One

     Three words, one question and one answer.

     "Are you happy?" My teacher looked me straight in the eyes waiting for my answer, his palms smacked across my desk onto the hard wood shaking the entire room. I blankly stared at him keeping a levelled gaze, the question made me nauseous. 

     "No," I said in a soft voice slowly dissipating in the light breeze throughout the classroom. My words being carried by the wind.

     "Good," my teacher said walking back to the whiteboard and I watched as his fingertips swiped the luminous screen. Various charts and words moved like words on a book. Too bad they don't make those anymore.

     "Leon!" My teacher gave me another cold glare.

     "Yes?" I snapped my direction to Mr. Amil.

     "If you could please, read the date for the class." He crossed his arms and I looked back to my tablet.

     "Thursday March 26, 2054." I looked back up and he nodded in satisfaction.

     "Good." The bell rang and everyone got up.

     "Don't forget to submit your assignments on elearning." He said before placing a pointer in the divider on the board.

     "Yessir," everyone replied.

      "And don't forget..." His voice trailed off as he typed on his computer with a frown.

     "You're not allowed to be happy."

     "Can you believe him? What an ass. Who says we can't be happy?" Xin pouted hugging her tablet closely to her chest.

     "Uh, the government? Unless you want capital punishment go ahead and be happy," Olsen said rolling his eyes.

     "You know, I tried asking my grandma why we can't be happy, but she won't tell me. She said before, people were allowed to smile in public in her time," I said thinking about all the stories she has told me about before.

     "Really?! That's illegal now!" Xin exclaimed leaning in.

     "It wasn't before."

     "And then what happened? How did we get to this point?" Olsen and Xin both leaned in even closer than before.

     "I told you I don't know, but she told me she was going to tell me someday. Whenever I ask, she turns me down."

     "It's probably hard for her to explain, I don't blame her. My grandparents are the same. They won't even talk about it."

     "Guys! Lets go to the park!"

     "The park? We aren't kids anymore Xin." I turned to the playground through the window as we walked down the stairs.

     "I mean, it wouldn't hurt to go on the swings, Leon. C'mon on, lighten up." Olsen patted my back lifting his brow up.

     "It's because the teacher asked him the question today. That's why he's upset." Xin pulled the skin under her eye and stuck her tongue out.

     "Isn't that right Leon?" Very mature Xin.

     "Spit off Xin. You know I hate it when the teacher asks me that question," I replied to her teasingly and she held her hands up.

     "Okay, okay. Fair enough."

     We all sat on the monkey bars, the unkempt park made my foul mood worse. Weeds grew on the sides and graffiti coloured the slides. Not many children went outside to play anymore, they can all do that in the comforts of their home with all of their handheld devices. It's saddening, grandma would always tell me how much fun it was playing in the park and having bike rides along the rivers. But now, no one goes out, and the rivers are polluted.

     "My parents are getting divorced." Olsen laid back staring at the clear sky.

     "Really? Why?" Xin swung her legs on the metal bars in a pattern.

     "They won't tell me." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

     "You know, it's common for people to get divorced. Especially now since you can't be happy." It's definitely common now, usually on average married couples would divorce in less than two years of getting married.

     "But my parents are happy, they don't show it to me but I know they are. It doesn't make any sense. I don't want them to separate they're happy together. This is bullshit."

     "Well, maybe one day we'll understand why. Until then, we're here for you," Xin said looking down.

     I slipped my key card through and my door unlocked.

     "I'm home."

     "Hey Leon. How was school today?" My grandma stood at the top of the steps smiling at me. Her smile would always make me tear up. I never see anyone smile anymore.

     "You can't smile grandma." I walked over to her and hugged her. She was shorter than me. I had to crouch down a bit to hug her.

     "Who's here to arrest me boy?" I felt her arms strongly wrap around me before gently releasing me. Her smile even brighter than before. I stared at her in disbelief.

     "No one is here to arrest me boy, they can't catch me if they can't see me." She sat back down on the couch and pointed to the table.

     "I cooked food for you. It's over there." Making my way to the kitchen I sat down and began my feast.

     "You know, this is like the Great Depression but this time it's not the economy being depressed, it's the people." She laughed loudly and I couldn't help but take it in. She was the only person, that could make light out of this situation. She laughed without regret. I don't even remember the last time I smiled.

     "You learned about the Great Depression right, Leon?" She stood up and walked over to the floorboard going on her knees to lightly knock the ground.

     "Yes, I'm learning about it right now in history. But it's way worse in other places now," I said before shoving a spoonful in my mouth watching her.

     "You're not wrong. Oh, here it is," she said pushing up the floorboard with her fingers opening up a small compartment with books and paper and pencils. It was basically illegal to have new books produced because of the lack of trees but those looked old. She held the book in her hands and closed the compartment up.

     "Look at this." She climbed up the stairs and presented me the book with a smile.

     "What is it?"

     "It's a photo album. Oh, there's some really good stuff in here." She chortled and sat beside me opening the book. There were pictures of me, my mother, my father and my uncle. But there was an abundance of pictures in the book I didn't recognize. It was a wedding picture of a young couple.

     "Who's that?" I pointed to the man and woman happily standing with their arms linked. I finished up my food and she sighed.

     "That's me and your grandpa of course." Her smile went up to each ear talking about him. In that moment I saw her without her wrinkles, she had a youthful glow.

     "You never got to meet him but he was a charming man. He made me feel like the happiest person alive." She let out a small laugh and her thumb traced the picture of the man. Her smile dropped.

     "He was brave Leon. I loved him you know? He was my greatest happiness." She closed the book and patted my head.

     "Your grandfather's in jail somewhere. I can't find him but I'm trying. I don't even know if he's alive." She pulled her laptop out and started typing extremely fast.

     "It's ridiculous, he was arrested because he was happy. Can you believe it? Everyone could smile in public back in my day but now, it's a crime. I only have some leads but it's not definitive. I want you to meet him someday, you two would get along swell."

     "Grandma?"

     "Yes?" She locked eyes with me. I was going to ask but then I chickened out.

     "Never mind."

     "I'll show you my other things later. I know you have a lot of questions, Leon. But I don't think you're quite ready yet."

     "What's that supposed to mean?"

     "What do you think it means?" She grinned at me with daring eyes. I shrugged and walked upstairs.

     "Thanks grandma."

     "No problem boy."

     "Wake up boy, you have to go to school." My grandma shook me as my alarm rang in my ears.

     "Turn off that alarm boy. It's reminding me of my dark times." She swatted her hand at the small hologram that had my schedule and agenda.

     "Grandma, did you take your medicine?" I said sitting up studying my plans for the day.

     "What are you going on, Leon? You know I don't take that damn medicine," she said with an annoyed face. It was out of question if she even takes it anymore.

     "Well, don't you have to grandma?

     "I ain't taking no damn HPS-54, Leon. I'm happy without them." She took my bottle and stared at the labels, the pills inside rattling against the container. She pressed the cap and twisted it open popping a white pill onto her hand.

     "You don't mind if I take one right?" She pushed her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose and held the pill up to the light.

     "Of course not. What are you going to do with it?" She glanced at me, then the door and smirked.

     "You know exactly what I'm going to do with it don't you, Leon?" My heart skipped a beat while I slipped my uniform shirt on.

     "Don't tell me you're gonna-"

     "Yes, Leon. I'm going to do just that."

     "It's useless grandma. They change the ingredients every year." 

     "But they reuse the same formula every three years. It's a gut feeling, but I'm pretty sure this year is a previous one I investigated." The way her eyes glinted made my blood run cold.

     "I think you should get ready, Leon. I'll be in my room if you need me," she said leaving the room with the pill between her index finger and thumb. I stared at the hologram and changed into the rest of my uniform.

     "Call Xin and Olsen." The hologram changed, Xin popped up taming her ferocious hair but Olsen didn't answer. 

     "What happened to Olsen?"

     "I don't know, I think it has to do with his parents," Xin said focusing her attention on me.

     "Did you take your pills yet Leon?" I straightened my back at her words and opened the window to let the fresh air in.

     "Of course I have." I pushed the bottle away from the camera and smiled at her. She suspiciously raised her brow.

     "Do you have anymore? I ran out yesterday and I don't have any left."

     "Sure, I'll bring one to you." I gave her a frown.

     "Well, see you at school."

     "Bye Leon." I ended the call and looked back at the bottle before tucking it away into my drawer.

     "Just in case," I said leaving my room with two pills in my hands.

     "I don't get it grandma. What are you trying to tell me?" She stared at me with a genuine smile. Not the one the pills gave.

     "When you're at the right age you'll start to understand things you've become blind to. When that happens you need to stop taking the pills, Leon." I didn't understand, her words were confusing me.

     "I'm not blind. I can see perfectly fine!" Her fingertips grazed my face and I closed my eyes. They passed my eyelids and I felt how soft they were. Like silk.

     "You are blind, Leon. There's things in life that pills can't give you. You have to experience it on your own. Right now all you can do is follow, but you're going to get tired of following the crowd and you'll have your own views. You're nothing but a lion cub in a cage. But your mind and body will mature and you'll want out. When that happens you need to escape." She ran her hands through my hair.

     "I still don't get it grandma. Is there really something called happiness? Or is it just a myth?" Her eyes widened. I saw her fear, her shock, her disbelief. She covered her mouth with her hand and pulled me into a tight hug.

     "There is happiness, Leon. It's a real emotion I've felt thousands of times before."

     "What does it feel like?" I felt her tears staining my shirt, her sadness seeping through.

     "It feels like the opposite of sadness, Leon." Her words getting caught and choked up in her throat.

     "How come I've never felt happiness?"

     "Leon!" I felt a hard smack on my back.

     "What the hell was that for?" I turned to Xin and Olsen and rubbed my back as we sat on the steps of the school.

     "I asked if you brought my pill."

     "And I asked if you were all right." 

     "What're you talking about?" I said to Olsen as I handed Xin the pill. She gulped it down with her water.

     "You were crying," Olsen said pointing to my face. Quickly I wiped the tears streaming down from my eyes.

     "Are you alright? You don't usually act like that." Xin smiled at us while Olsen scrunched his face up.

     "Yeah, I'm good." 

     "I'm not taking those pills anymore." Olsen crossed his arms in disgust watching Xin smile.

     "Why not? They're going to find out anyways might as well take them." Xin smiled and we walked to class.

     "Olsen! Leon!" We were about to leave school until our teacher called us over his gaze sharp.

     "Yes?" We placed our tablets into our cases and stood beside each other anxiously.

     "Next time when you come into my class, take your happy pills." Olsen and I stared at each other in complete embarrassment and shock.

     "Yessir."

     "It won't happen again." He crossed his arms giving us an icy glare.

     "And make sure if you do, it's from this years batch. I'll really send them to arrest you two. You know this is a crime." We both looked at each other before replying.

     "Of course."

     "We got caught..." Olsen slouched beside me as we walked home.

     "I know."

     "You mind if I stay over for tonight, Leon?" I looked over at him and shrugged.

     "I'll try to ask my grandma but it's not 100% she'll say yes."

     "Thanks man. I just can't stay home. My parents are..." He rubbed his hands together and looked off to the side.

     "Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I'll try."  We came up to my house and my grandma was already there smiling at us. We ran over and covered her.

     "Grandma! What do you think you're doing smiling like that? Someone will see you!" I helped her up and we went inside.

     "Who's here to arrest me boy? I can do whatever I want." She laughed loudly.

     "Hi Amelia." She stared at Olsen in curiosity.

     "Oh please Olsen, we're family. Just call me grandma." She slapped his back and he smiled. My jaw dropped and just as Olsen looked at me his jaw dropped as well. I pointed at his face.

     "Holy shit dude! You just-" He smiled even wider.

     "I know!" Grandma laughed, her hands on her hips.

     "What are you two going on about?" I was filled with shock I couldn't stop pointing at Olsen's smiling face.

     "Olsen just smiled without his pills!" Grandma ruffled my hair.

     "Why is that so exciting? It's normal for people to smile. Isn't it?" she said looking between the both of us.

     She walked up the stairs and I looked at Olsen who was still smiling. He rushed to the mirror and stared at himself.

     "So that's what I look like when I smile..." He grinned and turned back to me.

     "What does it feel like?"

     "It feels natural. I don't know how to explain it. It's the total opposite of being sad." My heart jumped, his words striking chords within me.

     "Say that one more time." He repeated.

     "It feels natural?" I shook my head.

     "No the other one." He tilted his head at me.

     "It's the total opposite of being sad?" The total opposite of being sad...

     "So you don't mind if I stay over grandma?" Olsen asked her leaning in.

     "Of course not, Olsen. When you're here you don't have to hide your smile." She happily smiled and Olsen gave a small grin. She got up and left the table.

     "I'll be in my room if you boys need me."

     "Your grandma... she's not like anyone I've ever met," Olsen said leaning back into the chair.

     "What's happening with your parents?" 

     "I don't know. I'm just trying to leave them alone and think this through."

     "I hope it gets solved."

     "Thanks man." We climbed to my room and played some video games.

     "Did you finish the assignment yet?" I shook my head.

     "I will later." Olsen scoffed.

     "You better hand it in soon, the drop box is gonna close at six." I looked at the clock and it was 10 to six. 

     "Dude! You didn't tell me about that!" I rushed to my laptop and quickly began to upload my assignment into the drop box.

     "I thought you already knew." He followed me over to the laptop and snickered.

     "You're seriously insane, Leon. You were this close to getting a zero on that assignment." He pinched his thumb and index finger so that they were only a few millimeters apart.

     "Spit off Olsen." He raised his hands up and collapsed onto my bed sighing deeply.

     "I wonder what true love is like." Making sure my document was uploaded before closing the laptop I scrunched my face at his remark.

     "What do you mean?"

     "You see it all the time in those illegal movies. I wonder what it's like to love someone else."

     "Don't you love your parents?" He twiddled his thumbs in circular motions.

     "Dumbass of course I do. But I'm talking about a different love. Don't you ever wonder if there's someone out there for you? Like one that's the bees knees?" He waved his hands around in exaggerated swings.

     "Sure, but before that happens I want to feel happiness," I said looking out the window longingly.

     "There's a lot I'm missing, Leon. I thinking about moving to Hesteria."

     "Hesteria? That's just a myth."

     "How do you know it's just a myth? What if it's real?"

     "It is real boys." Grandma walked in with her goggles strapped to the top of her head.

     "It's real?" She nodded.

     "It sure is. I've been there before."

     "For real?! What's it like?" Olsen sat up with peaked interest. She looked out the window with the same stare in her eyes as I did a few moments before.

     "It's what I feel everytime I think about him."

     "Boys! Wake up! That alarm is horrible! My ears are dying!" I groan at my grandma who was already waving her hand through the hologram like she was having a boxing match.

     "Pft-" Olsen began laughing and my grandma joined him.

     "All right that's enough. Seriously, turn off the alarm Leon. Or choose another one for God sake." She left the room and Olsen got up from the bed I laid on the ground.

     "Dude, I heard Xin's gay." I sat up rubbing my eyes.

     "What?"

     "I heard a few people in class about it. Do you know anything about it?" I shook my head and headed to my closet to change. As I got out Olsen went in and I shrugged.

     "Dude, I highkey expected it though."

     "What do you mean?"

     "Everytime I asked her about the girls in the class she'd act weird about it. Especially Lauraine."

     "Bro what if Xin likes Lauraine?"

     "I don't know. Let's just wait until she tells us." He came out and grabbed his tablet that was plugged into the wall.

     "You want a pill?" I said tying my hair into a bun.

     "Nah I said I'm not taking those anymore."

     "All right."

     "Do you still take them?" He started gliding his fingers on the screen and I shrugged.

     "Depends. Sometimes I take them sometimes I don't. I used to take the normal dose but lately I started taking less and less. I barely take them anymore." My eyes wondered to the drawer I kept all the medication in.

     "Xin still takes them doesn't she?" Olsen finished buttoning his shirt and hesitated to reply.

     "I know. Lets just keep her out of it. I know we're close but man, she's crazy." I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth.

     "Dude, it's because of all the propaganda we have about true happiness. The way it's portrayed? It's nothing more than a mere drug we aren't suppose to have. But it's in our nature to." Olsen stood at the door frame until I finished and brushed his teeth.

     "It definitely has to do with the way people are teaching it. It makes no sense to me. Why don't they want us to be happy?" My mind stared into the dark abyss, there weren't any answers.

     "We need to go, we can't wait for her. We're going to be late for class." I stood at the top step and observed Olsen looking around for Xin. We were waiting for her at the usual staircase but she hasn't arrived. The PA system was blasting music that made me feel even more anxious. I groaned at the schools horrible music choice.

     "I have a bad feeling about this, Leon. I think we should skip school today." His foot tapped the ground in an impatient manner. I jerked my head back.

     "What? Why?" He cautiously looked around and harshly wrapped his right arm around my shoulders.

     "Remember how we got held back after school because Mr. Amil told us to take the happy pills?" The memory shook my thoughts and I anxiously started to look around.

     "Yeah..."

     "Well, I think today he's going to catch us. He's going to know, he caught us the first time what's going to stop him from catching us the second?" 

     "So you're saying you want to skip because you're scared you'll get caught?"

     "I mean it Leon! You know how strict they are with taking the happy pills," he said, his eyes darting around. I don't think I've ever seen Olsen act this way. Not in the whole sixteen years I've known him.

     "Fine, lets just go back to my place. I'll call my-" I pulled my tablet out but a loud voice caught our ears.

     "What do you boys think you're doing?" A security guard walked towards us but it was useless. His intimidation were nothing as we stood taller than him by a few more centimeters.

     "You boys should be in class by now," he said looking us in the eyes. By this time everyone had already gone to class, the music stopped and we were the only ones left in the hallway.

     "I felt nauseous so I asked my friend to come with me just in case something happens." Olsen slumped, his voice out of breath. The guard looked at us suspiciously before asking us the question I hated hearing.

     "Are you happy? Have you taken your pills?" I looked over at Olsen and he really looked like he was going to vomit. His face turned white and I helped him stabilize.

     "Hey are you all right, Olsen?" He belched but the guard didn't help, he went onto his monotone voice and asked the question again.

     "Are you happy?" And again.

     "Are you happy?" My stomach contracted itself and I held it heavily breathing while trying to help Olsen. My head started to bang against my skull.

     "Are you happy?" His voice echoed and asked again and again, a repeated alarm with no snooze button.

     "Are you happy?" He repeated.

     "Are you happy?" He said again.

     "Are you happy?" My mind got all fuzzy but my senses came back when I heard Olsen throw up. The contents of this mornings breakfast spilling onto the ground and staining the white floor. He clung to the ground and spit into the puddle of bodily fluid.

     "Fuck," he said coughing and panting. As I watched him I looked around and the security guard wasn't there anymore.

     "What the..."

     "I think we should leave, Leon." He looked up at me before spilling out his guts back onto the ground.

     "There it's sent." The nurse looked up from the computer and our tablets got a notification. It was just a normal pink slip.

     "We're sending both of you home. Olsen, you might be sick and since you were with him, Leon, it's better for you to stay home just in case." Her eyes glued onto the computer typing away.

     "You're both dismissed from school."

     "What happened? Were you really sick or did you force yourself?" I asked looking at Olsen's pale white face.

     "I was fine, but then he started asking that stupid question. I don't know, I felt super sick and I threw up. Then he disappeared like thin air. Gone, poof," he said holding his stomach.

     "I always get a headache when they ask me that question. It makes me dizzy," I said holding my head, the weird sensation still lingering. Olsen walked alongside me.

     "This is crazy. I've never experienced that in my entire life." I thought back on my headaches and the pills.

     "You think it's because you stopped taking the pills?" His expression looked at me crazily.

     "What?" I thought on a logical explanation grandma's always talking about.

     "The pills are supposed to make us happy but an artificial happy because we're all miserable deep down right?" Olsen nodded.

     "Ouch, I mean- sure, keep going."

     "Maybe since we stopped taking the pills, whenever they ask us that question our body acts negatively because deep down, instead of being miserable we're actually happy." Olsen stared at me confusingly.

     "That means...?"

     "I'm not sure. But we're reacting for a reason. My grandma hasn't come to a conclusion yet. She's still trying to figure it out." I shrugged and we made eye contact.

     "Well, whatever that pill is doing, we need to find out why and put an end to this."