Every year. every 18yr old takes a mandatory test. Speaking about it is prohibited. Everyone who gets 95% or above gets sent away, and nobody knows where to or why. You sign in to see your mark. and despite completely guessing on every question. you got a 96%. There's a knock at your door.
"Are you ready?" Mom asked as I came down for breakfast that morning.
"I guess so," I responded. Dad looked over the newspaper at me.
"You guess so?" he asked.
"Yeah. I guess so. Not like there's much more I can say about it."
"Fair point," Dad said.
Last month I turned 18. Every year, everyone who turned 18 in the previous 12 months takes a mandatory test. We aren't allowed to speak about it. We aren't allowed to ask anyone anything about it. We aren't even allowed to ask if anyone we know has ever taken it. All we know is the one thing we are told, about a month before our 18th birthdays. Everyone takes the test. Anyone who has gotten 95% or above disappears. That's all we know. They're taken away after the results are posted on the Portal, and no one knows where they go, what they do, or if they're even still alive.
"Did you take it?" I ask my dad, testing the boundaries of that rule.
"You know I can't answer that," he said. "And don't say any more about it. The Portal is always on, and you never know who can listen in."
I rolled my eyes and sat down to the breakfast Mom was putting out. It was a pretty typical breakfast. Nothing special even though this test could determine... well, I don't know what this test could actually determine.
I took a couple of pancakes off the plate, and some bacon. Mom poured me a glass of orange juice and herself a cup of coffee. She topped off Dad's cup and pushed the cream towards him.
Neither of my parents said much more. Mom looked nervous, Dad stayed behind his paper. My little brother, Tristan, who had been silent until now, looked over at me.
"Aren't you going to school today?" He noticed I wasn't in my school uniform.
"No. No school for me today," I said.
"Lucky," he said, pulling at the tie to his uniform. Tristan is eight and in Second Form. He hates the school uniform because in Second Form they make the kids wear ties. In First Form and in Entry, kids wear romper suits with the school colours on them. Second Form is where the real learning starts. And as such, they are expected to wear the proper uniform. I smiled at him. I remembered when I started Second Form and had to wear a tie. Mom probably had to get three or four new ones in the first month of Second Form, because I kept pulling mine off and losing it between school and home.
"It's a very important day for Jaime, Tristan," Mom said. "So he doesn't have to go to school."
"If you don't have to go to school, why don't you get to stay in bed later?" Tristan asked,
"I have to be somewhere," I said. "I have an appointment."
"Oh."
I wished I could tell Tristan where I was going and why, but it's forbidden to discuss The Test with anyone. And since I'd already pushed my luck asking Dad if he'd taken The Test, I didn't want to draw more attention to my family, in case someone was listening in on the Portal. It was possible, seeing as it was Test Day.
I finished up my breakfast and cleared my plate.
"Just leave it on the counter," Mom said. "I need to reload the washer anyway."
I picked up my bag, then, rethinking it, put it back on the bench by the doorway. I didn't need it. It only had my school books in it, and I wasn't going to be needing those today anyway. I pulled out my tablet, figuring at the very least, I might need that.
"You have everything?" Mom said, meeting me at the door after checking Tristan had his school belongings and taking his tablet off its charger and packing it into his bag, while Tristan put on his school shoes.
"I don't need anything. Maybe just my tablet. So yeah, I think I have everything," I said.
Mom pulled me into a tight hug.
"Good luck," she said. "I know you'll do fine."
"Thanks, Mom," I said, pulling out of her embrace. I gave her a kiss on the cheek because she seemed so worried, and walked out the door with Tristan in tow, pulling on his school cap.
"Where are you going then?" Tristan asked.
"I told you," I said. "I have an appointment."
"Where?" he asked.
"In town," I replied.
"Is it a doctor's appointment?"
"No," I answered. "Just an appointment."
"But what kind?"
He was getting annoying.
"Tris, it's just an appointment. I'll be home by dinner time. That's all."
He hung his head. Tristan and I tell each other everything - I mean, within reason. I'm 18, he's eight. There are some things I don't tell him, or at least, not everything.
We got to the corner where I would catch the shuttle into town to the Testing Centre and Tristan would continue on to school. I gave him a hug and ruffled his hair, stealing his cap.
"Hey! Give me that!" he said, laughing.
"Make me," I said, holding it over my head as he jumped to try and reach.
"Come on, Jaime! Give me my cap back!"
I placed the cap back on his head, backward, and offered my hand for a high five.
"Learn lots, little buddy," I said.
"Good luck at your appointment," he said, crossing the street and heading towards the school. I walked over to the shuttle stop and waited. There were a few other kids I recognized from the neighbourhood and from school. Darlene was there. She was in my Form at school. I didn't realize she'd turned 18 already. She was a quiet girl at the best of times. Today was no different. She had her head buried in a book. I sat on the bench beside her.
"Hey, Darlene," I said.
"Hi, Jaime," she said.
"Why are you studying? You know there's no reason to study."
"Shhhh! Don't say too much!"
"Dar, I didn't even say anything. Say, when did you turn 18?"
"In June," she said. "Why? When did you turn 18?"
"Last month," I replied. "I just didn't realize you'd already turned 18. I thought you wouldn't be 18 until next year."
"We've been in the same Form our whole lives, and you don't realize that we're the same age?"
"Kyle's not 18 until next year, and he's in our Form," I reasoned.
"Kyle is a special situation," Darlene said.
"How so?"
"He's gifted. He was accelerated into our Form. Probably the only kid ever accelerated."
"Huh," was all I could say. Kyle didn't come across as a particularly smart person. He wasn't stupid, but he certainly didn't do much that showed he was gifted.
Just then, someone dropped into the seat on the bench beside me and sighed. Without looking, I knew exactly who it was.
"'Morning, Eric," I said.
"'Morning, Jaime," he responded, "You ready?"
"As ever, you?"
"As ever."
I looked over at Eric and saw he was wearing his sleep clothes.
"Interesting wardrobe selection," I said.
"Didn't feel like getting dressed. Not like there's a dress code or anything."
I didn't have an answer for that, so I didn't respond. I was saved from having to come up with something by the shuttle pulling up to the platform. The rest of the 18-year-olds and I lined up and got on the shuttle, all heading towards the back together. A few adults who worked in town looked at us as we got on. It uncommon to see teenagers on the shuttle into town. We're not encouraged to go into town, especially not on our own. Usually we go into town with our parents, if absolutely necessary. But most things can be taken care of in our own neighbourhoods, and most shopping for school uniforms is done through the Portal. It's rare that anyone has to go into town unless they work there. Unless you've committed a particularly heinous crime, like murder, even legal matters are dealt with over the Portal.
