Majors: Book 1

Chapter 1

Sunlight streams through the window onto my bed. Slowly, I start to get up. I brush my hair and half-heartily put it into a French braid. I put on a yellow tank top, jean shorts, and my classic baby-blue Converse.

Things have been really hard recently. Ever since Jason left, everyone at camp looks to me for guidance. I've managed to keep things running smoothly, but I don't know how much longer we can hold out for.

The moment I walk out the door, several people bombard me with problems.

"I don't have anymore silver, how am I supposed to make new weapons?" says Ian Fletcher, the ironsmith.

"We're nearly out of sugar and flour!" says Chandler Duff, our head baker. "We'll all starve!"

My head is spinning, but I quickly gather my thoughts, coming up with the best solutions possible.

"Alright," I say, "Ian, reuse worn arrowheads. Chandler, gather a couple other baker sand head down to the store- buy enough for a couple weeks."

Head still in a tiny wirlwind, I walk down to the docks to calm down. I've never known why, but the lake waves lapping against the boats always calms me. The hammock I'm sitting in sways gently in the morning breeze.

"Hey, Hallie." says someone behind me.

I turn to look at my best friend, Carrie Cordell, smiling behind me.

"Hey Carrie." I say

"You've been up for, what? Ten minutes, and you're already stressed out."

"People just don't know what to do without Jason around." I sigh

"Well, you are next in line as the leader, you're turn just came a little earlier than expected."

I shudder in the crisp morning air. Carrie's mention at our mock monarchy made me cringe a little. My family has been leading our people for hundreds of years. My fear that I won't be a good leader has come to life.

"But I should know exactly how to handle this. How could I help when I'm only fifteen anyways?"

Carrie just smiles at me. "You're doing just fine."

I love how she can always reassure me, no matter what I'm doing. Since she is supposed to be our camp's next prophet, sometimes she can see visions of the future. Her mother was the best prophet we've had in decades.

That's the thing with the way we live, you follow in you're family's footsteps. Always. It doesn't usually bother anyone, because they love their jobs. It's just in their blood to be attached to their Assignments.

"Hallie." says Carrie, trying to get me out of my trance. "Hallie!"

I slowly come back to now. "Sorry, I'm fine, I just haven't been sleeping well."

"What's been keeping you up?" Questions Carrie.

Should I tell her about the strange dream I've been having about my family? Carrie could probably help make sense of it, being a prophet and all. But if I tell her, it might get around camp.

"Nothing, really." I lie, "just uneasy about all this pressure."

"Alright," Carrie purses her lips. "Why don't we go get some breakfast?"

I unwillingly leave my hammock and follow Carrie to the dining hall. By now it's nearly nine o'clock, so more people are up. There's a steady stream of people flowing into the spring green building looking over the lake.