Matched

Chapter 1

Kate pulled her hair back tightly into a bun. She glanced at the instructions that had been given to her just the other day. They read: DO NOT COME WITH YOUR HAIR DOWN. Among the fine print it stated that any hair left down was subject to be cut off by the examiner. She turned her head to the left and looked at the bump protruding from her neck. She ran her hand down it and a shiver went through her. Today was the day that it would be gone forever. Today was the start of the rest of her life.

    "Kate Crystal Lowell get your ass down here!" came a shout from the kitchen of her house.

    "Coming mother!" she yelled back, being equally loud.

    She knew that her mother would be walking out to the station in a moment. She was an impatient person, and Kate knew that there was only one way to catch up with her. Kate looked at herself one last time in the mirror and hoisted herself up through the hole in her roof. It had previously been covered by a tarp, but this effort had been abandoned when it was stolen by local thieves and so the hole was nailed shut. Or at least this is what her mother thought. At night, Kate loosened the screws of the board and let the fresh air in.

    Now, she pulled herself onto the roof and screwed the board in with a spare screw driver. She took in a deep breath. The crisp fall air filled her lungs and left her wide awake and alert. She looked over the city that stretched before her, bunches of brown shacks that surrounded a gleaming palace, Livingston Palace to be exact, in the center of it all. Even from a distance, Kate could see the towering minarets made of stone surrounded by the rest of the structure. It was truly magnificent and gave a certain beauty to the shacks that surrounded it.

    Kate slid down her roof and jumped off of the side of her house. She ran to catch up with her mother, who was already halfway down the street. She turned as she heard Kate's footsteps behind her. "Could you be any slower?" her mother asked. Kate said nothing in return, which earned her a slap to the side of her head. "Are you listening to me? This is a very important day young lady! Today you find out what the rest of your life will look like!"

    The real nerves hadn't set in until her mother said that. She clasped her hands and began to rub them together both from the cold and nerves. "I'm sorry," her mother said, seeing this, "I just don't want you to get stuck with an asshole like your father. He treated me so poorly and even in death, his debts still torment you and me. Hopefully you will find a better match than I did."

    Kate said nothing in return, and silently watched the people filing on to the train that was ready to take them to the palace. It seemed like a normal day at first glance, but with a closer look, each parent was telling their eighteen-year-old son or daughter to stand straighter, quieter, and be more mature. Each parent wore an expression of both worry and excitement.

    Following the trend of the crowd, Kate's mother reached to brush a stray hair that Kate had missed off of the side of her neck. Her hand hit the bump protruding from her neck and Kate winced.

    "It hurts," her mother commented, "Good. That means it's ready to come out."

    Kate smiled. Hopefully this day would go as normal as possible.

***

    "You will go to work as usual." The woman standing at the front of the kitchen was part of the executive staff of the Livingston Palace. "An executive board member will come to fetch you from your job and you will be taken to a room where you will be tested. It should only take about twenty minutes." She glanced around severely. "This is the most important decision that will be made for you in your life. Don't mess it up."

    Kate was shocked by what she had just heard. Don't mess up? She thought that this was a test that she had no say in.

    Her mother bent down and whispered in her ear. "She 's just saying that. Don't worry, no skill is required for this test. I guess that's a good thing considering that it's you taking it."