"Today's the day," I muttered to myself as I dragged myself down the stairs and into the kitchen to eat breakfast. It wouldn't be long before it was time for the candidates to be collected and I wanted to get a good meal in before then. My mom was at the stove, the smell of bacon wafting throughout the room as she cooked it. My dad, sitting at the table sipping his morning coffee. I smiled at my younger sister, Cora, as she played with her food.
"Ah!" I heard my father exclaimed as he looked up from his reading. "Morning Luella." I offered him a smile of my own and my worries melted away as I ate breakfast with my family. My elder brother was probably already out working, but I had time. So after breakfast, I headed down to the fields of corn and such. Sure enough, there he was. I ran over to him and gave him a big, bear hug. He smiled down at me and returned the hug. We sat and talked for a while - well I sat and talked, he worked. That is until I heard the nearby bell tower chime and I knew I would be late for the test if I didn't go soon. So I gave my brother one last hug and then took off running.
"Good luck today Luella!" He called back as I dashed towards the house to wait for the Collectors. I would need it as I have an expectation to uphold - my whole family has passed the test and I need to as well. I don't even want to think what would happen to me if I would fail the test. Just as I skidded to a halt outside the front porch, a man in a suit came up. He looked at me and then towards the house.
"Miss Luella Grace?" He asked me. I nodded nervously in response. All of my worries shot up through me at this point. Just then, the door to the house opened and out came my parents and little Cora. I smiled at them before waving as I walked with the man towards a sleek, black colored limousine. He ushered me into the backseat, closed the door, climbed in up front, and we drove away. It was then I realized I wasn't sitting back here alone - three other girls were with me.
"H-Hi," I asked one of them as I offered a small smile. "I'm Luella Grace." One of the girls - the one to my left - just hugged and turned away
"I know," she said in an annoyed tone of voice. The other one just smiled and shook her head. I began to blush as I thought I had made a fool of myself in front of my fellow Candidates. Then we stopped for a moment and a female's voice came over the speaker system.
"Welcome to The Testing Hall Candidates! Prepare to enter and take the test that will decide your fate in this lovely little world of ours!"
