“Why are the cars scheduled so far apart,“ I mumble, watching the hourly magnetic railcar disappear into the tunnel just as I reach the platform. Sighing, I head over to the nearby pristine padded benches to wait for the next one.

The magnetic rail, or MAG for short, is extremely fast, using superconductors to push the cars along, but because the route is extremely long (upwards of 400 miles), the car takes a while to complete the rounds. The UP is extremely large, containing five layers with a car designated for each one, and covers a wide area underneath the surface of the Earth. Each layer is split into six sectors, separating living units, stores, schools, hospitals (emergency clinics are in the living unit sector), business areas, and an ‘outdoor’ area that simulates the surface environment. Since the only way to get from sector to sector is to take a car, more stops are necessary to cover all the bases. Each layer is split up to increase security if the Surfers ever drill down that far and penetrate a sector. If that ever happens the tunnels are automatically sealed, leaving behind anyone who couldn’t evacuate in time.

Nobody knows why the Engines don’t have more cars into the system to reduce waiting time. One rumor says that the Engine in charge of designing the rail system was always late for meetings, so they decided to create a system that they could blame their lateness on. At least they made the wait relaxing by adding plenty of comfortable seating.

I lie on my side, propping my head up on me hand, and stroke the soft fabric, contemplating if I should cut off the padding and take the materials for my bed. Hey, I hack my grades, why would vandalization be above me? Sadly, I don’t have my pocketknife on me, and I’m sure there are plenty of cameras down here, so I guess I’ll have to settle for my current bedding. Yawning, I lay my head down on the silky material and close my eyes.

As I gradually slip into darkness, I remember to set a timer so I wake up in time to take the magnetic rail back to S3-4 (third sector, fourth layer). Groggily setting it, I begin thinking about how I’m going to talk to my Dad. He’s obviously going to be pissed, and he becomes very creative with his punishments when he’s mad. The last time I came home with a grade less than an A he made me eat three whole teaspoons of wasabi, leaving me rolling around on the floor with tears streaming out of my eyes. That was when I discovered I needed to hack my grades to survive, and it wasn’t easy. Remember, everything down here was created by the best and brightest. I’m lucky that they didn’t spend as much time protecting this school’s website. Lucky…

Finally, I close my eyes and fall asleep.

Seemingly moments later, I wake up in a panic, my alarm blaring as I try to gain my bearings. I see the car slide into the tunnel, so I grab my backpack and run towards it as the doors open, leaping inside before the doors close a moment later. I look around to find I’m the only one taking the car, so I take a seat near the door. The ride to sector 3 from sector 5 is only 10 minutes, so soon enough I’m exiting the car and watching it whoosh away.

Turning around, I meander down the wide hallways lined with other unit’s doors, hoping that by time I get home my Dad has calmed down even slightly. I really don’t want to face him so soon after he’s read the report. I look at my phone and see it’s now 10:19. Great, so he’s had coffee and breakfast and is fully awake to come up with yet another cruel and unusual punishment.

I look towards our mailbox, imbedded in the wall a couple feet away from our door, and see it’s been emptied. I continue walking toward the door of our unit, and just as I reach it the door next to it opens and Daisy walks out. Shit. She’s the person I most desperately want to avoid. She’s also the person I mentioned before that I changed the grades of, and not for the better.

Daisy’s in the same grade as me, 11th, but we’re in separate classes thank the Engines. I really can’t stand her. We were friends back before she moved away in fifth grade, but when she came back in tenth with a jock boyfriend and a bitchy attitude I decided that the past was in the past and I really didn’t want anything to do with her. My parents don’t make easy, though. Ever since I told them I’m a lesbian they’ve been shipping me with any girls I talk to, and she’s been their latest target ever since she moved back. Now it’s almost like she’s trying to make up for how she acted by trying to start a conversation whenever she sees me, but honestly, I’m not buying it. I try to slide invisibly over to the door of our unit. She reaches for her mailbox but stops as soon as she sees me, and smiles. Shit.

“Hello, Tera.”

Since everyone referred to me as Tera when I was younger, she never switched over to calling me Murphy when she came back. I now prefer being called by my middle name, not because of some tragic bullying backstory, but because Tera is a fairly common name down here (seems like my parents aren’t the only ones who appreciate irony), and it would get confusing. Her refusal to call me Murphy is one of the many things that make me want her to stay away even more.

I continue walking toward our door, ignoring her completely, and take out my keys.

“Tera? I need to talk to you.”

I unlock the door as she continues talking, trying to create a mental force field to block out her annoying voice. I know it’s impossible, but when you’re desperate anything seems viable. I open the door and quickly slip inside, slamming it behind me. After all that, it’s final boss time.