The story that took me out

I am thrilled that I placed in Round 2 of the NYCMidnight Microfiction Challenge, but geez, it was heartbreaking to place sixth when the top five move on to the next round! For Round 2, my prompts were as follows:

Genre: Sci-fi
Action: Opening an envelope
Word: Climb

Below is my 250-word sci-fi story in which someone opens an envelope and the word “climb” is used.

Downgraded

“Wren, your grades are slipping.”

Wren sat at the control center of her pod and listened to the mechanical voice drone on about a 75 in math and a 72 in history. The lights on the panel glowed yellow, indicating worry.

Wren had heard stories about the punishments for failure back when kids had human parents: grounding, and the more primitive spanking. They fascinated her, these stories of humankind, the history of parenthood. But the machines didn’t teach about parents. They didn’t teach about affection and smiles and hope and hugs. She’d seen glimpses of these things in illegal video clips that made it past Station Headquarters. But the machines simply taught about their climb to power, not what came before.

Behind her, the mail slot pinged. That would be her demerits for her low grades. How many was that now?

As Wren opened the envelope, she was stricken with a desire for rebellion — and the punishment born out of parental love that should follow … but wouldn’t. A fury built in her, and she ripped the demerits in half, and then kept ripping until they were nothing more than paper ghosts flitting away on a draft.

Ping.

Wren calmed her breathing enough to listen to the passionless mechanical reprimand she knew was coming. But this one was different.

“Wren, report to Station Headquarters. Bring nothing. You will not be returning.”

Slowly, Wren turned and saw for the first time the control center glowing red.