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Chapter 1

GRADUATION DAY

I can hardly stand still as htens ht brown hair behind my ear Finally she turnsarea wall Red I’ evidence of that tickles my stomach

“Are you ready, Cia?” h her dress is ossamer fabric that drapes to the floor in soft swirls Next to her, my sleeveless dress and leather boots look childish, but that’s okay I have ti for it at sixteen The youngest by far in my class

I take one last look in the reflector and hope that today is not the end of my education, but I have no control over that Only a drea hard, I nod “Let’s go”

Graduation is held in the colony square aoods and fresh h to hold all the people ill attend The entire colony attends graduation, which only makes sense since everyone in the colony is related to at least one of the students crossing over to adulthood or celebrating their pro class the Five Lakes Colony has had Eight boys, six girls A clear sign the colony is thriving

My father and four brothers, all dressed in cere My oldest brother, Zeen, shoots me a smile and ruffles et out into the real world with the rest of us slobs?”

My mother frowns

I laugh

Zeen and irls practically throw themselves at the, none of the down They’rethe next hybrid to a family Zeen most of all He’s tall, blond, and sot chosen for The Testing The thought takes away the shine from the day Perhaps that’s the first rule I will learn as an adult—that you can’t always get what you want Zeen must have wanted to continue on to the University—to follow in Dad’s footsteps HeFor a h the disappoint me Our colony will be lucky to have one student chosen for The Testing—if any at all It has been ten years since the last student froood at school, but there are those who are better Much better What chance do I have?

With a forced smile, I say, “You bet I can’t stay in school if I plan on running the colony by the time all of you are married”

Hart and Win blush They are two years older thanside by side in the nursery, growing the flowers and trees Dad has created to withstand the corrupted earth at the outskirts of the colony

“No one will be doing ” Mother’s voice is sharp as she heads off down the path My brothers and father quickly follow Zeen’s and Hae prospects is a sore spot for our mother

Because of Dad’s job, our house is farther from the center of the colony than round around our sreen with plants and trees, but a hundred feet past our front door the earth is cracked and brittle Though sorow Dad tells me the earth to our west is far worse, which is why our leaders decided to place the Five Lakes Colony here

Usually, I ride my bicycle to town A couple of citizens own cars, but fuel and solar cells big enough to run them are too precious for everyday use Today, I trail behind my family as alk the almost five miles to the colony’s community square

Square is really the wrong word, but we use it anyway It’s shaped es to the sides There is a beautiful fountain in thewater into the air The fountain is a luxury since clean water is not always easy to come by But we are allowed the waste and the beauty in order to honor the man who discovered how to ree Seven What is left of the oceans is harder to clean

The ground becoet to the center of the colony Mom doesn’t talk row up, but I don’t think that’s the case

Or maybe it is