Listed: Book One of The Listed Trilogy

Chapter Eight

Secret

The landing is smooth, and I look out the window to see nothing but large roads and buildings. The sky is obscured by clouds, and I can see a city in the distance. I hear a ding, and I look up at the intercom.

"We have arrived at our destination, State 2, and it looks like a cloudy day today. Please take any belongings and exit in an orderly fashion. Thank you for flying with us and have a nice day." the captain's voice came over the intercom.

I unbuckle my seat belt, and stand up. Everyone else is already filing into the aisle, and I'm one of the last ones off the plane.

Kat walks in front of me and Lavender walks behind me. We walk into a large building with a glass dome at the top. I look through it at the clouds, and wish that the day were a little more inviting. I turn around to see Lavender, and she looks uncomfortable, shifting her gaze from the floor to the ceiling constantly.

"Hey, I just remembered. What were you trying to tell me earlier?" Lavender looks flustered.

"Oh yeah, that, well," she scratches the back of her neck and looks at the floor.

"Welcome, Listed children!" I hear a female voice and turn to the front of the crowd.

The woman standing in front of us isn't exactly stunning. Her shiny black hair falls to her hips, and is parted in an odd fashion so that her hair poofs up in the back. She has a scar running down her nose and one under her left eye. Her eyes are a dull gray with no life in them, and her gray uniform is two sizes too large.

"The children from the south are coming in soon, then you'll be met by the children from the east, then the north, is that clear?" she demands. Some answer, but most say nothing, like me. "I asked is that clear!" she barks. We all perk to attention.

"Sir, yes sir!" everyone yells, except for a few, as in me, who don't know what to reply.

"Alright! Get in line by your gate!" she yells. We all shuffle towards the gate with the word "West" over it in large red letters.

I stand in line next to Lavender, who stands next to the boy from State 49, who stands next to the State 50 girl. We all stand up straight, with our heads held high, when I hear footsteps from the South hall.

At least a dozen tall, tan kids in yellow shorts and tee-shirts. In the south it's traditional to wear a yellow on the Listing day. One person that catches my eye is a girl in all black with black hair, and I make a mental note to stay away from her.

"Welcome, Listed children!" the woman begins her speech again, and I tune her out. I observe the kids, one by one, and find that most of them are lean and strong. I swallow. I know that lots of kids, even those in Opes, work on farms with their parents in the southern states. Lavender subtly shakes my side to wake me from my trance, when the kids from the north enter the room.

They all look pretty strong, probably from shoveling piles of snow in the winter, and they immediately look to the lady. They all wear white clothes, that's their traditional color in the north, and I watch over them all as the lady begins her speech.

In the middle of her speech, the eastern kids come in. They don't look particularly extraordinary, but I know that with most eastern kids, they're smarter than stronger. All of the girls wear dark blue dresses, and the boys dark blue suits. I see that they get dressed up for the Listings in the east.

The woman sighs, then begins her speech all over again, and I see a girl that catches my eye in the group of eastern kids.

She has golden blonde hair with brown highlights, glasses, and acne surrounding her nose and forehead. Her hair is in a high pony, and she has dark brown eyes. She's kind of tall, but only slightly taller than me. She looks at the woman with intense focus, as though hanging onto every word that she says. I wonder why she's so interested in what that woman says, but I just shrug my shoulders.