The Convocation has happened for as long as I can remember. It is a gathering of all the houses where the elders choose 9 people who are worthy enough to compete in the games. The games are a competition to find out who is the strongest and smartest warrior of all the houses. The person who wins spends many more years of training to become an official. Becoming an official is the highest honor to have. You make laws, lead armies, choose the competitors in the games, make all the important decisions, and be treated like kings. The reason I say a king is because every single person who has ever won the games has been a man. There have been women that have been selected to compete, but none have ever actually won the games.
I stare at myself in the mirror and sigh. Today is the Convocation. The day everyone has been training for their entire lives. The day that decides their fate and their future. I look at the outfit I'm wearing. A pair of blue skinny jeans and a tight, black, long-sleeved shirt. My dirty blonde hair is curled into soft ringlets and I have a light layer of makeup.
There are groups of about 200 kids that compete against each other. There have been a few people who have died over the years of training. Austin Craun, a redheaded guy with freckles covering his entire body who was short and a little corpulent. He made it through the first week of training before someone jumped him and killed him. There have been other people throughout who have died or been killed.
I open my bathroom door into my room. I grab my phone from my bed stand and start to head downstairs. My brother walks out of his room at the same time I do. He is wearing a red t-shirt and black jeans. My brother and I are twins. We were born on December 13, 2002. The date is January 1, 2021, and the annual Convocation. Every person who is 18 years old are put together in a stadium and then 9 people are chosen.
In my class, there is one person who is going to obviously make it into the top 9 and that is Archer Hayes. He was the top in the class and always won. The only thing he didn't win would be a race we had last year. It was a close race, but I won and then became the fastest kid in the entire class. He didn't challenge me again, I think it was because he didn't want to get beaten again. The entire rest of last year was amazing, I was treated like a queen for defeating him in something, especially since no one else can say they have done that.
"Are you nervous?" I ask him.
"No, how about you?" he asks.
"A little," I admit.
"Don't worry you have like a 1 in a 200 chance of getting chosen." he shrugs it off. My brother may not think this is a big deal, but I do. I have wanted nothing more in my entire life than to be one of the top 9.
"You sure know how to make me feel better." I sarcastically say.
He chuckles and starts to head down the stairs. I trail behind him down to the kitchen. My mother is cooking breakfast and my dad is sitting at the table reading the newspaper. It looks like something out of a movie. My dad looks up and smiles.
"How are my wonderful children?" he asks grinning.
"Good." my brother and I reply at the same time.
Ever since we were little my father has wanted one of us to be officials. He has had this vision of one of us becoming an official ever since we were born. He has been training us since we were 5. In weapons, fighting, survival tactics, and battle strategy. My personal favorite would be fighting. My brother and I would spar at least 3 times a day. He would win most of them, but I would have some victories and let me tell you those were some of the greatest fights we ever had.
We both sit down at the table while my mother carries over our breakfast. She places the food in front of us while smiling. My mom was always a kind person. Whenever my brother or I would get hurt she would be the one to take care of us. She has always been there for us and she is one of my favorite people in the world.
"Thanks, mom," I say grabbing my fork.
After breakfast, we all piled into our family cars and headed to the Convocation. The nerves in my stomach fire up as we get closer. My palms start to get clammy and I rub them on my jeans. We pull up to the building where it is taking place. I open my door first and climb out. Slipping my phone into my back pocket I shut the car door. My brother gets out and comes to my side of the car.
"You ready to do this?" he asks not looking at me.
"No," I confess.
"Me neither."
"Okay, let's get this thing going." my dad says locking the car.
We all walk through the busy lobby and into the gigantic stadium like room. My mom and dad find their seats and my brother and I walk to our graduating class. I sit next to my best friend, Alyssa, and let out a big sigh. I look over at her and her leg bouncing up and down. After a second it starts to annoy me so I set my hand on top of her knee.
"Thanks."
"Are you as nervous as I am?" I asked laughing a little.
"You're nervous?" she asks.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"You and your amazingly hot brother are totally going to get into the top 9 and I'm going to probably work in an office until I'm old and can retire. That's the sad truth of it all."
"Who's amazingly hot?" my brother asks while sitting next to me.
"No one," she answers quickly. The microphone turns on and someone taps it. Everyone quiets down and looks at the stage.
"Hello everyone and welcome to the annual Convocation." the speaker says. "I'm glad to see so many faces in the audience. I would like to congratulate the graduating class and wish you a good life. I would also like to wish you good luck in getting chosen to be one of the 9. Now without further ado, I would like to present the Officials." everyone starts to clap and a curtain raises. The Officials are at one big desk with mics in front of each of them. There are about 20 of them. I scan all of them left to right, but when I reach the end I see the oldest one. His hair is turning white and his face is getting wrinkles.
We stare at each other for a while before I look back to the speaker.
"I got the list for the 9 right here. So the first contender on the list is Archer Hayes." Everyone starts to clap and whistle. Archer stands up and his friends are patting him on the back. He has a great big smile on his face and starts to walk up to the seats for the 9. I let out another sigh, 8 more to go.
"Okay the next contender is Mark Hanagan." the crowd keeps on clapping while he calls out the rest of the names.
"Carter Nicotolli, Leo Miller, Ryan Peterson, Elijah Harris, John Castle, Sam Davis, and wow this hasn't happened in about 15 years." the crowd is on the edge of their seats, waiting for him to call out the last person. He clears his throat and says the last name into the microphone "Thea Castle."
Everyone is looking at me including the contenders. My head is spinning. I didn't expect to be chosen. I look at the speaker for confirmation. He nods his head like he could read my thoughts. I stand up and start to walk towards the stage. Climbing the stairs I can feel everyone's stares on my back. I then cross the stage I sit down in the only seat available, next to Carter.
The announcer clears his throat and continues on with the Convocation.
"Thank you for attending our annual Convocation and give a round of applause to the 9 that have been chosen this year."
He disappears into the background and everyone starts to stand up and applaud. So many faces in the crowd are looking at me, including my best friend and parents. My palms are sweating, but other than that I try to not let myself show any emotion. I can't let anyone of the opponents see me as someone that is weak. I need to be the strongest I've ever been in order to win this. As I look into the audience I make a silent promise to myself that I will win this thing and I will not let anyone stop me no matter what.
