No.
No, no, no, no, no.
Not her, anyone but her.
This isn’t a case of “Oh, I looove her” or anything like that. I don’t swing that way. Not that there’s anything wrong with those who do.
This is a case of her being my best friend. My family. The one person in the whole world I would do anything for. And now she was about to go only-God-knows-where.
Raileigh stood up slowly, and walked to the front of the room, holding her head high and not looking at anyone. Anyone would think she was nonchalant, but I could see the way her fingers twitched, like they wanted to form into fists, and the way she held her shoulders back a little too stiffly.
She was terrified.
Raileigh didn’t get scared easily, so when she did, it meant there was something pretty bad going on.
“Well now, we got us some pretty great people Selected this year” he smiled, wrapping a wide, flabby arm around both Jamie and Raileigh. Jamie looked as if he were about to throw up. Raileigh was fully focused on some small, unknown spot on the back wall.
“Now, just one final point before these lovely kids leave to pack up their possessions. If there is anyone, anyone at all who wants to Volunteer themselves, now is your chance.”
One of the main points I always had strummed into me on the streets was to be loyal to those who were loyal to you.
Which is why I was out of my seat before the Executive could say any more.
“I Volunteer! I’m going too.” I called out, trying, and failing, to not yell.
I walked quickly to the front of the room to stand by Raileigh, and tried to ignore the shocked stares of everyone else in the room.
“You don’t have to do this,” she whispered.
“No way am I letting you have all the fun while I sit around here.” I whispered back.
She frowned slightly, but I saw her hands unclench and her shoulders relax a little.
“Well done, well done young one,” the Executive boomed, “This girl- what’s you name?”
“Bailey Cruiser”
“Yes, this Bailey Cruiser has just gone and achieved above and beyond what any of the rest of you have. You should be proud of yourself, and what you have Volunteered to do for your country” he aimed his huge, false smile on me this time.
I struggled not to shiver and move away from him. This was not the time to get on some higher-ups bad side. Well, never was a good time, but when your backed into a corner, its even more of a good time.
“Now that that’s all in order, we had better leave you to get packing. Unless there are any more volunteers?”
No one moved.
He hesitated for another second before clearing his throat and beckoning us out of the dining hall. He had to keep one meaty hand on Jamie’s shoulder, as he was swaying slightly, and had turned a sickly shade of green.
On the grassed area outside the hall, there was a small grey van with a yellow ‘S’ in a circle painted on the side. Reaching inside it, he produced 3 average sized duffel bags with this same symbol.
“You must pack enough to fill this bag, and no other. Think of it as luggage to be taken onto a plane, but instead of a weight restriction, there is a size restriction. I will, however, permit handbags, purses, small backpacks or laptop bags. These will be kind of like your carry-on luggage.”
His cheery demeanour was gone, gone right out of the window now, to be replaced by what could only be described as a huge lack of care.
“You have 2 hours. They begin now. Go.”
