Chapter 7 ½

Fiona's Point of View

I sat down after the applause died down. I had just gotten my Assignment, which was Caretaker of the Old. I've almost always done my volunteer hours there, so I was quite pleased.

In my group of 12s (some still 11s at the time), I am number 18. Jonas is number 19, so he was next.

"Twenty," said the Chief Elder. "Pierre." What? Did she just say Twenty?

I looked at Jonas who was next to me. He seemed confused also. Twenty? I thought. There must be a mistake. But there are no mistakes. It seemed as though Jonas was thinking the same thing.

As the Chief Elder went on, there were murmurs of confusion. Jonas held his head down, which was a sign of failure. I know for a fact that Jonas had done nothing wrong. He is a top student, he is nice, and never breaks any rules (important rules anyways). What had he done wrong?

I looked down at the row of 12's (and still some 11's) and caught Asher's eye. He looked as confused as everyone else. What just happened? I mouthed as a tear dripped from Jonas's eye. I have no idea, he replied. I turned and saw Jonas's parents with looks of worry. Did Jonas not finish his volunteer hours? Did he fail school? What did he do wrong?

After the last Assignment was given, everyone gave a halfhearted clap. Then the Chief Elder spoke.

"I know you are all concerned. That you feel I have made a mistake," she said. I looked at Jonas with hope. Maybe nothing was wrong. Maybe nothing was wrong. Maybe it would all be okay.

"I have caused you anxiety. I apologize to my Community."

"We accept your apology," we all said in unison.

"Jonas, I apologize to you in particular. I caused you anguish."

"I accept your apology," said Jonas, who was shaking.

"Please come to the stage now."

The Chief Elder began to explain how Jonas was selected- not Assigned. Someone had been selected ten years ago and failed.

"Jonas will be the new Receiver of Memory."

Receiver of Memory? I thought. I've never heard of it before.

Jonas had a special skill called 'Seeing Beyond'. I did not understand what this meant. By the look of Jonas's face, I don't think he understood it either. He suddenly looked very startled. I gave him a weird look. What was that about? I shrugged it off.

The Receiver of Memory is a very important job. It involves physical pain the no one in the Community has experienced. Poor Jonas, I thought. Good luck…

After the Chief Elder explained everything, the crowd spoke. "Jonas… Jonas… Jonas..." it slowly got louder. "Jonas. Jonas. Jonas." Then it became very loud. "JONAS. JONAS. JONAS." Jonas, one of my best friends, is now the most important person in the community: in training.