I awoke to the sunlight streaming through my curtains. The sun was already bright in the sky at 7:30, and the sounds of birds chirping and a gentle breeze rustling the leaves of the big willow tree outside my window gave me comfort in my sleepy haze. I smiled as I rolled over, closing my eyes and relaxing back into bed for a few seconds before the haze cleared and my mind began running on all cylinders. Realization hit me like a bag of bricks and I sprang up in bed like a cat who has just a met a most unpleasant dog. Today was my birthday. Today I was 18.
I have always imagined what it would have been like to be alive in a different time. The history books I read at school made the past sound so interesting and free. Back then, the eighteenth birthday was one of the most freeing of all birthdays. Now, it felt like an imprisonment. It all started in 2062. Reynolds was on the political campaign for President, and was determined to make bold changes in the American lifestyle. He believed that women had become too independent, and that it was ruining the country. It's true, America has really gone downhill from what I've read in the history books, but I hardly think it's due to women being equal to men. Reynolds created a bunch of statistics showing what he called a "gradual decline in order" over the past 1000 years, somehow correlating women's freedom with low morality and a lack of "traditional" virtues. Add the will of God into the mix of his justification and you've got your candidate, and somehow -- they bought it. Enough men bought into his spiel to tip the vote in his favor.
Of course, it wasn't Reynolds who snowballed this entire idea out of control, he just created the snowball. After Reynolds was elected things changed drastically, but it wasn't what we know today. Reynolds made it law that a woman could not work more than 25 hours a week, because he believed the majority of a woman's time should be in the home taking care of her husband and children. This part of the law encouraged a lot of single women to get married just to survive; the resistant ones just roomed together to be able to afford rent. Another part of Reynold's new law changes was the vote. Because Reynolds preached that a woman was less than a man (weaker, smaller, and biblically subservient), a woman's vote only counted for half of what a man's vote was worth. This tricky scheme helped to secure the future of his changes, and what helped to get us where we are today.
The year is now 2116. Even Reynolds time period seems like a dream compared to the way America is now. Things have changed a lot. Women can work full-time again, in fact, they must. Which wouldn't be so bad, if we got to pick our own jobs. Men have the freedom to choose where to work, but upon turning 18, women must report to their local government employment office for an assessment of skills and job placement. Woman have also lost the vote completely. The men, surging with all their new found power, eventually worked our votes down to nothing. Women tried to restore full voting rights many times but with the power of only half a vote, we got nowhere. These days, most women have just accepted this fate, while others just grit their teeth and bear it.
The biggest evolution of Reynolds' changes also involves a woman's eighteenth birthday. The law these days states that because men are the dominant sexual being, they can assert their sexual dominance to a woman at any time. Any woman, anytime, anywhere -- with three small exemptions:
1. Women are exempt and considered retired after the age of 65.
2. Women are exempt during pregnancy and for the first two months after giving birth.
3. Women are exempt while they are under the age of 18.
You can now see why I'm freaking out. I'm 18 today. That means any man can do whatever he wants to me whenever he wants. I knew this day was coming, don't get me wrong. I've been thinking about my whole life. This law was passed a few decades before I was born, and was as strong as ever. A part of me inside was screaming, but I knew what was inevitable and I got out of bed trying to put on a calm face. I hopped in the shower, already fully aware of the addendum to the law that states a woman must bathe every morning. After I was done I got dressed quickly and started brushing my hair. It didn't really matter what I wore. I had to go to the employment office this morning to get my new job assignment and I would certainly be given a uniform. After the law passed and men could grope women at will, business owners started forcing their female employees to start wearing super small and sexy uniforms to attract more customers. The outfits not only got the men hot, but gave them easier access to a woman's body. After a few started doing, it caught on like wildfire and now it's practically customary.
I came downstairs to find my parents in the kitchen making toast. I grabbed a slice from the plate next to the toaster and sat down at the table. "Ready to head down to the agency, sweetie?" my mom asked while buttering a piece.