Shifters: Standardized Terror

Bloodwork

Author's Note: this is my first story and I wrote this at 3 AM. I have no regrets.

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During the best day of your life, how do you know it will be remembered that way? Is it the giddiness in your lungs as you snort while laughing? What about the butterflies in your stomach when your partner twirls you around on the dance floor? The fairy lights brighten as he gently takes my hand. When our eyes meet, he hesitates for a second but begins to shake, violently. 

What about the worst day of your life?

"Help-" he croaks as he trips and regains balance.

I shoot a glance at the skylight. The moon is blood red. The crowd parts as I sprint for the door, half carrying him. A bead of sweat trails down my face.

"Are you okay? How long do you have?"

He looks at me, pain glistening in eyes and utters, "BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!"

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

BEE-

As I smack the alarm clock, I fall back into bed and stare at the ceiling. Today's the day. I pull on a lavender shirt and a black skirt and do my makeup. After three attempts on one eyeliner wing, I decided to shorten the other wing and call it a day. I jump into my 2001 Ford F-150 that was definitely ~rustic~ and not falling apart. Blaring the Beatles, I pull into the parking lot and trudge into the auditorium. It's too early for this.

"HEY ALICE!" Jessie playfully pushed me into the cushy auditorium seat, "I MISSED YOU!"

"I missed you too!" I exclaimed with a fake high pitch, "I can't believe we went four days without seeing each other! It was *like* soooo long." 

Jessie opened her mouth to speak, but as she did, Principal St. Clair walked onto the stage.

"Good morning, seniors. I'm here to wish you all good luck today on your shifter test. May you all get the outcome you so desire. Now, before we begin, I am legally obligated to tell you more about the test."

Jessie sighed and began to text.

"Because of our fine government's laws, we are required to issue this test to all seniors age 17 or older on August 18th each year, one day before the official start of the school year. The shifter test consists of a person of your sex calling you to a room where they will draw a vial of your blood. Then, your blood is run through a machine that scans for metamorphin, the protein all shifters have. Your blood is then discarded and your results will be released within the next fifteen minutes. Not everyone in this room will turn out to be a shifter. Only 80% of the world can shift. Good luck today, and no matter what your results are, you all must make good choices. Testing will be done in alphabetical order starting with Percy Aarons and Jessica Abbett."

Jessie jumped out of her seat as she threw her purse over her shoulder, "Next time you see me, I'm gonna be an official shifter!"

"Yeah, unless you're one of the twenty percent!" I called to her as she confidently walked backstage.

I had time to kill, so I opted to search for Nate, my other best friend.

I tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey, wanna get lunch after this with Jess and me?"

Dramatically, he mulled it over, "No, I think I'm okay I- obviously I want to go. Where at?"

"Flip Flop's?"

"I'll meet you there since your last name is soooo far behind the rest of ours. I guess patience is a virtue."

As he spoke, his name was called and he flashed me a grin before walking up the stage. 

I sat down to read in an attempt to try and forget about the weird dream I had the night before. While scanning the words, I tripped over my anxieties for the test. What if I wasn't a shifter? If I can't shift, I can't perform organ regenerations, which means I can't be the specialist so then I-

Okay.

I need to chill.

Breathe in... 2... 3... Out... 2-

"Alice Liddell, you're testing in room two today."

Shit.

I took a shaky breath as I walked up the stage and shut the door to room two. 

"Hello," a woman with dark eyes gestured to a chair, "Please sit down. I'm Dr. Perez, you must be Alice Liddell. All I'm going to do today is take a vial of your blood for testing."

I sat in the chair as Dr. Perez tied a cloth tightly around my upper arm.

"If you're uneasy, you might want to look away, I promise it helps."

I turned my head away and felt a slight pinch before the sensation stopped.

"Thank you, Alice. I'm going to have this tested for you, your results will be emailed to you in about fifteen minutes."

I quickly thanked her and left the room. The backstage hallway was crowded with other students waiting for their results. Nervous chatter fell out of everyone's mouths but would occasionally stop when someone got the results email and reacted with glee or with dread. I counted the seconds to calm myself down. It takes 752 seconds for the email to arrive. I hurry to open it on my phone.

"Ms. Alice Liddell," it reads.

"I'm, writing to make you aware that your Shifter's Day test results are available after being tested and evaluated by a team of professionals. After analyzing your blood and finding the metamorphin protein, we can reasonably conclude that you are a shifter. Congratulations! Please go to the counselor's office to sign up for your classes. As a shifter, you are required to take Shapeshifting 101 in order to learn the regulations, art, and dangers of shifting. Congratulations again on this important milestone and we wish you the best moving forward.

Principal St. Clair"

After reading the email, I did the one thing I felt I was above doing. I squealed with glee and immediately called Jessie.

"Uh, hello?"

"JESSIE I GOT IT! I GOT IT!!!"

"Wait, really?"

"YES!!!"

"Ayyyy that's awesome! Me too! What if we're in the same class?" 

"That'd be so cool! Congrats girly!"

"Okay. Hurry up and choose your classes so Nate and I can eat. It smells so good here and I'm STARVING."

"Okay lemme ju-"

She hung up. I quickly chose my classes and ran out of the school.