District Test; book 1 of the one by one trilogy

Chapter 1

Nobody likes those district wide tests that all 8th graders need to take. Not one. Not even me. And I love school. I'm one of the smartest in my grade. My name is Evangeline. I'm 14 years old and I survived. I was unfazed by the district test.

***

"Evangeline! Get out of bed." My mom snaps at me, sharply tugging the blanket off my legs.

"Fine. I'm up." I snap back, sitting up. My mom storms out of my room and I roll my eyes. She hates me. 'Why can't you be more like your sister?' Is her favorite thing to say to me. My sister, Roxy, is so stuck up that I honestly don't know how she has so many friends. She's 17 and I can't wait until she goes off to college. Well, considering how stupid she is, she won't last long. I'm really smart and she doesn't even know the difference between the dishwasher and the oven. How am I supposed to be like her? She's going to end up as one of those girls who hooks up with drunk men in the streets for five dollars.

I get out of bed and grab some clothes and head to the bathroom. When I finish getting ready, I leave the bathroom in hopes that my mom saved some food for me. But, as usual, there was nothing. I sigh and grab my stuff for school. I grab the helmet to my bike and toss my backpack into the basket. I would need to stop and get something. I bike to Starbucks and grab a drink and something to eat. I put that in my basket, too and head to school.

I get to school and lock up my bike and helmet. I walk over to the tables and start eating and checking instagram.

"Hey," Harper, my best friend says, as she sits next to me.

"Hey." I respond, as I continue to check instagram. I snap a quick selfie of me and my drink and post it. Harper stays quiet as I finish up my food and go to throw out the empty cup and bag.

"You nervous for the test today?" Harper asks, a bit awkwardly.

"Nah." I lie

"Oh." Harper says, looking down. The bell rings and I out my phone in my back pocket. People were rushing around to their classes and some were even giving each other small slips of paper probably filled with notes and answers. I knew people who would hide their notes in the bathroom then during the test, will go to the bathroom to get their notes to use or go at the same time as their friend in another class to give each other the answers. I shake my head and keep walking. I enter my classroom and sit in my usual seat. People were talking and doing things on their phones. I grab my needed things from my backpack and lay them out on my desk. The teacher walks in and everyone goes quiet.

"Today, as you know, is the district test." She says. We all groan. "But, we are doing things a little different this year." She says. Something seemed off. "We will be taking the test on our computers today." She says. "So take out your laptops and go to the website I put up on the board." She says, pointing to the link on the board.

I type it into the search box and press enter. I follow the directions and begin the test. I notice my teacher leaving the room. Why was she leaving? Nobody seemed to care. Everyone was staring blankly at their screens. All of a sudden, all the screens start flashing colors and making a horrible sound. I close my eyes and cover my ears. Everyone kept staring. This was not what was supposed to happen. I get up and wave my hand in front of one of my classmate's face. They didn't notice. I panic and look at everyone. I was about to give up when one person, Cody was his name, looks up and slams his computer shut.

"Cody!" I shout over the sounds of the computers. He looks over and waves for me to follow. We leave the classroom and notice that the hall is empty. I hear the faint sounds of the test coming from all the classes.

"What is happening in there?" I ask Cody. I had never spoken to him but he seemed nice. He was tall, light skin, brown hair and beautiful teal-blue eyes. I could stare into them all day.