The Perfect Human Project

The Project

Panic bubbled inside my chest. I was now standing alone in a room full of strangers, all of whom were about to watch my whole world change. ”Mom? Dad!” I called in a high-pitched voice as I scanned the sea of faces.

“Right here, Piper.” Even as I felt my dad place a strong, sturdy hand on my shoulder, I couldn’t stop the tears. I swirled around on the balls of my feet and hugged his legs tightly.

“Aww, don’t worry, sweetheart,” he soothed. “Come on, let’s take our seats.” He grabbed my hand and led me to a long table. My mother was already seated, talking to a woman across from her.

“Don’t you look pretty today!” the woman told me with a smile. I glanced down at my dress and smiled back. I was wearing my favorite shade of light blue that evening, and my hair had been fixed into a simple bun. My mom had said that I looked like Cinderella, some princess from The Old World.

“What do we say, Piper?” my mother replied, and lightly nudged me with her elbow.

“Thank you,” I whispered. 

“Jonas hates what he’s wearing tonight—he keeps calling a three-thousand-credit silk suit ‘a monkey’s birthday party outfit,’” the woman continued, turning back to my mother. “The nerve of that boy! His father and I worked hard for those credits. Speaking of which, where’s my son? Jonas! Jonas Miller, get over here right now!” The lady roughly pushed to her feet, and my eyes followed her as she grabbed a boy by the arm and spun him around. 

My father let out a low chuckle. “Some children don’t belong in the Society, they belong in a zoo.”

My mother was laughing, too, though she tried to hide it. “Hush,” she whispered as she covered her painted lips with her glowing fingernails.

“But not you Piper,” my father continued. “You belong in an aquarium.”

I erupted in a fit of giggles. “Yes, I do,” I relied, and slid into the seat next to my mother. I listened to the buzzing conversion and couldn’t help but smile. Maybe everything was going to be alright.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!” The woman’s voice echoed throughout the banquet hall again. Everyone fell instantly silent and craned their necks to face her.

“Tonight is one of the biggest nights for your young children,” she announced. “Tonight is the night on which the Elite and Normals will be forever separated.”

I gulped hard.

“The Normals will live a rich and fulfilling life. The Elites will work to bring honor back to our great Society.” Cheers ricocheted off of the walls, and the woman gave a wicked grin before everything seemed to go dark. “Now, if you all will turn your attention to the wall screen ahead, the names of our future Elites will appear.”

I grabbed my mother’s hand and gave it a hard squeeze. 

The wall screened powered up, showing the Society’s symbol, then faded into a bright white screen. It seemed nothing was happening until the anthem blasted out of the speakers, and then a picture of a boy appeared. Wild cheers erupted from his family. 

“Carter Robins,” the woman called out. Everyone began to clap as the boy made his way onto the stage. He gave the crowd a bright smile and sat in one of the seats behind the woman. 

Clapping could still be heard when the anthem rang out again. It was a girl this time. 

“Alicia Portillo.” There were more claps as the girl made her way to the stage. The light makeup that covered her face was now smudged with tears. I didn’t know if they were tears of happiness of terror, or a mix of both. I glanced up at my mother, who was staring at the children on stage with admiration. 

It continued to go from boy to girl for what seemed like hours. Every time a name was called out, I would sigh with relief—it was another name that was not my own. We were rapidly approaching the end, and a comforting feeling spread throughout my chest. Everything was going to be alright, neither Ky nor I was going to be chosen, and we would be able to live our lives as planned.

The woman called the last girl’s name, and I smiled. I wasn’t chosen, and I would never be chosen. I would live my life as a Normal. Scanning the room for Ky, I spotted him on the farthest end of my table and tried to catch his eye. He had his hands clenched into tight fists, however, and his eyes were focused intently on the wall screen. I wanted to run up to him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, that we weren’t going to be Selected.

That’s when my whole world spun out of control. The anthem rang out, and I turned my head and saw the blue eyes before anything else. My heart slammed out of my chest.

“No.” I whispered. “No!”

“Ky Martian,” the woman called with a smile.

My eyes filled instantly, and I shoved my chair away from the table and leapt to my feet. “Move!” I cried, pushing people out of my way in my effort to reach Ky. Through my tears, I could faintly see that he was already on stage. His eyes seemed to be full of tears, too. 

“Piper!” my father called, racing after me, but I couldn’t stop. I had to reach Ky. As I pushed more people out of my way, I heard tearing sounds, which meant that I was ruining the most beautiful dress my parents had ever bought me.

“Ky!” I yelled, and pushed my way to the front.

The woman on the podium was now staring at me, her eyes drawn into a hard line. “Officers, keep this girl in line,” she ordered, and I felt them wrap their arms around me. 

“No!” I thrashed in their iron grips. “Ky!”

The Officers dragging me out of the banquet hall, and my mother and father followed closely behind. “Hold still!” I heard one of the Officers snap.

“Don’t hurt her!” my mother cried. That when I felt a sharp stab in my left arm, and everything went fuzzy around me. 

“Ky.” My voice was a weak grunt now, and I struggled to stay awake. I had to get to Ky and keep him from leaving. 

“Just take her home. The sedative will wear off overnight.”

Everything went black around me. I couldn’t see, but I could still hear the soft murmurs of my parents’ voices, and the hot tears that struck my cheek. 

I couldn’t understand it; Ky had been so sure that he wouldn’t be selected. We were both so sure. But now I had lost my best friend, and I would never see him again.