MADISON HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS OF 2029 SENIOR TRIP: BUS 3

MALES
01. Auttenburg, Dean
02. Baker, Carl
03. Baxter, Jayson
04. Benson, Logan
05. Beverly, Kyle
06. Castillo, Gabriel
07. Christensen, Nicholas
08. Cooper, Riley
09. Dougherty, Keith
10. Eaton, Theodore
11. Gruenwald, Luke
12. Kistler, Hayden
13. Nicosia, Evan
14. Oberto, Blake
15. Phan, Preston
16. Rothenburg, Eric
17. Santos, Jose
18. Sepulveda, Brendan
19. Xanthopoulos, Wade
20. Xanthopoulos, Wesley
21. Yates, Scott

FEMALES
01. Andrews, Chloe
02. Belmonte, Taylor
03. Bordeaux, Evelyn
04. Carver, Diana
05. Dixon, Sophie
06. Emmet, Leah
07. Fernandez, Arianna
08. Fisher, Madison
09. Hudson, Abigail
10. Kemp, Olivia
11. Konstantinov, Mikayla
13. Macy, Lillian
14. Mhasalkar, Rabia
15. Moralez, Veronica
16. Nieri, Isabella
17. Patriksson, Grace
18. Ramos, Zoe
19. Vargas, Ashley
20. Wechsler, Natalie
21. Zavala, Victoria

"If this is the best of all possible worlds, then what must the others be like?"

Voltaire, Candide, Chapter 6

Prologue: Pre-Game

Friday, May 25th, 2029
6:30pm – Madisonville High School, City of Madisonville, California

"I forgot my extra cellphone battery," Riley Cooper (Male Student No. 8, Madisonville High School) muttered as he dug through the bag he had packed for the weekend. "If it isn't in here then it has to be in my locker."
"Of course you forgot something," Chloe Andrews (Female Student No. 1) sighed. "It wouldn't be a trip unless you forgot something at home, or in your locker, or in your car…this is why I asked if you remembered everything. Seriously, where would you be without me?" Riley frowned in response, but Chloe immediately fixed this with a small kiss on his lips.
"Even the most brilliant of men can be absent minded," Riley suggested defensively.
"I know, I know…" Chloe groaned, "Just go to your locker and get the battery before the busses get here. I'll hold our spot in line."

Riley nodded and took off towards the school. There was plenty of time for him to get his battery. Their chaperone for the weekend, Mr. McCarthy, wasn't even there to take roll yet. It seemed petty to bring up, though. He opened the door to the main school building. Since he was a senior, his locker was immediately in the main hallway. His school looked much different when it was completely empty like this. The linoleum floors had just been polished, the smell of pine-scented cleaner overtook the room. The hallway seemed much more spacious than normal. Again this was because Riley was alo—

Oh. He wasn't alone.

Carl Baker (Male Student No. 2) was sitting on the floor against his locker. He was a pretty short guy, no taller than 167 centimeters. He wasn't much for weight, as his arms and legs comically resembled those of a stick figure. Most of his body was covered in freckles, complimented by frizzy bright red hair that was never kept tidy. He was the classic stereotype of a geek – thick framed glasses and all.

Above Carl stood a few of the boys from the water polo team. Riley recognized two of them. The first was Jayson Baxter (Male Student No. 3), who was incredibly tall and very dense - both physically and mentally. The other boy was Theodore Eaton (Male Student No. 10), who was just as physically impressive as Jayson, but a bit on the brighter side. These two, and a couple of other members Riley didn't know, were circled around Carl. Each of the boys was taking turns kicking Carl in the torso.

"Fucking spaz!" One of them shouted.
Jayson tossed a handheld video game to the floor, shattering the screen. "I'm not gonna listen to that fucking beeping all weekend!"
"I mean – it's bad enough we have to put up with that smell. Didn't your mother teach you to shower?" Theodore taunted, grabbing Carl's pack and emptying it to the ground.

Riley shifted uncomfortably. Did they really have to be so cruel to him? They were only a couple of weeks away from graduating. Couldn't this whole bullying thing be put to rest? It seemed a little stupid to him. Nonetheless, Riley did his best to pretend not to notice and quickly entered the combination into his lock. He opened the door and smiled to himself. The cell phone battery was right there, where he knew he had left it.

"Stop it, stop…please!"

Riley could hear Carl beg the bigger boys to stop. He shook his head and dismissed the incident from his mind. Hey, don't judge me, man. It's none of my business. Not looking back, he proceeded to meet his girlfriend by where they were scheduled to be picked up.

The weather outside was perfect. One of the perks to living in California was that warm nights came early. The sun was resting gently above the mountains to the west, highlighting the blue sky with various shades of pink and orange. Madisonville High School was looking just as perfect; freshly mowed grass, trimmed hedges. Just in time for graduation. The seniors who were attending the graduation trip were gathering one by one in the parking lot, saying goodbye to their loved ones who dropped them off.

"People are stupid," Riley murmured under his breath as he approached Chloe. He waved his cell phone battery in the air, "Found it."
"Why does that make you stupid?" Chloe asked, giving him a puzzled expression.
"Oh, not me. The water polo guys were hassling Carl again." Riley explained.
"Let me guess. You didn't do anything about it, right?" Chloe put her hands on her hips. "You could be a little more assertive."
"Hey, why do you assume I just did nothing!?" Riley exclaimed defensively.
"Well, did you do anything?"
"…No."
Chloe sighed, "I didn't think so. Riley, high school is about to be over. Now that we're adults, you can't sit back and do nothing. Not with things the way they are now. You have beliefs, you need to express them. You need to make your voice heard. You're a brilliant guy with good ideas and not a word to say-"
"You're being dramatic," Riley interrupted. "Things aren't that bad. They're just different. Regardless, it's not like Carl is my friend or anything like that. It wasn't my place to do anything."
Chloe shook her head, "Riley, not doing anything about it is almost as bad as being the bully."
"Chloe, those guys could beat my ass."
"They wouldn't have treated you the way they do Carl. They wouldn't get the same emotional response they seek."
"These are guys we're talking about. They're not in it for the emotions; they just act like that because they can." Riley saw Carl stumble out of the school. His nose seemed to be a little bloody. Riley felt awkward again.

Chloe at this point decided to discontinue the conversation. Riley knew that meant she had more to say, but was going to save it for later. This would most likely be at a time where he couldn't escape, like the bus ride or the hotel room. Riley figured it was best to not say much of anything for a few minutes. Sometimes his favorite moments with Chloe were the ones where they didn't talk; of course he would never tell her that. He loved her very much, but she was very vocal about her opinions, unlike him. Perhaps that's what attracted him to her in the first place.

She was very pretty, about 160cm tall with auburn hair that was neatly tied in a braid that hung below her shoulders. Her almond-shaped eyes were a deep green, and her well-defined facial structure was lightly complimented with freckles. Her teeth were perfectly aligned (thanks to several years of orthodontic work), but a very frequent coffee habit caused some stains. Even though she almost perfect aesthetically, she was considered a "weird girl" for being so opinionated. Riley assumed this is why he was able to date someone as gorgeous as her.

In his own eyes, Riley was extremely average. He had short brown hair (cut the same way since he was a kid) and very plain brown eyes. Plain facial features, although he did have a very nice smile. He was kind of tall and a bit lanky looking. His shirts were almost always a little big for him. He did well in school, but got rejected from many colleges for lack of outside interests. What was there to be interested in, really? If you wanted to do music, it had to be government approved music. If you wanted to do art, it had to be a government approved theme. If you wanted to do extra-curricular sciences, it had to be…well, you get the point.

Democracy was a thing of the past. The United North American Empire (UNAE) replaced what used to be just the United States. The Bill of Rights and Constitution had been replaced by a single phrase: "A cooperative citizen is a happy citizen." Pretty much indicating the now totalitarian government could do whatever it wanted, whenever it pleased. Everyone was always urged to continue daily life as normal. Most people were too afraid to retaliate, and those who weren't were usually never heard from again. Many rumors were circulating that activists were sent to Central Africa (now owned by UNAE) to mine for diamonds. Extremists were rumored to be tortured or executed. These were just rumors, though.

"Continue daily life as normal." Go to school, go to college, get a job, buy a house, pay bills, get married, have kids, raise them and then you can die. That wasn't exactly Riley's definition of normal. His parents were never married, nor did either of them ever own a house. His dad only had money because of a legal settlement some twenty years ago, and his mom was an on and off drug user. He had no siblings, no cousins, no living grandparents…just him and his two dysfunctional parents. So how does one go about "being normal" when they were never normal to begin with?

Their head chaperone for the weekend, Mr. McCarthy, was finally taking roll call. He was a short, petite man. His gray hair was cut very short, and he had rectangle-framed glasses covering his blue eyes. He wasn't a favorite of the students, having been popular for giving very heavy homework loads. He did his best to make his voice carry over the chit-chat of the students.

"Finally," Riley said with relief. "This means we'll be leaving soon. Have you seen Wade or Wesley?"
"No, but there's Rabia." Chloe replied, waving at Rabia to come their way. "I think she's on our bus."
Rabia Mhasalkar (Female Student No. 14) was Chloe's best friend. Rabia was easily one of the smartest girls in the school, and was the class' Valedictorian. She was short and a bit pudgy, but pretty nonetheless. Her dark skin and light accent gave her an exotic appeal. Like Chloe, she was very opinionated and considered "weird" for being such.

"Hey, guys!" Rabia chimed at them. "Chloe, Chloe just look at these new shoes I got for this weekend!" She pulled what appeared to be a very expensive pair of heels from her luggage.
"Oh my God!" Chloe exclaimed. "Those are beautiful! Where did you get them?!"
"Awesome," Riley murmured dryly. "Now I'm in the middle of girl time."
"Hey!" Chloe hit Riley's arm playfully. "I can be girly from time to time. Be thankful I'm not the kind of girlfriend that makes you come shopping with me."
Riley smiled, "I'm grateful. Damn, what is taking those two so long?"
"You know how it is." Rabia remarked. "Their mom never drops them off anywhere on time. They're just as bad, never once have I known them to be on time."
"That's them!" Riley said, pointing out two young men approaching them.
"Riley's excited to see his boyfriends." Chloe joked. She and Rabia giggled at Riley, who by this time was paying more attention to Wade and Wesley.
"Don't be jealous because I love them more than you." Riley stated matter-of-factly.

Wade and Wesley Xanthapoulos (Male Students No. 19 & 20) had been Riley's best friends since they were all toddlers. Almost all of Riley's earliest memories included them. This was in part because their mother, Aurora, had been the closest thing Riley had to a real parent. She was an old friend of Riley's mother who went a more responsible direction with her life after she had the twins. Even though their father was never around, she still managed to make ends meet and raise two bright young men – even if she couldn't make it anywhere on time.

Wade and Wesley were unmistakably twins. They both shared the same olive-colored skin and well-toned lean muscle. They both had big, dark brown eyes covered with thick eyelashes. Their hair was jet black; the only difference was that Wade grew his slightly past his ears, while Wesley kept his very short. Wesley had a very abrupt, almost cheesy sense of humor, saying whatever happened to be on his mind at any given moment. Wade was a little more reserved, almost on the shy side if you didn't approach him first. They were both very intelligent, and received their highest marks in science classes.

"Life could not be any better," Wesley cheered. "Two nights in paradise…and a little something to make us feel all the better." He revealed a bottle of liquor in his bag.
Riley's eyes widened. "Yes! Dude, you are always on top of things."
"Yeah, that's what all the girls say, at least." Wesley quipped, nudging Riley in the arm. "Ha-ha, but really…it's homemade stuff, quite potent."
Riley raised an eyebrow, "Is it safe to drink?" Wade and Wesley were always messing around with clandestine chemistry techniques, but this was the first time they had ever made something they actually planned to consume.
Wade nodded, "Oh he made sure before we left. You can't tell?"
Upon closer examination, Wesley was slightly pink in the face. He gave a contented smile. "Yeah, it's definitely safe. Don't let Wade make it sound good, I only had a little. It could very well be poisonous. I could drink it all, just to make sure." He winked.
Rabia shook her head, "You don't want to do that. I think I may as well partake…" The other four gawked at Rabia in shock.
"Rabia," Chloe stammered. "You don't drink."
Rabia grinned, "I think I have reason to celebrate. Mum's the word, though. Here comes Mr. McCarthy."

As seven o'clock approached, the large white busses pulled into the parking lot. Riley took a seat with Chloe towards the back. The twins sat in front of them, and Rabia was sitting across the aisle with Taylor Belmonte (Female Student No. 2) occupying the window seat. These busses weren't like the normal school busses. They had very comfortable cushioned sets, large windows that extended all the way to the ceiling. Every few rows there were television sets hanging from the roof, there was even a bathroom in the back. The forty-two seats filled up very quickly, and the bus was filled with the sound of the classmates chatting with each other.

"How lucky is it that we all get to sit on the same bus?" Chloe said, getting her camera ready for a group photo. "Not to mention the one that's least crowded, I feel bad for the people on the other busses."
"Like I said," Wesley reminded her. "Everything is perfect. Hey, Taylor." He waved at her, attempting his most seductive smile.
Taylor took her eyes away from the window and smiled at Wesley. "'Ello," she said in her very thick French accent. She was going to continue, but the bus driver reminded Wesley to take his seat over the loudspeaker. Taylor returned her gaze to the window. Until the driver had said something, Riley hadn't even noticed the bus was in motion. Chloe and Rabia were already in deep conversation about plans for after high school. Riley wasn't too interested in that right now. His eye happened to catch Taylor.

It wasn't hard to see why Wesley was interested in her. She was insanely gorgeous, with a perfectly cherubic face and thick platinum blond hair that fell below her shoulders. Her big, round eyes were so blue they almost looked violet. She and her parents had just moved here from France only a few months ago, no one really knew why. She played the oboe and appeared to be very smart, even though her English was a little broken. She seemed to be fixated on something. Riley leaned his head against the window. He kind of wanted to take a nap, but wasn't tired enough. He sighed and closed his eyes anyways. Maybe when I wake up, I'll be able to figure out what I'm going to do with my life…

A few rows behind Riley, Luke Gruenwald (Male Student No. 11) was curled in his seat, rocking his head to the music coming from his headphones.
"How much do I know, to talk out of turn? You might say I'm young, you might say I'm unlearned. But there's one thing I know, though I'm younger than you: that even Jesus would never forgive what you do…" The music suddenly cut out. Luke frowned and took off his headphones.
"Dead battery…weaaaak," he grimaced. "Well, it looks like I have to talk to you until we get to the hotel."
"Gee, thanks." Kyle Beverley (Male Student No. 5) muttered, looking down at a handheld video game he was busy with.
"You're not even into video games," Luke noted, snatching the game from Kyle's hands. "What's the deal, man? Oh hey, not to sound like a geek, but you missed the power-up at the beginning of the level."
"Well," Kyle grabbed the game back from Luke. "Now that finals are over, I'm in that nice grace period before college where I have time to try other things in lieu of constant studying. Not to sound condescending, but with grades like yours, no one is going to be calling you a geek anytime soon."
"I can't believe you're going to college, man. You're such a tool sometimes…" Luke groaned.
"The Movement needs people like me," Kyle defended, but he began to whisper. "Knowledge is power, my friend. It can accomplish way more than brute strength."
"I think that depends on the enemy," Luke said. "And I would hardly call the filtered information we get through the public education system "knowledge", Kyle. It's like that tip of the iceberg metaphor."
"Blending in is also key, Luke. If I come across as normal, then I'm being discrete. People like you draw attention to themselves. If you keep running around with those extremists, you're going to get thrown in jail – or worse – before you can make any real difference in the world."
"Those are just rumors, Kyle. I'm not running around with anybody…"
"Luke, I know you. You're my best friend, so you can't really hide anything from me. You disappear from school for days at a time without a word. Sometimes I read articles about things, and they usually occur in your periods of absence. You are a clever and resourceful young man, who does absolutely nothing to live up to his potential."

Luke and Kyle were involved in underground political movements against the new form of government. These movements were collectively known as the "The Movement for the Freedom of People's Rights", or simply "The Movement". The Movement was in its earliest stages, mainly because people had different ideas as to what should be done to stop the government. Some of the activists believed that the only way to stop the government was through direct warfare. These activists were referred to as "extremists". Lately, several rumors had been going around on campus that Luke had been involved in an attempted bombing of the city courthouse.

"I'm doing what I have to do," Luke said with confidence. "Some people just think that action needs to be taken immediately. If we wait, things are just going to get worse. Remember Cory? He said his cousin's class out in Oregon just disappeared one day."
Kyle shook his head and dropped his voice to an even quieter whisper, "Look, I know things are bad…but that's just a wild story. Whole classes of innocent students don't just disappear. That wouldn't be very inconspicuous on their part, would it? Speaking of which, people who are taking extreme action now are the kind of people who are going to get all of us noticed. For now the government just sees these as arbitrary, isolated incidents. If they realize we're actually beginning to organize, they'll—"

"SENIORS! SENIORS! SENIORS!"

A very loud series of chants came from the back of the bus. Kyle rolled his eyes. He didn't have to guess where the sound was coming from.
"You have got to be kidding me…" Kyle groaned.
"Think of them as zoo animals. You'll be able to laugh at them more," Luke stood up to observe the ruckus. The bus driver's requests were drowned out by the cheering. She had eventually given up and turned up the radio slightly. At the very back of the bus, several of the water polo players were tossing a ball back and forth.
"Who's back there?" Kyle asked, minding his video game instead of the athletes.
"Let's see…Jayson, Theodore, and Keith. I think I see Brendan sitting with his girlfriend. Evan Nicosia's back there, too."
"There are only five of them, but Jayson and Theodore are the worst. Evan's not so bad. I've never seen him harass anyone. Brendan never seemed too wrapped up in acting like that, either." Kyle leaned into the aisle to peer at the back of the bus.
"And Keith is just their bitch," Luke chuckled. "Hey guys, pass it here!" He called back to them.

Keith Dougherty (Male Student No. 9) gave Luke a puzzled look. Before he could comprehend the sarcasm, Jayson Baxter (Male Student No. 3) grabbed the ball from his hands.
"Fuck off, Luke!" He threw the ball towards Luke as hard as he possibly could, who sank into his seat quick enough to escape it.
"Hey—" one of the girls happened to be the unlucky target. Grace Patriksson (Female Student No. 17) emerged from her seat. "Will you guys cut it out!?"
Jayson and Theodore were only able to respond with uproarious laughter.

Kyle shook his head, "Aren't there signs in the zoos about not provoking the animals?" Luke smeared an innocent grin on his face and shrugged.
"Hey, what do you mean 'Evan's not so bad'? He's strange." Luke said, rummaging through his backpack for something to keep him occupied until they made it to their destination.
"Luke, you're weird. Evan's really bright, just quiet—"
"Dude, he's like their ring leader! They worship him in some awkward, slightly homoerotic kind of way."
"What? You don't make any sense sometimes, Luke. You're talking about them like they're some kind of gang."
"Uh, they kind of are!" Luke muttered with frustration, finally finding a book to read. The cover was bright yellow and had "ACID DREAMS" written on it in baby blue text. He came across the book in the black market, it was an incredibly lucky find. "Okay, maybe they're not a gang, but they're like a pack of dogs…really stupid dogs. They're incredibly territorial, and Evan is the all-knowing alpha male. Think about it, if they don't think you're good enough to be in the same space as them, they make it a point to let you know."
"Yeah, I guess you're kind of right. What's with that book? Are you really going to try that stuff?" Kyle inquired with concern.
"Maybe," Luke shrugged. "Let me read. Sorry, I'm getting restless just sitting here talking to you."
Kyle frowned, "…gee, thanks dude."

The busses found their way out of the rural area of Madisonville, and were now on the freeway heading into the dense cities towards the coast. The setting sun had been replaced with a full moon, its silver light dimly illuminating the night sky. The stars were slowly being replaced by light pollution as they entered the metropolitan area. Traffic on the highway was somewhat busy, so it would probably be a least another hour and half before the busses reached the pier.

"Riley," Chloe nudged him. She was trying to hand him a black bag with the bottle of liquor inside. "Wesley wants to know if you want some. I told him I was going to wait until we got there."
Riley looked down at the bag and pondered. Perhaps it would help him fall asleep.
"Yeah, I guess I'll have a little drink." He opened the bag and discreetly took a swig. He drank a little more than he intended to. The liquor burned the inside of his mouth, but he was able to force it down. His entire body immediately felt warm. He shuddered and gave the bag back to Chloe.
"I don't need any more of that until tomorrow. That was intense." Riley searched his bag for a flavored drink of some kind to get rid of the flavor in his mouth. Every time he drank he remembered he liked the idea of alcohol more than actually drinking the alcohol. He found a soda in his bag and took a massive drink. It helped a little, but his insides still felt like they were on fire.

"You're wrong, you know." Chloe said, folding her arms.
Riley frowned, "Says the one who didn't drink any. I'm telling you, it's strong-"
"Not about that," she clarified. "You're wrong about the water polo guys. It really is about emotions. Not just to them, but to any kind of bully."
Of course that's what she meant. "Oh really?" Riley chuckled. "Those guys don't seem to be very in touch with their emotions."
"They don't realize it," she looked back to make sure they were all out of ear shot. "They're not that smart. Well, maybe Evan, but he's different. Anyway, they get a high out of it or something. They like seeing Carl whimper and cry. It makes them feel even more dominant, because they get a big response from Carl, and they love it. With you, it's different. Yeah, they could easily beat you up – no offense, you said it yourself – but you would at least be quick enough to run or smart enough to confuse them. You wouldn't cry or give them what they want…so they would get bored and leave you alone."
"Do you really pay that much attention to them?" Riley asked, unimpressed with his girlfriend's analysis of the water polo team. "I think you're reading a little too much into it."
"It's not that I try to pay attention, I just happen to notice. I mean, the popular girls are mean to me…but that's for a whole different reason. Women just hate each other on a completely different level, but that's because we understand one another."
Riley chuckled again; he could feel the alcohol hitting him. He seemed to have underestimated the potency, as his mind was beginning to feel very fuzzy. He wasn't sure if she was joking about women hating each other. "Well, either way, I guess it isn't going to matter anymore. In a week probably won't see most of these people ever again. We're all going to move on, and grow up…whatever that means."

The heaviness in Riley's rapidly began to feel overwhelming. Hadn't he only had one shot? For some reason, he couldn't really remember.
"Chloe, this stuff is nuts…" He groaned. "Hey, Chloe…?" His girlfriend had suddenly drifted off into a deep sleep.
Riley chuckled lazily, "So much for not drinking any…hey, are you…are you okay?" Riley nudged her, but she didn't respond.
"Hey, Rabia, how much has Chloe been drinking?" Riley peered across the aisle. Rabia and Taylor were sound asleep, as well. It immediately dawned on Riley that the bus had become incredibly quiet.

What…? What's going…going on…here?

The world around him quickly began to fade into a blanket of darkness. His body and mind completely numb, he stumbled into a serene slumber. The students on this bus were too preoccupied earlier to notice that their bus had gone off route nearly thirty minutes ago. As the last of them fell victim to the sleeping gas released into the bus, the bus proceeded east and headed towards the mountains.