Huh? This used to be a story where many adults were incontinent. Now it has suddenly turned into a dystopia with robots that monitor and arbitrarily detain people.
Chapter 11: Stef Knows What He Wants
Stef moved in January of his first year of high school. William was out sailing at the time, and Anette took her responsibility for handling the practical matters seriously. It wasn't because she knew the municipality would be keeping an eye on how things were going, but because she cared about Stef and wanted what was best for him.
Stef could handle most things on his own, but Anette had to sign the necessary paperwork for him to transfer to a new high school. The high school was concerned about whether an older sister could transfer her younger brother, even though Anette had power of attorney from William. Ultimately, she gave them Ms. Johansen’s phone number, and the high school called her to confirm everything was in order.
In some courses the old and new high schools had covered different topics in the time leading up to the transfer. Anette helped Stef catch up on any missed material as best she could when it was necessary for him to understand what they were learning now, but in most cases he was able to keep up just fine.
Stef and Anette both stayed in touch with Helene and Mikkel and their children. They had been wonderful foster parents, and Stef and Anette never forgot that the foster family had stepped in when they were at their lowest point after Heidi’s death. It became a lifelong friendship, and they often visited each other.
Stef settled in well and made friends at school in Rindum. He continued to be a Scout, but otherwise spent much of his time focusing on high school.
Time passed, and soon he had to decide what to do after high school. It wasn’t difficult. From an early age, he had always said “stonist” when he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. Later, he learned that the correct term was “geologist,” but still jokingly said “stonist.” Once he was old enough to know the word “stoner,” he sometimes used that term jokingly, too, treating as if it referred to someone who worked with stone.
However, he never doubted that he wanted to apply to the geology program at Rindum University. He was accepted into the program and was looking forward to getting started.
During the summer break, while he was waiting to start, he read the introductory materials that had been sent to him. There were twelve students in the new class, and they were scheduled to go on a field trip the weekend after the semester started so they could get to know each other. The trip was even going to be at a scout cabin where he had once been to camp. He was looking forward to meeting the other new geology students.