The Prodigies [First Draft]

Ten

  "Time's up!" Mr. Gregory called as he stopped his stopwatch. "Close your test booklet and hand it in to me."

Kenny closed her packet and stood. She sighed, both relieved that the test was over and upset that she didn't get to finish. Though it had taken her a while, the first part of the test hadn't been very hard. She was confident she had gotten all of the questions she managed to answer right. It was the second section Kenny wasn't so sure about.

The second section of the GEIM, the academic aptitude, was a peculiar assessment. Rather than asking Kenny what she knew about certain subjects or telling her to find the solution to equations she was supposed to have already learned, it told her what she was supposed to do before she got to the solving of any problems. There would be several pages of examples and step-by-step guides to teach Kenny how to answer certain questions and tell her information she needed to know. She would get a few minutes to read all of it, then a portion of time to work without the guide. Rather than testing my intelligence, she had realized only halfway through, they're testing my ability to learn.

Kenny hoped she had done well.

Kendall brought her booklet over to Mr. Gregory, and the man took the test from her. He placed it on the desk beside him. She stared at the administrator, waiting for instructions, as he checked his watch and opened up his thick lips so words could tumble out.

"It's a good thing you finished when you did. Lunch is about to start. You can go to the Dining Ha—wait, you don't know how to get there. You're new."

Kenny nodded impatiently. Three hours of testing had made her as starved as a grizzly bear when it wakes up from its hibernation in the spring.

"Go down the hallway, and make a left. There should be a blue door which you'll go through to go outside. The Dining Hall should be the building with children walking towards it."

At that exact moment, several pings rang out from the intercom on the wall, signaling that lunch was starting. Kenny followed the path Mr. Gregory had pointed out and made her way through the pristine hallways beside other groups of children. Few were in uniforms, as it was Sunday, so Kenny didn't look out of place. However, she kept her eyes to the ground, not wanting to bring any attention to herself.

"Man, I hate Social Studies," a boy next to Kenny moaned. The young girl's ears perked up, and she began to listen to him speak. "I've got a D in the class, and Mr. Kingsworth won't let me make it up."

"At least you don't have to take Algebra," another boy replied. This one sounded older, like he was Andrew's age. "It's horrible. I studied all night for my test, and I still failed it."

The younger boy laughed. "The only classes you can seem to pass are P.E and Training."

"I know. My parents are going to kill me when I go home for Christmas break."

By this point in the conversation, Kenny had already deduced that neither of the boys were gifted, when it came to schoolwork at least. However, they had mentioned a Training class, which baffled Kenny so much she nearly stopped in her tracks. Training? For what?

Then an awful thought dawned on her. What if the academy wasn't for children who were intellectually gifted, but physically gifted? What if this was a military academy? Had Ms. Greenwood sent the young girl off to become a soldier rather than get a better education? What if—?

Kenny's train of thought was interrupted before another what if question could plague her mind with more dread. She had bumped into something next to her, for she had been too focused on the ground to realize where she was walking. The whole hallway suddenly fell silent, and everyone stared at the young girl. It took her a moment to realize that she had walked into a someone and not a something, and that that someone was glaring right at her.