Independent Study (The Testing 2)

“To make things fair, I am going to pull four names out of this bag.” Ian takes a small brown sack out of his pocket. “These four will act as captains and select the other members of their teams. Please come forward when your name is called.” Ian reaches into the bag and pulls out a piece of paper. “Griffin Grey.”

Griffin pushes forward with a confident smile. He receives a green bag from Ian and then steps to the left. Though Griffin has already proven to be smart enough to excel at one Induction test, I find myself hoping I do not end up on his team.

“Olive Andreson.”

The dark-haired girl giggles as she walks to the front of the group. Once she has her green bag, the next name is announced.

“Malencia Vale.”

The sound of my name makes me jolt. Straightening my shoulders, I avoid a puddle and walk up to Ian. As he hands me the bag, I feel his hand give mine a quick squeeze of encouragement. I take my place next to the still-giggling Olive, and Ian reaches into the bag and comes out with the name of the final team captain.

“Jacoby Martin.”

A tall, lanky boy with deep brown skin and even darker eyes takes his place beside me. While the rest look to Ian for the next set of instructions, I find myself scanning the faces of my fellow students. Ian said the captains will have to choose their teammates. That means the success or failure of my team rests squarely on my shoulders.

“Captains will choose one team member at a time in the order in which they were announced until all students have been placed on a team. Griffin will start.”

Griffin wastes no time making his choice. Raffe. Not a surprise. I’ve seen the two of them hanging out in between meals. Their team will not lack strength or smarts. The giggle is gone as Olive announces her first team member. A tall blond named Vance. My turn.

I look from face to face. This is a team challenge. To work effectively in a team, trust is essential. If only Tomas were here. No matter what he might or might not have done, I know he is on my side. Now I must decide who else is.

The obvious choices are the colony-born students, Will and Rawson. They are my natural allies. I may not trust them, but I have known them for months. Gone to class and studied with them. They are both smart and resourceful. But I don’t call either name. Not yet. Though Will and Rawson will be more inclined to help me due to our shared colony status, this is also an opportunity to follow Michal’s directive and make allies among the Tosu students. Allies will be essential long after Induction has ended. So, I opt for one my gut says is smarter, has worked harder to get here, and is less inclined to side with the others from his city than the rest.

“Enzo.”

A number of students give Will and Rawson smug looks as Enzo walks toward me. Though the Tosu City students have not appeared friendly toward Enzo, this choice has no doubt confirmed their suspicions about my fellow colony natives’ lack of abilities. Good.

Three Tosu City students are chosen in succession.

“Will,” I announce. Do I trust Will? No. His actions during The Testing make it hard to place my faith in his hands. But he is smart and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. It’s better to have those qualities on my team than working for another. Otherwise, I would be constantly watching over my shoulder to see what danger he might inflict on me.

“Kaleigh.”

“Drake.”

“Rawson.”

Olive’s choice makes me blink. I had been so certain the other captains would shun the colony students that I hadn’t considered selecting anyone else. Rawson frowns as he takes his place at Olive’s side, and I turn my attention to the two remaining students, whom I know next to nothing about. A girl named Juliet and a boy whose name I’ve never learned. I look from one to the other, hoping something in their expressions will help me decide. Both refuse to make eye contact. Neither has brought a University bag. Nothing I see aids my decision. If I want to avoid an uneducated choice, there is only one other option.

“Enzo will make the last choice for our team.” I ignore the gasps around me and the anxiety that takes hold because of them. Do people think I am indecisive or weak because I passed the choosing to another? I tell myself it doesn’t matter what they believe. This is the smart thing to do. Enzo might not be close friends with these two, but he has attended class with them. He is better suited to pass judgment on their collaboration skills.

Enzo doesn’t hesitate in his selection, and we are joined by Damone, who stands at least a foot taller than me.

“The first location on your team’s list is somewher

e behind me,” Ian says. “Waiting inside your bag is a clue to the specific spot where you’ll find your first task. When you are done, return to this location for transportation to the next site. We wish you luck and look forward to seeing all of you back at the residence. Don’t get lost. We’d really hate to have to come find you.” With a wink, he and the other final years stride across the broken ground. A moment later, a skimmer appears and they hop inside.

Before the skimmer can clear the horizon, the other teams are racing across the weathered wood bridges toward a building partially hidden by yellow and brown trees.

“We need to get going,” Will says, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Enzo and Damone are anxious to get moving too. My instinct is to go along with the others automatically—after all, I’m the youngest of my team. In Five Lakes Colony, I only raised my hand in class or took the lead in an assignment if I was one hundred percent certain I was correct. But as much as I want to get started, I am not going to run blindly into a situation I know nothing about. A mistake now will cost more than the time it will take to read the clue. So, I sit down on the ground, open the green bag, and search for the information contained inside.

As I rummage through the contents, I do a quick inventory. Four bottles of water. Four bags of dried meat. Raisins. Apples. Not a lot of food or water, which means this Induction will either be quick or require us to find more sustenance along the way. My fingers dig to the bottom of the bag and close over a large gray envelope. Inside is the promised list, although what help it could be is hard to tell: Animals, Plane, Law, Learning.

After handing the list to Enzo, I pull out a second slip of paper and read, “A silver treasure was brought here to eat, mate, and rest. Can you now find what is left of this treasure’s nest?”

“We’re supposed to find a bird’s nest somewhere in that building?” Will asks.

Enzo takes the paper from me and frowns. “That seems like the obvious answer.”