In the Middle of the Rise

In the Middle of the Rise

Maria Cardenas

04/19/2023

I hurried to pack my lapbooks into my turquoise bookbag as my BoatLift was five minutes away from arriving at my apartment. I attempt to make my bed but it always turns out as a messy disaster that I rather not deal with. I proceed to close the windows, check that the flooding preventers are working, and make my way to the kitchen. There, I find the lunch my mom makes for me every day I have to go to school. Today the menu looks like a tuna sandwich with wheat bread. As per usual, I grab my DrinkIt shake and head out the door.

Since a couple of months ago, instead of regularly stepping out of my apartment I have had to climb down a ladder because the government officials mandated that certain apartment complexes or houses in risk areas be elevated from ground level due to the constant sea-level rise in Miami. Not only do I almost trip and fall every day from this invention but it cost a lot of money that left everyone in the building complex in debt. I can see my BoatLift getting closer, so I lock my home by pressing my thumb in the scanner to activate security, open the BoatLift door, jump in, and greet the AI driver with a goodmorning! As I pass by the entrance of my building complex, I could see how the water is getting higher and nearer to where I live. My mom and I live in the last apartments in the neighborhood. I see a couple of neighbors with buckets filled with water that are being emptied out through the windows. Poor people, that could be me sooner rather than later. The six feet of sea level rise has become noticeable in my area. Will I need to get a BoatHouse? Will we also become a Deep Waters zone? We are running out of space without any solutions.

The day is very sunny, there are barely any clouds in the sky. Dozens of BoatLifts and some kayaks are holding the water traffic. It is 9:30 a.m. and college students, like myself, are heading to class around this time. We pass by the elementary boat school that is helping their students get up on board to head to class. According to my mom, our grandmother used to tell her how after the floods thousands of schools, hospitals, houses, and other buildings were lost. Since then, we have the BoatMovers. They are just like regular boats, but they take the form of what they used to know as schools, clinics, and even cinemas. This is what I have always known my whole life, I am accustomed to it, but I like to look at the old pictures of how things were before this. My mom says the BoatMovers remind her a lot of the big red buses that used to take people’s blood in the past. Small, mobile, and suffocating.

The only sense of what was considered as a “normal life” as a middle class living between poverty and luxury in Miami, I got it in Miami Land University, MLU for short. The AI driver drops me off at the south dry entrance and I proceed to get out of the BoatLift and start walking towards the E-Library to get ahead of my classes. I suddenly hear someone say, Tecna! Behind me and as I look back, it was my friend Cypher soaked in water carrying his paddle with him.

“Looks like a BoatLift AI driver was not in a good mood this morning,” I ask in between laughs but feeling bad. “They ran you over again?”

“I despise those things, I can never kayak to school,” says Cypher while he tries to dry himself with a towel.

“You should tell Lystra to pick you up, I don’t know how many times I have said this to you,” I say.

“Puff! She’ll never step foot in Deep Waters. Her family would not let her either way,” expresses Cypher as we enter the main building.

As I feel the light of the sun penetrating through the windows and reflecting in my skin, I think about how MLU is everything a young adult wants in a world like this. It is the only space where floods have not affected the ‘normality’ of things. I get to walk to class, study under a tree’s shadow, and enjoy the water in a pool rather than flooding in my room. The university was built on these grounds many years ago and as the sea level started to rise, it stayed dry while other areas in the city were being drowned in water. Cypher’s family has not had it easy since sea level started to rise. They live now in a zone known as Deep Waters. Six feet of sea level rise is intense there and it only has BoatHouses. The BoatHouses were provided by the government of Florida, however, since then there have been no checkups or changes to the houses. Cypher has always known this way of living. Constant flooding, no showers, electricity failing, and no sense of property. He has to kayak to school every day since it is hard for them to afford boat lifting or getting a BoatCar.

MLU has diverse social classes. If you have the grades to get in, classes and lapbooks are paid. But social classes and career paths separate everyone. Low-income students like my friend Cypher, can be mostly found in any area of computer science since it guarantees you a job after graduating. Those are not the best offers or positions since they are always coding or making sure our AI systems run properly through the city, but they are encouraged by their poor situations. Middle-class people like me, are distributed in environmental careers, maybe because we just want to find a way to avoid losing our homes and lives, we do not have a nickname, we are the middle. Lastly, high-class students vary from the opposite endpoints of humanities, law, and some healthcare and they live in Dry Lands.

As we turn in the corner to head to the E-Library, Cypher is still dropping some water on the floor, and we hear CampusAI next to us.

“You are creating a hazard for other students at MLU, Cypher, not the first time.”

“Give me another detention or ticket already,” Cypher says. “Have you been having a good morning? Because I didn't.”

“You probably wouldn’t want to say that,” I claimed with frustration.

“It will be sent to your e-text,” Campus AI replies.

Finally in the E-Library we go to the third floor, and we observe Lystra saving a table for us. We met her at the start of our sophomore year, we are now rising seniors in the graduating class of 2100. Lystra comes from a high class, her family has tons of business and law firms. They are DryLanders. Surprisingly enough, she is nothing like “her people.” Lystra refused to study law and she went for Human Sciences, or Humanities as it was called before. She decided not to be friends with other DryLanders groups around the school.
“The sun is going to burn us alive. Did you see how there are barely any clouds today?” says Lystra as she closes her ChipMobile.

“Says the person who does not have to kayak to school?” says Cypher while pushing in his chair out off the table.

“I am not getting a good feeling about this weather;” I say. “Has CampusAI said something about hazards or alerts?”

“She can barely point you in the right direction,” says Cypher. “It should be nothing.”

The three of us started studying separately. A couple of hours passed by when we decided it was time to head out to have lunch. The cafeteria is divided into two main areas where food can be obtained. I am fortunate enough to be able to bring my own lunch since I cannot afford the PlusSelfService and the food provided by MLU as a low-income student is not the greatest. The cafeteria gets very lousy, and it is easy to tell who the DeepWater people and the DryLanders are. Middle-class students are nothing special, we are essentially in the middle.

Even though MLU is a diverse campus and aims to equalize students, CampusAI had to be installed a couple of semesters ago as a camera system with access to virtually the whole school to prevent any issues from happening between social classes. Even when fights or conflicts have not happened in so long, CampusAI was also installed as a tool to monitor us and keep all the students informed and safe.

“Heard about the party tonight?” asks Lystra as she places her tray on the table. “It’s going to be in one of the dorms in the north wing.”

“Who cares? I bet it is filled up with your people,” says Cypher.

“We should go, to distract and relax ourselves a little bit, don't you think?”

“What do you think, Tecna?” asks Cypher while digging in his fish salad.

Although I was hearing their conversation, I was not conscious of it.

“What? Party?” I ask.

“Yes, tonight at one of the dorms in the north wing,” says Lystra.

“I don't know honestly, finals are coming up and maybe it’s going to rain heavily. Have you looked outside, not even one cloud?” I say.

“Exactly,” says Cypher supportively.

“Guys, please let’s go, we need to start living. Yes, there are going to be DryLanders but I’ll make sure other people go as well, I know the guy,” says Lystra with excitement.

“Oh, Lux?” says Cypher. “He’s a family friend of yours. Of course, he's going to have issues. I don't like him very much.”

“I agree with Lystra. Maybe we should go do something before finals.” I say while being hesitant.

“I guess I’m just being dragged to it,” says Cypher.

“Yes, you are!” exclaims Lystra with excitement.

After our party debate at the cafeteria, I head out to my Climate Crisis class. Each lecture gets more and more intense, and it seems as if there is nothing, we can do but rather to adapt to our living conditions. As I am walking to the Student Gather Center to sit down and rest for a little, I get an e-text from Lystra ‘Party @ 9, I'm bringing you clothes!’. Luckily, she did, since I have a limited closet. As I reposed my hand over my forehead to cover me from the sun, I thought about leaving my home and moving into a boat. I’d be able to at least travel more regularly, but of course, they are expensive, and the state will not give it to me until my house is practically underwater.

Hours later, the strong wind hit us while we walked to the north wing dorms. I decided to check my ChipPhone constantly to see if there are any alerts, but nothing is there. We saw more people heading in the same direction, once upstairs we entered the dorm, and the loud techno music perforated my ears. These rooms are bigger since they are for DryLanders or people that can afford them. The three of us made our way through the “dance floor” to the other side of the room. I sat down with Cypher as Lystra came with drinks. I could tell that the windows were shaking, maybe from how windy it is outside, but they are tinted so I am not able to tell with the lights turned off if it is raining.

As the three of us continue to enjoy the party more than expected I see that the majority of people here are DryLanders. Lux is Lystra’s family friend, although they do not talk much they definitely know each other. He likes to be problematic. I lost Cypher from my sight but Lystra is still next to me.

It has been some time since we arrived, and I am getting homesick already. I turn to get something to drink when all of a sudden, I hear the music volume go down and people’s voices rise. When I direct my vision to that scenario, I see that a fight has started between Cypher and Lux. My heart sinks as I see how badly they are hitting each other. Lystra is trying to get them separated but they continue to fight, finally, two guys hold them apart and people start backing up.

“Go back to your dirty BoatHouse fish!” Screamed Lux while forcing the guys.
“At least I’m not living off daddy’s money, you idiot.” Said Cypher while whipping the blood out of his nose.

I try to get close to help him but without any notice, an alarm starts to go off in the building and emergency lights in the hallway blind us. Nobody knows what is going on. I made my way out of the dorm to run down the hallway to the nearest clear window. I see the palm trees bending from the terrible wind outside and heavy rain pouring down. This is a hurricane. But there is no alert or text message from CampusAI. I hurry back to find my friends as other students are trying to get downstairs to go out. I find Cypher and Lystra together still inside the dorm.

“You need to back up from the windows” I scream. “It’s a hurricane, and it looks apocalyptic outside.”

“Everyone is trying to get out, how did we not hear about this?” says Lystra.

“I swear I want to kill that guy,” says Cypher.

“We don’t have time for this, we need to find a safer place to refuge,” I say.

My mom. I hope she is fine. I come out to the hallway again to see that everyone is getting back up. The water is getting inside the building. I hear someone screaming. For how long has it been raining? The lights turn off and the emergency red lights turn on. Are we out of power? Impossible. I say to myself. There were at least 45 students in this building right now, the water is getting in, and we cannot make our way out. What are we supposed to do? Cypher and Lystra are in the hallway, and I see Lux getting close to Cypher.

“If we all die here today, you are going with me,” says Lux as he attempts to grab Cypher by the neck.

“We are all going to die if we let the water keep coming up, we can get electrocuted, haven't you thought about that?” says Lystra.

Some DryLander girls that I have seen in my mathematics class are crying in a corner. I check my ChipPhone but I cannot make or receive calls. The building has three floors. If it is like the hurricane Miami experienced ten years ago, the water will not take more than five hours to fill the building. The draining system in the school is really good, but the sea level rise around the school makes it hard to work. All of a sudden everyone’s ChiPhones get a message from CampusAI.

“Find refuge. Water Rescues are stuck in strong currents. This was an unexpected hurricane.”

It has been around 30 minutes since we have been here, and the water has already filled up the first floor. There are no rescue boats or anything around. Why did we decide to come to this party? Lystra and Cypher are next to me, and the other students are distributed between the hall and in the dorm.

A bright light reflects in the window. What is that? I stand up to get a better view and it looks like… a BoatHouse? wait, but not only one BoatHouse, there are at least ten of them!

“Guys, there are BoatHouses outside the building,” I say.

“BoatHouses? What are you talking about?” asks Lystra while standing up with Cypher.

“How can a BoatHouse come but not a rescue?” says Cypher.

As I am observing them, the BoatHouses are getting closer to the building as if they knew we are here. Everyone else in the hallway noticed the BoatHouses surrounding the building. All of a sudden, we hear somewhere downstairs. Cypher! Are you here? Cypher’s dad came for him? How did they manage to come? We start to make our way downstairs and I observe how flooded it is on the first floor to my surprise there he is, it is Cypher’s dad looking for him.

“How did you get here?” asks Cypher.
“You texted me that you were going to be at a party here and when the hurricane suddenly hit, we thought you would not be able to kayak home or any of your friends, “says Cypher’s dad. “Luckily, we were sailing with the current, so we were able to get here with our HouseBoats. I’ll get them closer, and you guys will start to jump in, then we’ll head to Deep Waters. It is not raining so heavily there!”

As Cypher’s dad promises, everyone gets into a BoatHouse. Now we are sailing to Deep Waters and as we are getting closer, the rain starts to get lighter.

The next morning the sun is up again, but the flooding is higher than ever. Communications are running again so I texted my mom to let her know that I am okay. Almost immediately, Cypher’s dad gives the order to start heading to MLU because parents or patrols can be there waiting for us.

Effectively, parents and patrols are there waiting for us. People are explaining how the BoatHouses rescued us out of the building and how badly the houses in the Dry Lands are flooded. Lystra, Cypher and I are laying down on the deck. I see Lux coming nearer to the BoatHouse and to my surprise he is thanking Cypher’s dad for coming for all of us. He calls Cypher to talk to him but I am not able to overhear their conversation. Many BoatHouses are here from the Deep Waters zone, apparently according to Cypher, they are close neighbors so that is why when his dad asked them to come to MLU to help any students out, everyone agreed.

“And apparently there’s going to be a new distribution of BoatHouses for everyone that had their house compromised during the hurricane,” says Cypher. “Houses in Dry Lands flooded so terribly that they’re getting BoatHouses as well. We are now all in a Deep Waters zone. Ironic.” says Cypher with some laughs.

“So am I getting a BoatHouse as well?” I asked.

“His family is doing a huge financing, since we may have some more hurricanes in the future,” replies Cypher.

“I was dying to move out of my house anyway,” says Lystra and we all laugh.

Due to the financing of the BoatHouses some DryLanders families decided to make, new BoatHouses are being distributed to anyone affected by the hurricane. Families that have been living in Deep Waters since decades ago are coming over to the DryLanders’ BoatHouses to teach them how to live in a boat. It looks like in the end, there is something the low class does have that the high-class did not have all this time. Experience. I am glad Cypher can always come over to help me and Lystra figure out all the tricks for the new life afloat.