Daughter of Xanthe

Chapter One

"Eden Anastas," the loudspeaker called. "Room 406B." 

"That's you," My best friend, Alexis, nudged my shoulder, pointing to the large control panel in the lobby, where my name had been checked off. "Good luck,"

As I took the elevator up to the fourth floor of the Point Bank building and found room 406B to the left of me, my heart pounded. The Examinations, which took place every year, would determine my  future, for this year, at least. They would determine whether I could have access to food and water. To new clothing and to education. And this year's Examination was probably the most important. It would probably determine my career placement. But I stopped worrying immediately when I saw my Examiner. Or rather, Examiners. Luca Costas, and his twin brother, Sean, lived in the neighbourhood, and were family friends of mine. Before I went to specialised school, I was in the same grade as their younger brother Ryan in elementary school. 

"Nervous much?"Sean grinned. 

"Yes," I laughed. 

"I could tell," he replied. "But don't be. We'll pass you no matter what. Promise."

"Sean!" Luca rolled his eyes. "Trust me. You got this. While we can't pass you on purpose, we can make it easier for you. And it would be nice if we got a bit of a break after this Examination. We have five more before lunch." he winked. 

"Let's get going," I agreed. "So, how did you get stuck with Examinations?"

"What Trade are you in, exactly?" Luca asked. "Oh yes, Ambassador. Most people in Charismatic Trades get stuck with the Exams eventually, so you'll have your turn, no need to worry. Turn left here,"

"Great," I sighed. "Which Exam's up first?" I asked.

"Charisma," Luca replied. "But it'll go fast. All we have to do is the Beauty portion of the Examination." He said it with such distaste that I could tell that he thought that portion of the exam was as useless as I did. 

"What does she look like this year?" I asked.

"We'll see," Luca snickered.

Every year, the Point Bank's Beauty Examination employees created a new model for a male and female of every age and race that had that year's ideal features. You were judged on how similar you looked to the programmed model, but usually, she wasn't the prettiest. Last year, my model had a giant nose and not much else. But this year's model wasn't hideous. She had a heart shaped face, wide eyes and silky hair, but she did seem a little bit unnatural. 

"Okay, sit down here, and I'll scan your facial features." Luca said, as I sat in the cushy white lounge chair in the centre of the room. 

I watched as my face appeared next to the model's on a large screen in front of me, and measurements started to appear on our faces in harsh black lines. It took only a few seconds until Luca announced the results to me. 

"16 percent," Luca read. 

"96 Points out of a possible 600" I said. "I guess I'm not buying much makeup this year."

Points in certain categories could only be used to buy certain merchandises, and in every store I walked into, rows and rows of makeup and expensive clothing were marked with a purple Beauty symbol. Points could be transferred from category to category, but the application process was long and tedious. 

After the Beauty Examination was done, I went to another room to be Examined by Sean for the Intelligence and Athleticism, and then I came back to get Examined in my Trade by Luca. I conversed with him in Arabic for a good two hours and then filled in a long quiz about the customs of New Arabia and Palstan. The Exams flew by, and before I knew it, it was time to leave. 

"You'll receive a call from the Point Bank tomorrow, Eden, and if you ever need Points transferred, just call me," Luca said. 

"Goodbye," I replied. 

"Good luck," Luca called as the elevator went down. 

I laid in bed that night more nervous for my future as I'd ever been before. 

 𝕊𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕒𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕏𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕖, 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕖. 𝕀 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕤𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕥, 𝕀 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕡𝕦𝕥 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕕. 𝕀𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕖 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕧𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕦𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕜.