----- Day of Test -----

I’m cold.

That’s the first thing I think about when I wake up this morning. I lift my head and see that I fell asleep last night without any blankets covering me. Shivering, I sit up and set my feet on the cold floor. I inhale a long, deep breath and slowly breathe out. I glance at the clock on the wall. There is over an hour left until I need to take the test.

I’m so tired. I don’t feel physically ready. I didn’t sleep well last night. Too many thoughts were invading my head, and I had neither the will nor the power to get rid of them. I let them control me, and before I knew it, it was two o’clock in the morning and I wasn’t the least bit sleepy.

Reluctantly, I stand up and grab the things I need to take a shower. After showering, I change into a white shirt and white jeans and sit down at my desk to begin some last-minute review.

Will I get the tattoo that all deserving Argents receive when they pass the test? Will I start the beginning of my career on this monumental day?

I want it, and yet I don’t. I want to pass, and yet I want to fail. It’s ridiculous. I don’t get it.

Heck, I can’t focus. All I can think about is Luhan. There is an ugly, dark feeling resting in the pit of my stomach, and I feel as if it is a warning as to what is going to come. I just hope that whatever I predict or assume won’t turn out to be true, because as of now, I don’t like what I am imagining.

Someone knocks on my door. I raise my head and shout “Come in” and watch as the door gradually opens. My mother peeks into my room and gives me a sympathetic smile.

“Hey,” I say to her. “What’s up?”

“Hara’s here,” my mother tells me. “She’s waiting for you.”

Right. Hara. I almost forgot that she was taking the test, too. “I’ll be down in a bit,” I tell her. My mom nods, and before she slips away, I have the bravery to add, “Mom?”

“Hm?” She pauses, turning her head back toward me.

“I … “ I search for the words as my eyes glaze over the textbook on my desk. “ … Thank you for … letting me be with Luhan yesterday. I really … I had fun.”

A thick silence covers my room. I stare at the words on my textbook and pretend to study, as if I hadn’t truly meant what I said. My mother clears , and when she speaks, the tone in her voice tells me the very thing neither one of us wants to admit.

“You’re welcome,” she whispers. I wait for a few seconds before looking up, but when I do, I see that she is no longer waiting at my door. I close my textbook, gather what I need, and run down the stairs.

I see Hara leaning against the railing. She is wearing a white dress and has a white bow in her hair. She smiles when she sees me, and although I’ve never found myself to have a lot of things in common with this girl, I realize that I am not alone in this ordeal. It temporarily lifts my spirits.

“Morning, Hara,” I greet. “You ready for this test?”

“No,” she replies honestly, smiling. “How are you?”

“Fine,” I answer perfunctorily. “So – “

“Emer.”

I look up. She is glaring at me, but her eyes don’t seem hostile. They seem concerned … and human. “I mean it.”

I pretend to not understand her, but I’m forced to say, “I don’t feel confident.” I sigh. “So I guess … I’m not good.”

“You can do it,” Hara pats the top of my head lightly. Because she is shorter than me, she has to stand on her tip-toes to do it. “Anyway, we should get going. Gotta catch that train.”

“Right,” I say distractedly. I look around the house. Where is Luhan? I am about to search for him when he appears from the kitchen.

“Morning!” He says with a tone too bright compared to my mood. “Are you going?”

“Yeah,” I smile, because I can’t help but feel better when he looks at me like that. “I am.”

“Okay,” he nods. “Good luck, Emer,” he murmurs. He approaches me, and with a swift, soundless move, he slips his arms around me and holds me to his body. I can hear the hum of his heart as I lean my ear against his chest. I lift my face and stare up at him as he stares down at me, and for a breath-taking moment, all that exists in this world is Luhan and I.

We break apart, and I feel a sense of insatiable loss when his arms leave my body. Hara prods me to get going, and I submit to her urges and follow her. I give one last look at Luhan, and before the front door is closed to obstruct my view of him, I give him the biggest smile I possibly can. With a wave, he returns my goodbye, and as I walk away, the image of his standing there remains engraved on my mind.

When Hara and I arrive at the train station, we find the seat near the back of our train. As the train begins to moan and pulls away from the station, I get one glance of the Argent region before the train moves too fast for me to recognize anything.

“You and Luhan seem close now,” Hara comments, leaning her head against the window and inspecting her short nails.

“Yeah,” I agree. I’m not going to hide anything from her. I’m not afraid of myself anymore. “And what about you?”

“Me?” She points at herself.

“With Sehun.”

“Oh,” she smiles. “He’s my best friend,” she answers. That’s all she mentions, but we both understand the meaning behind those four words. She grows quiet, and we don’t speak again until the train arrives at the Brass region.

When I step off the train, the first thing I see once the early morning fog clears is the state of the Brass region. I haven’t been here since that time I was with Luhan, but I know it wasn’t this secure when I went.

There are more Government officials here than there were in the Market. There are groups of them walking, sitting, and standing around the area with weapons in their hands. It looks as if they have turned the Brass region into grounds for military practice. Brasses cower in the corners of the street, the fear of the uncertainty of tomorrow weighing on their shoulders and shaking their hands. They look just as worried and confused as I am. Nobody seems to understand why the Brass region is so heavily regulated except for the officials themselves.

“Get a move on,” a test regulator shouts. He is wearing white just like Hara and me, but there is a blue circle on his shirt over where his heart rests. “Are you all here to take the test?” He asks us.

“Yes,” I answer for us.

“Get over here,” he mumbles and pushes us towards a line of people dressed in white. The line is fairly long and leads to a flat-roofed building a few blocks to my left. Hara and I st