I finally have a bit of alone time. Joy is asleep and Kayla is in the evaluation room right now. Laying on the bottom cot of the bunk bed Joy and I share, I pull out the notebook I found in the box of by dad's belongings. I still haven't found any clues to explain the key to breaking the code, but I'm hoping to decipher it soon.

0110001011001, the whole book is filled page to page with these two numbers repeated in different sequences. I close the book in frustration and run my hands over the uneven cover absentmindedly while wondering about the contents of these pages. Looking closer at the cover of the book, I notice the corner raised a bit from the rest of it. After making sure no one is watching, I use my nails to gently pull it away from the journal and pull out the slip of paper that it was hiding.

"What are you doing?" Joy's voice startles me.

"Reading." I reply curtly as I tuck the notebook under my pillow and replace it with an e-reader.

"Reading what?" Joy questions.

"Just another one of those boring research papers."

"I don't think they are as boring as you and Kayla are always saying. Some of them are really fascinating."

"That's because you are used to spending the entire day learning in school. Kayla and I usually spend our time working all day and being productive." I try to patiently explain to my sister. It's not that I don't like learning, I'm just not used to spending all day with nothing else to do.

"Hey!" Joy cries in mock outrage. "I'm productive too." She defends.

"Really, how?" I question her with a smirk.

"I...I...Let met think about that for a second." She mumbles.

"Like I said, you learn, but I am productive."

"Well, I am preparing to be productive in school. Once I graduate, I can get a good job and then I'll be even more productive then you are, Coral."

"Keep dreaming big Joy and you just might get halfway there." I tell her only partially joking. The thing Joy doesn't seem to understand is the divide between the scientific elite and the srats.

"I will someday." She replies insistently. "I am going to prove you wrong."

The next few days pass uneventually, and before we know it, we are leaving the segregated quarantine to move onto the third week which is still classified as a quarantine even though we will be with all the people who will be living in our isolation camp with us.

There are so many people here in the main room. Our camp will be one of the largest camps with four hundred adults and one hundred children. Kayla and I are considered adults since we are both eighteen years old. This means we will be given more freedoms than the children, but we will also have harder jobs.

"Coral and Joy Raine," a voice calls out through the room. "Please come back to receive your room assignments and jobs."

"Finally our turn," I turn and smile at Joy. "Are you excited?"

"Yes,"  she replies looking a little nervous as we make our way back through the crowd to a separate quieter room.

A woman is sitting on the other side of a glass wall because we are still in quarantine. It's the same woman who was always asking us questions for the evaluations.

"Please have a seat, both of you." She asks while waving a hand towards two chairs. "As I'm sure you already know, the meeting is about your arrangements for your new home in a camp. Mini houses are available for groups to live in. The two of you will be sharing a mini house with Kayla and another girl named Alyssa.

While in the camp, Joy will continue her schooling and Coral will work in the labs with one of our interns." She finishes and glances at us.

"Do either of you have any questions?" Joy and I look at each other and smile. We are both happy with the assignments.

"When will we leave for the camp?"

"Soon." She replies curtly obviously hoping we won't ask her anymore questions that she feels are a waste of her time.

"As long as you have no other questions, you can leave and return to your normal activities." Normal activities, nothing we do here is normal because it is only temporary.

"Thank you for your time." Joy and I say as we leave, trying to be polite. She nods in acknowledgment of our gratitude having already dismissed us in her mind.

"Are you okay with the way things turned out?" I ask Joy as we head back to the bunk bed we share.

"Absolutely, I like Kayla and I hope Alyssa is as nice as she is." She replies with excitement. "I'm glad I will be allowed to continue learning in school."

"Good." It's good to know she is happy with the arrangements. I'm sure it hasn't been easy for her trying to adjust to life without mom.

I look forward to working in the labs. When I turned down the chance to join the scientific elite, it was an easy decision to make. Mom needed help with Joy around house and she couldn't be left alone with a child as you as Joy due to her intense bouts of paranoia. Now I have a second chance to pursue a job I love in the labs. Science is my passion. I love learning and researching.

"So, how did it go?" Kayla inquires, the intercom has not called her name yet. I catch her up on the events of the meeting and finish explaining just as her name is called over the intercom.

Two more days if my counting is correct. In just two more days, we will leave and go to our new homes wherever that ends up being. I hope we aren't in a location that is too cold, but I will be happy wherever it is because I am greatful for the opportunity to even be able to live in a camp that offers even the slightest chance of escaping the plague.

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