Maybe, just maybe, I'm not all alone in this world.

"Luhan!" The girl before him shrieks in delight, her eyes lighting up in familiarity.

Luhan on the other hand, stumbles backwards in shock. He furrows his eyebrows and hesitantly asks, "Do I know you from somewhere?"

She fakes a pout and crosses her arms, attempting to contain her laughter. "Oh come on Lulu. Don't tell me you've forgotten about me already!"

Luhan's eyes widen at the mention of his old nickname, his memories of his childhood friend all rushing back at once. He points at her, " You.. You're.. You're—"

"Yep! We used to be best friends remember? I'm Aira, although you used to always call me Airhead... er wait. No. Actually you used to worship me and everything around me. Yes, that was it."

"How come I don't remember anything like that," Luhan replies skeptically.

"It's true! You used to take me to Nutrix and treat me to all sorts of delicious food as well," Aira exclaims.

"I didn't have any Monrix points back then," Luhan deadpanns.

"Wait, you said back then."

"Yeah, so?"

"Which means you must have them now! Let's go!" And Luhan finds himself being dragged off to the nearest TWKHSJUT. Also know as, Teleporting Will Kill Humans, So Just Use This. The the inventor of this ingenious mode of transportation had extremely poor naming skills and quite a queer sense of humour.

~

They step inside the small cubicle and seat themselves in a large, glass sphere. 

"Hello, please state the district and section number of your destination."

"Nutrix, section 6."

"Nutrix, section 6, costs 100 Monrix points person. We have detected 2 people on the seats, so that will be 200 Monrix in total."

Aira grins sheepishly at Luhan. "I don't have any Monrix points at the moment so.."

Luhan shakes his head, but complies nevertheless. "Fine, I'll pay."

"Thanks!"

Luhan presses his thumb onto the screen in front of him.

"Scanning complete. Please type in your password and confirm your transaction."

Luhan keys in a series of numbers. "Please transfer 200 Monrix," he states.

"Password and voice wavelength of Luhan Xi confirmed. Transferring 200 Monrix points. Transfer complete. It will take 5 minutes to reach your destination. Please enjoy your ride."

The machine whirrs to life and takes off. It speeds along the transparent rails above the clouds that connect all of Greenhouse, the sun bending in through the glass casing.

Aira breaks the silence. "Say Lu, why do you need your fingerprint, your password, and your voice to make a payment? It's a bit redundant if you ask me."

"It's because technology is too advanced these days. Thieves can get anyone's fingerprint now, and I've heard that people have even created voice imitation devices."

Aira nods slowly in understanding. "I see. But, what do you do if you forget your password?"

Luhan laughs, "No one forgets their password for their Monrix account. Honestly, you think of the weirdest things."

Aira doesn't say anything looks down instead.

Luhan furrows his eyebrows and stares at her. "Wait, don't tell me..."

"Well it's not my fault! I haven't had to use my Monrix account in years! It'd be even more of a surprise if I had actually remembered it," Aira defends, her hand gestures wild.

"But, it's your Monrix account! What were you doing, not maintaining your Monrix account?"

Aira sighs. "It's a long story.

"We've arrived at your destination. Have a nice day and thank you for using TWKHSJUT."

~

Greenhouse was built after the First Apocalypse. It was constructed from leftover scraps on the only arable soil amongst the barren wasteland. The handful of survivors had come together to construct Greenhouse, locking themselves away, constantly trying to perfect society inside in order to impede a second apocalypse from happening. Greenhouse is shaped in a perfect circle and divided into 7 districts: Centrion, Moneria, Edex, Plaza, Nutrix, Artix, and Lowree. The Citizens live in the districts where they go to work. Each district has 12 sections positioned according to the face of a clock. There are TWKHSJUT booths located at each section, discarding the need for vehicles to aid transportation

Centrion, the district of monochrome buildings and monochrome people, lies at the centre of Greenhouse. It's where the Government is located, as well as as the police headquarters. Centrion is the one district that the people of Greenhouse cannot travel freely to, with a massive wall isolating itself from the rest of the districts. Special passes are required for people entering Centrion both by foot or by the TWKHSJUT. 

Encircling Centrion is Moneria. This is where hospitals, research facilities, courts, banks, etc are situated. Only the elite live here.

Outside of Moneria is Edex. Kids from all districts go to school here, mixing and matching the rich with the poor. Libraries, cram schools, and homes of tutors, teachers, and school staff are located here as well.

Next is Nutrix, a ring of restaurants, cafes, and food producing companies. In Greenhouse, food is synthesized from various chemicals, then modified to have different tastes, textures, colours, and shapes and sizes. 

Nutrix is followed by the Plaza, the shopping district of Greenhouse. It is full of miscellaneous items, from clothes to furniture to bookstores. 

Artix is where the singers, actors, dancers, and comedians live. Home of entertainment and sports, Artix has a higher annual income than the Plaza.

Finally, Lowree is the boundary between Artix and Lachrymose. Lowree consists of unskilled people with mostly labor jobs. They do the work other Citizens refuse to do, in order to earn a few Monrix points to get by.

~

Aira and Luhan get off and are immediately greeted by smells of various baked goods. 

Out of all the seven districts, Luhan likes Nutrix the best. It differs so much from Moneria where he lives, or rather, used to live. It has a warm, homey atmosphere, even after the personality cleansing. Everyone smiles and laughs in Nurtix and no one is ever unhappy.

"Hello, Lulu, are you still there?"

Luhan is jostled from his reverie, a twinge of annoyance painting his features. "Stop poking me Aira."

Aira giggles. "Sorry," she apologizes. "But you looked absolutely poke-able with that dazed expression." Aira grins and pokes Luhan once more.

Luhan rubs his forehead and sighs. "Well, we're here, where would you like to eat?"

Aira points to small café down the street. Together, they enter coffeeshop with Luhan ordering a macchiato and Aira going with a café bombón. The former pays for the both of them, and they go to sit across from each other at the back corner of the café, drinks in hand.

Aira takes one sip from her café bombón then looks up at Luhan. "So tell me, how have you been?"

Luhan shrugs. "Same I guess. After you moved away after grade 6, the only major change was the relationship between my parents and I. You know, after that happened."

Aira blinked. "After what happened?"

"The revolutionary treatment of course. After they came up with a new surgical process to eliminate so-called 'detrimental' traits," Luhan scoffs.

"What are you talking about," Aira frowns. "I've never heard of anything like that."

"Wait, what? No, you must have."

"But I didn't."

"That doesn't make sense."

Aira ponders for a few seconds. "Maybe it's only for people living in Moneria?"

Luhan shakes his head. "No, that's not it, even Lowree had to go through with it. And don't you live in Moneria as well?"

"Nope, I live in Centrion. Well, I used to live there. I ran away this morning," Aira confesses nonchalantly. 

"What!?"

Aira waves off Luhan's bewildered expression and continues, "Right, I've been meaning to tell you. After I moved, I didn't just move away to another section in Moneria, I went to Centrion."

"Is that why you didn't call or visit during all that time? I'm still upset about that by the way," Luhan pouts.

Aira chuckles. "Sorry, sorry. We weren't allowed to contact people outside of Centrion. And they provide you everything you need so you don't need to go out."

"Why did you move there in the first place? Your parents are doctors, aren't they?"

"I know, I found that weird too," Aira agrees. "My parents always told me to not question it and that they were just doing some things for the Government." Aira pauses and leans closer, "But a few months ago, my parents disappeared. The Government thought I would know where they went, so they even conducted a Truths test on me." She sits back and huffs. "I knew nothing of course," Aira explains. "And I still know nothing."

"Is that why you ran away," Luhan asks softly.

Aira shakes her head. "No, I kept thinking that they would come back, which is why I stayed for so long. My parents wouldn't just leave me. But last night, at around 11, I heard my parents calling out to me when I was asleep. They were talking to me from this speaker-chip they had apparently placed in one of my drawers. I was told that I was the world's only hope and to go to Lachrymose or something. Then they went silent."

"This is getting really creepy. Okay, so after that, you escaped to go to Lachrymose, but you ran into me," Luhan guesses.

"Yeah."

"How'd you do it though? Security is extremely tight."

"My parents had a pre-dug tunnel for me," Aira grins.

"But, underneath us consists of only solid metal," Luhan questions.

"I know right! Aren't they amazing?"

Luhan chuckles, "Yes, yes. They really are." 

"I guess I'm going to Lachrymose after all," Luhan thinks. Then he stands up and stretches. "Well, we can't keep your parents waiting now can we? Let's go!"

Suddenly, Luhan finds a pair of tiny arms engulfing him in a hug. "Really? Thanks Lu! I knew I could trust you," Aira cries.

Luhan smiles and pats her head. "You're making up for all those times you didn't pick up my calls."

Aira nods vigorously. 

With newfound determination, the duo sets off to the nearest TWKHSJUT. Luhan just hopes that they'll be okay.