Q is for Queens
from Rebekah Loper’s book called The A-Zs of Worldbuilding: Building a Fictional World From Scratch
In Zebulon, each community elects representatives. These ten people go to meetings four times a year of all the buildings in the area. From the approximately 200 representatives, ten of them are elected to meet with representatives from the other cities. No one is in charge overall, and everything is done by committee. The representatives take turns running meetings. Representatives can only serve for three years, and then they must take a break. This is to ensure no one is in power for too long, and that no burns out from the extra travel and work. This excerpt will talk about one of the representatives.
Above you see my description that I wrote based on the extensive questions in The A-Zs of Worldbuilding. Below, you can read all of Chapter 4 from Exploration: An Erotic Novel!
Remember this (and most) of my posts contain adult content!
We hadn’t sat there long before James switched off the TV and turned to look at me.
“What?” I asked him, my whole body tingling with nerves.
“I can teach you stuff,” he said, and then quickly added, “if you want.”
“Like what stuff?” I asked.
“Like about the toys they’re using, and the things they’re doing.” He wasn’t looking at me when he said it.
Was he interested in me as more than a friend? I hadn’t ever thought he was, but maybe… “You know I always want to learn, James,” I said, and my voice was barely above a whisper.
He took my hand in his and then pulled me to my feet. “Do you want to see?”
“See what?” I asked. He didn’t mean now? Was he going to show me something now?
He guided me over to the TV and the dresser it was sitting on. He opened the top drawer, and I felt my eyebrows practically hit my hairline. There was one of those plastic things from the video, among other things, all lined up neatly in the drawer.
“What is all this stuff?”
He took the items out one at a time, describing the functions of the ones he knew. He explained about dildos that didn’t vibrate, vibrators of various sizes, butt plugs in all shapes and sizes.
“Wait, does that go where it sounds like it goes?” I asked.
He nodded. “I’ve obviously never used one, but my brother says they can be fun.”
“Has he used one?” I whispered.
“He must have because he told me they’re fun.”
My eyes went wide as I looked at him. “What’s in the next drawer?”
He looked at his watch. “Um, we’ll have to wait until later to find out. We have to be down at the meeting!”
“What time is it?” I asked, looking for a clock in the room.
Oh fuck. We were already five minutes late.
James grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room. He pressed the button for the elevator, which, of course, took forever. When the doors slid open, he waved his card and pressed the button for 1. He was still holding my hand, and I let him.
When the doors slid open on the first floor, he let go of my hand, and we ran around the corner to the meeting room. Thankfully, there were more chairs than residents, and we were able to grab a couple of chairs at the back of the room.
But then one of the elders spotted us and whispered, “You’re supposed to be up front!”
Oh shit. I forgot. As year 18s, we would be called forward to pick our careers. We slipped out of our seats and tried to make our way quietly down the side aisle. When we got near the front, we found that there were a few empty seats further up.
I noticed that our stern representative who was running the Matchmaking Ceremony this year was glowering at us. “Sorry, Lori,” I whispered, but I was sure she couldn’t hear me.
She was calling forward the year 16s, who would each be given a new room assignment. The rooms were labeled by building and floor, and each one would be a private room. It was the first time in their lives the year 16s really had any kind of privacy. I remembered my own ceremony and getting to know Jean and Carla. It was so exciting. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the year 16s go forward when their names were called.
Then it was our turn. “I will now call forward the year 18s,” Lori said, “When I call your name, you will come forward and declare your career intentions. You will name your top two choices, and we will distribute you in whatever way will benefit the community the most.”
I knew this. I had heard this same speech every year, but this was the first time it applied to me. And what did I want to do? I had no idea. My mind was blank.
I waited impatiently for them to call my name. I was near the middle because they called us alphabetically. We only had one name. We were all part of the Zebulon community, and none of us had the same name, so a second or third name was unheard of. In history books, everyone had two or three names. It was a foreign concept to us.
James’ leg was bouncing next to me. I placed a hand on his knee, and he stopped bouncing and just looked at me. “I don’t know what to pick,” he whispered.
I didn’t know what to tell him. They were calling H names now. He wouldn’t have to wait much longer.
And then I heard his name called, and he went forward. I watched him walk, his movements so familiar. He got up onto the stage and went to the microphone.
“James, what is your first choice?” Lori asked.
“I would like to, uh, work with food.”
Lori cocked her head to the side. We all prepared our own food, and we all knew it, so the way he said that wasn’t right.
“I mean, like teaching kids.”
“Mentoring in cooking?” Lori asked.
“Yes,” he said, “yes.” I could see his shoulders sag in relief.
“And your second choice?” Lori asked.
“Uh,” he said. He had taken my suggestions for his first choice, which meant he hadn’t had any ideas of his own. “Maybe a police officer,” he said finally.
My own plight of figuring out what to say on my turn was momentarily erased. He had never, not one time, expressed interest in being a police officer. Emergency services were a tough job. Most people didn’t choose it lightly. Sure, the hours were the same as everyone else, but there was a lot of responsibility. And the physical fitness tests?
I looked at James, really looked at him. He wasn’t heavy, but he wasn’t fit either. He didn’t spend his recreation time at the gym. He spent it playing games and watching TV, same as me. We spent a lot of time playing card games, in fact. So to hear him say that he wanted to do something that was physically demanding was a shock.
While I watched him walk back to take his seat next to me, I didn’t even realize they had moved through the rest of the J’s and K’s, and Lori was calling, “Mara, please come forward.”
What will Mara pick?
What jobs do they end up getting?
Will Mara and James get to play with the toys they’re exploring?
J R Vincente 