Chapter One

The day the black town car pulled up to my house was the day everything changed.

I sat on my bed, anticipating its arrival as I looked through the foggy window a few feet above my clump of blankets on the floor. For twenty minutes I saw dirt roads, farms across the street, kids walking home from school, men holding shovels walking to work. Each passing person stopped to take a good look at my house, causing me to duck my head under the flimsy piece of wood keeping my window in place. I didn’t want to see any of the locals from Hawns. They knew just as well as I did what was coming.

“You act as if it’s not even a big deal.” Kane had said to me earlier that morning. Because of the big day, I had the day off from school. Kane, after some pleading with his dad, was also granted the day off. Even on such an important day as this, I would have expected him to go. Nothing’s more important to him than his education. I hadn’t bothered to ask my dad about skipping. I had done it before. He wouldn’t notice my absence from school if I stayed home and split a beer with him.

We had been sitting at an old picnic table down the street from my house, the place we always went to immediately after school. It was spaced evenly between my and Kane’s house, about a quarter mile from each. We could spend hours there, our bare feet embracing the dirt underneath them. It was so misplaced, surrounded by dirt, trees and run-down houses around our neighborhood. I’d never seen anyone use the table but us. Our clashing personalities were what kept us close initially, but I never forgot to give credit to that table.

I sat up straighter, taking notice to my awful posture Kane always nags me about. I squinted at the sun, and then shook my head. “Well, cause it’s not.” I was half lying, but I didn’t want Kane to over think the situation. Nothing was going to change.

From Kane’s expression, I could tell he wasn’t buying it. “It’s a huge deal and you know it.” Then, after leaning back and crossing his arms, he said more sternly, “Don’t play it off like you don’t.”

He was right. The opportunity I was presented with was incredible. After receiving the Acknowledgement�"a letter sent to your house from the Regime rambling on about how special you are, how your life will change�"I had spent hours at school picturing what it would be like there with all the other recruits, hand picked to be trained to be one of them. The idea didn’t appeal to me. Even though everyone in Hawns was as boorish and lacking in common sense as the person next to them, at least there were few of them. The entire population fit into small shacks along one dirt road that lasted a little more than a mile. Everyone knew each other. We had no choice. That’s why I felt I could judge them so harshly.

The school that thought I was special, that would change my life, was called RASP. Rulers of the Affairs of State Prep. I didn’t know where it came from, only that the Regime put it together to morph teenagers into the next generation of Regime. Unlike Hawns, RASP had a fairly large populace. Though the school was something people rarely brought up, I had heard rumors from a teacher named Buck a few years back. Buck had said the buildings at RASP were taller than every house in Hawns stacked on top of each other. The image was hard to envisage, but the point was brought nevertheless.

I tucked a strand of my red hair behind my ear. “I guess. I guess I just can’t see myself there. Taking it all seriously.”

Kane let out a small breath that resembled a laugh. “To be honest, I can’t either. This is the most serious conversation we’ve had since we met.” He leaned inward, his jet-black hair reflecting the sun. He rested his forearms on the table. “You’ll just have to try.”

I smiled. A sad smile, but a smile. “Why don’t you just go for me? You’re what they need.”

Kane shook his head slowly, biting his lower lip. “I’m not smart enough for that stuff. Not smart like you, anyway. Even if you are goofy.”

I smiled bigger, a real one this time. “Goofy? Alright, no. I’m not goofy. Besides, a quarter of the recruits are picked cause they’re strong.”

Kane smiled back, something almost as rare as my opportunity. After taking a glance down at his bulging upper arms, he said, “Whatever.”

I was far from reluctant to leave. The town of Hawns had pushed me over the edge a long time ago. There were only two things keeping part of me in Hawns. The first was the thought of having to deal with huge buildings filled with students with egos to match. The only thing I hated more than ignorance was arrogance, and that was what I was expecting to find at a school with such hype. The second variable holding me back was Kane, not for my sake but for his. I imagined what it would be like if he were to have been chosen. Picked up in a fancy car and taken away to a life guaranteeing some spot in the Regime. I blinked a few times, clearing the image from my mind.

Then I looked at him. The indifferent expression on his face didn’t surprise me. Kane was a guy of few emotions. Everything he attempted was successful. It was a mystery how we became friends, really. When it came to behavior, we were polar opposites. 

I sighed, keeping my gaze directed at Kane. I knew I had little time left with him, but my stubborn conduct led me to deny this to be true. I was left with an emptiness in my stomach. “Just keep this place going, alright?” My voice was unexpectedly monotone.

Kane nodded.

And that was that.

 

It was the sound of the car that let me know it was time to go. I peered out my window one last time, confirming that my time was up. With a groan, I forced myself up, said goodbye to bedroom, and walked out.

My dad was waiting by the door, one hand on the knob and the other holding a bottle of whiskey. He gave me a sad smile, much like the one I had given Kane earlier. He looked down at me, shaking his head slowly. It wasn’t until he reached out to hug me that the realization hit me. I looked up at the moldy ceiling above me, still gripping onto my dad as if I would never see him again. For all I knew, I wouldn’t.

“Do good.” He said, patting me on the back a couple of times, harder than preferable. He let go of his grasp, but his hands remained on my shoulders, his arms stretched out.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t even worry about it.”

My dad laughed, and took a big swig of whiskey. “Good.”