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“I kind of hoped you would be.” He looks around the room at the kids laughing and asks, “Are you ready for the interview?”
I hear Will’s laughter ring through the hall and wonder if he was right about what the Testers are looking for. Shaking off the worry, I say, “It’s just answering a few questions. After everything else, how hard can that be?”
“Good morning.” Dr. Barnes smiles at us from the lecture hall stage. “Congratulations on passing all four tests. I cannot tell you how impressed we are by your intelligence, your resourcefulness, and your dedication. During the fourth exam you had a chance to see beyond the borders of your revitalized colonies and witness firsthand the challenges our leaders face. The tests we put before you were challenging and the consequences for failure high, but the challenges and consequences that our leaders face are higher still. We know what we have asked of you, and we are delighted so many more of you than expected have made it this far.”
I think of how small a group we are compared to when we started. It makes me wonder how few must have survived in years past for Dr. Barnes to expect less.
“Of course, you are all wondering about today’s interview. I’m happy to tell you that the interviews will be short and relatively simple. Thus far you have demonstrated your intellect and your ability to strategize. You’ve shown us your ability to survive under strenuous conditions and problem-solve when things have gone awry. We know you are smart. Now we would like to know more about you the person. We are going to ask questions about you, your family, and your colony as well as the decisions you’ve made during your time here at The Testing. Please be honest and open. In essence, we are asking you to just be yourself. Nothing you say will be wrong, unless, of course, it is a lie. As members of the United Commonwealth, we ask that our leaders be honest and forthright. Today, we ask the same courtesy of you.”
I can’t help but wonder how they will enforce this rule and what punishment will occur if we are not completely honest.
Dr. Barnes, however, has moved from that point on to the rest of the instructions. “Each of you will be interviewed by a panel of five Testing officials. Each evaluation can last as long as forty-five minutes. Please do not read anything into the time we take to question you. When your evaluation is over, you will be escorted back to your designated sleeping quarters to wait for the results. I warn you—our decision making might take a great deal of time. We ask that you be patient as we work to select those we feel are the very best candidates for the University. Some of us are known to be stubborn.”
He gives us one last warm smile. “The best of luck to each one of you. I look forward to working with many of you when you attend the University next year. I know we are going to do great things together.”
Dr. Barnes exits the hall and a gray-haired woman in a blood-red jumpsuit takes the stage. “When your name is called, please stand and exit into the hallway. From there, a Testing official will escort you to your evaluation room.”
“Victor Josslim.”
Red-haired Vic climbs to his feet. He keeps his head down as he walks out. I can’t help but notice how thin and pale he looks compared to the boy I met a week into the fourth test. He’s changed. We all have. And as more names are called, I hold tight to Tomas’s hand and wonder if that isn’t why the Testers remove our memories. To turn back the clock. To turn us back into the kids who optimistically came here believing they could change the world.
I feel Tomas stiffen as his name is spoken. My lips brush his cheek for luck and then he is gone and I am left to wait for my name to be called. And that’s when I remember. Tomas has the pills. Both of them. Our one chance at keeping our memories of The Testing alive if we make it through the interview. I can only hope the Testing officials will allow us to see each other again before our memories are altered. If not, I hope Tomas will take them and remember for both of us.
One by one the room empties. I try to sit still, but I can’t help fidgeting as I think about the questions the Testers will ask and wonder what kinds of answers they’re looking for. Dr. Barnes said no answer we give will be wrong, but I know that isn’t true. Fourteen more candidates will be eliminated during this phase. The Testing committee has to be looking for something specific. I just wish I knew what it is.
“Malencia Vale.”
My legs are uncertain as I stand and walk to the hallway. My heart thunders in my chest. I repeat Dr. Barnes’s words “just be yourself” in my head as I follow a Testing official to a doorway at the end of the hallway. He asks me to wait for a moment and slips through the door. Inside is the murmur of voices. I bite the edge of my thumbnail and stifle the urge to pace off the nervous energy building inside me.
After several minutes, the door swings open and a voice says, “Please come in.”
Just be yourself, I think as I take a step across the threshold. But instead of calming me, the words make my heart pound harder. Because I’m not sure I know how to do that. I’m no longer the girl who left Five Lakes Colony, who believed that Graduation Day actually made a child into an adult. I certainly wasn’t an adult then, and now . . .
After everything I have seen and done, I’m forced to admit I don’t know exactly who I am. But I know I need to find out fast because this final interview requires that I show them. And that test has just begun.
Chapter 21
THE ROOM IS small and white. White walls. White floors. No windows. A long black table sits along one side of the room with five Testing officials seated behind it. Two in red. Two in purple. And Dr. Barnes beckoning me farther inside.
“Please, come on in, Cia. Take a seat.”
In the middle of the room is a single black chair that faces the Testing officials. Next to it is a small black table and a glass of clear liquid.
“Please have a drink.”
All eyes follow me as I cross the room and take my seat. Dr. Barn
es nods as I pick up the glass, making it clear the polite request is an order. There is no choice but to drink whatever the glass contains.
Water. Perhaps something else. There is a metallic aftertaste along with something slightly bitter. Almost immediately I notice the tension leaching out of my muscles. After being on my guard for so long, the relaxation in my limbs feels wonderful. I find myself smiling and decide there is more than just a muscle relaxant in the mix. Whatever else they gave me must cause euphoria and an overwhelming sense of well-being.
“Truth serum.” The words are out of my mouth the moment I think them.
Dr. Barnes nods. “So far today, you’re the first candidate to pick up on that without my telling them.”
“Or maybe they were too scared to mention they noticed.” Again, the words are gone before I think to control them.
Dr. Barnes laughs. “That is certainly a possibility. That’s why we give you the drug. It is designed to help your mind and your body relax. We know how stressful this process is. We don’t want the tension to interfere in our getting to know the real you.”
