cleanse

4

The girl next to me smiled a little when I sat down. "Hey." she said quietly. "You're Violet... right?" Her wavy brown hair bounced and swayed with every movement. I gave a small nod just before the Examiner came into the room. She was a tall blond woman with pin straight ginger hair. Her suit was pressed and nothing about her seemed out of place. She's too perfect and it makes me hate her already.

"Welcome, everybody." The woman announced. "Today, you will be taking the test that will affect your entire life. The Exam is a test where they determine what position you will take up when you are the eligible age for a position in the work force. They take brain scans and body analysis tests to find the perfect fit for you.

"Remember to just be yourself and don't lie. They can detect that in the brain scan that follows your interview." She gives us a quick and careless wave before exiting the room. Her heels were so loud we could hear them after the door closed. Click clack click clack.

One of the guards in the room began calling names for the Examination line-up. I looked over at the girl next to me and opened my mouth to ask her what her name was. "So what's your na-" I was cut off by the guard calling out her name. "Mahree Ashington." the guard boomed. She stood up and pushed her chair back slowly so that it scratched along the wooden floor, creating a horrid sound.

I shut my mouth and slumped back in my chair. This is going to be a long day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Reggie Forrester." The guard was still rattling down the list of names and I was next. I'm the one after Reggie Forrester. With the same boredom and dullness in his voice he calls my name. "Violet Foxwood." I reply to the calling by sliding out of my chair, trying not to make the same sound Mahree made when she rose from her seat.

I tried my best to hide my anxiety, but it didn't work. I was still pale in the face and obviously shaking. My hands are trembling so fast it was like a race car. Plus, I'm pretty sure my heart will actually leap out of my chest at any second.

I notice that each Exam is getting shorter by every person that goes in. For the first several people, it took almost forty five minutes each. But after the first three people, their time in that room has been decreasing. Then the times dropped to thirty five minutes. It stayed there for five people. But I started feeling nervous once it dwindled down to twenty minutes.

Reggie Forrester is called into the room and I turn on the timer feature on my watch. Reggie's Exam is the one that counts. This will determine if my theory is true or not. However, I have heard a rumor that if your Exam is shorter than others, it's because you aren't doing as well. It's because you're failing.

After a mere fifteen minutes, the Examiner opens the door and asks me to come in. The first thing I notice is the clean metal table that has lights, needles, and other freaky doctor things surrounding it. The woman who spoke earlier sits in the corner with her stick-thin legs crossed over each other. She even sits perfectly. It's like she's a robot.

"Take off your clothes and change into this, please." The Examiner demands as she hands me a gown. I take it in my cold and shaking hands and search for a changing room. I do not succeed in this search. "Is there like... a changing room or something, ma'am?" I ask as politely as possible. She shakes her head. "No. You will change right here. All your clothes and undergarments will be put in this bag."

I feel my face go red. I don't feel comfortable stripping down in front of anybody, especially this creepy woman who I don't know nor like. I slowly remove my shirt, then my pants, and finally my underwear. I throw the gown on as quickly as possible to avoid having her look at me longer than she must.

"Okay, Violet..." the Examiner begins. "We're going to start with a series of questions about the history of our great nation of Noredge." I nod in compliance. She smiles, then shoots the first question at me.

"Who was the president of the United States of America, when we overtook it?" She asks. It takes no time for me to reply. "Sandra Turrets." I answer with confidence.

Her face remains hard as stone for the rest of the test. With each question, her stoic face stays the same.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Examiner hands me a small glass with a purple liquid inside. I hold it in my hands and look over it for a minute. "What is this?" I ask. The Examiner says nothing. All she does is waves her hand as if to say "just go ahead".

I shrug and drink the tasteless liquid. As it travels down my throat I begin to feel woozy. My eyelids grow heavy and my breathing becomes laborious. I grab the metal table to stabilize myself, only to feel the stinging cold against my hand. I slump down to the floor and drift into a sleep that I can't stop.