The Guardian.

Prologue

"We will have fifty thousand people living in fifty houses around the country. The guardians will live in the central. Each year one person from each house will be voted out. The individuals under the age of 16 cannot be voted out. At the age of 18 the individuals will gain Independence. The Independent will be considered responsible for themselves in the eyes of the guardians. The individuals voted will receive medical attention and will live in the surrounding village retrospective to their house. The Individuals within the houses will be lost at the age of 60."

Dear diary.

7am, November 17th 3040.

Today is my 18th birthday. My dad chose this gift for me; this diary. I have stolen a pencil from the studying room to write with. This is my first crime of my 18 years. Stealing is only one day in The Box so it should be fine. My name is Clover #M11Zxt daughter of Jeremiah #L11Zxt.

Everyone takes a test once they turn 18. We don't have to study extra for it; we just have to answer the questions honestly. It's to assess who is best for which jobs. The options are: a member of the justice board, there's kitchen duty, there's the horticulture team, or you can be part of the teaching and schooling team. The justice board choses who gets which job.

I have always wanted to be part of the horticultural team; they work in the sunlight area. Even the justice board know that. The real question is if they care or not. As a child I would play in the sunlight. I'd find it really fun to see the light stream through the glass and create shadows on the floor. The different shapes dancing beneath me.

Dear diary.

8pm, November 20th 3040.

I loved Anna for many years. We grew up as best friends and we shared everything. We fell in love as teenagers, and that was it. We got approved by the board as soon as we could, I was 20. She was petite and had similar golden, red hair to Clovers. She is the most beautiful person I've ever seen and I will always be in love with her. I was 26 when Clover was born. Anna had always wanted to be a mother. She would have had ten children if it would have been approved. Everyone here has a maximum of two children per family.

Anna passed justice board training much quicker than most people usually do. She was very smart. She always articulated her views very clearly. I was so proud to be with her and have her as the mother of my child.

When Clover was about two, Anna was stolen. I was very angry with the guardian for this. This theft was not expected. I fell asleep with her in my arms and when I woke she was gone.

It took me years to learn to deal with this. The only thing that got me through was knowing I had to take care of Clover. I realised that there was no sense in being angry with the guardian. I just had to carry on with my life the best I could. This is when I became more sceptical about the outside. I have hope.

Dear diary,

7pm, November 30th 3040.

I got my result from my 18^th year assessment today. Normally you get the results on the pocket-square. This is a type of device that everyone has. We have to have it with us at all times. The justice board can message us important information on this. It also has a built in microphone for the guardian. The guardian can hear and see everything.

It usually takes about a day for the results to come back, but today in the middle of P.C.W a man I didn't recognise walked straight into the lesson and handed me a red envelope.

‘Dear Clover,

I was very impressed by your answers for your 18 year assignment. You have been selected to join the justice board. As you may be aware, you would normally choose the job you wanted without regard to the result of this test. However, as the Guardian, I feel it is very important for you to join the justice board. For you, there is no other choice. I am sure you will succeed as a member, and have every faith in your ability as a future justice board leader.

Always watching,

The Guardian.’

Dear diary,

Clover has been accepted onto the justice board. I know I should be supportive and proud but it doesn’t add up. I can’t ignore the fact she doesn’t belong there. It makes no sense. The justice board would have never placed her with them. But, as we know, they didn’t. The guardian never intervenes with anything. He has no control over these matters. He just watches things happen. I have no idea why Clovers been handpicked to be on the team. She's a great girl, but her grades are no where near good enough to join the board. She was raised differently from those people. the people on the justice board are stuck up and distant and just horrible, she's not like that. Since her mum was taken I've done everything I can to support her and teach her its okay to be different. She's different from everyone here. She's absant minded and cares more about peoples feelings and how we express ourselves than anyone else here. She's so kind and so lovely. She makes me proud every day, but shes not like the other people here.

I suppose I'm just scared that she'll be taken away just as her mother was. I've never been great at making lots of friends or being close with loads of people. Especially since Annabella was taken. So clover is now not just my last family here but shes also the person I'm closest to. This unexpected news could mean that she will be taken aswell, and that I will have no one.