The first three days of the second week of quarantine passed quickly. We rarely got a chance to talk to each other because one by one we were called back to another room where we would undergo intense phych evaluations with an elite psychologist who was on the other side of the a glass barrier to keep her safe from the quarantine zone. Now on the beginning of the fourth day, the psychological evaluations are finally completed. Only one person in our group didn't pass. None of knew his name because he refused to speak to anyone. The first time any of us heard him make any noise was when they dragged him kicking and screaming out of the room.

"Finally, some free time in this place." Kayla murmurs trying to keep quiet for the sake of Joy who is currently taking a nap.

"It almost makes me wish I was still in an isolated quarantine room. I was bored, but at least I didn't have to put up with an Elitist delving into the secrets of my mind while digging up every private thought I've ever had." I rant to Kayla using the same hushed tone.

"The key word there being almost; it would take more than these miserable tests to make me wish for that again." Kayla responds with a smile.

"Not sure," I reply with a grin to match hers. "If she assures me it alright to tell her everything, I might just fail the psychological evaluations out of frustration." Kayla laughs before responding.

"Same, but at least we have this opportunity. There are a lot of people in Revere who would kill for the chance to get into one of the isolation camps. Look on the bright side, the rest of the week will be spent deciding where we will in as a citizen in our camp and what our jobs will be for the foreseeable future."

"What sort of jobs do you think will be available?" I wonder.

"I have no idea; agriculture, cooking, and cleaning are almost a guarantee since they are necessary. There will probably be more academic minded positions available for the more gifted applicants." Kayla muses. "But then again, this is just me guessing. Maybe they will make us be farmers and work long grueling hours in the hot sun." She finishes with a teasing grin.

"I hope not; I did enough of that before I came here." I complain.

"At least you got to spend time doing something useful, all I did was clean the streets everyday without pay because my family is in debt to the elitists. I have no idea why I was even considered for the isolation camp program.'' Kayla states sadly.

"Well, you're here now." I reply in a poor attempt to comfort her. "And that time of your life is over."

"What are you two talking about?" Joy comes over obviously finished with her nap.

"Nothing," Kayla and I chime in unison.

"Don't lie, I bet you were talking about me!"

"It had nothing to do with you. Mind your own business." I reply.

"But I want to know," Joy whines.

"I said no. Now stop bugging me." Joy doesn't know when to stop and I don't want her to know about Kayla's past unless Kayla chooses to tell her.

"It's not my fault you always encourage me to ask questions and be curious." She continues refusing to back down. Thankfully, I am spared the continuation of this argument by the arrival of our dinner brought to us by an AI.

"What do we have today?" I ask with fake excitement.

"Looks like gourmet chicken with a side of asparagus, but it tastes like moldy cardboard." Kayla adds, not even attempting to cover up her dismay. You would think with all our advanced technology, we would have decent food, but apparently we are not worth it to the elitists until we actually reach the isolation camps.

"Nope, I was wrong. This tastes worse than moldy cardboard. I can't even think of something bad enough to compare it to." Kayla adds in after taking the first bite of her meal.

Joy and I laughed before taking bite of our own meals. Instantly, we look at each other with matching faces of disgust. It really is as bad as Kayla said.

"I take back my laughter." I choke out as I try and force myself to swallow the food.

"This is even worse than it was yesterday." Joy pipes in unable to hold back her two cents on the matter. "And that's saying something because because yesterday's dinner was pretty awful.

"I can't wait until we're finally given some decent food that wasn't grown in a lab and genetically modified to give us all the nutrients we need without having the taste we want to make it at least edible." I mutter wistfully. A couple more days seems like forever while we are stuck eating this.

"If only we didn't have to go through such a long quarantine period, then we would probably already be in a camp by now with our jobs and individual places to sleep without having to share one room with several strangers. At least there we will be able to prepare our own food and it won't taste like this stuff." Kayla says with a hopeful tone that matches my own. "I hope." Kayla adds on with an exaggerated look of panic.

Once we are finished with our meals, that is if you can even call we just choked down a meal, our names are called one by one to the side room where our questioning is continued. Joy and Kayla are called back before I am and I read one of the medical journals provided for our entertainment while I am waiting for my turn.

"Coral, please come to the side room now." A feminine programmed voice calls out to the room. With a dramatic sigh, I slowly head to the side room for further questioning and evaluations.

"Hello Coral, it is good to see you again. I have several questions to ask you and as I'm sure you know you can tell me anything, but just to remind you..." I tune her out as she drones on with the same lecture she has given me every day I have been called back here to talk to her. She asks me questions like she does every day and I answer them with the same careless attitude I do every day because the questions are always so similar and the answers always so boringly similar. Before I know it, she's picking up her the electronic tablet she uses to take notes and telling me I can leave while thanking me for my time and patience in answering her questions.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. As always please vote, comment, and share!