A Flawed Alliance

Chapter 2- The Evaluation

He paced to the side of the room as I moved to the swivel chair in front of the desk where the lady had just sat. A bookshelf was located next to me, and I could feel a rush of wind from the curtains and the open window behind me. Quietness prevailed, as if it was just Logan and I in the world.

"Okay," he said once I had settled down. "Introductions. I'm your proctor for today. Any questions during the Evaluation, feel free to ask me."

I nodded. Logan had no sign of an animal next to him. I tried not to think why but listening to his conversation with Veronica made me rethink that he had just finished taking his Auxiliary Evaluation before his volunteering shift started.

Logan walked over to the bookshelf, skimming his fingers against the many folders lined on the individual shelves. He stopped moving them after a couple seconds, his shoulders tensing.

"Ah," he breathed. "What's your name?"

"Iridian."

"Last name?"

I hesitated. "Cantor."

His fingers continued to skim until he got to the lowest shelf. He knelt down and slid a maroon folder out. The folder was thick with stapled papers and from where I was sitting, I could see most of the papers only had basic information of who I was. He took a random packet out of the folder while standing up, walking to me with slow strides.

He slid the packet in front of me and once again, stood behind me just as he placed the sheets of paper.

I straightened the pencil in my hand, roving my eyes over to the bold letters at the top of the page that read Auxiliary's Evaluation. My eyes slid down to the first question. Name? Iridian Cantor. Age? Twenty-two. Gender? Female. Ethnicity? Vietnamese. From there, the questions asked me who I was, where I lived, who I lived with, and if I owned any pets. Then after the twentieth question, the questions started to change.

Do you like to eat meat? What T.V. shows do you like to watch? Favorite color? Favorite books? What are your aspirations in life? If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?

Logan suddenly spoke, soft but clear through the silent room, "Also, I advise you choose an answer that best fits you. In the long run, an animal you have no connection with would be unfortunate, wouldn't it?"

"Maybe not always do we connect to the ones like us," I said, looking up at him as he rounded the desk.

Logan stayed silent, staring hard at my paper. It was the end of that conversation. I flipped through the test packet. Five hundred questions? I sighed, flipping back to the question I was on previously and began working again. Toward the end of the evaluation, my eyes began to blur and it was getting harder to concentrate.

As I answered more questions, I spoke again, "Did you take the Evaluation yet?"

"I just did," Logan replied. "Before you came in."

"If it's okay to ask, what was your result?" I asked as the graphite in my pencil broke.

Logan sucked in a breath. Contemplating. Then, "Phoenix."

Was that what he was talking about with that lady, Veronica?

I stayed still in my seat until I got to the last question, then began to sweat more. What animal are you hoping to get? Was this a trick question? Were they trying to ask that to make sure I didn't get the animal I wanted? I narrowed my eyes. Again, it was the idea of any other animal that confused me. All I wanted for the longest time was to get an otter as my animal. It wasn't even what I could do with an otter, but that being with an otter seemed fitting to who I was.