Class was woefully uneventful. I had chosen mathematics since usually I only had to write numbers, not sentences. Even I could admit that I was biased, since numbers didn't require personal formation of opinion that written sentences did. It only required me to show calculations, which were simple, straightforward.

  However, since I can never truly predict anything, we still had to write an analysis using math equations today. I had activated my ear piece at least seven times to talk with an administrator, asking them if my analysis was accepted before I could move in. This pattern continued until the end of class where I rushed over to the playroom to meet with my daily buddy.

  It was a wide, circular structure in the middle of every facility I had currently been to. That’s why all the daily buddies I've interacted with called it the circle, I also picked up that vernacular for convenience of speech. There were exactly 253 rooms, no bigger than 120 cm wide and 240 cm deep. I waited in a line to get inside, and when it was my turn I showed the administrator the words embedded in the arm of body suit; “Lichen, F-43”

  Then they scanned the thin black and white lines beside it, waited for approximately 20 seconds before a click was heard from the device they used. Then they opened the door, “Your room for the day is 72, your daily buddy is already waiting.”

  I went inside, going straight to room 72. Previous daily buddies of mine had complained before that; “I always kept them waiting!” or that, “Why did you take so long to show up?” so I spent less time analysing the circle than I did with any other part of the equalist facilities.

  It didn't take long to find the room, what took long was to get there.

  There were no elevators in the circle, only ramps, which were physically straining to walk up on. My heart beat was already high from running up and down the hallway, so this added tension didn't help. Thankfully I had already removed my heart monitor, so my greatest concern now was just not passing out.

  So I was forced to go slightly slower and manually breath, but I eventually succeeded. Making it to room 72, I clicked the black and white lines on the arm of my body suit on the door handle. After a moment I heard a click, and lifted the handle to go inside.

  As soon as I did I was met with a mess of toys, mostly blocks and stuffed animals, on the floor.

  My daily buddy gestured for me to close the door, so I did and they released a deep sigh as they took off their body suit.

  “Phew- I thought if I waited any longer for you I’d pass out..” They exclaimed.

  I was always fascinated with how other people looked underneath their body suits. My daily buddy had the same haircut as me, the same inner layers as me, we were even close to the same height. Yet- if you were to analyse our faces and body, we’d be totally different.

  They had brown eyes with subtle displays of green, and coiled brown hair. Their face was rounded, cheeks poking out like a squirrel’s. I had dark brown eyes, with dark brown hair and a sharp, angular face that showed my cheekbones.

  As I analysed all of this internally my daily buddy stared at me intensely, their mouth forming into a frown.

  “Why aren't you taking your body suit off?” They asked, already tugging at my zipper, I pushed them away before they could do anything.

  “Because I don't want you seeing my body.”

  “Huh? That’s like half the point of this, why get to socialise if I might as well talk with an administrator?” They said, trying to unzip my body suit again.

  I slapped their hand away this time, “Because if you look at my body you’ll form subjective opinions on me that lead to misinformation.”

  They looked confused on my answer, backing away and letting out a tiny sniffle as they threw their arms around their body. “What does any of that even mean? We're never going to see each other again so what does it matter! Just let me see your face atleast, the last few daily buddy’s I’ve had have been totally ugly-” They were relentless, constantly trying to get a hold of my zipper but I didn't let them.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  I had backed into a corner so that they couldn't get to the zipper. My daily buddy had all but given up on their original pursuit, now sitting across from me with the stuffed toys on their lap. Taking them and throwing them at me randomly while they talked.

  "What's your name?”

  “Lichen, what's yours?”

  “Pear, what gen are you?”

  “Generation three.”

  “Isnt that the generation where you have no biological gender?”

  “That’s what I'm trying to figure out at least, what's yours?

  “Gen 2, some outsider kid with a weird accent told me I looked like an: 'Ethiopian' and that the weird dangly thing between my legs meant that I was a boy.” He, now identified as a male daily buddy in my mind, continued further, “So maybe you can tell by that?”

  “No, no dangly thing.” I responded, This is why I thought talking to daily buddies was so valuable, even if some were persistently stubborn you could get so much valuable information out of them. Which is why I goaded him, to clarify, “How did they even know?”

  “They said their past group or whatever used to interact with a bunch of them in a place called Africa, so they knew by the look of me.” He explained. “ Personally I didn't believe them- because there’s no way two whole groups of people survived outside without the equalitsts help.”

  My mind already assumed his opinion to be subjective, yet for all I knew he could have some secret hidden knowledge I was unaware of. So that’s why I pressed forward for more information, “Why do you think that? Isn't the presence of an outsider enough to prove that survival outside is possible even without equalist help?”

  Pear sputtered, suddenly rising to stand over me as he tried explaining; “Well they clearly weren't doing good enough if the equalists were forced to intervene!” He started, flailing his arms around as he spoke, “The outsider I talked to started critiquing my body and looks which clearly signals the culture they came from was shallow and oppressive, just like how the equalists taught us conflict and hierarchy started.”

  “And who are the equalists to decide what that looks like? Subjective and objective truths are blurred when you define what comes in the dictionary.” I argued back, knowing that my knowledge was limited. I couldn't form a clear opinion like Pear because I had too little to go off, but I knew that there was a better answer that could be found by not trusting the equalist at face value.

  If the world was completely observable within the equalist system then, and only then could I trust the equalists. But as long as the windows were concealed and our time outside was limited the information they gave continued to be unreliable. I had hoped I would’ve been able to have a civil information revealing conversation with my daily buddy for the day— but it seemed I was a bit too hopeful.

  We continued arguing until suddenly, a rapid fire clicking went off in my ear. Something similar seemed to be happening to Pear since he winced and held his ear.

  “All students evacuate to the emergency room, an explosion has occurred in circle room 129.” An administrator told me through my ear piece, and even without them naming it I could guess who caused it.

  “An explosion..? Now? During playtime?” Pear said, slowly putting on a body suit with a sharp frown on his face. I didn't wait for him to completely dress himself before opening the door, triggering an alarm to go off but I didn't care- The system wouldn't catch it in the panic, what I needed to see was the host club in action.

  I tried to go up the path to room 129 but there were too many people rushing down, pushing me down with them. This continued all the way to the emergency room, and before I could even dream of escaping it the administrator locked the door once all students were inside.

  Another click went off in my ear, followed by the robotic voice of an administrator instructing me, “You are not permitted to leave the room until the threats are taken care off. Lunch will be postponed until then. Do not move, panic or talk to anyone, even your assigned buddy.”

  A collective, small groan escaped the mouths of the students. Immediately quieted down by the administrators previous warnings.

  Meanwhile, I was scanning the evacuation room. It wasn't a room I was all that familiar with since over the course of 16 years and two months of my life I had only used it 18 times. And in those 18 times the room has persisted in being; Dimly lit, windowless, and detailless to my naked eye.

  Even if I pushed my fingers against the wall there would be no bumps. Over the course of those 18 times I had been in countless different standing positions- all close to the wall, all equally formless and useless to my research. Naturally, I wondered if there were tiny hidden bumps I couldn't feel due to my body suit coming in the way. But I couldn't handle another restriction if any of the administrators noticed me taking my body suit off to investigate further.

  I was frustrated, once again my physicality had failed me from seeing the host club up close. What was I supposed to do on my own if the crowd around me actively made my mission harder? Daily buddies like Pear proved that I was fundamentally different from my pears in both body and mind.

  If I couldn't belong somewhere effortlessly then I at least wanted to belong somewhere with people that had the same way of thinking as me. That chased, questioned, poked and prodded at the given truth..!

  Then, I heard it, a low rumble echoed across the room as a new kind of unfamiliar sound played in the background. It mumbled in my ears with its unfamiliar words;“Dancsa med aus, klappah era hender”

  I tried to decode the words but I couldn't- they sounded like complete gibberish, or maybe just an outside language my equalist ears couldn't recognise. I tried to lean in closer to the source, but the source was everywhere and nowhere at once- like the sound was embedded in the very structure of the walls.

  Suddenly, a thud, loud and booming against the wall in front of us.

  Then another, and another and another and another another- Until it cracked in itself, and in the dust revealed three excessively clad people in unfamiliar inner layers holding items I didn't recognise. Guards flooded the evacuation room, running past us as they aimed what looked like loaded firearms at them. I didn't know they were allowed to have those, I didn't even know they were allowed to use violence.

  My heart was beating out of my chest due to all the sudden shock, my eyes widening and hands shaking. Finally- they were here..! The..

  “HELLO EVERYONE! Accept our introduction as the host club, and me personally your host for the night Selene, to come to liberate you out of your ignorant imprisonment!” The person in the middle said, and if there was one thing I did recognise, it was them

  Because they were the person with long yellow hair that I saw through the window slit.