For those citizens of Genesis who had lived before the war, memories of what they could no longer have haunted them, yet somehow they knew there was no going back. If you thought about it, it was like having more and less at the same time; like they had had to make a sacrifice somewhere along the line that they were only now vaguely aware of.
Alexandria was one of those people. Though she was barely eight when the war started, she was old enough to miss the good things in life. Of course they still had alcohol, though the variety was lacking as with most sweets and other superfluous things. Television still existed, but it was like being back in the days where there was only one channelâand it didnât play cartoons or Prime time shows. It was mostly news-like broadcasts of what the council was working on to improve daily life in the city. Needless to say, Lex didnât care for it at all.
Augustus on the other hand seemed to watch it whenever he was home. She didnât understand it. He pretty much worked side by side with the Council, what information could he possibly gain from the TV that he wasnât already familiar with? Then again, it was like the politicians who watched c-span, before the warâpointless even then, in Lexâs opinion.
Speaking of AugustusâŠ
Lex stood in the middle of the small apartmentâs even smaller kitchen in her motherâs old pajamas. She and her brother had been orphaned by the war, and there were no name-brand clothing stores that she could buy her clothes from as she grew and because of that she had had to wear her motherâs old things. At least she had learned to sew. On another bright side they hadnât been made homeless. This was the same two bedroom apartment they had lived in before with their parents. Some of the people that lived in Genesis now werenât as lucky. Some had come from other states or areas close to the city after hearing that it was being rebuilt and inhabitable.
She walked the length of the kitchen in no more than four steps and headed to Augustusâ room. âHey. Hey you.â She said softly sitting on the edge of his bed and shaking him a bit. âIâm not meant to be taking care of you big brother.â He wasnât asleep, she could tell, but for some reason he wouldnât open his eyes. He did let out a muffled grunt that she figured was intended to be a laugh.
âI made you dinner last night, you arenât allowed to complainâ he answered. Lex was poking him while he talked and he tried to bat her hand away, lazily. She frowned.
âYeah, and I washed the dishes.â She stood up and headed for the door. âYouâre now one behind.â Yes, she was keeping track. Why? Lex believed that Auggie, being the older of the two, was supposed to be the responsible one. Augustus believed that Lex, being of the fairer sex, should be the one taking care of him. They compromised by taking turns doing things for each other and Lex wasnât backing down.
Lex made her way across the hall to her room. There wasnât much to it, but it still found a way to feel cramped. She couldnât believe both she and Augustus used to share this room. She pulled out a dark blue wrap dress and a pale pink sweater from her closet. She changed quickly and went back to her brotherâs room. She knocked on the door frame to get his attention. He was up now but sitting on the edge of his bed, with what looked like an important packet of papers in a blue folder. âIâm heading to the school now.â She said raising her voice so he could hear over his own thoughts.
âIf you wait, I can drive you.â He offered looking up from his papers to see Lex now leaning on his door frame.
Lex shook her head, âNo, Iâll take the bus.â
âYou sure? Iâll only be fifteen minutes tops.â
âMm,â she hesitated only a moment. âNo, itâs fine. Youâd be taking an unnecessary detour to drop me off anyways.â She smiled, stood up straight then turned to walk out of the house. âIâll see you later.â She picked up her backpack filled with ungraded tests and other various supplies and headed out the door.
The Bus system was another thing the Council had recovered and altered. Busses and cars no longer ran on petrol, but on electricity. The school, where Lex worked was an old Boarding school building that the Council had redone to fit more classrooms instead of sleeping quarters. It was a good size for the amount of kids at the moment, but they may have need of a new building soon, though they were short staffed; even most of the Council managed to teach a few classes at the college.
Lex taught a group of high school aged kids, most of who were just being born when the war started. Her lessons consisted of historyâthings about the world before and during the war. She was a big advocate of teaching about it in order to prevent it from happening again.
Of course History wasnât the only thing she taught. The Council was big on teaching kids Science and Math early on; it was as if they wanted more workers in their field. Lex couldnât really complain though, she had no doubt theyâd all be dead if it wasnât for them. Or at least she would: Lex did not do out doors. Sheâd never been camping and didnât ever plan out it either. Though she had been a Girl Scout, sheâd skipped out on the camping trip they annually held.