I wake with a start. Slender hands grasp my shoulders, shaking with all the might that a fourteen-year-old has. My eyes flutter open and Millie yells in my ear.

"Ada! You're going to be late for morning inspection! It starts in just less than ten minutes!" I bolt into a sitting position and throw her off of me.

"Millie! Why didn't you wake me earlier?!" I run about my room, first to my dresser to grab the new plain white dress that Mother had made me for teatime with the Fields next door. I then sit down at my desk and look at myself in the mirror.

I let out a small shriek at the sight of my hair. While it air-dried last night, the natural beach waves of my hair turned into a jungle of tight curls that defied gravity. I start to rummage through each drawer when Millie reads my mind.

"You knocked it off the desktop." She hands me my plain black brush and we both attempt to control the beast. My internal clock ticks down and I huff in frustration.

I quickly use the brush to throw my hair up into a neat, tight bun at the back of my head like I usually have it for ballet practice. I can feel it in my bones that we have just about a minute left until the drones come for morning inspection and if we're not down there when they do, our lives will take a huge turn for the worst.

I rise from the chair and we both rush out of my room heading for the stairs. "Seriously, Millie! You always wake me up way before inspection so we can fix things like this."

I look at her as I round the banisher and start to descend the stairs. "I'm sorry! Mother or Father usually wake me and then I wake you. But nobody woke me, it's a miracle that we'll even make it."

We both make it down the stairs and bound over to where Mother and Father are already standing, ready for inspection. Father is on the right of Mother, I take my spot on Mother's left, and Millie stands, trying to catch her breath on my left.

We both manage to straighten our dresses and place our hands folded behind our backs just as the drones slip through the hatch on the front door. I release a tense breath and plaster a smile on my face for the cameras.

The two drones split from each other and start at opposite ends of my family. The white and silver one heads over to Millie and the black and silver one heads over to Father.

Both Millie and Father extend their right arms in front of them and both drones simultaneously scan their tattooed wrists. I subconsciously start to rub the globe and twelve black circles of mine and listen to the monotone voices of the drones.

"Malinda Jane Grace, eighth, nursing." The drone that scanned her bobs forward almost nodding politely towards her after spouting her information.

"Philip Wayne Grace, twelfth, tailor." The second drone dips it's head at Father and then both drones more inward ready to scan Mother and I.

Both of us raise our arms and the drones scan our wrists. I look at mine and notice that the skin of and around the tattoo has turnned pink with how hard I was rubbing. The bright red bar runs over my tattoo, unlocking the secrets of my ID chip underneath.

"Adaline Jewel Grace, twenty-second, performer." A life so complicated narrowed down to the six words that define my whole being. The drone nods and continues to hover in place, waiting for its partner to finish.

"Jane Amber Grace, twelfth, seamstress." The last story read was Mother's. Her life, read out in one sentence. That is what we have become, a name, a number, and a profession.

Both drones turn and leave through the hatch on the door they came in through. With our hands behind our backs again, we all let go of a collective breath and relax. I'm about to speak to Mother and Father when I'm whipped around and pulled back up the stairs.

"Millie! You're going to rip my arm off!" She releases my arm and I hold my sore shoulder. I continue to follow her up the stairs and end up in our shared bathroom that is stationed between our rooms.

Millie starts searching each drawer and cupboard for who knows what. "We have twenty-three minutes until we have to be back down for breakfast." She taps her chin with a brush and ponders whatever it is that goes on in her head. "I think I can make this work." She nods to herself and continues her search. I sit on the stair she moves toward me and prepare myself for a storm.

"I need you wet your hands with some water and brush your hair with your wet fingers." I don't argue even though I'm more confused than just about ever, instead I take my hair out of its bun and run my water-damp fingers through it.

Soon Millie joins in and within two minutes my hair is damp enough to fix the curls. My sister runs a brush through it all then her hands move so quickly that I can't follow what she's doing.

When Millie finally takes a step back from me I turn to look into the mirror and my jaw drops. She controlled my curls back to their usual beach wave and pulled the front portion of my hair back. Holding the hair back was an elegant white bow with black lace set over it.

"Close your mouth, you don't want to catch flies." She smiles at me through the mirror and I roll my eyes.

"We both know that flies, along with most animals are extinct. But seriously, Millie, I can't use the bow that Mother made you! Firstly, it's yours, and second, Mother is going to freak when she sees it in my hair." I hiss at her and start to clean the big mess we've created, stress and anxiety closing in.

"Don't worry about Mother, and besides, I think that it suits you much better." I stand from the chair and wrap my arms around her.

"You know how much I love you, baby sister?" I squeeze her tight, glad for such a kind soul in the family.

"Not as much as I love you, big sister." I can hear the smile in her voice and we both giggle. We both pull away and finish cleaning up.

We head down to the kitchen to see that we've made it just in time. Father is helping Mother bring trays with food over to the table while they talk amongst themselves. Millie and I stand behind our usual chairs at the table and once Mother and Father have stood behind theirs, we all take our seats.

The plates, bowls, and utensils rise from the table and Father, as always, starts dishing up first. "You girls cut it awfully close to morning inspection don't you think?" Mother's voice is disapproving like it always is, but her face has a smug smile on it, almost like she wanted us to be late.

I'm about to open my mouth to explain our situation when Millie beats me to it. "We're very sorry, Mother. I woke up late, which is what caused us to almost be late."

I try to interject and finish what really happened when Millie's foot crashes down onto mine. I bite my tongue, it's throbbing pain the only thing keeping me quiet. "I see that Adaline is wearing the new bow I made for you. Not only that but she's wearing her own new dress. Is there something that you girls are planning?" I look back at Mother before shifting my gaze to Millie, pleading her with my eyes that she won't say anything stupid.

"Ah, you are simply mistaken, Mother. Ada wanted to wear her dress today but because she was helping me get ready due to waking up late, she didn't have time to fix her hair. It was a mess, which is why she had it in a bun during inspection. Afterward, I helped her with her hair and put the bow in without her permission, because I want her to wear it." My eyes widen as she knits together her backwards story perfectly.

"Well then," Mother's eyes meet mine and she displays a forced smile. "You look beautiful, Adaline." I smile at her and turn to Father.

"Are you okay with this, Father?" Father finally looks up from his food, almost like he had missed the entire scene that just played out.

"Of course, my dear, you look lovely." Father's eyes sparkle with pride behind his glasses. He sets his fork down on his plate and makes eye contact with both Millie and I. "So after tea with the Fields', have you girls planned out your days?"

I start thinking and realize that the only things I had planned for, was tea, and ballet practice. "No, Father, I only have practice later today, other than that I hadn't planned for anything. Would you like help at the store?" I set my fork down on the still empty plate, not wanting to eat.

"All I have today, Father, is nurses training. I could help as well." Millie's sweet voice rings and a large smile blooms on her face.

Father fixed his glasses and sends a weary look in Mother's direction. "Why, yes, of course. I would love the help."

Millie leaps to her feet and grabs my arm, pulling me from my seat. Both of our empty plates shrink back into the table and Mother gives us a strange look. "I think that Ada and I should get some fruit to take to the Fields' later during tea."

I regain my balance and hook my arm around hers. "Okay, be back before we have to leave." Mother nods her compliance and continues to eat in silence.

Millie and I walk out the door and turn left, heading in the direction of the market. Once we're a sizeable distance away from the house I speak my mind. "So why did you really want to get out of the house?"

I look over at her and her cheeks start to warm. "Well, Mother was getting a little unbearable." She looks straight ahead, refusing to meet my eyes.

I grab her arm and stop walking, forcing her to face me. "Millie, who is it?" She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.

"I have a friend who is in the surgeons training at the hospital who comes to the market every morning. She told me that there's this really cute guy who shows up every Monday and Friday, and guess what? Today is Friday, I wanted to see if I can find the guy she's talking about." Her blush deepens and she looks down at the ground.

I giggle and shake my head at her. "I'll help you look for your mystery man, but only if you promise not to mention anything even remotely involving me to Clara later today or really ever." She nods just before I link my arm with hers again and we walk the last few blocks to the market.

Millie and I walk around the market, reading the signs on the metallic booths. Each booth consists of a tiny shack type structure with a window, in the window is a drone, and next to the tiny shack is a tube that leads into the ground. We walk down two aisles of booths before finally finding the one labeled "Fruit".

The drone at the booth nods in greeting. "Welcome to the market. What fruits would you like?" The silver and green drone hovers in the air and easily glides to the side to allow us access to the touchpad to order what we want.

I look at Millie who hasn't stopped searching the market since we got here and jab her in the ribs with my elbow. She looks up at me with anger in her eyes, but I open my mouth before she can open hers. "Don't make it so obvious, Millie. Besides, this was your idea, what should we get?"

Millie rubs her ribs and takes a look at the screen. "I think we should get three apples and three oranges, that would be enough for the eight of us during tea I'm sure."

I nod and select what was decided. Once the order is placed, I tap on the split pay button and the drone moves back in front of the tablet. Millie and I both raise our wrists for the drone to scan. The red bar of the scanner runs over our tattoos and money is taken from the accounts on our ID chips.

The tube on the side on the booth is mostly metal with a few white plastic circles up and down it. Each circle starts to glow, starting at the bottom and slowly moving up. Once the circle on the very top starts glowing, the clear hatch opens and out comes a clear container with our apples and oranges.

I grab the container and the drone nods towards us once again. I shove the container into Millie's arms and place a hand on her lower back, moving her away from the booth. "Okay, so, what does this mystery guy look like?" I look over at her and she turns to face me.

"Uh...she said that he was tall, had black hair in the same sort of style as Lincoln, but longer. That's really all she said." I roll my eyes and cross my arms.

"That could be just about any guy in the entire sector, Millie!" I hiss at her and turn away ready to head back home.

"Wait! Ada, two o'clock." Millie whispers at me and I stand up straight, slightly startled that she could've found him in the point five seconds since I argued against her.

I look over to where she said he was and understand why her friend said to come. The man to our right was tall, muscular, and very handsome. He had broad shoulders, his arms were huge, and yet he was still lean. He had an athlete's build, he was probably a twentieth. He looked to be about my age, maybe older.

Millie's hands grip my waist and she leans forward to whisper in my ear. "I thought we weren't supposed to be obvious." I pull away and shake my head slightly. Millie giggles behind me and I start the trek home.

Millie's hurried footsteps to keep up meet my ears. "You know it's a good thing that I don't think he noticed you." I roll my eyes and her statement sends anger through me.

I clench my fists and they swing at my sides as I walk. This is great, just what I need. Now I know, in a way, two hot guys and yet in exactly a week I'm supposed to go on a date for my eighteenth birthday with a complete stranger. Both faces, Lincoln's and the guy's from the market, flash before me. They're just two more people that I will probably forget about and never see again after The Trial.

"Ada!" Millie's hand closes around my right wrist and spins me to face her. "What is going on with you? You were going to walk right past our house." She motions to my left and I can see the standard house that is the same for every family, but I can see Mother and Father talking through the window.

I heave a sigh and drop my head, looking at the ground. I rub my hands over my face before throwing them out to my sides. "Millie, you don't understand. My birthday is in a week. My eighteenth birthday. That means that I'm supposed to meet the one person that I will live the rest of my life with, that means that I have to join The Trial, that means that I will get a job somewhere out of the sector and leave you."

Millie takes a step back, my words beginning to sink in. The fact that I could be killed in the name of population control in a matter of three months. The fact that no matter how I do in The Trial, I might not be able to see her again until after hers.

She closes the distance between us and throws her arms around my neck. I wrap mine around her waist and we both just stand there in the other's arms until the front door of our house opens.