My Lifeline - Jaywon Shortstories

Awakened

Jay was kind of nervous.

After all, he had waited a long time for this specific moment to come.

Today was the Awakening.

The ritual had been going on for years and years, each generation revealing itself to the world, presenting every individual.
Because everyone had a specific place in the community.

The scheme was rather simple:
Alphas were leaders.
Betas were the connectors.
Omegas were the helpers, especially to alphas.

A long time ago, omegas were called subordinates. It was a pejorative term that had been banished since then. However, old habits did die hard and usually parents wished for their children to be alphas, or at least betas.

In Jay's case, there was nothing to doubt.

He would be a leader.

His whole family consisted of Alphas, and he could almost feel their powerful blood in his veins.
The only thing he had to do was showing up at the Awakening and wait for his turn to come.
He didn't really know what would happen then, but he knew he would leave an Alpha.

"Jay?" The voice came from downstairs.

"Coming" replied the young man in a growl.

The kitchen was filled with a sweet and enchanting perfume. Jay smiled as he recognized his mother's muffins on the counter.

"How do you feel?" she asked, as she closed the fridge, a glass of milk in her hand.

"Excited!" replied Jay. "How else could I feel when there are freshly baked muffins in front of me?"

She chuckled, appreciating the comment.

"You should get eating, the Ritual will be beginning sooner than you think" she said.

~

Jay looked through the window of his parents' car. They lived close to the city hall, but had taken the car anyway, so that they could drive to Jay's favorite restaurant after the Ritual.

"How many are there this year?" asked Jay's father.
"Hum I think we are 20, maybe 22" replied Jay.
"Good" replied his father. "We're lucky to live in a small town. In big cities the Ritual can go on for days."

Jay didn't reply.
Living in a small town also had its disadvantages, but he didn't want to contradict his dad right now.

As expected, the parking lots were full, but the family managed to find a spot for their car. They all headed for the city hall.

At the entrance, Jay had to separate from the group of spectators. A staff guided him inside, leading him to a waiting room.

He shouldn't have been surprised, but he was anyway. The room was already occupied by other 15 year old people, all waiting for their Awakening.
Jay knew all of their faces, but he wasn't friends with all of them. In fact, he had three close friends and that was it.
Thankfully, Seungmin, Sunghoon and Soobin were already there, sitting by a window.

Jay was on his way to greet them when a staff opened the back door.
All the chatter faded and as soon as there was silence, the staff spoke.

"Please follow me, the Awakening will begin shortly" they said.

Jay frowned. He hadn't realized how late he and his family were until now.

But I'm here, that's what matters.

Twenty young people left the room. No one dared speak anymore. The tension was rising rapidly and they were all wondering what would be happening next. The only thing they knew was that it would be in front of everyone: family, friends, neighbors and strangers.

Jay was at ease, though.
His family had prepared him for this day since his birth and he knew things would be okay.

Before the latter could think any further, the group stopped.

"Once we're outside, you will take a seat. You'll then be going one by one, when I call you" said the staff. "And before you ask me, there is nothing we can do about your status, there are no mistakes so don't try to bargain and mostly, just follow the rules."

The young people nodded.

Satisfied, the staff opened a door that lead outside. The group stepped into a sort of stage. There were twenty seats in the back, facing the public. In the middle of the stage, there was a huge and beautiful golden cup.

Jay frowned, trying to see the cup better. He could distinguish carvings and drawings, but he couldn't decipher anything from afar.

As they took place, the crowd applauded enthusiastically. The cheers got even louder when all of the sudden the staff ignited a fire in the cup.
The violet flames burnt high and danced beautifully for everyone to see.

"Kim, Seungmin" called the staff.

Seungmin quickly looked at Sunghoon before standing up. He took a deep breath and walked towards the staff.
The crowd was now quiet, holding its breath.

The staff murmured something to Seungmin, whose eyes opened wider.

He then put his hand forward, and took a step closer to the fire. The staff said something else and Seungmin put his hand through the violet flames.

A wave of shock went through the fifteen year olds. Would they all put their hands in fire?

With a frown, Seungmin waited for a few seconds until the staff took his hand out of the violet flames.
The staff held it high for everyone to see.

"We have our first Beta!" he said.

The crowd cheered and applaud as a delicate B appeared on Seungmin's wrist.

The next four people were also awakened as Betas, whereas the fifth was an Omega. Jay hadn't been called yet and his calm was slowly turning into stress. Out of six people, there had been no Alpha yet.

Yet.

That thought reassured Jay, who didn't even see time pass by until he heard the two words that would change his life forever.

"Park Jay" said the staff, inviting the latter to join them.

Jay got up, a determined look on his face. From now on, he would be a true member of his family. A proud Alpha.

He put his hand in the violet fire, expecting to feel pain, however it was more like a tingle.

After a few seconds, the staff took his hand as they had for the previous Awakened. He held it high and Jay felt a wave of happiness go through him.

"Omega!" shouted the staff, before letting go of Jay's hand.