by Dylan Steel
Sage stared blankly at the question as the timer continued to tick off the seconds. She knew what she had to say.
12. GRADUATION
All the students were on edge in the days after the exam. While basic classwork continued as they waited to hear their final scores, everyone was too distracted to learn much new information.
They were told to be patient, that not only did Ms. Pembergast and Headmaster Alexander have to review their exams, but the Quorum of Five also had to approve their placement levels. And the Quorum of Five was quite busy and couldn’t be bothered to acquiesce to the impatient demands of children.
Ms. Pembergast was growing increasingly frustrated with the attention span of her charges, and she had resorted to throwing around warnings of additional Cleansings to force them to be on their best behavior. Each time, the threats worked temporarily, but no one actually expected her to make good on them now that the exam was over.
These warnings were especially pointed the morning of Graduation. It was supposed to be a proud, celebratory day as the Institution’s oldest students took their place among the adults of Eprah. And it might have been, too, if Sage and the others weren’t so consumed by wondering what their scores were.
Carnabel had been particularly vicious lately. Whether it was the nerves as they waited to hear their placement level or simply the fact that the exam was over, Sage couldn’t tell. That morning, Carnabel had nearly knocked the wind out of Sage as she elbowed her way past her to the shower stall. And now that they were marching with the rest of the student body toward the Grand Hall for Graduation, she made a point of periodically stopping abruptly, causing Sage to stumble into her.
“Ooof!” Sage grunted.
“Watch it, Sage!” Carnabel barked. She turned back around and sneered.
Sage gritted her teeth. She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help but hope that Carnabel wouldn’t be placed with their level.
“Just ignore her,” Pippa whispered. “I overheard her telling Nic that she thought she really messed up the science section of the test.”
Sage rolled her eyes and snorted. “That’s just because she has a huge crush on him. She’d say anything just to talk to him,” she whispered back.
“I don’t know,” said Pippa doubtfully. “She sounded pretty worried.”
“No talking!” Ms. Pembergast gave the girls a sharp look.
Sage snapped her mouth shut.
The Grand Hall was just as expansive as she remembered it. Like before, a crowd was already forming in the surrounding street. She watched as a group of people settled in beside one another, careful not to stand too closely.
“Does all of Eprah come to this too?” Sage leaned toward Aura as they walked inside the building.
“Oh, definitely.” She nodded. “This is a huge deal.”
This time when they walked through the curtained doorway, they were steered toward the front section of audience seating. They filed into a row with Ms. Pembergast sitting on the far end next to Finkel.
Sage felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Penelope grinning at her.
“I hope you’re ready for a long day,” Penelope said. “This always takes ages.”
“Great,” Sage sighed. “Better than classwork, right?”
Penelope laughed. “Um, maybe? You might change your mind about that pretty soon.” She paused. “Have you found out your level for next year yet?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. We—”
“Ahem!” Ms. Pembergast cleared her throat loudly while staring intently at Sage.
Sage shot Penelope an apologetic look and turned back around, slumping in her chair.
As the last citizens found their way to their seats, Headmaster Alexander made his way to the center of the stage, and a hush fell over the auditorium.
“Citizens of Eprah, welcome to today’s incredible celebration of the young members of our society becoming full-fledged citizens with all the rights, honors, privileges, and responsibilities of Eprah being bestowed upon and entrusted to them.”
Sage thought he must like to hear himself talk an awful lot.
“As I’m sure you’ll remember, I am the Institution’s Headmaster, Octavius Alexander, and it is my privilege to present these students to you today. May we all welcome them warmly in their new citizenry status.” He waved his hand behind him. The curtains rolled aside, and the Level Sixteen class appeared onstage, dressed in peculiar thigh-length gray robes and white pants and seated stiffly in chairs on risers. The crowd burst into applause.
Several small graphite-colored orbs hovered overhead, humming and swaying back and forth as if they were held up by invisible pendulum strings. They had a fuzzy sort of halo around them. Sage hadn’t noticed them the last time they were here, but she had been under the lights on the stage. She jabbed Aura, frowned, and jerked her head towards one of the orbs.
“Cameras,” Aura explained quietly. “They project the ceremony on the building exterior so that everyone outside can see.”
Sage nodded and turned her attention back to the stage before she could be reprimanded again.
“I would like to take this time to present our honored guests,” the headmaster continued. “And while I’m sure they need no introduction, I would be remiss not to give them their due. Ladies and gentlemen,” he swept his arm across the stage and motioned towards the edge of the stage, “please welcome our Quorum of Five!”
The applause in the room was deafening. Three men and two women, who all looked to be in their sixties, walked onto the stage with a sort of regal presence. The men tipped their heads to the crowd, and the women gave slight waves by flickering their fingers. They strode across the stage and took their seats with an air of great purpose and importance.
When the clapping died down, the headmaster continued his speech. Sage’s thoughts quickly began to wander as he droned on about the wondrousness of Eprah, the great duty these students were about to face, and the important role each citizen—young or old—had to play.
She leaned forward and caught sight of Ms. Pembergast mouthing some of the words along with the headmaster. Apparently, this was not a new speech.
Sage’s eyes continued to wander around the auditorium. The lighting was dim, but she was almost certain she saw the old man who had ambushed her at the Center. At least, she saw an older man who she thought was looking in her direction. She shuddered.
“And this high honor goes to Brittka Bamptok, for excellence in the sciences,” Headmaster Alexander was saying. One of the students stood and curtsied as one of the men of the Quorum of Five pinned a small red ribbon to her robe.
Somehow, she had missed the transition from the citizenry speech to the awards ceremony. Sage stopped counting somewhere around the thirtieth award, and they had barely begun. Now she understood what Penelope had meant.
Not all of the students received specific recognition, but about a third of them did. The awards ranged from outstanding citizenship and excellence in various academic subjects to best in Bokja and mix mastery, whatever that was. Each time, the students stood with a nod or a curtsy to whichever member of the Quorum of Five presented them with a ribbon.
Sage’s mind wandered. She went over her exam answers and chided herself for the wording on some of her essays. She hoped she would still pass. And she still hoped Carnabel wouldn’t. At least it had been a few days since she’d found any more dried paint in her hair.
Her thoughts drifted back to their visit to the Center and the argument Kai had been having with the old man. Was he still staring at her? She glanced over. She still couldn’t say for sure whether it was the same man or not, but at least now he seemed simply to have dozed off during the ceremony.
She noticed Rit fidgeting beside her. He wasn’t much of a talker, but then, no one had really had much of a chance to get to know him between their graffiti clean-up and exam study. Sage wondered if his parents had been Lawless too—after all, why else would he have
joined their class so late in the year? Aura had said once that they had required them to take placement exams just before the start of the new school year, after which she had been told she had to join the Transitional Class at the Institution.
The Quorum of Five members were finding their way back to their seats. The awards portion of the ceremony seemed to have finally concluded. Sage thought even they looked bored.
Headmaster Alexander, on the other hand, seemed to live for the stage’s spotlight.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for us to all learn the official professional placements of our graduates. While they have been undergoing specific training for the past year, we all know that job training does not always equate to their final job placement, and I know we have a few surprises in store today.”
Some of the graduates looked a bit nervous at that pronouncement, but at the same time, no one seemed surprised.
“To the Office of City Beautification, the following graduates are assigned.” The headmaster rattled off a list of names that Sage had never heard. Each student stood upon hearing his name, and they all looked relieved. The audience applauded briefly before the students were directed to sit again.
“The following graduates will work under the Dignitary of the Peace...”
A chill ran down Sage’s spine. The Dignitary of the Peace was where she had heard that her parents were dead. As she watched the students stand, she couldn’t help but think that some of them had a coldness behind their eyes.
Although Sage didn’t know any of the graduates, she paid a great deal of attention to this portion of the ceremony. She could tell every time someone was surprised at his assignment—or worried by his lack of assignment. Granted, they all tried to recover from their shock quickly and put on brave, happy faces, but their uneasiness was all too evident.
The variety of jobs was overwhelming—Sage was unsure of what she should someday hope to be assigned to. She did get the impression, however, that she did not want to be part of the large number of names called in response to the factory assignments. Most of those graduates had dull looks on their faces, and she couldn’t tell if they felt numb or if they were just slow.
As the headmaster finished ticking off the assignments, it was clear he had forgotten several names. Despite their best efforts to remain stalwart, some of the unnamed graduates appeared puzzled, while others looked downright terrified.
“I can assure you all,” Headmaster Alexander continued, “you will be proud to work with these young men and women. They are a bright new crop of talent, and I have no doubt they will contribute in many positive ways to our beloved Eprah.
“And of course, one of the ways in which they will do that is through their partnership with one another, which will of course ensure a strong, robust future for Eprah. Much like their professional assignments, they have been given notice of their likely pairings, but the final, official pairings are as follows. Kirsten Starr and Nordi Faals. Ginger Grallo and Apollo Christopher…”
As the headmaster droned on, Sage noticed a familiar pattern repeating itself. Almost every time a pair was announced, the girl blushed and looked down at the ground while the boy grinned. On at least a few occasions, however, she noticed a girl crinkle her nose in disgust or a boy roll his eyes and sigh in disappointment. Confused, she nudged Aura again.
“Repopulation,” she whispered, as if that explained everything.
“What?” Sage whispered back.
“They have to make sure that Eprah has enough citizens to function properly,” Aura explained. “They want diversity and the best genetic matching possible, so they assign pairs to have babies. My parents were paired before they got married,” she added proudly.
Sage’s eyes widened. She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ground.
She was vaguely aware that names were no longer being listed off and that they were now listening to more of Eprah’s accolades.
“Now I’m sure many of our graduates are beyond curious at this point as to why I have not called their names.” The headmaster chuckled. “Theirs is a great honor indeed. They will be taken under the wing of mentorship and granted a privilege of individual tutelage rarely enjoyed.”
The sideways glances of the students onstage told Sage that they might disagree with his assessment.
“These graduates will have a chance to learn how to serve Eprah best by observing those who already serve Eprah best. They are assigned to their benefactors as follows. Tilly Shaw to Benefactor Horatio Voris. Guinevere Jaxx to Benefactor Edward Grayson–”
“NO!” One of the young men on stage stood up and let out a guttural, almost primal yell. He appeared to be in physical pain. The girl sitting behind him, who Sage presumed was Guinevere, tugged on his robe trying to get him to sit and compose himself. He sank back into his chair, looking defeated.
Headmaster Alexander glared at him before continuing down the list as if nothing had happened. He rattled off about thirty graduates, and only two weren’t young women. Sage noticed that they were all quite attractive.
The owner of each name smiled broadly when called. Sage thought she saw was a subtle stoniness behind the smiles, though. Something about the whole situation left her unsettled. She didn’t know what a benefactor was exactly, but she didn’t think she wanted one.
“That concludes professional assignments and pairings. And just so we’re thorough, have any graduates not heard their name called today?” The headmaster paused and looked back, but no one stirred. “Of course not—or at least no one wants to embarrass me,” he said with a giant grin. An obligatory chuckle rippled through the crowd.
“Very well, then. On behalf of all of Eprah and our esteemed guests,” he nodded toward the Quorum of Five, “I would like to say congratulations and welcome to your new life as full-fledged citizens of Eprah.”
One of the men of the Quorum stood. He was holding a small box.
“As usual, our graduates will be escorted from this ceremony directly to their new housing. Tomorrow, they will report to their respective places of work and receive further instruction from their new supervisors, and they will finally be able to contribute their worth to Eprah.”
The headmaster turned from the audience to face the graduates. “And now, the Venerable Nicholas Pruitt will do the honors and activate your bracelets so that you are officially adult citizens of Eprah.” He gestured towards the man with the box.
Nicholas Pruitt put his free hand on top of the small box and pressed down. Every graduate’s bracelet lit up for just a moment, culminating in a blinding flash of light on stage.
Sage squeezed her eyes shut and tried to blink back her vision. Several of the newest full-fledged citizens of Eprah were rubbing their wrists.
“Congratulations!” Headmaster Alexander bellowed. The crowd erupted in deafening applause.
Just before the red velvet fell in front of the new adults, Sage caught a glimpse of two of the boys on the end. The first appeared eager and excited. If she remembered correctly, he had been assigned to the Dignitary of the Peace. She was positive she remembered the other boy—he was one of the few assigned to a benefactor. Terror was scrawled across his face.
13. PLACEMENTS
Sage squirmed in her desk. The day seemed to be dragging on forever, but her ears perked up when she heard Ms. Pembergast mention their exam.
“What I didn’t tell you before,” she was explaining, “is that there is a social component to your exam as well. Obviously, we can’t just ask you a series of yes or no questions to see if you have the social maturity and sufficient commitment to the betterment of Eprah to join your age group. You’ve actually been evaluated on that over the course of the year.”
Sage’s eyes widened. She was one of the few to undergo two Cleansings—would she be automatically penalized for that?
Ms. Pembergast sighed. “Well, I suppose there’s no sense in putting it off any longer. I have consulted with Headmaster Alexander and
the Quorum of Five about your exams, interviews, and social observations. Your placement results are on your databooks. You may check them now.”
The class raced to pull out their databooks.
Rit slammed his databook on his desk. “This isn’t fair! I hardly had any time to study! It’s—it’s just not fair!”
The rest of the class sat in stunned silence. Sage had hardly heard Rit speak, let alone at that volume.
Ms. Pembergast recovered from her surprise quickly and marched over to his desk, leaning in closely.
“It’s as fair as we can make it for someone with parents like yours,” she growled under her breath. She straightened and raised her voice so that the whole class could hear. “If you don’t check your attitude fast, I’m sure we can arrange time in your busy schedule for another Cleansing.” She narrowed her eyes at him, spun around, and clicked her way back to the front of the classroom.
Rit bit a quivering lip and slouched down in his seat. He stared unblinking at the back of Everett’s chair.
Sage had been so shocked by his outburst that she’d dropped her own databook before she’d had a chance to view her scores. She picked it up and touched a file labeled Test Results – Sage Indarra.
Butterflies tumbled around inside her stomach as she waited for the screen to load. It only took a moment, but it felt like hours.
Her heart stopped.
Congratulations on a passing grade! Welcome to Level Eight!
She was surprised to feel a wetness pricking at her eyes. A smile stretched over her face, and she looked over at Pippa. Pippa was beaming. She looked over at Sage and nodded.
Sage automatically turned to her other side. Everett was stone-faced, as usual, but Sage realized she didn’t really care how he had done anyway. She turned around to see if Aura had passed. Her eyes swept over a grinning Nic before resting on Aura.