Assigned

One- Saylor Ashlynn

"Augh!" Books flew out of my hands as I tripped on the top step and flipped onto my back. Sighing, I just laid there, savouring the feeling of carpet below my back.

"Saylor, are you alright?"

Forcing myself up with a groan, I replied to my mother. "Yeah, mom, I'm fine. I just slipped, that's all."

My mother is a strange one, although you'd never know it upon first glance. With her dark brown hair, bright blue eyes, and slim, motherly figure, you'd never guess that she suffered from at least one chronic anxiety attack a day. Yup. A day. I love her, but sometimes it makes life a little harder for everyone else.

I knew I was supposed to reassure her as soon as I fell, but it just didn't seem like the right thing to do first. I mean, I've always wanted to be a normal kid, and not constantly telling mom that you're okay after you slip is something they get to do. And I wanted to feel normal before the Test, because I won't be here to afterwards. Hopefully.

Which explains why I was just laying on the carpet in the first place.

Now having made it to my room, I put the books on the library shelf. I'm a pretty organised person, and my room was no exception. It's grey and white with navy accents, and I love it. It said "Saylor Ashlynn Jennings" just perfectly. I grinned at my work, and flopped down onto my bed with my newest read- The Martian, by Andy Weir; a classic.

I'd just turned to the first page when I heard the familiar buzz that meant we had a visitor. I ran to get it- startling Mom a bit, but it was nothing new- Mom was always startled by something. Throwing open the door, I beamed when I saw that it was none other than Jonas.

Jonas is my best friend. Our story is just adorable: we met in preschool, after I was being bullied by a kid, and he stepped up and defended me like a little preschooler badass. And, whaddya know- we're still super close! Great, isn't it? There's only one problem with our relationship, though.

Jonas also just so happens to be my crush.

Which makes things a little bit complicated for me sometimes. How do you flirt, act like a friend, and encourage someone to go on other romantic endeavours (sadly), all at the same time?! I don't know how I do it.

"Hey, Saylor, do you have a minute to chat?" He said, smirking playfully. Crap. I've just been standing here, completely and totally lost in those oceanic eyes of his, haven't I?!

"Ah.. Yeah. Yeah! I do! Come on in," I gestured to the stairs. "Mom, Jonas and I are going to be upstairs!"

"Okay. But he can only stay for a bit- you need to come finish the dishes and help me with dinner at five! Love you!" At least he's finally reached the point where her voice didn't tremble when she talked about him.

I groaned quietly, and pulled Jonas with me. We thundered up, and finally settled for sitting on my bed, criss-cross-applesauce style. "Soooo... Whatcha wanna talk about?" I asked, leaning forward playfully.

"Well," he moved to lay down, pulling me next to him, "I kind of wanted to talk about the Test."

"Why? You think that something'll go wrong?" I paused for a moment, then continued. "If you're worried about whether you'll throw up, apparently that's a pretty common side effect of the serum. Which really sucks."

"Well... I don't know." He turned to face me. "I'm just worried about what it does in general. Or what it's supposed to do, I guess." I frowned.

"'Supposed' to do? There isn't really a 'supposed to do' with the Test, Jonas. It just does what it does. That's really it."

"I just.." He looked down nervously, then stared me in the eyes. "Saylor, I'm not sure if I like the idea of a serum and test for my reaction to it telling me what I'm going to do for the rest of my life. What if it puts me in the one thing I really hate doing? Something I'm not passionate about at all? That's the point of it, isn't it? To put me in something that I'm going to love doing for the rest of my life. It just seems weird, with all the military kids that have been graduating out lately, you know?" His voice softened a bit, and he placed a hand on my shoulder. "I don't want you going out there and getting hurt, Saylor."

Taken aback by his speech, I just laid there, speechless. Finally, I found my words. "Okay."

Wow.

What a great (pathetic) response, Saylor. You're a genius (idiot) and he's sure to understand you perfectly (no he won't).

You're a pro (at being non-comprehendable).

Finally (too soon), Jonas got up. "I think I might want to go now," he glanced down at his watch, "Mom's expecting me." Grinning, he came in for a hug, then left me standing in my room, dazed beyond belief.

Whoo-ee!
So, right now, I'm a) nearly in love with my best friend, b) his only? confidant about this weird thing he was talking about, and c) probably late to go make dinner.

What a great combination (not really).
*****
Hey! Look! It's another book! And (possibly?) up right in time for Valentine's Day! Can you believe it?!

I came up with this idea the other day, and am really excited to write about it! So, thanks for joining me on this new journey, and hope you enjoy it as much as I will!!!

-Kyla