The next time they let me out, I was ready. I plastered a huge smile on my face and walked with just the right amount of bounce in my step. When the brainless BLI worshipers stopped me to talk, I went along with it. I saw an official looking at me from a corner. They were nodding their head. Clearly I was doing something right.
I searched for any sign that I wasn't the only sane person left. I was overjoyed when I found it. My friend Jill was sitting at a table. And she looked completely normal. By normal, I mean her arms were crossed and she was slumped in her seat, sulking. I walked over and sat next to her. Then I waited.
She sighed, "Well, go ahead."
"Go ahead?" I asked.
"Yeah. Spew all your BLI is so great bullshit so I can walk away."
I laughed, "You're still you!" Then I hugged her. She hates when I hug her.
She was frozen for a second, "What?"
"They didn't brainwash you! I'm not the only one!"
All the pieces seemed to click in her brain, "Oh. You're not a mindless shell."
"Duh," I rolled my eyes at her.
"Good. Robert's not either. He got put in isolation for three months because he attacked an official."
"Sounds like something he'd do. How are you faring?"
"They don't leave me in my room. I get to come out for an hour every day. Nothing more than that though."
"Well, that probably has something to do with the fact that you sit alone. Get out and blend in. That's what I'm doing."
"Are you guys enjoying this place as much as I am?" The voice belonged to Belinda, my older sister.
I looked at her in shock. She was standing with perfect posture. A silly grin was on her face. Her eyes were dulled and lifeless. I had lost her too.
"Shut up and go away fucktard," Jill spat.
"There’s no cussing in the Industry for Better Lives," Bell said, but this time she had a giggle in her voice. She sat down, "I'm glad you guys are all good."
I grabbed her into a hug. It was the second time that day that I hugged someone who hated them. I didn't care. She was my sister. More importantly, she was still my sister, not some brainwashed idiot wearing her face.
An official approached behind Jill. Bell and I sat up straight and put on grins. Jill looked at us like we were crazy.
"Jillian, it is time for you to return to your quarters," The woman said.
Jill seemed to get what we were doing then. Her face molded to match ours and she turned around, "Yes, ma'am. Thank you for alerting me. I was worried I'd go over my time."
The woman's eyes lit up with something feral. Then she turned and led Jill away.
Bell turned to me, "Let's go mingle. It's what they like."
I did as I was told and blended with the crowd. I have no idea how many times I had to say, "Long live the Better Living!" that day, but it was way too many. This was not going to be easy, but I had to do it. I couldn't stay in that prison cell of a room any more.
"Miranda, I am here to show you to your new quarters," a voice said behind me.
I turned to see a male official standing with a grin on his face. Poor guy would have almost been attractive if it weren't for the botched haircut, unnatural smile, and hideous uniform.
"Yes, sir. Please lead the way."
He nodded and turned. I decided to play my situation up a bit, "I'm so glad the Industry trusts me enough to give me a new room. It's truly an honor."
He grunted, then stopped in front of a door, "This is your new living space. I will come in with you and explain the rules and your new restrictions."
He unlocked the door and I stepped inside. I was amazed. I had a window. And sitting on a desk in the corner was my laptop. I ran over and stroked it. This was unbelievable.
"You are limited to BLI approved sites. Your computer has been set up to block out the others. From now on you are free to leave your room as you wish, but you are limited to the dorms and commons area. You are not by any means allowed elsewhere in the building. Do you understand these rules?"
"Yes, sir. I understand."
He nodded and closed the door, "All right. Cut the crap. You and I both know you're faking."
I blinked. This was probably some sort of trap, "Faking what, sir?"
"Faking your programming. Just like I am."
Okay, so maybe this trap could prove useful, "What is programming? Is it a part of the Better Living plan?"
"Oh, come on. I'm not trying to trick you."
"Sir, I didn't say you were. You have no reason to," I blinked and cocked my head, "Isn't it against protocol for an official to be inside a student's room alone?" That was a long shot. I was basically taking that line from old boarding school rules.
He shook his head, "Fine, but when you're ready for my help I'll be around." Then he left.
I was confused. How was there a sane official? There was no way. All the adults were zombies. They had been since that first day. I needed to talk to someone. But first, my laptop missed me.
After a couple hours of web surfing and even more time spent writing, I decided to go back to the commons. I was walking through the isolation dorms when I heard yelling.
"Let me out you fucking creepizoids! You can't keep me in here! I have rights!"
I looked left and right before turning the doorknob. They didn't lock them from the outside. What was the point when the only unmonitored kids did exactly what they were told all the time? On the other side of the door was a sight that made me laugh. My friend D was standing, poised as if she was going to karate kick the door.
She dropped her foot as soon as she saw me, "Mandy! Oh my gosh, you're alive!"
I was promptly tackled to the floor, "Yeah, I am. Uh, you're kinda crushing me..."
"Sorry," she said. Then I heard footsteps coming down the hall. We quickly scrambled into her room.
I closed the door, trying to leave it open slightly without it being noticeable. Getting locked in would be bad. Then I turned to her, "I'm glad I found you. Something freaky is going on here."
"No shit? They haven't let me out of here since I got here. I mean, I know I don’t get along with my mom, but she's gone a little extreme."
"No, that's not what I mean. Everyone's being brainwashed. The Better Living Industry took over the world. None of us are allowed to leave."
"Brainwashed? That's not a real thing."
"If you saw how everyone's acting, you'd think different."
"Ok, well I'll see for myself once they let me out. Anyway, you gotta go. They're bringing me dinner soon."
I sighed, "Act brainless and like you love it here. Then they'll let you out."
I went back to my room after that and decided to do some in depth exploring. There was a closet on one of the walls. I expected to find it full of the bland uniforms. Instead, I opened it to find all of my old clothes. An electronic pad on the wall had a message:
Casual clothing is permitted on
weekends only. Today is:
Wednesday.
From your friends at:
Better Living Industries

Sweet. I missed my old style. I quickly grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, ignoring the weekend rule. Then I flopped on the bed with my laptop. I decided to see what the Industry had done to YouTube. I typed it into the search bar and waited for the page to load. When it did, I saw that the site had been kept mostly the same. The only difference was that all the videos had something about how great BLI was. I was about to give up on finding any entertainment when an icon in the corner of the screen caught my eye.
CLICK HERE FOR A SECURE CHANNEL
That's what it said. I was immediately intrigued. What did it mean by "secure channel?" It was clearly not BLI issue. I drug my mouse over and clicked. Immediately the screen was filled with six little boxes. I didn't understand the purpose of them. I clicked on one and it lit up. Then I clicked another. The screen went to static before resetting to the empty boxes. I kept clicking. Eventually I figured out the pattern and all six boxes lit up.
The screen went black and I thought I had broken it for a second. Then it was filled with a man with bright red hair. A yellow mask was over his eyes. He was squinting at the camera. He appeared to be standing in the desert.
"I hope this is recording," he muttered, "My name is Party Poison. Of course, that's not my birth name, but it keeps me safe. If you've found this video, I doubt the Industry has programmed you yet," there was that word programmed again. What did it mean? "You probably want to know what that means. Well, basically everyone is being brainwashed," called it, "They are being taught to act and function a certain way. Better living Industries thinks this will save the world. They couldn't be more wrong. Look behind me."
He moved from the camera, exposing the desert, "This used to be a forest. But with nobody trained to take care of it, it died," he was back in front of the camera, "I'm asking you to rise and fight. Join me, Fun Ghoul, Kobra Kid, and Jet Star in saving the planet. We are the Fabulous Killjoys, and I hope you will be, too."
The screen flashed with the image of a spider. Then it was back to the YouTube home screen. I was motionless for the longest time. The shock had frozen me. I was right. And I wasn’t alone in being right. The Fabulous Killjoys. The name made sense. BLI was all about spreading happiness, artificial or not.
I felt like I needed to answer their call for help. After all, not many people were likely to resist the programming. And those who did would probably be too scared to do anything. I had to face the cold hard truth: the world would die without people to save it, and I had the knowledge to do just that. I wouldn't do it alone, though. I had to get my friends to come with me.
A message popped up on my screen:
Hello future killjoy. Our records indicate that you have accessed our channel via this computer. We have some tips for you if you answer our call:

• Blend in. Find a way to camouflage yourself with your surroundings. If you have been kept inside for the past few months, we would like to inform you that most of the outside has been reduced to desert terrain.
• Don't use your real name or anything close to it. It makes it too easy for them to find you.
• Disguise yourself as best you can. Hiding your identity is crucial.
• Use any resources you can find on the inside.

This message will erase itself from your computer in 10 seconds...
The message didn't lie. A few moments later, it was gone. I had no idea how I was going to convince my friends if the evidence kept disappearing. One thing I could do, though, was pick a disguise and name. I went over to my closet and dug through my things. I had a pair of shorts that were a khaki color. They were perfect for desert travel. The issue was that I had no shirts that weren't colorful. I picked a stripy purple and black long sleeved top and vowed to find something better later.
Next I turned to thoughts of my disguise. Party poison had a mask, but I sure wasn't able to get one of those. I ended up choosing a bandana that was the same shade as my shirt. I knew purple didn't blend, but neither did red hair. I hoped that if I tied my bandana over the lower part of my face I'd be unrecognizable.
The name was the tricky part. Clearly I needed something untraceable to any sort of real name. Why else would they have identities like Party Poison and Jet Star? I thought really hard for a while. I dismissed the first few things that came into my mind quickly. Then inspiration struck and I almost laughed with joy. Sweet Demolition. It was perfect.
The last point on the message flitted through my head: Use any resources you can on the inside. I'm fairly certain that included rogue officials. The thought of approaching that guy again scared me though. What if it really was a trap? What if his programming was to weed out the fakers? Was it worth the risk?
I didn't have time to decide right now. I had to get to D's room and tell her my new developments. I grabbed my laptop on the way out. Maybe I could get back to the channel. I slunk down the hall and slunk into her room, making sure to leave the door slightly ajar. She sighed loudly.
"Miranda, why are you dressed like that?"
The name sounded weird now that I had invented a new one for myself, "It's a long story, and it involves the brainwashing."
"Not this again..."
"D just listen! Please?"
She raised an eyebrow at me. It was my cue. I told her the whole story. I started with the rogue official. Then I moved on to the video and my plan. She asked to see the video and I pulled it up on my laptop. Luckily, the pattern still worked.
When it ended, she sat back, "Are you sure you're not just believing him cuz he's hot?"
"D! I didn't even think about that!"
"Why not? He's delicious."
"That's not the point. I need you with me on this. I can't do it alone."
"What did you say your new name is?"
"Sweet Demolition."
"I'll only do it if I can be Ghosted Violence. And I want a tutu."
"Why a tutu?"
"Why not a tutu?"
I sighed and smiled, "I'm glad you're on board. I'm going back to my room before I get caught."

Notes

These really aren't our real names...I don't see as it would hurt telling you the real ones seeing as its fiction...
I'm Maddy
My brother and sister are Jesse and Emily
Jill is Jessica
Belinda is Billie
Robert is Rocco
D is Dakota
bye bye