Control

Chapter 3: Results

Warily, Leya placed her hand on the screen. Even though the police had taken down all her information when she arrived, she was still surprised when a list of all her personal information appeared on the screen after a second.

[Name:  Leya Elise Classon
Security #: 843-12-7640
Date of Birth: February 14, 3001
Age: 19
Title: Unknown
Hair Color: Light brown
Eye Color: Green
Height: 5'8"]

It went on to list information about Leya's address, medical history, and family. Her heart lurched when her eyes read over her parents' names. Thinking of them still knocked the breath of her, but it was slowly becoming manageable. She was able to think of the good memories now. Scanning through the information, Leya proceeded to scroll down and click the "OK" button at the bottom right corner.

~~~

Breathing out a hefty sigh and cracking her neck, Leya finally walked out of the testing room into the spacious area she had been in before, only now there were rows of chairs spaced evenly throughout the room and a giant screen hung above the stage. Glancing at the nearest clock, she saw that it was 2:00. The results would be posted on the screen at 2:30.

"L-Leya," a timid voice spoke up behind her, making her spin around. Michael stood with tears in his eyes. "C-Can I sit next to you?"

Without thinking, Leya took Michael's hand in her's.

"Of course you can," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Her gut twisted seeing him so upset. He was too sweet to be hurting like this. She saw some of the tension leave his body at her statement, and he barely squeezed her hand. Glancing around them, Leya saw that the seats were already starting to fill up. She gently led him to the nearest two free seats, which happened to be towards the middle of the room. When they were settled, Leya leaned in close to Michael, squeezing his hand gently in concern.

"Why are you crying?" she whispered, making him sniffle.

"What if I failed? What if I don't get paired up with a dominant?" he cried quietly, unable to look her in the eyes. Leya's face softened, though she wasn't sure what exactly she should say.

"I promise you, everything is going to be okay." Even though she wasn't sure it was true, Leya felt like that's what he needed to hear. After a minute or two, the tears stopped and Michael looked up, wiping at his nose.

"Thank you for being so nice," he smiled, which she returned, "You know, you're not like any other submissive I've ever known."

Leya felt her smile freeze slightly at the corners, but she just shrugged. "So I've been told."

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, Zayn Malik once again took to the stage at promptly 2:30. Leya felt Michael tense when the man entered, his hand squeezing hers a little tighter.

"Good afternoon, dominants and submissives. Thank you all for your cooperation and your participation in today's PMT," he announced, "Now, all of your results have been recorded and finalized."

Just then the screen flashed on, showing a table with two columns and numerous blank rows. The first column read 'Dominant/Submissive,' while the second read 'Score.'

"As you can see, the names of each dominant/submissive pair appear on this screen with your unique score beside it," he explained, "If your name does not appear, that means you have not been matched today and you are welcome to take the test next year. I warn you, not everyone finds their match on their first test. This does not mean you are unworthy or cannot find a match. This simply means that the perfect partner for you has not yet been found."

Michael's hand tightened measurably on Leya's.

"One more thing," Zayn added, "If your names appear in blinking lights, this means that the test supervisors would like a word with you and your partner. This is not necessarily a bad thing—it simply means there are some concerns that need to be addressed and taken care of."