"Please, come in," my mother says, patting herself down in an effort to smooth out the wrinkles. Her cheeks are pink, and I watch her eyes dart around the living room, making sure it's clean.
We have never had an officer in our house. Binns comes over every now and again, to tell my parents how well I'm doing in class, but Rivers and President Kovach are celebrities compared to him.
My father appears in the doorway, bright red hair peeking behind his shoulder at me.
"Oh, Alexis," Professor Binns says as he leads the president and colonel to the couch. Lexi waves at him, smiling. "You received your scores?"
"Yes, Professor," she says, in a small voice, pushing past my father to stand in the living room. Her mother isn't as brave.
"And you did well?"
"My score was 452."
"I'm very proud of you. I never had a doubt," Binns says, standing with his hands folded in front of him. President Kovach crosses her legs, sitting up as straight as possible on our old couch. She looks like a pearl sitting in a trash pile. Rivers, though, seems comfortable. One of his arms is propped on the back of the couch behind the president, and the other is in his lap.
"You should have this," President Kovach says, and I realize she's still staring at me. Really, we've been watching each other. Her voice is chilling, smooth like honey. Goosebumps spread over my arms.
I take the envelope out of her outstretched hand, willing my hand not to shake.
"Open it, and read it aloud," she says, in her velvet voice. The fact that she is basically commanding me to doesn't register.
Tearing the light blue seal off, I pull the letter out and unfold it. The paper is thick, and the lettering is embossed. Someone put time into making this presentable.
"Dear Quinn Austin," I read, in a low voice, "Within this e-mail are the results to your Intelligence Exam taken on Monday, May 3rd, 2029."
"Speak up, Quinn," Mom says, hands over her mouth. I nod, clearing my throat and continuing.
"Your score for the first section of the exam was one hundred percent, giving you two hundred points."
I stop, letting out a little air. I wasn't so worried about the first portion of the exam; it was the easiest. Anxious, I flatten the letter and read more.
"Your score for the second portion was one hundred percent, earning you another hundred points. You have no physical deformities or imperfections. Your score for the third portion was also one hundred percent, giving you a total of five hundred points."
I drop the letter, because my hands start shaking.
My mother is crying, gently, just loud enough that I can hear her sniffling. Staring at the carpet, I play with my hands, trying to get them to be still. My heart pounds in my chest.
This can't be happening.
My mind is a medley of emotions, jumbling everything up. First, I look at Lexi, who is grinning broadly. Of course, she would represent the happiness I feel. Then, my parents, who both look immensely proud. I look at Rivers, whose face I can't describe. He doesn't smile, and his forehead furrows as he watches me. Then, there's Kovach, who is still smirking, those eyes analyzing me.
"How do you feel, Quinn?" she suddenly says, blinking. I was staring again.
"I, um, I don't know," I say, rubbing my cheeks, "I'm confused."
"About what?"
"Are you kidding me?"
My mom gasps, and I realize my mistake. Etiquette.
"I'm sorry, General," I correct, rephrasing, "I just mean, are these scores real?"
Kovach smiles wider, standing up and walking to stand in front of me. She's so close I can smell the strawberries on her breath, see the different shades of gray and blue in her eyes. Her black hair is graying at the roots, giving her a gradient look.
"My dear Quinn," she says, in a whisper almost, "They are entirely real. I've been waiting for you for a long time."
I blink up at her. Waiting on me?
"I'm still confused," I whisper back, "Ma'am."
She laughs, stepping back.
"A perfect score means you're in line to succeed me," she says, "As President of Compound 5. I have many years ahead of me, though, and so in the meantime, I want you as my head Strategist and Lieutenant General."
I only realize I'm holding my breath when my lungs start to burn.
She has to be joking. I'm sixteen. Just because I'm smart doesn't mean I know the first thing about commanding a military or strategizing what one does. I glance over at Lexi, who nods, giving me a thumbs up.
"Of course," Kovach continues, "You do have an option. I can get you reassigned to another compound if you don't want this position."
My heart hits the floor.
I don't have a choice.
"I accept the position," I say, feeling the temperature drop out of my face. Kovach pats my cheek and nods.
"Good decision, Lieutenant General Austin," she says, snapping her fingers. Rivers jumps off the couch, moving towards the door.
"It was nice to meet you, Austin and Collin's families," she says, strutting towards the door, "I will see you in the morning, Quinn."
With that, she's gone, heels clicking against the wood porch. Professor Binns is left, an amazed look on his face.
"Well," he says, shaking his head, "Congratulations, Quinn."
No one moves. I glance at him, scowling. He drops his gaze, clearing his throat.
"Please report to class like normal in the morning," he says, moving towards the door. Mom shuffles over to open it for him, smiling like she's in pain. "Congratulations, you two."
After the door is shut behind him, Mom turns to me, holding out her hands in front of her. I cringe, because I know what's coming. It's the same reaction that she had when she found out she was expected. Lexi covers her ears. Just in time, too, because Mom lets out a high pitched squeal, waddling towards me and grabbing me by the shoulders.
"I knew you would do amazing," she says, hugging and shaking me at the same time. I struggle to breathe, nodding. "Oh, this is amazing."
"You're being repetitive, Mom," I whisper, gasping for breath as she lets me go.
"Oh, shut up," she mumbles, squeezing my cheeks together. I look at Dad who is smiling. Striding up to me, he claps my back.
Lexi grabs me from behind, lifting me off the ground a foot. I grunt, stumbling backwards.
"Look who's moving up in the world," she whispers into the hair behind my ear. I smack at her, shoving her away. "Seriously. I saw it coming."
My mother hugs us both, dragging us back into the kitchen to finish breakfast.
The thought that stays with me is Rivers' face, the expression that I can't place. He seemed almost... Worried. Kovach used reassignment as a threat, which confuses me for some reason. Reassignment isn't supposed to be a punishment, just rejection. I sit down at the table, wondering who else passed the test and why Rivers was so worried about me.
The next morning, we are all back to normal. Lexi meets me at the door at exactly six twenty-five, toting Riley along with her. The little girl seems to glow this morning, walking with her chest puffed out. I would almost call it a strut.
"Look at her," Lexi says to me, shaking her head, "Like a rooster, parading around."
Riley is skipping ahead of us, red hair bouncing. I look at Lexi, smiling at the admiration in her eyes.
"She's just proud of you," I say, laughing, "Leave her be."
Lexi beams, shoving her thumbs in her uniform pockets and tilting her chin up. I watch her stride away, swinging her shoulders as she does.
We drop Riley off outside with the other 5th years, heading to the elevators. This morning, there's not a lot of 11th years hanging around. Some of them shuffle in the elevator with us, heads down, faces red. I wonder if everyone has to attend class today.
The few faces I see don't seem like happy faces.
On a good year, the statistics say that about ten out of a class of twenty-five will pass the test. On a bad year, the number is two or three passes. It's a challenging test, and most people either fail the exam or can't make it through the physical section. Now, I understand why.
We get off the elevator, still silent. Lexi is watching the others, tracing the lines of their faces with her eyes. Through the window, I can see that the chairs have been rearranged once more.
Binns has position a row of five desks near the front and the rest have been pushed back to the far reaches of the room. I can see silver name plates and bundles of uniforms on the desks, but from here, trying to read them is pointless.
"Morning, Quinn," a cheery voice says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Hey, Naomi," I say, giving the dark-skinned girl a smile. She's signing in, bent forward in the middle. Her natural hair falls to the paper, forcing her to move it before she can even write. Her signature is tall and loopy, and she dots the 'i' with a little heart.
It's silly and adorable.
"How did you do?" she asks, watching me sign in. Unlike her signature, mine is messy and straightforward. There are no shapes in my name.
"I passed," I say, waiting on Lexi, "You?"
"Yeah, I did pretty well. I was surprised."
"Tell her exactly how well you did, Q," Lexi interjects, pushing past us to find her seat. I watch her for a minute as she circles the room, eventually sitting down at the second desk in the front. That means Binns has us seperated by pass or fail.
Only five people passed.
"So? How well did you do?" Naomi prods, walking in. I follow, shrugging.
"I mean, I did pretty good," I mumble, not wanting to say. It seems almost unfair to brag about it. Especially in front of twenty people who failed.
"You're not going to tell me, are you?" she asks, finding her seat in the front, "I'll figure it out on my own."
I take my seat beside Lexi, looking at the bundle of clothes on my desk. It's a uniform, navy blue except for the black boots. There's a name tag, bearing my new title. I shove it under the shirt, hiding it from view.
"Good morning!" Professor Binns says, walking through the door in front of us.
"Good morning, Professor."
The only people who speak the required greeting are us five. Behind me, the twenty are motionless. I can feel their eyes on my back, hear them breathing. Yet, I don't dare glance back at them.
"Okay, so today is the day that I will introduce you to our new members of the official population of Compound 5, as well as share their scores and new jobs," he continues, ignoring the silence behind me. Every word he speaks is aimed towards the front, as if no one else exists.
"Let's start at the end," he says, sweeping towards a boy sitting at the end.
"Congratulations, Joshua. You passed the Intelligence Exam with a score of 415. You will be joining the Agricultural Workforce and living at home with your parents for the remainder of your training."
The boy smiles and nods, sinking down in his seat. Binns moves on.
"Congratulations, Naomi. You passed the Exam with a score of 468. You will be joining the Military Paramedics, where your job will require both intelligence, calm, and stamina. You will move into the Basic Training bunks this evening."
Naomi beams, clutching the uniform to her chest. Wrapped around her neck is silver stethoscope.
"Contratulations, Ian," Binns says, patting this boy on the cheek. "You passed the test with a score 424. You will be joining the General Workforce in the weaponry field. You will live at home until your training is completed."
Alexis beams up at him, hands crossed over her desk.
"Congratulations, Alexis. You passed the exam with a score of 452. You will be joining the Infantry. You will be moving into the Basic Training bunks with Naomi this evening. Your job requires a high athletic skill with very little focus on subject based intelligence."
"Man, that sounds perfect," Lexi whispers, still smiling. Binns laughs.
He finally stands above me. I swallow hard, feeling the sweat on the back of my neck. Twenty pairs of eyes bore into my back, and four more stare at my right ear. I refuse to look away from Binns, waiting to hear how he introduces me.
"Congratulations, Quinn," he begins, slower than before. With one hand propped on the front of my desk, he continues, watching me, "You passed the exam with a score of 500. You'll be joining President Kovach as Lieutenant General and Head Strategist. You will move into the Basic Training bunks with Alexis and Naomi this evening."
I finally look down, clenching my eyes shut.
My neck is sweaty; there are handprints of sweat on my desk where my hands were. The air around me feels like wool. The silence rings in my ears.
"And the rest of you," Binns says, as I watch his shoes move away from my desk, "Have failed the Intelligence Exam, which means you will be reassigned to another compound. As always, you will meet the truck at the gate Sunday morning. Do not take anything with you. Where you're going, you won't need it."
At that, I look up. No one else seems phased by it, though. What does he mean they won't need anything? Are they going to give them new clothes and everything? What about family photos and books?
Binns catches my eye, looking away quickly.
For the first time in my life, I wonder just where they're going to take the students who failed.
Discussion Question: Why do you think Colonel Rivers was so worried about the results? Just so you know, Kovach is pronounced Co-Vac (Co- as in coke, and Vac- as in vacuum). :)