The Gifted [INDEFINITE HIATUS]

7 • Elayne

Dedicated to @Pinkstripedzebra for all of the lovely comments and the support--and also, I couldn't not give you the chapter where the refrigerator made its brief appearance! XD

Despite my decision that I won't worry about the Examination, I spend most of my weekend holed up in my room, pacing in circles and staring at the wall for extended periods of time. Every once in a while, I sit down at my desk and pick up a pencil, absentmindedly doodling to keep my mind occupied. But my thoughts keep wandering back to the test.

On both Saturday and Sunday morning, the first thing I do is scramble to the window and pray with all my heart for a retake opportunity, my eyes fixed on the rising sun. Surely there's no way this wish can go as wrong as my previous one.

Mom and Dad spend most of their weekend on the phone. I think they're trying to contact the Examination Officials, but it's obviously not working. They get more and more dejected as the hours progress, which just makes me feel upset that I'm causing them so much disappointment and stress. Not to mention the amount of time they're wasting on me.

To be honest, I'm not sure I want to know if I'm going to get the chance to retake the test or not. I'm scared to know the answer to that question. I don't think I can handle it if the answer is no.

I'm so terrified to go to school on Monday, a place filled with people who will no doubt be desperate to discuss the test with anyone and anything that moves, that I can barely sleep at night. When I finally do manage to fall asleep, it's probably not even Sunday anymore, and I wake up bleary eyed and exhausted. But I still manage to drag myself to the window and make yet another sunrise wish that I will get to retake that test. And then I wonder if that's going to be my wish every day for the rest of eternity.

God, I hope not. That's depressing.

Of course, just as I expected, when I get to school, the Examination is all anybody can talk about.

Snippets of conversation float through my ears as I walk up to the front of the school. Every few moments, I hear someone mention a question in a section I completed, and my fingers clench together in an effort to keep myself from screaming out loud. Especially when I hear someone saying that they put down what I know is an incorrect answer.

I would have scored higher than half these people in art, at least, I think savagely as I storm into the building, shoving my way through the crowds as I head to my locker. But no, they're going to be successful while I end up unemployed.

It doesn't get any better once I'm inside the school. No matter where I turn, people are frantically questioning anyone and everyone who is willing to stop and listen, grilling each other about the test.

Normally, I'd be one of them. But instead, as the voices wash over me, they make me feel like I'm drowning, suffocating, in the midst of all of these kids who have nothing to worry about in their future. Every single one of these people will have a score. They will be assigned to a career path and will follow it for the rest of their lives.

Everyone except me.

I do my best to tune out all of the voices, but it's practically impossible when the Examination is the sole topic of conversation everywhere I go. I manage to get to my locker, and then to my first period class, math, without going absolutely crazy, and I nearly cry out with relief when I see that the two girls sitting at the front are the only ones in the room. Finally, some peace and quiet.

"Elayne!" one of the girls says brightly, catching my eye. "Come sit with us!"

I smile faintly at her. "Hey, Sadia. And Medha."