This is an older story I found while cleaning out my computer. :)
“Pass it around.” We passed the cards around.
“One, two, three, halt.”
I checked mine: a queen and two hearts. That was close. The room we were in was dimly lit, with only one light above the round table.
“Anyone got anything?” Bark asked, looking at each of us with his bright green eyes.
He had messy onyx-black hair that contrasted with his eyes. He looked like the rest of us, he could have been one of us, except he was wearing the faded blue polo that only the leaders wore.
There was collective murmur as people shook their heads. One girl’s face was stretched out, eyes wide as plates. She had thin blonde hair tied into two pigtails.
“Pie? Did you get anything?” Bark asked again, his face twitching.
The girl didn’t reply. Bark repeated the question, his voice becoming more strained. The girl looked up, a small smile on her face now. She threw her cards on the table. Three hearts.
Bark smiled. “Congratulations; you’ve been chosen to participate in The Tomorrow. Please make your way out of the room, and open the door on your right. The people there will tell you what to do next.”
The girl stood up without speaking. She looked up for a moment, with frightened eyes, and Bark nodded to her. She smiled again before leaving the room. I listened as her footsteps faded away into the distance. I heard a little shout of happiness as her footsteps accelerated. And then the game started again.
“Pass it around. One, two, three, halt.” I checked my cards. A Jester this time, with spades and a diamond. I looked up, observing the faces around me. The room smelled dusty, and looked like it’d been built years ago and was not once cleaned.
“Anyone got anything?” Bark asked, gazing at each of us.
I tried to look at the others, but their faces were blurry and unclear. Nobody said anything. Until a man screamed. His eyes were bright and his mouth wide.
“I’m chosen! I’m chosen!” he yelled, sitting up and knocking over his chair.
Bark looked at him, his expression amused.
“Congratulations; you’ve been chosen to participate in The Tomorrow. Please make-”
Bark wasn’t able to finish before the man ran out of the door, screaming, “I’m chosen, I’m chosen!” as he ran down the hall.
I wondered about what would happen if I was chosen. I’d never see Bird again, or Fence. But it was a good opportunity; everybody said it was. Being a part of The Tomorrow would mean I would pave the way for the future. I’d be launched into space with the other Tomorrows, seeing wonders that no one else would see.
“Pass it around.”
The information we’d collect would be transmitted back to Earth and would help advance those still there. I thought about this as we passed around the cards, zoned out. Just because you were chosen, though, didn’t mean you were accepted. You needed to fit the Four Adjectives: technological, right-handed, abiding, and perceptive- or TRAP for short.
I always thought it was weird that you had to be right-handed. Bird was left-handed and she fit all of the other Adjectives, yet she wasn’t even allowed to attend a Choosing because of her preferred hand. Deep down, though, I understand that the leaders knew what they were doing. They always did.
Bark’s voice pierced through my thoughts.
“Anyone got anything?”
I looked at my cards. One heart, another heart, and-
My breath caught in my throat. Three hearts. I had three hearts. Bark’s emerald eyes locked on mine. He knew, he always did, he always knew when someone had three hearts. I was very scared suddenly, like I was being picked to jump into a shark tank. But… wasn’t that what was happening?
Bark smiled. “Congratulations; you’ve been chosen to participate in The Tomorrow-”
I interrupted him. “Please make your way out of the room, and open the door on your right. The people there will tell you what to do next.”
I wasn’t sure why I finished his sentence. Maybe I was just sick of hearing the same thing over and over and over. Congratulations, you’ve been chosen. You’ve been chosen to participate. Chosen to participate in The Tomorrow. It all mushed together in my brain. Bark looked stunned for a moment, but then regained his composure.
“Well.” He smiled, a thin line across his face. “I suppose you know what to do.”
I placed my cards on the table as I left. I felt everyone’s eyes on me as I walked out of the room and closed the door. I was chosen. I was going to be a Tomorrow. The hallway had only one little yellow light on the ceiling, flickering and fighting to stay lit. I walked for a bit, and heard the card game resume.
“Pass it around,” I heard Bark’s muffled voice say.
I found the door on the right a little ways down the hall, and touched the doorknob.
“One, two, three.”
I opened the door, turning to look at the room one more time. I could barely see Bark now, could only hear his voice.
“Halt. Anyone got anything?”
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