I stood in line in front of the grader. The test took me two hours, and Integrated Science-Math 2 was just a stupid class. True, I was really bad at science, but I didn't need to have my electives replaced by the subjects I hated the most. Finally, the grader spat out a receipt. 80.24%, B-, the best grade I'd gotten all year, but not high enough.
My parents expected me to get grades like my siblings. High A's filled the transcripts of all my family members. They were average, but average in this city meant genius in any other city. Eugenics meant only the smartest people lived in our city.
"Psst," Tag whispered. "What did you get?" He already got his grade. 93.2%, much better than me. Typical. But he never bragged. He wasn't quite good enough for the system, either.
I followed Tag away from the grader and gave him my receipt. He sighed. We were all "idiots" in this class, but I had to be the stupidest. My parents both graduated at the top of their class, so they were one of the few who was allowed to have three children. It would have totally worked out if I, the youngest, weren't a bonehead.
"Hey, it's better than your bio test," Tag said, winking. I'd gotten a 74% on that one. I'd hid the receipt from my parents. It was still sitting in my drawer where I hoped it would stay.
"True," I said, leaving the class. Last and worst class of the day was Integrated Science-Math 2. I looked forward to swimming in my pool. My pool and no one else's pool. Only the people who lived in the Sterling Gates could even request a pool. Did I mention that my parents' smarts made them automatically wealthy?
Tag followed me home, being my best friend ever. We'd known each other since they put us in the same math summer class. My parents hated his grades and his sense of humor. More the reason I had to be his friend.
I walked in my front door, savoring the smell of cinnamon wafting through the halls. Mom always set it on cinnamon. Another great feature only available to the smart of the city.
"I love your house, Amery," Tag said. His house was nowhere near as decked out as mine was. He lived in the Worker's Circle, where the other factory workers lived.
"Me too," I responded. "Is anyone home?" I asked the house.
"Johana is home," my house responded.
"Darn," I hissed. Of course, my average (read heck of smart) sister would be visiting. After the Central Computer matched her up with Assic, she'd been coming home and more often.
I started upstairs, Tag following. "Where's she?" I said. A video feed of Johana's room showed up on my eyescreen.
"Johana is in Bedroom C," the house responded.
Tag smiled, hearing the house's response. "At least she's not screwing up your room."
I focused and zoomed in on the receipt I could see in Johana's hand. "Oh great, she's got my bio test," I said, pushing Tag the video feed. We speed up the stairs, rushing into the room and nearly knocking the door off its hinges.
"Whoa," Johana shouted. "What are you doing in my room?" Her electric blue hair fell just past her shoulders, and her green gradient bangs framed her green eyes, currently colored by purple contacts. She looked so mad.
I was in a no better mood. "Give me back my test," I said in a low voice.
"Oh, about that," Johana snarled. "Why are you still alive? If I had these grades in eleventh grade, Ellie would have killed me on spot."
I knew why Mom didn't kill me. She knew I wasn't as smart as Johana or our older brother Terrik. But I would never admit that to Johana. Even if she already knew it. "Give me. My test. Now," I repeated.
Tag stiffened behind me. "You might want to be careful," he whispered. The last time Johana and I fought, it had been bloody.
If looks could kill, those purple contacts of Johana's would have killed Tag. "Shut up, you little-"
Suddenly, the house chimed. "Hey, I'm home," Mom's voice played through the house. "I'm ordering pizza. Come downstairs, kids."
Johana stubbornly stuffed the receipt into my hand. "Next time you won't be so lucky, bonehead," she spat at me.
"It wouldn't have to be this way if you weren't so average," I snarled, but I knew that wasn't true. The problem was that I was stupid for my own family.
"Come on, Tag. Let's go swimming out back," I said. "Pizza can wait."
Ellie sat in bed that night, unable to fall asleep. Worry ate at her like acid without a base to neutralize it. She turned and stared at Selvin, hoping he could give her comfort, but she knew nothing they could do would really help. Nor could ever help. A letter had come in starting her daughter Amery would not be matched if she didn't get her grades up.
"How did we go wrong?" Ellie wondered. "How did my baby not make it?"
Her husband, Selvin, sighed. "It's not our fault, Ellie. Amery's just not a math and science person," he soothed.
"But genetics," Ellie said. "They say talents are passed down. They built the whole system on this principle. We're geneticists. We know how this works. Why Ame?"
Selvin leaned over and held Ellie. "Don't stress. It's just matching that she's out of, anyway. She hasn't been filtered by careers yet." He sounded hopeful as if he didn't see the magnitude of the problem.
"Not yet," Ellie pointed out. "With her grades, they will filter her out of careers, and maybe even slate her for termination."
Selvin sucked in a breath. "I won't let them. They can't terminate Amery. I'll refuse it."
"You can't refuse anything," Ellie said, tears filling her eyes, threatening to fall. "It's the council's decision. We can't do anything about it." Selvin was silent.
"She has to do better," Ellie pressed. An idea, albeit a really bad one, popped into her mind. "Maybe we should tell her to study."
Selvin sighed. "Studying is against the rules," he reminded. "If the wardens catch her, they'll suspend her, and where would we be then?"
Ellie felt a tear slide down her cheek, burning its way down her face. "I'm only forty-five. I can't lose my baby now. I can't lose Ame. Not after how well Terrik and Johana have done. They can't do this to me, can they?"
"Ellie, don't stress," Selvin repeated. "We'll figure something out. Just not at two in the morning." He yawned, his body yearning for sleep since two hours ago.
Ellie lay back in the bed, snuggling up with Selvin. "Okay, I'll think about this later," she relented. Nervously, she covered herself with her miraculously soft blanket. They didn't just hand out beautiful things like that to everyone. Ellie and Selvin worked hard for things like their neighborhood, their belongings. It was only fair, right?
Suddenly, nothing Ellie had worked for in life mattered anymore. How could it? The only thing that mattered to her was the life of her daughter. The one thing she knew she couldn’t control.
"Do you think we can save her, Sel?" Ellie asked. "Do you really think she could become normal in four months?"
"Ellie, go to bed," Selvin insisted. "Besides, I believe in her. I think she can make it." Ellie sighed, closing her eyes and squinting away the darkness.
Finally, Ellie and Selvin, the top students of their classes way back when, willed themselves into a dreamless sleep.
Author's note: The second half of this chapter was the second chapter, but it really fits better as part of the intro. I hope you agree, too, but let me know in the comments.
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