Three Trials

Chapter Two

The whole auditorium is filled with every student from every grade starting at 4, though they don't understand the importance and meaning that the president coming to recognize two students from Big Horn. They hope that they get to go to nap time right after this. I do to, unfortunately 'Nap Time" doesn't exist in my course schedule. It looks a bit awful but I survive.

7:30-9 Master Survival Skills (Basic and Intermediate I and II must be taken beforehand)
9:05-10 Calculus I (Math isn't such a worry until after 16 because if you aren't chosen you have to get an actual job)
10:05-12 Architecture (I've learned how to build a house of straw and have it stand for a while. It's not like an actual credited for architects)
Then I have an hour for lunch. I usually hang out with Ashley the whole time and flounder about the school yard.
1-2 Basic English (so I can read since there's no way I'll actually get Drawn.)
2:05-4:05 PE

And due to everyone having a different wonky schedule some people have 'off' periods but really there's either too much of an overlap or a short class. The only period everyone has together is lunch. Big Horn calls that homeroom. There's no open-campus because there aren't houses for at least 20 miles. The longest one is over three hours. The schools are placed based on the number of students in each county. We only have two schools in our district and a very good train deal.
Ashley went and found a seat next to a few of her 'friends' aka people who she hangs out with when I'm not there. James and I had to go to the backstage and get ready. We were getting professionally pampered. I was in one of those movie chairs a few feet away from James. I had some ladies surrounding me, complementing my light African-American features mixed with my dark red hair and my strangely bright blue eyes. Both were 25% probabilities but mixed together the chances of me getting my features were less than 25% but I still got them. My two brothers and three sisters didn't get any features similar to mine, they all looked natural African-American.
I was dressed in a nice little light blue dress, with white slip-ons. Mom insisted that I wore them since the president was coming. I had thought about resisting the outfit, but from the look my mom had given me I knew I shouldn't say anything. I had the personality of my mom; stubborn, always trying to do the very best that I could. I respected that.

Once we were caked with foundation and glittery eye makeup, I went and found Ashley absentmindedly listening to her "friends." When she saw me coming towards her, she darted upright and walked quickly towards me. She had a frightened look on her face, which kind of scared me. Usually Ashley was cool-tempered and expressed her feelings through varied hand gestures.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Ashley wrung her hands over each other nervously. "It's just...what if we are picked, Taki? What then? I mean, you'll be fine since you're basically the best in the class, but if it comes down to us competing each other...I'm worried that you'll have to leave me behind."

I observed her for a minute, trying to decide what to say. Why was she so worried? Did she really think we would be picked? Before I could answer her though, there was loud shouting from the entrance to the auditorium. People muttered some things about the President arriving. Ashley and I shot each other scared glances before shuffling onto the stage, preparing ourselves for the President.

Ashley sits in the chair backstage since she was practically the other half of me. James and I pace back and forth before we would have to see the President. I am in worse mental state than James at the moment. I talk to myself, going through almost all the possible situations. James was more like stretching out his legs whereas I was in a full blown almost panic attack pace type thing.
James stops my pacing, looking into my soul it seems. "Taki, everything's going to be alright."
"How can you be so sure? I'm not exactly the most like able person ever." I say, playing with the necklace I'm wearing.
"Sure you are. Everybody loves you, a tad bit terrified, but loves you anyhow."
"Ugh, I'm not so sure."
"Come here."
James holds open his arms and I willingly go into the hug. Ashley sends a little slight glare my way, I just shrug my shoulders. As we wait for Principal Bones to finish his little spiel of a speech. He then announces for the President to come on stage and they shook hands. Principal Bones moves to the side of the stage where he is still considered on the stage, because he likes to be known as being close to the President when in reality he's just a bystander to the whole scheme of things.
"Thank you, Principal Bones! Wow, such a lovely group of students. Maybe one day I'll get to meet with you all at the Trial," The whole school cheered. I snicker into James's chest. That was definitely not going to happen. "As most of you probably know there were two students of exceptional times during the two week challenge."
I hid my face, James pulles me off of him. "Come on, Taki. We got this. They aren't going to make us do a speech or anything."
Suddenly our names were being called out. I turn around to go off the stage so I wouldn't have to face the mean crowd of Big Horn. (They weren't very nice people since they were all bored with the Wyoming non-dramatic lifestyle. But in reality they would never have the guts to leave this place.) Ashley turns me back around and shoves me. I wrap my hand into James. If there is ever a time to have to have a good running buddy, now would be a good time since the President was just looking at us. I squeeze his hand one last time before letting go. Honestly, I think he's glad that I did.
"Hello, Taki and James. How nice of you two to come out!" He looks to the crowd and covers the half of his mouth where we are at. "I thought they were doing something behind the stage."
The older kids in the crowd. I hear my little brother, Arik, yell out a questioning remark on the President's comment. I am very thankful that he's in the six class
and not with my little sister, Janulette, in the 13 class. Janulette enjoys the President's comment and yells out, "They're my OTB!" I mentally throat punch her.
"Settle down, I have some serious business to get down to."
A kid from the 17 class yells out, "That's what they were doing before this." I can tell since there are specific sections for every class.
I roll my eyes, even though they are a year older than us the 17 class is many times less mature than the 16 class. The President is quite surprised by the rude comment but, continues his speech/interview. James and I sit in chairs right across from the President while on stage. It seemed a bit over dramatic for just being in shape more so than other students but we didn't mind the little attention that we were able to get from those 14 minutes of obstacle course running.
"So Mr. James, what did you do to be able to get this time?" The President asked.
"I've been training for years, just a little on the side. But with the opportunity, however slight it is, to go to the Trials, I thought that I would need to be in shape even more so than what little I had been doing. Taki seemed to have the same interest I did and we began taking time to train," He seemed so eloquent with all those words spitting out of his mouth.
The President nods his head then looked to me. "Ms. Taki, why did you begin to take interest?"
I look down, the story was actually embarrassing to a whole degree, to me at least. Reluctantly I answer "To do something other than eat sugar all day. I gained a lot of weight from that so training was a win-win for me."
The President looks genuinely surprised. I have lost a whole bunch and turned to muscle but despite that fact I still am embarrassed. The whole school bursts out laughing, all except for a few in the crowd that I see that are slapping the people by them. Namely my siblings. They had the same problem I did, the obsession with sugar. The President keeps on asking questions to get the school's mind off of my embarrassment.
The President afterwards takes James and I back stage. He says he wants to talk to each of us separately, just to get to know some champions. James is the first one in to talk to the President, he comes out looking a little gloomy but fakes a smile when he sees me. I decide to ask him about that later.
"So, Taki, do you watch the Trials regularly?"
"Its a family tradition to watch it. All the people are so interesting to me. How they react to ever situation or even how they react to each person from each county in the Garden!"
"I see. What do you and James do in your trainings?"
"We run, a lot. We also do a whole bunch of core and just overall loads muscle training."
"So basically just the whole lot of it. Do you know about the situation with Old Russia?" He asks.
"I try to keep up to date on that. But living here, with horrible internet connection doesn't really give me the opportunity to do so. Sometimes I end up traveling to Yellowstone county just to keep up to date even though its a day drive up there, two days riding my horse, or a three day run. Which I do all of them jut at different time. So....yeah." I gasp at the end since I hadn't take a breath at all.
"Wow, committed for being from such a back roads, hillbilly type, kind of place. Do you swim?"
His questions were all a little weird and directed towards the whole purpose of the Trials. But I answered anyways. "Yes, I do quite a bit with my family."
"Have you ever had breath holding contests?"
"All the time. I always win though. A good 3:25 breath holding."
He looked down at his watch. "Oh my, I better be off to catch my flight. It was nice talking to you Taki. Keep up the good work."
I decided to skip the rest of class, since I'd already missed most of English. I decided the most effective way was to find James and ask him how his meeting with the President went. I couldn't find him anywhere. Nobody had seen him in PE either.
Odd, what had happened in James's meeting?