to school whilst I take my path to work makes me feel a lot more grown up. Even though some of the children I pass are only a year younger than I am just knowing that I'm on a different path figuratively and literally completely changes my viewpoint. I meet a few of my classmates, or former classmates, on the way to work and if I couldn't figure out what careers some of them had from their strides after the aptitude test I could work it out from the paths they are taking.

The western quadrants of Mytopia are almost a direct reflection of the eastern side. Upbringing look the same and so do the little resteraund and shops sprinkled along the paths separated by large trees casting shade on the already warming morning heat. The streets are so familiar that if I didn't have help from Sebastian yesterday on recognizing how some trees have certain markings I would have already lost my bearings.

Mentally scanning the twist and turns along the path I stop when I recognize a line pair of footwear on a perpendicular path ahead of me. Looking up, I wave to Sebastian who is no doubt been assigned to the western side of the wall but he's already disappeared from the intersection before I even raise a hand. Facepalming, I trudge along my path as the police station gets closer into view. Things were going really well yesterday, if you discount my little outburst, but like always I seem to mess things up. I tilt my head back to look at the sky, no signs of the brief snowfall last night and wish that their could be a hailstone or even an ordinary pebble to kick right now but Mytopia's too efficient to even have a feather on the floor, especially on induction day. Even the cracks on the ground, which I saw only a day or two ago are now only a part of my memories and from the perfect smoothness of the floor it would even cause a sane person to doubt that their own memories disagreed with the impeccable solid beneath my feet.

I let out a groan. Nothing's going my way right now. I wanted to end my formal education on a good note and for the majority I did but with Sebastian, it's complicated.

Chuckling to myself in self pity, I swear the lady running the shop that I just passed must think I have a screw loose or something and perhaps I do. I'll proabbly hardly see Sebastian again but right now I need to get my priorities straight and stop being more worried about what he thinks of me than of my first day at work.

So many things have happened over the past few days that I've almost lost count of them- I graduated for one, I kind of passed my aptitude test and acquired my dream job which is another and I've come into possession of a disappearance/invisible microchip accessory that makes me believe that I've read something that can't possibly exist. My head feels like it's going to explode and I'm thankful for the gentle slap of cool air that bombards my face as I walk into the police station.

"Good morning, what may I assist you with today?"

I turn to face the voice and see a woman sitting behind a desk with the name plate 'Penelope' perched on top.

"Oh, umm, hi." I cough to clear my throat. "I mean good morning officer Penny, I'm here as the new intern."

Officer Penny nods before typing something into her computer. "Ah, yes. Aegis is it? Please scan your microchip and I'll escort you to the back room shortly."

Following Officer Penny's instructions I scan my microchip against the wall and my eyes widen in interest as a small monitor underneath the scanner presents me with details not only about my shifts but also my personal life. I breathe out a sigh of relief when I see my name registered as the holder of the microchip, this means that even if I lose my microchip only I can access it's data and more importantly it means that the microchips Doctor Soy gave us have no problem being scanned even though they weren't individually tailored like our classmates' microchips. In addition, the scan has proved that my disappearing microchip accessory doesn't create any interference. That's good and all as nobody will know that I have it on so I won't be asked about it but, although keeping it on a low profile is important right now I'm slightly disappointed that I haven't found any use for it especially when I thought it might have some special microchip boosting properties like giving me some bonus credits or something.

Other than my name and occupation, basic details are given like position: MOM intern, hours logged: 0, and stress level: 20%.

Hearing a whistle behind me I turn around to see Officer Penny with her hands on her hips and eyebrows raised.

"Stress level: 20%? That's higher than mine kid."

I laugh softly placing a hand behind my head. "Oh really? I don't know why..."

Officer Penny stares me in the eyes and I feel a droplet of sweat run down my cheek. I told her the truth, after all, honesty is the best policy but somehow her intent gaze makes me feel uncomfortable. Could it be because I actually know the reason and refuse to accept the answer? Could it be my relationship with-

Officer Penny clicks her fingers and shrugs before standing up to her full height which is only slightly taller than I am. "You're probably just nervous but in any case calm down kid, we don't want you reaching 30% otherwise you'll be spending your first day with the hospital interns instead."

I gulp as if trying to swallow all the words Officer Penny is telling me. I've heard that you get sent to hospital if you're stress levels go over a certain percentage but with all of this information being directly available now without having to go for medical check ups I'm not quite sure how to process it.

"Chop chop then." Officer Jenny says, wheeling me to a door at the back of the room. "The faster we get this done the faster we get to work and from the look in your eye I can already see that your rating to go."

Before I can even reply I'm being seated on a grayish sofa in front of a whiteboard with various scribbles and notes on them. The room I'm in is spacious with a few potted plants as well as a water machine in the corner. The room appears to be semi-detached from a corridor which leads to a lot more different rooms and at the end of the corridor is a stair case which reminds me a lot of the stairs we have at the Upbringings.

"So what do you think?" Officer Penny stands in front of the whiteboard with a large grin. "Pretty neat huh?"

I nod slowly. It's kind of bland but in a sense it's professional yet not overbearing let so. At the same time it feels free and cosy - I guess this is what you call working at home.

"Well anyway, this is our common-room," Officer Penny explains, "And upstairs is our living quarters which I think you'll find quite familiar."

Officer Penny sticks out her bottom lip and shuts an eye whilst tapping a foot on the ground. "I think that's it for the tour then. You'll get used to it soon enough. Let's skip to the basics then; do you know about credits?"

"A currency people use after they've graduated which is awarded for effort in the work place and non discriminative based on age, gender or occupation."

"Yeah, standard textbook stuff. So I'm guessing you also know your rules of equity and the other mumbo jumbo like what a MOM is?"

How couldn't I? I've always wanted to be a MOM and I've dreamed about this day for years. At first the acronym reminded me of an archaic word that The Worm deemed unnecessary for society but after devouring all the books in the library that weren't in the restricted zone I'm now fully prepared to be a MOM - A Monitor of Municipality, or simply put; someone who manages the peace of our idyllic world, AKA: police officers.

"Yes Officer Penny." I say as she tosses me a small parcel.

"Congrats then." She says as I open the parcel revealing police uniform along side a cap and a small badge. "Welcome to force Police Officer Assistant Aegis. You are now no longer an intern but a respectable upholding monitor of municipality. It is your duty to help those in need no matter how large or small the problem and to protect the citizens of Mytopia. Do you Police Officer Assistant Aegis accept these terms?"

"Yes! I accept!"

"Then I present you with your first task; do not lose your uniform."

"Huh? What? Why?"

Officer Penny shrugs. "Beats me. It's just something we've all been told by the higher ups. It's probably because we aren't exempt from material costs and I sure don't want to be working towards purchasing new uniform especially at these prices. Anyway, you don't have to wear the whole thing, you can just wear the shirt and the badge but once you try it on you'll realize it's actually really comfy. But if you do only wear the shirt and the badge do not lose the badge whatever you do. These badges are irreplaceable and it's a mandate that you wear them at all times when working. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." I place my index finger and thumb together leaving the other three to stand freely.

Checking her watch, Officer Penny clicks her tongue before resuming the conversation. "Speaking about rules, other than the badges we have two more distinct rules. One of them is that there is a room on the second floor that is restricted to all police officers except for the Chief. It has a sign on it so it can't be mistaken for any other room and as a secondary precaution it's always locked. Just to clarify it isn't like the room in the story where the white roses turn red so if you were thinking that then you're out of luck Pandora."

Feeling a tinge if red streak across my face, I scratch the top of my head forcing myself to look at the floor.

"And secondly, you are not allowed in the basement without being accompanied by myself or another senior officer. Again, the restricted area is locked but it isn't confidential. If you'd like to see the cells later then I can show you when we have time."

"You have cells?" I say in disbelief.

"That's right kid, we have cells. Although we still have prison cells here, The Worm has decided we follow a gjenopprettende rettferdighet system in which those who have infractions transition back into Mytopia easier after there sentence has been served. The prisoners we hold here only have red infractions and due to their sentence being so short that it can be considered as an 'extended time out' we do not implement gjenopprettende rettferdighet as it is inefficient."

"Yeahnoprettyfardiet?" I cock my head to one side in confusion.

"No Aegis." Officer Jenny says finding it hard not to laugh, "It's definitely not a pretty far diet. 'Gjenopprpttende rettferdighet" is a restorative justice system in which those who have infractions perform useful work in society for the duration of their stay. People aren't primarily bad, it's just sometimes we mess up and our mistakes occasionally have larger consequences compared to most. Instead of using primitive retainment methods, gjenopprettende rettferdighet allows prisoners to not only feel a sense of accomplishment but also learn new skills which can help them transition better into society. Additionally, the extra work on farms or in the mines allows us to fund meal costs for the prisoners but doing free labour is a much better way to spend your time than staring at a gray wall right? It's a shame that ex-criminals still receive prejudice though. The larger the infraction the more people discriminate against you but a green infraction isn't logged on your microchip. The thing is, a green infractions' service time is too short for gjenopprettende rettferdighet to be efficient and therefore not applied which puts many people off committing small crimes but the drawback is that if people are going to get into trouble they're going to cause as much trouble as they can, you know the saying; 'all or nothing' right? Well, that's pretty much how it goes, so the majority of Mytopia's prisoners are those who have committed orange infractions or higher. It effectively means that the majority of careers that require simple skills and high labour are monopolised by ex-prisoners of which all or most of eventually transition to said careers after their sentence has expired with The Worms blessings... Hey, kid, are you even listening!?"

"Uh, oh, umm. Yes, of course I'm listening." I say with the widest awakes smile I can manage. I was listening at first but for someone who likes to do things quick and efficiently, Officer Penny sure likes giving speeches.

"Hmm..." Officer Penny glares at me, "Alright, then repeat what I just said."

I suck in wind through my teeth. I think I grasp the main concept of what she was trying to tell me so if I logically link together the key points I shouldn't be far off.

"Okay, so we have cells here but they're only for temporary prisoners which we don't have a lot of. Most prisoners work alongside us in labour intensive careers without us knowing and most of them stay in those careers after their sentence is up." I tap my chin with one finger as I try to think of the next link. "Oh! And prisoners go 'all or nothing' when committing crimes because of the good restorative justice."

From the look on Officer Penny's face it looks like I hit the jackpot. "Well, good job on taking that all in. Do you have any questions before we move on?"

I wipe my sleeve across my forehead hiding the beads of sweat. "Now that I think about it, you said the majority of prisoners transition to the jobs after they've served their sentences. At school we got told almost nobody changed their careers."

"Don't believe everything they tell you at school kid. If everybody knew that ex-prisoners worked alongside them we wouldn't be called Mytopia for very long, in fact, we might have to change our name to 'dystopia'. The discrimination is already very hard for those few who return to their previous careers and going back to what I said about people not being primarily bad, why would we want to disclose their past when they try so hard to conform back into society."

I nod hoping that Officer Penny won't go into another long speech. The words of Doctor Soy 'not everything is what it seems' echo in my mind once again but Officer Penny has shifted from one extreme to another as she gets up and is already leading me to my first job as a police officer assistant.

——————————

"Alright Kid, I've been told that they need help weeding near the bull pens so head on over there and once you've finished just wait for me to find you after I've helped in the chicken coop."

"Bull pens?" I repeat.

"Yeah, see those big things over there." Office Penny points towards some large animals, "Just walk toward them and somebody will help you."

Without waiting for confirmation that I've understood, Officer Penny walks away leaving me to my own task.

The bulls are even larger up close and they have some weird things sticking out of their heads. I wave my hand out towards them, leaning my body as close to the pen as I can but instantly regret it when it comes charging at me.

Stumbling backwards I crash into something hard and when I look up I'm scared that I've walked into another bull pen. The man behind has the physique of a bull, that's for sure, but his gentle expression slowly calms down my nerves. If it weren't for that, even his spiked hairs resembles the bulls horns and I get the feeling that if I bumped into him on a bad day he'd charge at me like the bull just now.

A shiver runs down my spine and for once I think I might be talking to someone who has caused more than a green infraction. I gulp as I remember what Officer Penny told me. Discrimination is bad enough and I shouldn't contribute to it.

"Are ya lost?" The bull like man asks, his voice more gravelly than the ground around us.

I shake my head. I should ask about the weeding but with muscles larger than my head it's hard to speak up.

"Hmm? Didja say summin'?"

"Umm, well, I..." I whisper before blurting out something I can't pass off as something else. "Do you have an infraction?"

"Huh!" The man chuckles after looking around, "Now I've never been asked that question before. But. Don't tell anyone because... I don't."

My face must have shown my disappointment because within second the bull man is bellowing again, his gruff laughs vibrating in my bones.

"Yer funny, you know that? Most people would be frightened if I told them I had an infraction but you look as if it's a valuable treasure. Truth is, I don't have one anymore. I did though, an orange one for accidentally breakin' work equipment and if you asked me about a week ago my answer would have been yes but, ya see, after a few months on this here farm I've come to enjoy it and with my infraction status I wouldn't be able to return to me old job anyway."

"Oh," I say trying to think of something appropriate to now say, "You wouldn't happen to know where the person who needs help
weeding is, would you?

"That'd be me here, but I did say I didn't need no help, after all these nuthin much left to do now."

"Could you teach me please?"

"Interested in farming are ya? Planning on this being your career when yer older?"

"No, sorry. I'm a MOM and I want to try everything Mytopia has to offer.
Farming doesn't seem bad but being a MOM let's me help all sorts of people."

"A MOM eh? No wonder you asked me if I had an infraction. Still, even for a MOM it's rare for you to ask such questions. Just remember knowledge is power and not everybody appreciates powerful people."

I raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Don't we go to school to learn things?"

"Aye," Bull man says scratching his beard. "But, from one infractionless to another, something you won't learn in school is that sometimes it's better to go with the current than spilling water trying to go against it. Now, weren't you interested in weeding? Follow me and I'll teach you the basics."