Test day! The big day had arrived and Ana and Melody awoke nice and early. Their nerves had given both of them a tumultuous sleep. The girls had to wear specific uniforms for any test day. They had received them yesterday in preparation for their first big test. The uniforms consisted of dark grey bike pants and sports bra with their gene numbers branded on both. The girls put the uniforms on with pride, Ana's bruises had well and truly gone now but her neck was still tender. It was cold out so they put on sweatshirts.
Ana habitually laced up the sneakers she had worn every day for the last three weeks, it had become a soothing ritual. Hurriedly, the girls escaped their dorm and rushed toward the combat hall. A nervous hush had fallen over the students as they shuffled into the hall. They lined up on the mats once again and started to stretch. The group then took ran a few slow laps of the hall. No one spoke as the students lined up nervously before the first trial. The first was a test of balance. The students had to run across a narrow beam without falling off. To make the test more difficult the beam was raised two meters from the ground, surrounded by soft crash mats. The rules were set, if you fell from both beams you would be out, if you fell from one or were too slow you would have a disadvantage in the next challenge. The group of about 20 lined up behind the ladder of the first beam. Ana and Melody stood in the center of the group waiting anxiously for the test to begin. Ana bit her fingernails as she flung her head toward the ground stretching her hamstrings. She couldn't stand still.
Two people had fallen off one beam; one had fallen off both. Melody was up next; Ana squeezed her hand in encouragement. Melody slowly climbed the ladder to the first beam and skillfully ran across with out any hint of a wobble. She then jumped off the end onto the crash mat and begun climbing the second ladder of the thinner beam made of steel. As Melody was climbing up the second ladder Ana begun climbing the first. Because of Ana's fear of heights Melody and her had practiced running the beams almost every day. Because of this Ana felt little fear as she ran across the beam smoothly and dismounted from the end as she watched Melody flawless do the same. Ana climbed up the second Ladder and ran across it, going faster than before. As Ana scrambled from the crash mat, Melody was waiting there to high five her. They walked to the second challenge as the rest of the group finished.
The next was a Vertical jump test. Simple, the students stood next to a pole with rotatable sticks protruding from it. The aim was to jump as high as you could to hit the highest stick. Ana had a significant disadvantage; the people who had fallen from the beam had weights on their ankles. Melody with her superior height and strength out jumped Ana by nearly 30 cm, however Ana still made the cutoff point.
The next was the anaerobic endurance test; in groups of 3 they ran 6x35m sprints. The sprints had 10 seconds in-between. Ana was quick in the sprints and her and Melody easily beat the time limit left their 3rd group member behind. It was obvious to Ana who had not been taking their training seriously. The group got smaller and smaller as the tests went on. There were push up and squats and pull ups.
As the rounds drew on, exhaustion plagued the girl's bodies. Still they pushed on as James instructed them on the last few tasks. Both girls had made it to the second last task. This task was relatively simple but one neither of the girls had known about. You merely had to throw a weighted ball past the mark. Melody went first, just passing the mark. Ana was next; she gathered her strength and her skinny arms gripped the ball tight. She heaved the ball with all her might. To her dismay it was just shy of the mark, she was able to try two more times. Both of which was the same. Ana was disappointed that she missed the last round because of her strength and went to sit down with the others.
She heard Ana yell support from the sidelines as she approached the last challenge with 3 other people. Nerves replenished her strength reserves and she steadied her breath. Melody scraped through the test, beating the threshold for the sprint by .1 of a second. Ana came up to her friend and embraced her in a tight hug.
"You did amazing!" She squealed. They were both damp with sweat. Everyone moved from the combat hall and went to shower and meet for dinner. Melody and Ana could not stop talking on the way back to their dorm. They spoke about the people who had fell or failed and what might happen to them. They wondered what groups they would be placed in next. They hoped for the same group. The night went quickly, for the first time they were carefree until they begun the next training course.
Even Ana allowed herself to be drawn into Melody's contagious carefree laughter. She felt free and easy for the first time since she had arrived, even if it was just for the night.
"Has anyone seen Sean?" Melody strained to look over the crowds. Ana did the same, but she was searching for an icy set of stern eyes.
"I haven't seen him since the trials today. He was upset, he's probable in his room." One of the other boys, Ben spoke dismissively. Melody changed the conversation immediately, jumping enthusiastic into another funny story about her childhood. Ana laughed freely, throwing her head back. She couldn't remember the last time she laughed so much.
Jonathon stood up to leave the dining hall when he heard a carefree laugh. His eyes darted over to the sound and saw Ana laughing at something Melody said, her friend was leaning into the table and her eyes were bright. Ana's head was back and her eyes were closed and he realized the carefree sound was coming from her. Her cheeks were flushed with a healthy color and the bruises were gone. He couldn't take his gaze off her as her eyes lit up with joy. It was a stark contrast to the last time he had seen her. He smiled; he hadn't met anyone as full of life as her. Her emotions played out on her face so plainly; She wore no mask. He realized he was staring when she stopped laughing and turned her face to his. Her small pink lips were pursed and her deep blue almond eyes bore into his. Her black hair fanned out around her shoulders and her skin was a curious shade of alabaster. Dark freckles splattered across her nose and on the high of her cheekbones. He studied her features before turning quickly and exiting the dining hall. He heard lithe footsteps following him; he moved faster.
YOU ARE READING
Ana: Incipience
Ciencia Ficción"In case you forgot, let me remind you." The headmasters cold voice filled Ana's ears. "You did not earn your skills. You were born and bred to fulfill a purpose." In 2123, embryos are chosen solely for personality, body type and skill. Once...
