The following story was written as a part of Mr. Madrid's Creative Writing class and was selected as one of the best stories of the Spring 2026 semester.

I HAD NEVER KNOWN HUNGER. IN MY WORLD, NO ONE DID. EVERYONE HAD FOOD, A PLACE TO SLEEP, AND A PHONE. ALWAYS A PHONE. THEY told us it WAS BALANCE. THEY told us it WAS EQUAL. AND I BELIEVED THEM. EVERYONE DID. I WAS BORN INTO AN UPGRADED FAMILY, THOUGH I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANT. NO ONE COMPARED THINGS LIKE THAT. THE APP DIDN'T Allow it. It SHOWED US WHAT WE NEED TO SEE-PERFECT MEALS, PERFECT HOMES, PERFECT LIVES, PERFECT PEOPLE. THE APP WASN'T JUST SOMETHING WE USED, IT WATCHED US. IF SOMEONE ACTED DIFFERENTly- IF THEY THOUGHT TOO MUCH, QUESTIONS too MUCH- THE APP WOULD SEND A NOTIKCATION.

İRREGUIAR BEHAVIOR DETECTED.

AND THEN PEOPLE WOULD LOOKFOR YOU. No ONE WANTED TO BE FOUND. HER NAME WAS LIRA. SHE WAS MY BEST FRIEND- THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LAUGHED TOO LONG AND DIDN'T CARE IF PEOPLE STARED. SHE USED THE APP LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, BUT NOT THE SAME WAY. SOMETIMES SHE WOULD PAUSE BEFORE SHE POSTED, LIKE SHE WAS DECIDING WHETHER THE truth was worth it. I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT SHE MEANT BY THAT. Not THEN. THE FRST TIME SOMETHING FELT WRONG WAS BECAUSE OF HER. WE WERE SITTING TOGETHER, SCROLLING IN SILENCE, WHEN HER SOREEN FIICKERED JUST FOR A SECOND. I SAW IT BEFORE IT CHANGED BACK TO THE LATEST NEWS. NOT A PHOTO OF FOOD NOT A SELFIE. IT WAS A PERSON SITTING ON THE STREET SICK. THE APP CHANGED IT SO FAST I ALMOST DIDN'T BELIEVE I SAW IT AT ALL. "LIRA?" I ASKED SHE DIDN'T ANSWER. SHE JUST TURNED HER PHONE OFF. THAT NIGHT, I COUILDN'T SLEEP THE APP HAD NOTIFIED ME THREE TIMES ALREADY TO SLEEP. "THE BODY NEEDS REST FOR THE MIND TO CALCULATE BALANCE" IT READ. I HAD NEVER IGNORED THE NOTIFICATION BEFORE. NOT ONCE. BUT THAT PERSON ON THE SCREEN DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THEY WERE PART OF THE BALANCE.

THE NEXT MORNING LIRA WAS GONE. I ASKED MY PARENTS, I ASKED THE SYSTEM, I ASKED THE APP. THEY HAD THE SAME ANSWER. "SUBJECT LIRA HAS REACHED TOTAL BALANCE AND HAS BEEN MOVED TO A DIFFERENT SECTOR" BUT HER SECTOR WAS ALREADY UPGRADED. I STOOD ON THE STREET WATCHING PEOPLE SCROLL. EVERYONE WAS THE SAME. EVERYONE LOOKED HAPPY. BUT I SAW, NOT EVERYONE HAS ENOUGH. I took MY PHONE TO THE STREET AND THROUGH WITH All MY MIGHT SHATTERED GLASS WAS EVERYWHERE. MORNING CAME I DIDN'T REMEMBER WAS GONE IT DIDN'T WAKE ME UP NO LIGHT NO SOUND, NO INSTRUCTION, JUST SILENCE. IT FELT WRONG lIKE THE WORLD HAD FORGOTTEN ME. OR WORSE- like it WAS WATCHING, WITHOUT THE APP, EVERYTHING LOOKED DIFFERENT.

I WALKED FURTHER THAN I WAS SUPPOSED to. PAST THE PLACES I KNEW. THE AIR FEIT HEAVIER THERE, LIKE SOMETHING REAL WAS OUTSIDE OF WHAT I HAVE BEEN SHOWN. AND THEN I SAW THEM. PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH. PEOPLE WHO NEVER HAD ENOUGH. PEOPLE WHO LOOKED LIKE THEY HAD BEEN ERASED. THAT'S WHEN I SAW LIRA. SHE WASN'T GONE, SHE HAD BEEN TAKEN HIDDEN. FORGOTTEN BY EVERYONE BUT HERSEIF. BEFORE I COULD CAll out to HER I HEARD THE SPEAKER.

IRREGULAR BEHAVIOR DETECTED SUBJECT FAIA.

I UNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING AT THAT MOMENT. IT WAS NEVER ABOUT Equality, WAS ABOUT CONTROL. AS LONG AS WE BELIEVED EVERYTHING WAS THE SAME, WE WOULD NEVER QUESTION WHY. AS LONG AS WE STAYED INSIDE THE SYSTEM WE WOULD NEVER SEE WHAT WAS MISSING. I RAN TOWARD THE TRUTH. TOWARD EVERYTHING I HAD BEEN TAUGHT TO FEAR. BECAUSE HOW I UNDERSTOOD SOMETHING LIRA HAD KNOWN BEFORE I DID: YOU DON'T LOSE EVERYTHING All AT ONCE...

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