Road to Arcadia: the Path East

Chapter Eight: Assignment Day

Results were to be posted at the INT the following day precisely at noon. The newly graduated white suits weren't given specific direction as to where the results would be posted or in what format they would be posted but they would figure it out. Kai wondered if that was also an additional test, one last section of the assessment, or if they were just poor communicators.

Kai wished he was a fly on the wall during the post assessment deliberations. He wondered about the method--how democratic it was, how dramatic it was. He wondered if it was a collaborative process or more of a barter system, squad leaders bargaining draft picks in order to get their favored recruit. He wasn't sure which he preferred. He was kind of chuffed by the idea of leaders squabbling over his test scores, willing to make deals to get him on his team, but the inverse result meant becoming one of the leftovers. He wasn't thrilled by the idea of being one of the handful of kids hanging around at the end of the team pick, waiting for the teacher to mercifully assign them a spot. He didn't want to be scraped from the bottom of a barrel.

The small talk on the monorail ride the next day consisted of anecdotes from the assessment the prior day, musing about sections that didn't go so well and parts that went better than expected. Kai was able to get answers to the questions he struggled on during the written portion and hear the variations in approach to some of the victims in the final section. Others theorized on the squad leaders they saw observing from the upper track, trying to decipher meanings behind crossed arms and narrowed gazes.

Some knew the squad leaders by name. Not everyone in this class of recruits was fresh to the floating city. Many had been there for months, a good number had been there for years. Kai was a quick turnover, barely familiar with the landscape before he made the decision to be a snowbird resident. Names that were household names to the seasoned Arcadian meant nothing to him.

A handful of eager recruits outside the classroom was enough to convince them they had guessed the correct location. The list, for as weighty and meaningful as it was, was still just a list. It was a regular sheet of paper—Arcadia brand, thin, pulpy paper at that—taped up just to the side of the door to the classroom.

Kai had to wait for a minute to see what it said. For as curious as he was, he didn't feel the need to push past the swarm to be first in line. Once he got to the front, he had to squint to read it. He wasn't sure if it was because the font was too small or if it was indicative of yet another medical problem he was avoiding.

The list was sectioned into four columns. Starting from the left, the recruit's name, assigned squad number, squad leader, and departure date. The names were listed alphabetically from last name. He found his listed less than halfway down the page.

Name: GILLING, KAI

Squad Number: 3

Squad Leader: BAZ, ALAYNA

Departure Date: AUGUST 8

An electric shock tickled just underneath the surface of his skin. The squad number and the unfamiliar name of its leader didn't have any meaning yet, which meant it could mean everything. This was one step closer to getting out on the road. It meant he was one step closer to putting the skills he learned both training and out on the road to good use. A better use. One that could expand to more than a couple people to entire towns, whole families.

His family.

He pushed the thought out of his mind as his attention was drawn to the people around him. The crowd was dissipating, but out through the direction they came. They were entering the classroom, sounds of activity waxing and waning with the swinging of the door. The curiosity didn't take long to grab hold of him. He followed a couple trainees, now official white suits, into the room.