Chinatown

July 18, 2044- Monday

The paper airplane flew above Rise’s head and onto Lily’s desk in a perfect soft landing. Jackson hooted and hollered and Rise and the girls laughed along. Han covered his mouth to hide a smile.

Their teacher Mr. Jet walked in and picked up the airplane. Making a swirling motion he landed it onto his desk.

“That’s a fine place for it,” says Mr. Jet tapping the paper airplane.

The class watched as the textbook page numbers were shown on the digital screen. The students turned around back into their seats, sitting properly. So back to class, it was thought Rise. The class was a very fun lecture that was about cultural differences around the world. There were many colorful slides of people from around the world.

“I heard you all have a special cultural enrichment practice today,” says Mr. Jet.

“What do you mean by that?” asks Jackson.

“You’ll see later, have a good day,” says Mr. Jet as the bell rings throughout the class.

The group of five walked to the dormitory building for a light lunch and to change clothes.

“Mr. Jet was quite mysterious today?” says Rise to Jackson on the dinner table.

“Agree, that was strange,” says Jackson. Han and the girls leave for the track field before Jackson and Rise. When Rise gets to the edge of the track his watch has the words PARK ACCESS across them.

“Look!” says Rise.

“Mine too,” says Jackson showing his green screen with PARK ACCESS.

As they walk to their teammates they also have the same message on their wrists, they stand there until Han urges them to begin stretches.

The other runners are with Coach Palmer and have begun their training while Rise and his group wait on Yuki. Coach Palmer made it clear they would have their practice separate unless told otherwise.

Yuki arrives a minute later fixing her running shoes, he wears running shorts and a light shirt.

“Okay everyone I was able to get us approval to run in the city, a nearby park to be exact,” says Yuki.

Everyone is very excited.

They go to the gate at a light jog. At the gate, Yuki set the rules. One. They were not allowed to talk to outside people. Two stay close to the group. Three. Enjoy your time.

You could tell everyone was excited to see a bit of the outside it felt like they were coup up chickens.

“Also, there is a Chinatown on the way to it, we won’t stop there keep running and stay close to the team,” says Yuki.

When Rise took a step out of the gate he felt his shoulders relax. He didn’t know he was holding that tension until now. It was probably because there were so many people constantly hoovering about like the staff of the dormitory and the coach. He took a deep breath, although it was still city air it felt fresh. The group followed Yuki around to the right, out of the neighborhood and into another.

The first buildings they passed were mostly large brick structures a few had gated features on them. Until they ran minutes later they arrived at a more enclosed area. The smell of food is the first thing Rise notices. It is a sweet and tangy smell of the shops nearby. Some of the shops are written in Chinese characters. There are also other shops selling items. Rise wants to stop and look. He isn’t the only one. Nix points out a giant teddy ear to Lily. At the fast jogging pace, they can sightsee a little from the sidewalk, occasionally they must go on the road. The line of close buildings ends and they see the park across the road.

It is a small park with a few trees. The group runs their practice laps around the park. Rise feels the breeze on his face and feels relaxed for the first time in a long time. The afternoon sun is filtering through the trees just enough to be warming but not too hot. It reminds Rise of the times he ran on the country roads back home. When they all finish they sit down for a few minutes to rest on the grass.

Rise enjoys the grounding sensation of feeling the earth beneath him. Jackson doesn’t just sit he lies down when Yuki turns around. The girls laugh at this. Soon they are all lying down on the grass.

Above him, the white wispy clouds are moving fast in the blue-tinted sky. Rise watches from the ground trying not to think of the future. His future seemed to be tied with his teammates he thinks as he watched a cluster of clouds moving together.

Yuki suppressed a smile and told them to get up to head back. Rise was impressed she was not only a trainer but also ran herself. In contrast, Coach Palmer would not be able to run with his runners.

Rise watched as Jackson patted the grass next to him, reluctant to leave. It was the slight freedom they had that they didn’t want to leave the park. To be out in the outside world instead of in one location training.

Yuki asks Han to run in the lead and they head back through the same route. She stays in the back to make sure everyone returns. Rise smells the tangy food again and he is doubly hungry for after training his appetite is much more ferocious. But as they are not stopping, there is no time to grab a bit. He watches the people sitting down at the shop side with envy. The hot bowl of soups in their hands looks so inviting at the moment. The strangers raise the bowls to their lips; the steam floats in the air making the scent inescapable. It is dormitory food awaiting Rise. It is not bad tasting. After only a month of the food at the dormitory, Rise is craving something different. He can only imagine the other runners who have been there longer than him.

The gates close behind them as the teenagers enter the secluded running area. The sound of the gates closing with a clang rings in Rise's ears. Who knows when they will allowed to go out again. Yuki leaves them at the track to stretch and leaves for the day.

Jackson and Rise enter the dormitory together. Immediately the room has a bad vibration. The other runners avoid them, averting their eyes and not talking to them. Rise can only think it’s because they seem to be irritated they are not allowed to go outside of the complex. Jacskon and Rise keep to themselves they end up doing their homework at the dining table where they meet Nix who happens to grab a drink. The girls had the same type of welcome at their dorm.

“Yeah, the other girls are giving us the cold shoulder,” says Nix.

“Well I’ll be…” says Jackson.

“I’m sure it’s only temporary,” says Rise trying to be hopeful.

Rise focuses on his assignment and wonders about this new development.