The Test [Book One of The Test] (Watty Award Winner 2014)

Chapter Three

The Test

Chapter Three

Still.

Everyone was still. That's the thing I didn't understand. Here we were, surrounded by people, in a strange place we knew nothing about, and everyone was still staying still. Sure, I wasn't exactly aware of what to do next. There was always the option of following what Reid said and go through the trees to the materials we needed. Could we trust him though? He did bring us here, taking us from the real world, erasing our memories, placing us with strangers. But what else could we do?

I looked down at what I was wearing. Reid was right, black shorty pajama shorts with green and pink cupcakes on them, with them I was wearing a simple gray tank top that clung to my chest. I felt exposed and I now desperately needed to cover up. I looked around to see that it looked like I was the only one facing this dilemma as the other girls, though we were in the middle of a crisis, stared at the shirtless boys in front of them. And the boys were no better, eyeing the girls with interest.

Idiots

Annoyed with the fact that that's all they apparently could think about in this oh so difficult time, I decided to get up and go forward with the plan that got me clothes. So, I turned toward the trees and started walking. The faster I got there the better.

As I walked toward them, I saw the tree that had been pointed out to us earlier, the one from my dream that brought me here. It was hard to believe that this strange tree was just a figure created by a code on a computer to wipe our memories. I kept walking, going in between the trees, making my way to the other side. When I finally made it there my jaw dropped.

Right in front of me was a large lake full of water, The green grass surrounded it. The sun shown high in the sky, reflecting off the water. Everything was so bright and vibrant, it's hard to believe it's just a computer program. It was so real.

"Wow."

I jumped at the sudden noise behind me and turned around to see what it was. Imagine my surprise when I saw that it was none other than the boy who spoke to Reid. When he saw me turn around, he came closer. I realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. Seeing him without a shirt made me remember why I came here in the first place. Turning back around, I looked and saw a stack of cut wood that covered a large area of the ground. I went towards it. Once I was there, I saw, just as Reid said, stacks of clothes for both boys and girls. There were shorts, pants, shirts and jackets. There were even shoes.

"He wasn't lying when he said they gave us materials." I turned around at his voice only to slam right into him. I backed up fast but I could still feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Sorry." I said embarrassed.

"It's alright." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"The view." He said pointing towards the water. "The way the water reflects the sun and the grass is so green. It's kinda hard to believe."

After a moment of silence between us, he broke it by saying, "So, I guess you came here to get some clothes, right?"

"What?" I said, confused. Then I remembered. "Oh, yeah. I did." I went back over to the shirts and picked up a blue one that looked like it might fit.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I should grab one too." He said while coming over to me. I noticed he had something that looked like a burn, it stretching across his back, almost nonexistent at first glance. But I had been staring, causing a blush to form on my cheeks. He bent down to grab a black one that he instantly pulled over his head. With his back now covered he turned back to me again and introduced himself.

"I'm Jack by the way. And you are?"

"Um, Lexi. Well, um, actually it's Alexandria but I kinda have this feeling I go by Lexi." I replied.

"Lexi." He said, trying it out. "I like it. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lexi." He said, holding out his hand for me to shake.

I took it. "You too, um, Jack." I took my hand away and kept the conversation going. "So where are the rest of them?" I asked, looking towards the direction we came from.

"What, i'm not enough company for you?" He asked jokingly. I shot him a look but he just laughed. "Okay. Calm down, just having some fun. Whenever I saw you leave I came after you. I thought the others would have followed too, but it turns out they were to busy ogling the people around them to care." He answered.

"Figures." I mumbled under my breath.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Nothing. Forget it."

"Uh, huh." he said. "Are you gonna change or stand there in your cupcake clothes all day?"

"Well, excuse me for not wanting to get changed in front of a stranger, who I might add, is a guy."

"Your words hurt," he said, playfully putting a hand to his heart. "I mean, you know my name. We are not strangers."

"Ha ha ha." I said. "Fine, you're not a stranger, but i'm still not getting changed in front of you."

"It's not real. It's all a dream type thing, remember."

"Just go away so I can change." I demanded.

"I like you too." He said, bending down to grab a pair of shoes. He started walking back through the trees. "See you around, Lexi." He yelled.

"You too, Jack." I yelled back, glad he was leaving.

I waited til I knew he was gone before I stripped off my tank top and replaced it with the blue short sleeved shirt. I went from there to pulling off my pajama shorts and putting on a pair of denim shorts from the pile. Then I looked at my feet. It seemed like a good idea to grab a pair of shoes. I got a pair of black ones that looked like they would fit and put them on. After that, I bent down to pick up my clothes I put on the ground and decided to walk back to where the people were.

❒❒❒❒

Once I got back, I was happy to see that everyone was finally getting up and heading towards where I just came from.

"Isn't it nice to see them getting up?"

"Yeah, it is. What got them to move?" I asked.

"I said there was a big pile of clothes and that got the girls up. And where the girls go, the guys go. So pretty easy." He said. I laughed and turned to face him. His hair was no longer thrown everywhere but was smoothed down and now flopping over his eyes. Oh god, his eyes.

They are so green.

I tried hiding a blush for staring, I turned back around and looked at the people walking.

"So what now?" Jack asked suddenly.

That was a good question.

"Well, I think there's only one thing we can do." I said turning my head around a little bit to look at him and then turned it back around again.

"Let me guess, do what Mr. Buttface macho man told us?" He asked from behind me, sarcasm present.

"Yep." I said simply.

It took him a minute to respond but finally he did.

"Okay." He said, stepping in front of me again. "Let's get started."