Louisa had gone into the girls' side of the city. Up until they were eighteen, they lived here. After finding their other half, they would continue to live here. If they got pregnant in the first six months, they would move out to live with their partner. If the six months passed without a pregnancy, the girl would move out immediately and be with her partner full time to ensure a pregnancy.
Leo was stopped by the half a dozen legions guarding the entrance. They trained their guns on him and he held his hands up in innocence.
"Why were you following her?" One demanded.
"Uh, I'm this year's loner, but I found her and I'm trying to make things work." They didn't believe him. Leo sighed, resorting to the one thing they all believed in. "I swear on the River Styx I'm telling the truth." They lowered their guns. Leo glanced through the entrance and saw that Louisa was gone. "D'you know where she lives?"
"Lou? Top floor, block thirteen." One of them snickered.
"Yeah, yeah, bad luck number, I know." Leo sighed. "Thanks." They let him through.
The girls' side of the city was clean, free of crude graffiti and had beautiful, breath-taking gardens- public and private. Trees and flowers Leo had never seen before were put out in astounding arrangements. The sweet, soft scents of the flowers were floating around on the breeze. Birds sang merrily, taking flight in flashes of bright colours.
Leo paid little attention to the picturesque scene around him, looking for door numbers on the first row. As far as he knew, there were eight rows, each row housing a hundred girls. The first row contained the eighteen year olds of this year. The second row was for the seventeen year olds. The rows progressed so that row eight was for ten year olds, who were living in groups to learn social skills, house skills and how to live with others. As they got older, they moved forward a row.
Leo stopped in front of a metal staircase and clambered up the steps two at a time. He moved along the balcony, hearing a door shut quickly somewhere in the middle. He quickened his pace and stopped in front of thirteen. The door had been given a fresh coat of black paint recently, as had the window frames. The window boxes had green shots emerging from the dark, moist soil, which would look nice in a couple of weeks. The curtains were shut, but he knocked anyway. Expectedly, there was no answer.
"Lou?" He called. "Lou, how'd you know I'm going to be horrible if you run off without giving me a chance?" Leo waited. Eventually, a bolt was pulled back and the door opened. Not enough for him to get in, but enough for her to get out. She left it ajar slightly behind, folding her arms and watching him expectantly. Leo was still marvelling the fact that his tactic actually worked for once. "Right…" Leo said brilliantly. "Uh, I'm Leo. Leo Valdez." He held his hand out. After a few seconds of studying him suspiciously, she shook his hand. Briefly, but still, phase one completed. "Um, basically I just wanted to say, uh, 'hi'. So, hi. Other than that, I don't really have much to say." She looked at him quizzical with a layer of amusement under it. "You're not much of a talker, are you?" Louisa just stared at him as if it were obvious. Leo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "So… wanna get a coffee?" He suggested, smiling sheepishly. She regarded him for a few seconds before disappearing into her home. Leo felt like he had failed, but she appeared ten seconds later with trainers on and slipping her arms into her jacket. Leo allowed himself a small smile.
Well, Leo thought, At least she's giving me a chance.