The Final Test
The air. It smells like chemicals. Fluorine? No that was lost in the before. Iodine? No, way too strong to be iodine. I take another whiff of the sour air. Oh no, it’s chlorine. It’s test day. It’s the test that chooses your fate. And no, I’m not being dramatic or overeggaerant, this crooked society eliminates the “parasites” of this community by injecting chlorine into their blood . They kill people who aren’t smart enough. Our president created this law in the aftermath of the war, and it has supposedly “kept the peace” for the last 10 years. My family and I all lived in the “before,” yet my parents have become easily brainwashed by the technology that states that eliminating the un-intelligent is “good” for our society. That’s why, since the beginning of the “now,” my parents have been heavily disciplining and educating me, so that I would pass the test that determines my fate, and also so that they wouldn’t have to deal with the embarrassment of having a dumb child.
“Autumn! Let’s go, we’re gonna be late for school and you know what day it is!!”
That’s my motherly like best friend Maya. Maya is the over-achiever type of girl who excels at everything and that’s why I hate and love her all at the same time. She’s my complete opposite; I’m depressed but curious and I always tend to be the glass half empty kind of girl whilst she is positive and always has her glass half-full. It’s not that I choose to be the way I am, it’s a genetic thing I suppose. I’m unsure how Maya and I have stayed best friends for so long, but I guess it’s just that opposites attract.
“Coming Maya, give me a sec!”
“No Autumn, if you take another second of precious time we’ll have to run to school and I know that you hate running!”
Suddenly, I was downstairs. Maya already had all of her things together of course. A homemade lunch, ironed clothes and new shoes. Though, I’m not surprised considering her parents actually care about her well-being and not just her intelligence level. When we arrived at the school there were guards everywhere. Hopeless teenagers were hugging their parents and crying, saying their goodbyes, and hoping it wasn’t their last. Amongst the wailing families, a matte black limousine carelessly pulls in front of the school. Walking smugly out of the limousine, the President drags his son Briant through the front glass doors of the highschool. Briant is the sporty, academic type, who is dating Maya. Even though it might seem twisted for Maya to date him, they truly are the perfect match. They both have good grades, scholarships to many colleges, and they are both reasonably confident. Briant and I have never particularly gotten close, but I don’t have a problem with him other than the fact that his father is technically a mass-murderer. The whole school is crammed into the bleak auditorium when the microphone feedback pierces our ears
“Welcome fellow students to the RLHS 9020 LG test! I do hope that all of you try your best and do well! Remember, all grades are final!” President Alexander announced enthusiastically.
The wave of students in the bleachers, including myself, rolled their eyes and robotically shuffled to their assigned classrooms. Once I was in my assigned room, my nerves started to overcome my body. My heart felt like it was beating a hundred miles an hour and my head was pounding. The voice of my demeaning parents echoed in my head:
“If you fail the test we will be very disappointed in you!”
Maya was in the corner pacing and praying, and it didn’t take a genius to notice that she hadn’t studied for the test.
“Maya are you okay?”
“I don’t know Autumn, I can’t take this anymore, it’s too much!”
“What do you mean? You don’t have a choice!”
“Maybe we do! Listen Autumn, I have a plan-”
“No plans Maya! Not this time! We are going to take the test, pass, and move on with our lives. This is the final year we have to take this, don’t mess this up for me!”
“Fail the test with Briant and I.” Maya declared
“ARE YOU INSANE!?”
“Autumn, don’t act oblivious to what is going on around here! The whole football team has somehow managed to pass this test every year, but then fail all of their classes during the school year! We both know it’s not right!”
“Maya, I’m not oblivious! I know what is going on, but I choose to keep my head low and keep my mouth shut for my own good!”
“Well it’s time to do something about it! Briant and I are planning on stealing the files of the students who failed and exposing the President once and for all, and you’re joining us!”
“I’m sorry, Maya, I just can’t, there’s too much I have to lose.” I cried
Maya just stood there, she was visibly fuming but no words were escaping her mouth; I was dying inside. I knew that I had betrayed her in that instant, but I had to think of my family first. By family, I mean my little sister, Gabriella. I can’t leave her, I’m the only one who loves and cares for her, and if anything happened to her, I don’t know what I would do. My teacher hands out the testing tablets and the butterflies in my stomach grow stronger. I unlock the tablet, and start the exam.
It’s over. The test is over. I finished the exam barely within the hour limit; Briant and Maya only used a quarter of that time to complete the exam. Then, the facilitators storm in and stand in the back of the classroom while the teacher announces the names of the children who failed. Maya’s name is called off first , and then Briant, followed by other kids who were crying, pleading, and trying to escape from the firm grip of the facilitators.
“Jessica Morris… Kade Schold… Justin Gripod… James Holkfer… Riley Ikner… and Autumn DeAngelis… ”
When I heard my name called, I sat there emotionless, and allowed the facilitators to pluck me from my chair.
“Autumn I’m so sorry! I thought for sure you’d pass, I probably threw you off-guard with my psycho antics and that’s why you failed! I don’t deserve your forgiveness, I am an awful person!” Maya wailed
“Maya, I’ve always been in.”
Most of the guards were at the front of the line so Briant and I patiently waited while Maya went to go flirt with a lonesome guard in back of the line and distract him long enough for Briant and I to sneak by. Once the coast was clear, we sprinted down the hallway and checked every room for the files that would prove our case. Maya eventually caught up to us, but it would only be a matter of time before the guards noticed 3 missing bodies. Every room we surveyed was empty, and the clock was running out, so we decided to split up.
“I found them!” Briant screamed
He was far down the hallway, and Maya and I started sprinting as fast as we could, but Maya’s ankle snapped, and I quickly dragged her into a storage closet while giving Briant the go-ahead to get the files.
BRIANTS POV:
The file room was unsettlingly dark and freezing cold. I could hear buttons and sensors going off all around the school which meant that the guards had figured out that we escaped. I start rustling through the filing cabinets when I found a list of random names that had seemingly no relation to each other, until I looked up their names in the file cabinet. I discovered that the people on the list were passing with 30% and 43% while others were failing with 88% and 92%.
“This evidence proves our case! “ I declared out loud, and just as I was leaving the room with the corrupting files in my hands, I was gridlocked in by a familiar figure that I couldn’t make out in the darkness.
“Son, put the files down” My dad yelled.
“How could you do this to me, how could you do this to all of us!”
“It’s not what it seems, just please put the files down and forget this.”
“No! You’ve ruined people’s lives and you expect me to just sweep it under the rug? You’re a monster! Don’t you dare even look at me.”
“Son you’re being unreasonable, You know I love you. Please just don’t do anything with those files, they could ruin my life—”
“There he is!” a guard yells. I start to lower my hands to my pockets to grab the list.
“He has a gun! Fire!”
My world suddenly halts. I brace for the impact of a metal bullet, but the impact that overcomes me isn’t a bullet, but the lifeless body of my father.
