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“Me neither.” This from Malachi. He looks at his roommate Boyd. “Did you?”
Boyd frowns at his mashed potatoes. “No. I left five pages of math unanswered.”
“I still had five and a half.” This from Zandri.
Two slender, fair-skinned male candidates sitting at the table behind Zandri turn to face us. Identical green eyes study our faces. Only their hair length distinguishes one from the other. One with long. The other with short. The one with hair pulled back at his nape asks, “Did you say you didn’t finish the test?”
I see the others around the table stiffen, and I sigh. So much for thinking the noise covered our conversation. Lifting my chin, I answer, “There were just too many questions for me to finish them all. I got close on history, but I probably took too much time checking my work on math.”
The green-eyed twins look at each other. Without a word they rise, gather their plates, and move to the empty seats at our table. The longhaired one says, “You have no idea how good it is to hear someone finally admit they didn’t finish the damn tests.” He sticks his hand out. “I’m Will. My brother Gill and I are from Madison Colony.”
Madison. Only a few hours from Five Lakes. My father has traveled there a few times over the past two or three years. Something in the earth has been killing their crops. From the way the twins have piled their plates and the unhealthy cast to their skin, I’d guess there still isn’t enough food to go around. I’m glad they have food now because I can’t help but like them as they tease that they should have been allowed to take the tests together. They point out that everyone always says they share one brain. Gill excels in math and science. Will is strongest at history, English, and languages.
Once we are done comparing thoughts on today’s tests, Will and Gill plow their way through three plates of food as they describe Madison Colony and their family. They live in the city the colony is named for. Their father works in the paper mill while their mother is employed at a dairy farm. Life is clearly difficult for some in Madison Colony, but the twins are optimistic and upbeat. They regale us with hilarious stories of their attempts to milk a cow and their own family’s difficulty in telling the two of them apart until Gill took pity and cut his hair. The rest of us share our own stories from home, and I can see more than one envious face turned toward our table as we laugh. The laughter feels so good. It brightens our moods, eases the tension in our bodies, and replenishes our spirits. When dinner ends, most of the other candidates disappear into their assigned rooms, but we ask if we can remain in the dining hall for a while longer. None of us wants to leave the comfort of friends.
We sing favorite songs. Tomas and I perform a duet that we learned in school. The words speak of the hope of springtime and the world being born anew. Our two voices entwine and echo in the hall. The officials cleaning up after the meal stop and listen to us. When we go back to our rooms we all walk lighter. The lightness stays with me even as Ryme expresses relief that tomorrow’s exam will send people packing. And when I sleep with my bag tucked tight to my chest I spend the night free of dreams.
We all gather again at breakfast looking rested but feeling tense. No amount of talk can take away the anxiety as we mentally prepare for our next test. Science.
Periodic tables. Balancing chemical formulas. Physics equations. Those questions are first and easy compared to the ones that ask for scientific explanations for the mutated insects and animals that now populate the world. But the section on genetically altered plants is easy considering my hands-on experience. While my thumbs aren’t green, I understand the concepts behind creating hybrids and the factors that influence their success.
Too soon time is up. Two pages left unanswered. Lunchtime, then part four: Reading and Language Skills. My eyes are sore and my body numb with fatigue when I finish and realize the clock is still ticking. Ten minutes remain in the testing period.
Panic floods me. Did I answer the questions too fast? Did my hurrying cause me to give incorrect or incomplete answers? My fingers itch to open the cover so I can fix the mistakes I must have made. And yet, I hear my parents’ voices inside my head. The advice they gave me when sitting beside me at the kitchen table, quizzing me for a test. Take my time. Never second-guess myself. Almost always my first instinct will be the correct one.
I put my pencil down. Fold my hands in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tomas do the same. He’s finished. Glancing over, he gives me one of his single-dimpled smiles.
Five minutes remain. Four. Three. Two. Pencils scribble. Eyes flick up at the clock and back to the paper in front of them, the candidates desperate to finish one last answer. The buzzer sounds. Round one of The Testing is complete.
We are escorted to the elevators. A few kids give one another high-fives and celebrate. I just feel tired and relieved. I did the best I could. Whatever happens now is out of my hands. Tomas gives my hand a quick squeeze as the elevator doors open. Then he disappears down the hall with the other guys. I head in the opposite direction and am disappointed to see Ryme has once again made it back to the room before me. She’s seated at the desk, bent over a silver figurine she must have brought from home. There are still nine corncakes on the plate. Her smile is bright, if a little manic, when she sees me walk in.
“How did it go?”
I shrug my bag off my shoulder and decide to give an honest answer. “I didn’t complete the science section.”
Ryme’s eyes narrow. She bites her bottom lip and studies me for several moments. I guess she’s trying to determine whether I’m telling the truth. She’ll probably decide I’m attempting to get inside her head since it’s something she would do. Face it: anyone who brings a stack of corncakes with her and doesn’t eat a single one isn’t above screwing with someone’s mind.
Finally she gives me a smug smile. “I guess Five Lakes Colony schools aren’t as good as the ones in Dixon. Too bad. One of us won’t be around much longer.”
A flash of heat streaks through me. My nails bite into my palms as I fight for control of my anger. I can’t help myself from saying, “Our teachers did well enough. Tomas and I finished the reading section with time to spare. Did you?” I can see by the surprise on Ryme’s face that she didn’t, and I flash a mean smile. “I guess you’re right about one of us going home. Too bad. Don’t fo
rget to pack your corncakes when you leave.” My tone is snotty—the kind I use when my brothers are ganging up on me and I decide to get in a low blow. A different heat fills me. Embarrassment. I wait for Ryme to take another verbal shot. I deserve it. But she doesn’t. She just looks down at her hands.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
Her eyes come back up to meet mine. Her lips spread in a wide smile. “Whatever for?” she asks sweetly. “You were just trying to make yourself feel better after admitting you didn’t do well today. A lot of the inferior students at my school used to do the same thing, so I totally understand.”
Ugh. The girl is asking to get slapped. To prevent myself from doing something else I’d just feel guilty about, I flop onto my bed, close my eyes, and keep my back to Ryme until dinner is announced. Before the announcement is complete, I am out the door.
Dinner is an exuberant affair. Everyone is tired, but the stress of performing under pressure is lifted for the evening. The food also contributes to the happy atmosphere. Pizza. Warm and gooey and better than anything I’ve tasted before. I eat six slices. Zandri gets the twins telling jokes, and we are all laughing as the loudspeaker hisses and crackles to life.
“Malencia Vale. Please report to the hallway. Thank you.”
The dining hall goes silent. My heart slams in my chest. Have the Testing officials already decided I failed? Everyone at my table looks at me with questioning eyes. I must look freaked because Tomas takes my hand and says, “I bet they want to ask you to teach classes instead of taking them. Make sure they offer you a lot of money before saying yes.”
Sure. I give him a weak smile and stand. All eyes are on me as I stiffly walk up the aisle, past all the other tables, and through the side door. Everyone in the hall is probably jockeying for position so they can get a good view through the glass wall. I clutch my bag and stand in the hallway, waiting for whatever comes next.
“Malencia Vale?”
