Given (2 page)

“Home Ec. What’s the point? Aren’t we just supposed to lie
on our backs all day? Most of these guys can afford a cleaning service and
cook.”
Cina
looked pale. Krista wished she could take
the truth back, but that wasn’t possible.

They stood up and left the tiny bedroom they’d shared for
nine years. “I wish I could take you with me,” Krista whispered.

Cina
hugged her friend. “I’m so sorry.
I really didn’t know any of that.”

“They mess with our heads here. Sometimes it works. I’ve
been here since I was three. Maybe that’s why it doesn’t work on me. I’ve seen
this place built and I saw the turmoil when girls started coming here after the
laws changed.” Krista shrugged. “The younger girls are the ones who they’ll
fully brainwash, unless their mothers tell them the truth. If I have a
daughter, I’ll just make being
Given
sound great and
try to make her all patriotic. At least I’ll know she’s happy. I hope I only
have boys,” Krista said, then sighed.

“Me too.”

“I wish I were sterile, then I’d be able to stay here as a
guardian. They’ve got it the best,” Krista said wistfully.

Cina
had to turn down a different
hall for Home
Ec
, so Krista walked the rest of the
way to her class in silent contemplation of her mysterious future six. She
couldn’t help wondering if they’d all be older and ugly or young and hot. The
lucky girls ended up with a bunch of trust-fund babies in their early twenties.

She walked in the door and immediately began practicing her
round kicks on the first dummy she saw. Losing herself in her favorite
activity, she let her mind go blank. Krista used the dummy hard, kicking and
punching like her life depended on it.

“Are you all right,
Kristannie
?”
Miss Blake asked quietly near the end of the hour.

“Yes. Tomorrow’s my birthday.”

“I know. I’m going to miss you. It’ll be all right. You know
they do a very careful screening. The men aren’t older than thirty-six, and
they have to be able to afford to keep you safe. I’ve heard many women find a
favorite among their six, love even. I hope you find love.”

Tears threatened as the heartfelt words registered. “Thank
you, Miss Blake. You’ve been very good to me, and I’ll always treasure what you’ve
taught me.”

“I know you will. I don’t normally teach half-years. Very
few earn the right to stay in the regular population classes. You should be
proud of yourself. Your six will be lucky men. Email me at the school anytime. I
was once in your shoes. It was before they tested fertility. I cared very much
for one of my six. The required removal, so that the men could reenter the
lotto again, was difficult. I wanted to stay. My favorite was outvoted. The
others wanted the chance to have a child. If they’d gotten a lawyer, they
could’ve dragged out my stay, and possibly kept me, but that’s not what
happened. I watched the drawing every night, just to see if they received a new
girl. Last week, the last of them hit the age limit. They’re ineligible now.
They are as doomed as I am. I still email with the man I loved. They regretted
letting me return not long after they let me go, but it was too late to get me
back. They’ll never have another woman in their bed again, but I lost the man I
loved. Returning is far worse than leaving, I promise.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“I’d appreciate it if we kept this between us. I was one of
the first girls to experience The Giving.”

“No worries, my lips are sealed.”

“Thank you.” She smiled as she replied, but the sad look
remained in her eyes.

“I won’t be in class tomorrow,” Krista whispered sadly.

“I know. It’s been my pleasure to teach you.”

She gave her favorite teacher a small wave and left the room
as the bell rang. The next class was Social Responsibility and she hated it,
but at least it was all lecture and simple. She could zone out if she wanted
to. She went in and took her seat.

“So tomorrow you actually get to leave here? What do you
think it’ll be like?” whispered a younger girl she didn’t know well.
Kristannie
didn’t know how to respond.

The intercom beeped. “
Kristannie
Damiani
, please report to the half-year dorms,” crackled a
voice over the speaker.

She slid out of her seat, relieved that she didn’t have to
answer the curious girl’s question. In truth, she had no idea what it would be
like. Six men who’d share “custody” of her was a daunting future to
contemplate. No sex education in the world would be enough to prepare her for
The Giving. Marriage was outdated; men had custody of women now. After your
childbearing years were over, they could keep you or return you to the state.
There wasn’t a woman old enough to have reached menopause since the pandemic,
but that would be changing in just a few years. She wondered just how many aging
women would end up working as guardians. The government pushed baby production
so strongly that they forgot people still wanted human contact. The idea of The
Giving being for anything but procreation was discouraged. Would she find
herself in an old folk’s home for breeders some day?

She walked down the long, cold, white corridors until she
reached the restricted half-year dorm. A guardian opened the door and she went
around the corner to the administrator’s office. Each dorm had a separate
administrator. Miss Neal was wonderful, but she had a very sad job. Seeing the
girls leave every six months had to be hard for the kind woman.

“Hi, Miss Neal.”

“Oh good.
Please sit down, Krista.
Tomorrow is your birthday, but you know that. I’m afraid you won’t be able to
return to the general population before you leave. I’ve arranged for
Cina
to pack your things and meet us in the morning so you
girls can say your goodbyes. The drawing is happening right now due to the
unusually high number of birthdays for tomorrow, but there were none for today.
I thought you might like to listen with me.”

“Listen?”

“
Here.
” She turned up the radio on
her desk.

“Welcome, gentlemen. Today sector three has four birthdays
to celebrate. One is in Wisconsin, two are in Iowa, and the final young woman
comes of age in Michigan. Each state in the sector has an equal opportunity for
selection. Let the randomizer generate our first lucky six.”

“I’m the first one to be
Given
,
aren’t I?”

“Yes.”

Krista bit her nails, the pause was excruciating.

“Blue zone,” another man’s voice said; blue zone was
Minnesota.
“One alpha nine delta seven tango bravo eight.”
The number meant nothing to Krista. There was applause on the radio.

“Is that it? My six are one A nine D seven T B eight?”

“Yes, let’s take a peek to see who they are.” Miss Neal
began typing furiously on her keyboard. “Here we go. I’m happy for you, honey.
They’re young, and they’re all from Bloomington, Minnesota. That’ll make it
easier for you, no bouncing between cities. They have already drawn up the
legal papers required. There will be no bickering and it will be an easier
transition for you. They’re friends and filled out the twelve-forty-seven form
to be a unit, you can’t ask for a better arrangement. I’m so glad you’ve been
Given
to a group that’s both prepared and amicable, it
doesn’t get much more ideal than that!” She paused, giving Krista a hard stare.
“Do you have any questions for me? Is there anything that you might not want to
ask general instructors or guardians?”

“How does the ‘sharing’ work? Do I go to six houses every
night?”

Miss Neal smiled sadly. “Unfortunately, every contract is
different. In some cases that might happen, in others, everyone shares one
house. It’s very complicated. There is legislation about women’s rights and the
need for consistency, but, the repopulation act really stripped any say in this
from women. I’m sorry that I can’t be more help. I will tell you that, in a
situation like this, the men usually live close by. These men have been
planning for today for years, hoping for you. You are the thing they’ve wanted
most in the entire world. I hope you’ll think about how much they’ve done to
ensure this day came, and how desperately they surely want you. If any of them
hurt you in any way, besides the protected act of penetration, you’ll be free
to request a new six immediately.” She pushed a small box toward Krista. “This
is a panic button. It reports to our system here. If you activate it, we’ll
send a retrieval unit to you. The implant you’ll be getting this afternoon has
a GPS locator.”

“Do you know they use the same type of GPS for pets? Am I
someone’s pet now?”

Miss Neal frowned. “I care about my girls, Krista. I know
this isn’t the romantic future young girls used to dream of, but in these
times, we must be practical. There was a time when the government talked about
artificial insemination and just housing you girls here for life. I think
‘given-to-six’ is a much better arrangement. The government realized men needed
hope to have a woman, and women wanted to have a relationship with the fathers
of their children. No matter what you think right now, things could be darker.
Focus on the good in this situation and you’ll have a much easier life. I’ve
heard from girls, who felt much as you do right now, that they’ve fallen in
love with one, if not all, of their six after being Given. Give it time before
you decide you’re unhappy. Give these men who worked so hard to earn you a
chance for happiness.”

Miss Neal was a wise woman. Krista nodded. “Okay, sorry.”

“Oh sweetie, don’t apologize. You aren’t the first girl to
experience this anger and you won’t be the last. This isn’t easy for you, but
it is for the best. We aren’t supposed to have favorites, but you’ve been here
for so long, many of us feel like you are our own little girl. I’m going to
miss you. You might be motherless, but you have far more mothers than you
realize.”

Those words choked Krista up a bit and she swallowed the
lump in her throat. “Thanks.”

Miss Neal reached out and patted her hand affectionately.
“Keep in touch. Six months from now, I can’t wait to hear about how much you
care for your six and how good they are to you. You are already precious to
them, I’m certain of it. Everything will be all right, I promise.”

Kristannie
wished she could be as
confident as the older woman sounded.

“Now, let’s see.” Miss Neal flipped through some paperwork.
“We have several agenda items for you this afternoon. The implant first, and
then you’ll have a special video to watch with Miss Stanley. Afterward, you get
to enjoy the afternoon by tending to yourself in the spa room. Shave your legs,
take a bubble bath, paint your finger and toe nails, just relax, and remember
you’ll be all right. Go to Miss Stanley’s room for a physical and the implant
first. I’m told it doesn’t hurt much at all.”

Krista nodded grimly. Miss Neal’s words didn’t take away the
butterflies fluttering in her stomach or her dread of Miss Stanley. She stood.
The older woman grabbed her hand and Krista turned in surprise.

“You’re stronger than most girls I’ve seen leave, Krista.
Remember, a woman’s power has always been strongest over men who adore them.
Make your six adore you.” The stark honesty in the woman’s expression gave
Krista a moment’s pause.

“How?”

Miss Neal smiled slowly. “I hope the video may shed some
light on the subject. You girls are very sheltered here, but I know you talk. I
was once one of you before it was determined I was sterile. Be bold, Krista,
don’t let fear rule your actions tomorrow. They will love you if you remember
to trust yourself.”

Krista nodded and the other woman let go of the hand she’d
captured. “Thank you.”

“There’s more to the world out there than the whims of men,
you’ll see. I’ve been here far too long. You are lucky, even if you don’t
realize it.”

Krista gave the guardian one final glance as she went out
the door. Miss Stanley’s office was just around the corner and Krista ducked
her head in the door. The woman looked up, her usual sour scowl etched deeply
into her features. When she saw Krista, her eyes softened just a bit. “Hello
there, birthday girl. I hate to see you go.”

The uncharacteristic kindness of the woman’s tone made
Krista’s eyes widen. When the guardian stood up chuckling, Krista realized how
her expression must look and managed to pull herself together.

“I know what the girls think of me. You’ve always been a
good girl, and I’m sad to see you leave, but I’m happy for you. There’s a
great, big world waiting for your spark,
Kristannie
,
but before you can leave, I have to sign off on your medical evaluation and
show you the instructional video. I’m
sorry,
this is
basically government-approved porn. Let’s get your implant and exam out of the
way first.” She handed Krista an alcohol swab. “Rub your upper arm, the left
one, with this.”

Tearing open the package, Krista did as requested. A
movement out of the corner of her eye was her only warning. “Ouch!” She jumped
and covered her aching upper right arm with her left hand.

“Sorry, it’s easier if you don’t see it coming.” Miss
Stanley moved to place a band-aid over the small drops of blood where the
implant had gone into Krista’s arm. “I learned a long time ago never to tell a
girl when it’s coming. Don’t worry about infection. This device cleaned your
skin just before the implant went in. If everything goes well for you, the
device will function for a least a decade before it needs to be replaced.”

“You mean I have to have it taken out?”

“Yes, and a replacement put back in, but you have many years
before you have to worry about it. Put on this gown and hop up on the table.”
Miss Stanley left the room.