unlike the rest

one

Her breath quickened, becoming unsteady. Her hands shook nervously as she continued taking the test. The time raced against her. She sat up stretching out her back creating a poping sound. She didn't have time to waste but the last portion of her test had her stumped.

Seated just about half a foot away from her was Katie. Her best friend since the beginning of middle school. From taking once glance at Katie, Avery could tell she was under no pressure from this test and it looked like she had it all under control. Or atleast that's what she thought.

Avery took her eyes off Katie returning them back to her test as she chewed on her lip. Peering up at the clock that ticked down it had 10 minutes left on it.

The test was extremely unfair, but no one was strong enough to stand up against the government and protest about it. An hour long test that decided your fate. You would either leave here to live a lavish life, or leave here in tears as you were soon sent out to war. Only the incredibly intelligent survived.

Time had flew by as Avery reached the last question but she abruptly stopped by the alarm sounding off. Tears had already started to form in her eyes, her vision becoming slightly blurred.

The woman dressed in a tight monotone coloured dress huffed as she stopped the alarm clock. Guards began to flock to her side. Her and her guards began to walk around the room collecting the papers.

That was it. In 10 minutes the children would find out their fate. Avery closed her eyes as she handed the woman her paper, her breath hitching in her throat as she held back crying. She rested her cheek on her palm, staring aimlessly at the floor, the only thoughts that swarmed her head was nervousness.

Katie turned to Avery sighing as she placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing Avery to turn towards her.

"That was the hardest thing I've ever done. I don't think I passed." She said looking into Avery's eyes as she gave off an uneasy look.

"Yea, but you're 100 times smarter than me. You will pass with no trouble. I-I didn't even get to fin.." Avery couldn't finish her sentence, as the anxiety inside her increased.

Katie had told her to count in fours in order for her to talk again. Breath in, hold for 4, exhale.

"And you how I am when it comes to tests. I'm always a nervous wreck no matter what type." Avery gulped looking up at the clock, the final minuted counted down.

She chewed the inside of her cheek glancing at Katie again. She looked into her brightened eyes, which reminded her of home. She could almost see the lake again in the summertime. She'd never forget the moments she spent laughing with her friends. She wished she could go back in time.

Avery quickly snapped out of it and fiddled with her thumbs as the timer went off again. The woman and guards began to walk around again, handing out the graded tests faced down. She gingerly picked up her paper and turned it over, in sync with Katie.

Katie had let out a relaxed sigh, seeing a green check on her paper which meant that she passed. She quickly turned to the other furrowing her brow.

"What'd you get Ov?" Using this nickname created a small smile upon Avery's lips but it quickly faded.

Tears fell onto Avery's paper, dampening it. She would've passed if she finished the last question. Her hair slid down in front of her face covering her sobbing expression.

Katie had grabed her paper quickly placing her hand over her mouth. No. No. This couldn't be true. Katie couldn't lose her best friend.

She inched closer to Avery going to wrap her arms around her, but she quickly jumped back as the woman called out again.