In the Name of Order

Chapter 3: Standards

I throw the last sweet into the air and smile when it lands in my mouth. My failed attempts are scattered around me, but I never liked the orange ones much anyway. I've eaten most of the snacks and will continue telling myself it is only fair seeing as I am the one who bought them all.

Just as I begin to wonder when Kane and Mathea will return, I see the raft in the distance. Kane smoothly steers the raft from the back seat and my younger sister, Mathea, looks into the river.

Kane and I started the tradition of meeting at the river on the first day we return to the Gifted Site. Mathea joined us one year after our tradition began, turning the picnics Kane and I had near the river to a day consisting of rafting and picnics.

"When will you join us, Willow?" The raft isn't too far from me, but Kane uses any excuse he can to shout.

"I did once remember? That day I fell in," I yell back.

"Ohhh the day I pushed you in."

Kane and Mathea reach the river bank, and Kane, pretending to be a gentleman, holds out his hand to help Mathea out of the raft. Mathea walks over to me while Kane pulls the raft out of the water.

"I only wanted to get you wet, Willow. If you wanted me to achieve that goal some other way you should've just said."

"Shut up!" My eyes widen, but Kane only bursts out laughing at my response. I also catch Mathea's smirk.

"What do you think is going through your sister's mind right now, Thea?" He continues, "You would know, wouldn't you? I heard siblings have that weird connection."

"She wants to punch you," Mathea states.

"Well, that's an obvious one, T. Willow always has such violent thoughts."

He now walks over to the blanket Thea and I are sitting on and sits next to me. Kane rests his head on my lap as the tree behind me supports us. We were all happy to see this tree grew quickly. Before that, Kane would always claim the sun burnt him.

Mathea claims much of the blanket I laid out for the three of us, stretching her body across the length of it while looking up at the sky. She looks peaceful when she does this. There aren't many times either of us look as if we have no care in the world.

I treasure these moments. These few minutes we don't have to focus on what we need to do and can rather focus on smaller things or even focus on nothing. Mathea focuses on the sky, but I see she eventually closes her eyes. Kane's eyes are closed, but I know he's focusing on the sloshing sound of the river. He once told me it's one of the things he does.

"How was it, Will?" I know Kane is referring to my evaluation.

"Don't call me Will."

"How was it?" He repeats.

I take a few seconds to think. I'm not sure if I should tell them how it went, and if I do tell them, I'm not sure what tone is best to use. It's probably best to sound concerned about my future in this program.

They will definitely be concerned about it; whether I get kicked out or not. There's only been one person to be kicked out of the program for not meeting standards. His family ended poor from having to pay large sums of money to the Gifted Program—reparations; that is what the officials call it.

I see that boy around when the officials drag him in for a reason unknown to me. A purchased child is still the property of the program even though they no longer participate in it. The system is strange really.

All I really need to understand are two things: my family loses so much if I don't meet the standards set, and I can never be free. I'm not concerned about my freedom though. We're all controlled some way.