Hello there! Sorry it took so long, I was busy. Just saying, please answer my poll on my profile please. I want closure on what you all want. But I would probably do all three of those because I like my ideas and I have another idea for them. Also, speaking of that poll, there might be a new book coming out. It'll be interesting, juggling 7 books to write in, maybe even more. Thanks for everything everyone! - Steven
Chapter 2: Job Day
Allan was walking to work on Monday like he promised. He had prepared for the conference he had to do over the weekend. He had his laptop with him and a stack of papers for it. Hopefully his ideas were good, just like his mother. Allan was a bit apprehensive as he walked back into the power plant for his first day at work. He walked in and asked the secretary once more from Conference Room 2. She sent him to the left, where he found everyone else waiting for him. He walked into the room and sat down. The others all seemed around his age except one of them, who was probably recording the ideas and seeing if they were good or not. "This could be easy." he thought. He walked up to the front and set up everything. Once he finished, the man gave a gesture for him to proceed. "So, I had a look at the designs of the plant and some other ideas from other people who work here, both past and present, including my mother. That gave me the conclusion that our power plant is powerful, but it isn't too efficient. I drawn up some plans that we could use to make the plant more efficient…" the teenager said, digging through his bag for his blueprints.
Allan then proceeded to spend the next hour or so talking on how they could install an engine to make the power plant run more efficiently and the fact that it was really easy to put together and also to buy the parts for. He finally finished after a while, out of breath from the nonstop talking. The man who was evaluating his work looked over his notes before looking up at me. "I think that we can consider this a possible possibility to invest in. I'll speak to the board and see what they want." "Really?" I said. "Yeah. It sounds pretty good. Come back Wednesday, when we build new things. We'll see if your idea was accepted or not." the man replied. "Thank you." the teenager told the man, both shocked and grateful. He didn't know what to say, but before he could say anything, the man left for the board. Allan left the power plant once more happy and fulfilled in his lifelong dream, to work as a geologist in the power plant just like his mother. As he left, he couldn't wait to see if his ideas would be implemented or not. He would have to wait for Wednesday to find out.
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Wednesday came, and with it came an excited Allan running towards the power plant, eager to see if the board had accepted his suggestions. People were staring at him as he passed by, wondering what the heck he was doing, running so fast towards the power plant so early in the morning. Once Allan got there, the man who endorsed his ideas to the board was already waiting for him inside. The man looked him over before saying, "I thought you would come as soon as you could. You seemed quite excited at the fact that your ideas could be made. Follow me, I'll show you that engine you were thinking about." Allan stopped at that. "Wait." he said slowly. "The board actually chose to build it?" "Yes. With previous knowledge of what your mother did for us, it seemed that this design showed promise. Now come, before they are finished." Allan quickly followed the man through the long winding hallways towards a back room with no windows.
The man opened the door with a key card and stepped in. Allan did as well. Once he did, he gaped in awe at his idea come to life. The engine had been built just how he had envisioned it. It was a decent size, built with steel and iron. It was nothing special, but there was one thing about it, and that was the cold water being poured into it. The engine used cold water to power itself, which would power any other machine both faster and more efficiently. It was truly a great invention, and it would now be used in his very place. The man nodded in approval to send the engine off for use. He turned to the young teenager, somewhat off into a daydream. "This will help our power plant a lot." he said, snapping Allan out of his trance. "I thank you for this. I would think that your mother would be proud of you." The teenager's eyes watered a bit at that, but he blinked the tears away. "No problem." he replied. "Just doing my job." The man smiled at that. "We just need some paperwork done explaining your invention more thoroughly. Go to Work Room 6. Do the paperwork there and hand me it in office." "Yes sir." Allan replied before leaving for the work room. Once he got there, he sat in one of the chairs and got to work, writing down the paperwork the man had asked for.
After maybe a hour or two, Allan had finished the paperwork, his hand and arm exhausted from all the writing. He picked up the stack of papers before bringing them towards the man's office, which was next to the work room. He went in and dropped off the papers on the man's desk, who looked up in surprise. "Well done." he said. "You should stay, if you don't have a TV. There's something the Capitol wants to tell everyone." Allan was shocked. He did have a TV at home, but he haven't heard anything about this, and he was okay with watching it here in the power plant. He didn't want to miss it as well, so he nodded. The man took the young teenager to a room where many were watching a large TV as more people poured in. Soon, the room was jammed with all the people watched the TV, waiting in anticipation for what was in store. The screen blazed to life showing the Capitol seal before flashing to a projection of the president up on the podium.
"Today, we have all gathered to listen for a special announcement regarding our Hunger Games." he announced. Many shuddered at the mention of this dreaded annual event in the room. It was a ruthless slaughter for amusement because of people who had once rebelled against the Capitol's actions. Now every year, each district sent one boy and girl between the ages of 12-19 to play in the sadistic matches, where they were all slaughtered each other for the world to see until one player was left standing, which crowned them victor of that Hunger Games. Allan was mesmerized as he watched the man continued his speech.
"You see, when the Hunger Games were created, it was set that after 24 of them, there would be a special one called the Quarter Quell, to remind you that the rebels caused these games to happen, that it is your own fault that this happens to friends and loved ones." A young boy walks up with a box, the lid taken off. The president fishes a envelope out of it and opens it. "And today, we honor the first Quarter Quell." he announced. He started to read the fine print on the slip of paper he pulled out of the envelope. "As a reminder that it was the rebels's fault that the Hunger Games were created, each district must have all their citizens vote on who is sent into the Hunger Games. Many gasped at the horror of what they just heard. A man ran out of the room sobbing. A woman fainted, caught by a man, probably her husband. Even the man who hired me shed some tears over this fact, that he would have to vote a innocent girl or boy to their doom, most likely. As Allan stared at the screen as the Capitol seal came back before the screen turned itself off, he thought about something. He was still at the ripe teenage age of 17, so he still qualified for the Hunger Games. Would people vote for him? Many didn't know him, so that was a possibility, just send someone you didn't know. Many would feel less guilt in playing by those rules. "Please." he thought, staring up. "Please don't let me go through this." But the seed of doubt was already sown into his brain, slowly growing, nagging at him that his life, which had been just getting good could end in the next week or so.
Well, hopefully by now you know what's going to happen to our friend Allan over here. Can he do it? Find out in the next chapter! - Steven