A bus came to our house the first time ever. It had a military escort, and when we didn't immediately go outside, a woman in snow-white camouflage walked up the stairs. She knocked on the door, and when no one answered, she barged into our house.
"We know you're in there. Come on out."
Reluctantly, I led my siblings down the stairs.
We didn't have clothing in the traditional sense - we had thick leaves that protected us from the cold. Still, they set us up with some cast-off clothing, saying it was too cold outside for us to go out without it on.
How had they found out about us? The thief woman, of course. She reported us to the government.
They said we wouldn't be allowed to return to our house, since there were no adults - that was unacceptable! I threw up a fuss, even kicking the woman in the shins, for emphasis, with my new boots.
She raised an eyebrow down at me.
The nice lady who was to be our teacher sighed. "It can't hurt anything to let them stay. After Mr. Moss's last broadcast, do you know anyone who would be willing to take them in?"
So we were allowed to stay at home, except on the days that the school bus was able to make it through the snow to our place.
It felt like maybe a day, maybe two, before things went wrong. In reality, it was probably closer to a few tense months.
My brothers aren't as cool-headed as I am. There was a fight - it was a mess - several of the humans' children ended up with broken limbs.
We weren't allowed to return to school anymore, and that was that. We'd been registered, the employment agencies would come for us when we were deemed old enough to join the workforce.
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