Aim for The Stars

Mari looked into the smoggy sunrise after climbing to the top of the tallest building in her neighborhood: an abandoned warehouse with twenty families living inside.

It was her favorite place to be alone, to dream, because that was all she was able to do. Born as an Undesirable, the most Mari could ever hope for is finding a nice man of a higher caste who would not mind her lower status, and rescue her away from the smells of The Pit.

Up in the sky, Mari could see the beginning construction of the Dyson Sphere. Soon, the closest star in their solar system, Optima, would be swallowed by a giant metallic sphere that would harness all the electricity and magnetic power of a star, giving unlimited energy to the entire Empire of Aria. 

Mari was trying to enjoy Optima until she could never see it again. 

While daydreaming and watching the crimson haze of the sunrise, a loud clanging noise came from down below. 

"Get off my ROOF!"

"It's not your roof! Its no one's roof!"

One of the squatters at the warehouse shook his broken cybernetic arm back and forth, making a clanking noise, trying to scare her off like a cat. 

"I'm leaving not because you told me to, but because I have school," Mari said.

"School? For what? You're too old for school!"

"I'm seventeen," Mari shouted. "You're old!"

Mari ran to the other end of the roof, the obscenities yelled by the old man fading into the distance. She got onto the rusty ladder and tried to slide down it, but halfway down it broke off from the side of the warehouse, and Mari clung on for dear life. All she could see at the bottom was an old generator and mud, nowhere safe to crash land on.

The rusty ladder bent over backward, and Mari let out an ear-piercing scream. She shut her eyes as she fell for what felt like centuries, but was only seconds, bracing for the impact. Just as her body was about to hit the generator, sparks flew, and her fall was slowed down.

She screamed louder out of confusion once she hit the ground.

The old man with the broken cybernetic came huffing and straining around the corner, red in the face. He heard her screams and came to help as soon as possible, but was irritated when she appeared to be fine.

"Stop yelling this early in the morning," the old man yelled.

"You stop yelling first," Mari shouted. 

She got up from the ground and ran as fast as she could back home, as fast as her bare feet could take her.

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Mari had one good pair of shoes and she wore it only to school. She had one good skirt to go with her uniform top at the private school she attended through a scholarship. All her older siblings chipped in money to send for her to finish school, and she was going to make them all proud. 

No one in her family finished school. All of them finished primary school, and a few finished middle school, but none of them graduated from high school. Her parents told all the others in The Pit how wonderful she was, making them jealous. They would berate their own children, causing Mari to be friendless in school and out of it as well.

That day, Mari showed up to school looking the best as she could, but it still wasn't enough for the other kids at the academy. She came to class, always the first to arrive, because whenever she came to class,  her desk was ruined if she didn't arrive first.

She sat in the back, next to the window, because none of the children wanted to get close to an Undesirable.

When class finally started, Mari sat in the back, stone-faced as usual, trying her hardest to be tough. But today was a different day than the others. Today, for the first time in her life, Mari was given a choice.

A man in a blue and white officer's uniform stood at the front of the class, with a cheery smile. Mari had never seen a man with teeth that white, and shoes that nice, and she knew that he must be rich.

"Today we have someone to talk to you about possible career options," the teacher said. "Next year is your last year in school, and you all should be seriously thinking about your options."

"That's right," said the officer. "I'm Mr. Sato, and I'm going to tell you guys how you can lead a fulfilling life, protecting our home, traveling to many places, and discovering yourself!"

Mari leaned in towards the front as a holo-screen showed an obvious propaganda-style video. Spaceships in perfect formation went off to fight the unnamed and mysterious "bad guys," while the wonderful heroes of the Vale returned to parades, kisses from their wives, and new hovercars.

Most of the students talked during the presentation, texted each other, or ignored it, but not Mari. When the video was over, she was the first person to ask a question. Her hand shot up like a rocket, much to the disdain of her teacher.

"I'm so sorry sir, please forgive that one," that teacher said. "We have no choice but to keep it here."

"No it's fine," Mr. Sato said. "What's your question, miss?"

Miss. 

The words hung in the air. Mari was not it, or the thing, or ignored, she was now Miss Mari, a student of higher learning, and this made her smile in class for the first time in years. She completely forgot her question and started to fluster with all eyes on her.

"Yes! Me! I have a...uh a question. YES," Mari stammeredd. "Uhm..."

Snickers and laughs came from the class, and even the teacher laughed along. Mr. Sato however was confused and disgusted by the behavior of the class.  Mari made eye contact across the room with Mr.Sato, and he gave her a nod of encouragement.  After seeing the look on his face, Mari tried again.

"I want to join," Mari said. "How can I join? Can women join!?!"

"It can't be in the military Mr. Sato," one of the boys yelled out. "It's not of proper birth."

"Oh....I see," Mr Sato replied. "What a shame. At least it is...trained..."

Mr.Sato gave her the same look of disgust the staff gave her, and the students and Mari held back tears. Other students started asking questions for the rest of homeroom, and the usual day of Mari's existence being ignored continued.

At the end of the school day, when Mari was last to leave, so no one would steal her things or deface her desk, she saw Mr.Sato. He was alone with her in the hallway, tying his fancy bright black shoes that she was so jealous of.

"What are you doing here," Mr. Sato asked her. "School is over."

"I stay late to go over notes," Mari lied.

Mr. Sato finished tying his shoes. He walked over to her with such speed Mari braced herself for another impact that day. Instead, Mr.Sato stopped right in front of her, took off his hat, and bowed his head.

"I apologize for earlier. I'm so sorry Miss Mari," Mr. Sato said. "I said that all for appearances."

"Oh, it's ok," Mari replied.

"It's not. The way they treat you is cruel. And I lied. You can join. Anyone can join. We are all equal, at least on paper."

Mari nodded, trying to hold back tears. Mr. Sato suddenly took her in, and she cried into his shoulder. After years of being tough, it was too much to bear. After a minute of crying, Mari wiped her eyes and mumbled a soft thank you.

"I used to be like you," Mr. Sato said. "I could barely read and write, but I was good at math. I thought I would die in The Pit like all my brothers. But I enlisted. You should too."

"I will."

Mr. Sato gave Mari what she believed was a golden ticket to paradise. It was a holochip that needed to be signed by her parents. Since she was still 17 she couldn't enter basic training without their consent.

However, there was a problem.

"My parents can't read and write, how can they sign this," Mari said.

".....find someone who can...."

When Mari returned home, just as it got dark, her mother was waiting for her. Soup and bread were ready for dinner, and Mari was excited to have two meals lately; one at school and one at home. Her home was a warehouse shared with five other families. Their section was blocked off with bricks they stole from a construction site.

When Mari explained what the holochip said, her mother burst into tears.

"You can't join the military," she cried. "You are so smart!"

"I need to! The school tries to find reasons to fail me every year. Next year they will find a way to stop me from graduating. I should do this!"

"Mari, do not throw away all you have worked hard for for a silly dream!"

"It's not a silly dream to want nice shoes," Mari said quietly. "Please."

Mari's mother looked to the ground as her daughter begged her over and over. She knew the moment she took one glance at Mari it would be over. And she did. Mari's mother convinced her father.

After dinner, Mari held her parents' hand, signing their names at the bottom of the holo-screen.

"Diana"

"Patrick"

The screen turned red and refused to complete when Mari pressed enter. 

ERROR: LAST NAME FIELD EMPTY 

"What do I put for a last name," Mari asked. "We don't have one."

"We can choose one tonight," her father said. "You choose the name, Mari."

Mari helped her parents sign their names and put her new last name.

Mari Optima.

So even when the star would no longer be in the sky, she could remember it everyday.