Jamie's Adventure

Jamie's Earth is drowning. Humanity can't take much more from Mother Nature before she'll take it all back. And there's something weird going on on those cryptic asteroid colonies. But Jamie's a teen!

Jamie browsed the rec-com casually. He had a long day at the school. How were Jamie and his classmates supposed to get good scores on their tests with their archaic teacher-bot? Today it literally got stuck on the rail in the classroom. They had to call in the technician and it took almost an hour to get it moving again. Now he had his freetime and he was looking forward to it. Should he take a virtual scuba dive through the ruins of Venice? Or maybe just conference call with Gabe and Wanda. They could have milkshakes in a 1930's New York cafe. Then again, last time they had done that the rec-com couldn't figure out if they were trying to go to 1930 or 2030 so it glitched out in the middle of their conversation. One moment they were sipping hot chocolate and the next they were floating at the ankles of the Statue of Liberty. Then it booted them.
He had heard that on the asteroid colonies the students had individual school pods and the lessons included virtual walks around whatever time period they were learning about and that the tech was top of the line and the connection was zippy... according to Wanda. She was always hating on the mountain cities. Jamie didn't think it was so bad. Sure, their tech wasn't quite up to date but at least they weren't in perpetual danger of flooding like a lot of the rest of the world, and Jamie loved the forest domes they had here. They had cultivated an almost perfect ecosystem in the biodomes and they had some of the freshest air in the country. His grandma had told him that it was almost like standing in a real forest. That was where he would go. He didn't need a rec-com for the domes. He sent an alert to Gabe and Wanda to meet him there. He hopped up, ejected his Pak, kissed Grammy bye, chomped on a breather and ran out the door.
He dashed down the street. He knew he should've worn his UV poncho, but if he could run fast enough to the bus stop and make the next bus he wouldn't be in the sun for too long. His grandma would've scolded him, "Do you want cancer, boy?"
Of course they had cured cancer years ago but grandma's mind was drifting. She could have cured that too with a pill but she was firmly opposed to nano-tech medicine.
As he rounded the corner, skidding like in that old roadrunner cartoon, he saw the rail-bus doors starting to close and poured on the speed, slipping in at the last second, slamming right into Wanda and Gabe. All three of the hit the ground as the bus started to speed up. As they flailed trying to get up Wanda gasped, "Jeez, Jamie, you're lucky it was us by the door."
Jamie cast a sheepish glance around the bus. Everyone in the bus was staring at them, rolling around on the floor. Especially Wanda, with her rainbow poncho, neon hair and flashy jewelry. There were no seats left so the three of them stood huddled around a bar in the middle with everyone staring at them like they were on display. After a few stunned seconds everyone in the bus relaxed and chuckled a bit.
Jamie took his Pak from his pocket and slapped it on his wrist and a wristband shot around, securing it. 2:30. They had two hours and 30 minutes had already passed.
A feminine voice echoed from every Pak on the bus, "Next stop: BioDome Center."
The doors crunched open with and agonizing screech and they ran to the center. Or rather, Gabe and Wanda chased Jamie. The sliding doors opened and a blast of filtered, cool air hit them.
"You never wear your poncho!" Wanda scolded as they took in their surroundings. Signs circled the walls. Exit/ Entrance ( the one they had just come from), Beach, Mountains, Jungle, Forest (where they were headed), Farming, Produce, and GatedGardens Restaurant.
"Come on, I live like two blocks away from the bus stop. If I run that's like, two minutes in the sun." They made their way through the arch and absorbed the first real air they'd tasted in weeks.

Author's Note

I'd really love any feedback, just be nice!

Reviews

[Laura Lynn]

Is this a Utopian construct? I love it, who does not love to contemplate Venice. I like the idea of "floating at the ankles of the Statue of Liberty"...the love of my youngest adolescence was from New York and said he was Italian by virtue of his name, he most likely still is passionate about that language, culture, and it's people. I am surprised that someone in high school is so advance in terms of place. I would have thought writing bars into my scenery would be quite sinful back then. The exits near the end remind me of some of the theme parks in Disney World, but that has nothing to do with your composition necessarily.

[Dr. ThunderBunny]

Thank you! What is a utopian construct? Yes, the signs at the end were meant to evoke a theme park. Thanks again for reviewing.

[sakiasen]

The sentence "They had two hours and 30 minutes had already passed." needs a transitional thought after the word minutes; such as which or (to my dismay had already passed). Otherwise nice mechanical imagery.