The Process.

English homework.

The Process.

Fluid surrounded my pale body, filling my lungs as I struggled for breath. Around me, the rest of my class groaned and begged in gargles and spits. Their pleas were muffled and their words went unheard. I wasn't panicking like they were. I tried to stay calm because I knew it was right. In a way, this was our transition into adulthood. We would leave this bath mature, with a new perspective of life. We, sons of the soil would no longer carry on in our cold homes thinking the sky's the limit. No, we would have our future planned, set out for us. We will be ready.

Rising out of the liquid by a force we could not control, we found ourselves able to breath again. Our tanned bodies lay across vicious silver bars that dug violently into our backs, but we still felt safe. The force tired and the cage relaxed. I searched my class. Most of their bodies lay limp and I prayed to the high heavens that they had merely passed out. Any other thoughts seemed inconceivable. It was not supposed to happen like this. We were meant to return to the world different in more ways than just our looks. We were meant to change for the better. Our lives were never supposed to be put at risk. Or lost.

Grief at the realisation that I may have been the sole survivor attempted to overpower me. I tried to push it away, but the thought was all too possible. Something else was becoming apparent in my suddenly meaningless life. The ground beneath me was moving. With the jerks and shakes of our cage, the lifeless bodies of my companions tossed and turned. I followed suit. I felt nauseous, and my head ached. My sense of reality must have been distorted because I felt upside down. No, I really was upside down. My friends began to fall out of our cage and onto a soft, grey bed beneath.

The fall was terrifying. As I hit the cushion beneath, I realised it was not as comfortable as I had assumed. I felt my body tear in half. At first, I could only feel pain, but then my body numbed and my head felt weak. I died watching the grey floor embrace us.

"Who ordered four dollars worth of chips?"