I'm Not the Protagonist

The Article

By now Mary was next to us.

"Deep down inside, we're all different people, no matter how much the government tries to make us the same. We have different passions and skills, and if it were allowed, we'd have different values and takes on life."

 I took it all in. Is it true? Can diversity come back? Do I have a passion that hasn't shown through yet? I paused, shocked that I was thinking such thoughts, but one question in my mind scared me the most:

Was the government wrong the whole time?

It was possible. Perhaps we all didn't have to be the same to have peace. All we needed was acceptance.

"Now is the time to do something about it. Your act doesn't have to be big. Small acts of rebellion can add up and we can make a change."

His image on the screen became fuzzy again.

"Mommy, what's going on?" Mary inquired. I looked at her and noticed a different sparkle in her eyes. I knew that she already figured out the answer to that question.

"All we need is acceptance-"

The screen went dark. Benjamin, Mary and I all gaped at the screen. Clearly, we were all having the same thoughts running through our heads.

Now is the time to do something about it. All we need is acceptance.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked through the window behind our screening device and realized that our neighbors across the street were now out on their front yard. Both had grim looks on their faces. I raised a brow, wondering what they were going to do. They just recently assigned to each other as spouses, but they certainly didn't act like it. 

Realization was written across my face as I figured out what they were going to do. Both of them took off their bracelets that showed they were a couple. Then, they threw them on the ground and stomped on them, breaking their bond with each other.

"Daddy, why did they do that?" Mary suddenly asked, breaking the silence, and I figured that they saw what just went down, too.

"It looks like the government messed up on them..." Benjamin trailed off.

"The Revolution is starting," I muttered under my breath.

We kept watching out the window, and more acts of rebellion began to appear. People were walking out in public in their sleep attire. A male adolescent was wearing clothing meant for females. Some adults were playing on the play ground. 

"Look, Mom! They're breaking the rules!" Mary exclaimed.

The phone rang and I rushed over, already knowing who was on the other end.

"Hello?"

"KATE!"

"Yes, Harold?"

"You've seen the Differents' message, didn't you?"

"Well, yes-"

"So get started on that article! I can just see the Revolution starting outside my window!"

I growled in frustration. Doesn't he know that I already know I should write it? He kept treating me like a child, as if I don't have a bit of common sense in my mind. I was sick and tired of him pushing me around so much, even if he was the editor.

"You want an article? I'll give you an article!" I practically yelled back through the phone and slammed it back on it's charger. Stomped over to my room and sat at my desk.

"Are you alright, honey?" Benjamin asked quietly, poking a head through my door.

"Just peachy," I grumbled, and began to type on my computer.

Later that day when the newspaper came in, I read the headline and smiled. Just as I suspected, Harold went ahead and slapped my article on the paper - not even reading through it first - in a rush to get the people back in order.

There, on the front page in big, black, bold letters, was the title of my article.

"DIVERSITY IS MAKING A COMEBACK: HELP MAKE A CHANGE"

"All we need is acceptance," I whispered.

_______________________

AN: Yeah, so I tried to make a dystopian story this time. Tell me what you think.

Sorry about the wait. Life gets in the way sometimes.

Until next Wednesday (hopefully)! ;)