Part 1: Asfalia Chapter 2: The Notice for the Flies

When I got home I threw my backpack down and immediately hopped to the kitchen digging out a bag of chips before planting my ass on the couch. There I was determined to stay for the remainder of my evening. It was the last week of school, no one wanted to assign homework and even fewer of my classmates were going to do it. Reaching into my pocket I took out my phone and tapped away the call out to my friends.

“Okay, who has any news to share?”

We were all still waiting to hear each other’s plans after graduation. My best friend Laurel already had been accepted into a great college so her continuing education had been the talk of the group last week. Certainly someone this week had more news.

“Francis got a notice during the last bell.” Laurel chimed back. She shared that class with him and we all knew what a notice meant.

Any boy between the ages of 18 and 29 could be called up for service at the border. It was meant to be an honor. You’d get your orders to serve five years, and then afterwards you’d have free housing, free healthcare, anything you needed to be set up for success when you returned was yours. The caveat being of course you needed to return. Five years was a long time, the border we all knew had seen its fair share of bloodshed. Few returned, few were cared for as well as they were promised, and even fewer lived beyond the mental anguish of everything they had seen was never easy. The common folk knew the survival rate was about half, those that returned rarely lasted ten years before taking their own lives.

“When does he leave?” I typed back and saw everyone else quickly do the same.

“No! When?” Darla, the only other female in our group messaged. Her Laurel and I had the stronger connection compared to the others. Darla being the one who gossips and Laurel and I going along with her shenanigans was what made us a formidable group.

“Damn, I never thought it’d be him.” Cooper posted.

“It’ll be fine. We can send him off with a fine farewell.” Rodrik typed.

“Dance Friday?” Darla responded without skipping a beat.

“Before the dance.” I responded. Rodrik was going to be polite and decline for some other reason. We both promised we would go to the dance together already and neither of us wanted to miss out on it. We had been an on again off again couple for the last five years, currently none of them knew we were on again.

Suddenly I got a ding Darla had messaged me privately. “Lunch tomorrow? We must talk!”

Damn, Rodrik and I already had plans. “Can’t girl, I’ve got plans.”

“Oh man I knew it was juicy!” her message flashed and I could feel the drama mill churning miles away as she squealed with glee at the prospects.

“They’re getting suspicious.” I quickly messaged Rodrik.

“Darla got to me too.” He replied.

Smiling down at my phone I didn’t even realize my mom had walked in, “Better not be dick pics you’re looking at with that grin.” She scowled.

“Mom!” my gasp caused me to shoot up.

“Oh don’t play innocent. We both had that talk years ago.” Her bag fell to the ground and she slumped into the chair, “Your father’s coming for your graduation Saturday.” She was never one to sugar coat the bad news. “Just told me today.”

“Why?” I scoffed, “Not like I’m going off to some military school, because yeah I’ve been getting those emails.”

“No idea, maybe he’s just realizing you’re getting older. How are you doing?”

“Besides not having any idea what I’m going to do after school?” laughing was a coping mechanism, “Guess it could be worse. Francis got a notice today during last bell.”

“Fuck,” she sighed, “How you holding up?”

“LIke I said, it’s easy to be fine when I have no direction.”

“You can start a medic fellowship. I know you don’t want to see any action, but the facility I work at is just up the road.”

“No offense mom,” the laugh escaping again, “I think after school I’m supposed to look for a way to get out of the house.”

“No universities?”

“Nope.” I looked back to my phone the messages had gotten crazy lately.

“Go on,” she smiled, “I’ll get dinner started.”

“They noticed Cooper!” Laurel’s message was the first I missed.

“Cooper?” wrote Rodrik, “He was just responding not too long ago.”

“Francis and Cooper?” Darla messaged, making sure to add a shocked face afterward.

“He didn’t say anything!” Rodrik typed.

“He’s my fucking neighbor!” Laurel wrote back, “The car just left. We know what it means.”

“Wait they didn’t do it during school?” I messaged, finally able to get a word in edgewise

“Guess they thought it was easier?” Darla responded.

True, but they always did it during school that way it was public. This was just wrong. Then again, Cooper was the youngest of an already enlisted brother though his brother chose the path willingly. Maybe he got some minimal privacy because of it? We had all heard stories about Cooper’s older brother; he was seven years older than him and had made quite the name for himself in service. My father always was fond of the family which spoke monuments to his dedication at the border.

“Fuck if they get me too that’s everyone!” Rodrik wrote and I could feel his desperation in the words.

We all knew it was nearly a guarantee a third of the boys would be noticed but two in our group?

“I can’t wait until Friday,” Rodrik messaged me privately, “Can I come over tonight?”

“Make it an early night. My mom’s home and apparently we need to be well rested for school tomorrow.”

I turned back to my mom who was busy in the kitchen putting water into a pot, “Rodrik’s coming over tonight is that okay?”

“Sure thing, why all of a sudden?” she called over her shoulder.

“Cooper got noticed.” I sighed and she turned around with a pale face eyes wide as saucers.

“At his house?”

I nodded.

“This late?”

Nodding again I feared for what this could mean. Rodrik was the youngest of the group, he was going to be 18 in a few weeks, maybe he would get lucky?

“I’m going to make a call.” her grumble as she snatched her phone from her pocket could only mean one thing: she was about to call my father.

She rushed to her bedroom on the second floor as I made my way to the bottom of the steps hoping I could hear some part of the conversation.

“What the fuck is happening!” She yelled, “I don’t give two shits about how busy you are. Your daughter just had two friends get noticed. One I think is sad, two though, don’t you tell me it’s the luck of the draw.” she paused and I heard something hit against a wall upstairs, “When were you going to tell me this? I don’t fucking care what kind of honor it is you’re getting it fixed right now!”

It was thirty minutes later that a knock at the door in front of me called me from the step. I opened it but put a finger to my mouth as I pulled Rodrik inside. “They’ve been arguing since you said you were coming over.”

“About what?” He looked up the stairs to the closed doors.

“I told her Cooper was noticed too and it threw her into a fit of rage. I don’t know.”

“Think your dad could pull some strings and get it dismissed?” He joked and made himself right at home on the couch. Why wouldn’t he feel at home, he’d spent enough time here it was practically his second home. “Darla’s going nuts by the way. Laurel knows I assume?”

“I didn’t tell anyone.” I shrugged, “If she knows it's her superpower at play.” Laurel and I had known each other since we were kids. She knew every secret I had despite me swearing to never tell her everything.”

Rodrik pushed his brown hair out of his eyes and relaxed as I joined him curled up at his side, “I did miss this.” He sighed, “I think I’ll miss it even more after school.”

Both of our phones went off and suddenly I was all too aware of his hand resting on my side.

“Ignore them.” He growled and raised my head up to kiss me gently.

More chimes and vibrations called us both and we rolled out eyes.

“Fuck! Happy Birthday Ashai I almost forgot!” Darla’s message sent fury of messages and pictures of cakes and balloons.

That’s right, I sighed. It was my birthday today. I was eighteen and I had no worry or need to be scared of being noticed like my friends. They were only after the boys it would seem.