The Student (The Proclamation Trilogy Book 1)

What if your future were decided before you had the chance to choose it?

In The Student, twenty-three-year-old medical student Catherine “Cat” Ubalve is racing toward a career she has spent years building—but the government has other plans. In a mid-21st-century United States governed by strict population-control laws, every citizen must marry by twenty-five, have two children by thirty, and face sterilization when the deadline arrives.

Cat wants to become a physician, not surrender her life to a timetable chosen for her. Then a chance encounter leads her to a secret underground community where people live beyond government oversight and make their own choices. As Cat is drawn deeper into their hidden world, she uncovers disturbing questions about the government, a mysterious tragedy from the past, and the true cost of resisting the system.

For readers of dystopian fiction about personal freedom, government control, rebellion, and the consequences of challenging an authoritarian society, The Student follows one young woman as she decides how much she is willing to risk for the right to determine her own future.

Discover The Student and enter a world where choosing your own life can make you a fugitive.

Excerpt from the book

2075, City Bus

Slinging her backpack off her shoulder, Cat Ubalve pulled her vibrating cell phone from the front pocket. She knew it was her mom calling without even looking. No one else called her. She rolled her eyes.

“Hi, Mom. I’m on the bus,” she said with a sigh after accepting the call.

“How was class?” her mother asked cheerfully.

“It was good. We learned the pharmacokinetics—”

“I’m not going to understand the details; I’m glad it was a good class,” her mother interrupted. “You know, Catherine, now that you’re twenty-three, you might want to start thinking about…well…finding someone to settle down with…”

Cat rolled her eyes and bit back a snarky retort. “I have two years, Mom. I’m not interested in getting married.”

“Catherine, lower your voice. Aren’t you on the city bus?” Her mother’s voice was laced with concern.

“No one is paying attention to me, and I’m not saying anything that others my age haven’t thought or even said! I’m in my third year of medical school. My focus right now is on graduating, getting a good placement for residency, and ultimately, treating patients. I didn’t pick medical school for the bonus credits.”

“I know you didn’t. I know you’re a great student and the aptitude test highly recommended you for medical school. It’s just…you don’t want to be assigned someone. There is more to life than a career,” her mother cautioned.

Not in today’s world, Cat thought. It was always the same thing. Whatever she did, it was not good enough for her mother. It felt like she was always worried about things Cat couldn’t care less about—like getting married.

“We’re almost to my stop, Mom. I’ll call you later. Love you.”

She ended the call and looked out the window. Rows of grey apartments flashed by as the bus rolled down the city street. She tried to imagine what the city used to look like before The Proclamation changed everything. Her grandma had photos from the early twenty-first century when architects still had the freedom to design buildings and homes, and the cityscape was awe-inspiring. Some of the older buildings still remained, but many had been torn down rather than undergo costly renovations to get them up to the new codes. It was cheaper for the city to just use the same design over and over again, so the majority looked virtually identical.

The scrolling marquee of the bus indicated they were approaching her stop even though she’d told her mother this a few minutes earlier. She didn’t want to talk about marriage or getting matched with a spouse. She just wanted to live her life. She tugged on the cord to let the driver know she wanted off, then stood up. A young man with dark hair and dark skin bumped into her as the bus pulled to a stop.