Disclaimer: I do not own The Giver, any of its characters, or any of the plot details from the original book.

I wrote this fanfic two years ago, and decided to submit it after recently joining this website. It's not up to my usual standard, but read and review anyways!

Enjoy!

Sanarina

When the plane flew over the city, Fiona had been right under it. Almost silent compared to the clanking cargo planes, this plane was a sleek jet built for one person, a svelte black shadow against the soft, bright daylight of the city's muted sky. The speakers on the wall buzzed to life in a split second, and then a Speaker broadcast his voice all over the city: GO INTO YOUR HOMES IMMEDIATELY. LEAVE YOUR BIKES WHERE THEY ARE. Frightened, Fiona did what the voice had said – left her bicycle on its side on the road in front of her home, then ran inside.

There, she found only Mother, obediently sitting inside, worried. Fiona wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, but as Fiona knew no such thing, she merely went into her room and stared out of her window at the pandemonium outside. Soon, however, when everyone had gone inside, there was only an unearthly stillness throughout the city. Then, breaking the silence, the plane once again flew over the now deserted streets. Fiona thought it very odd indeed that a Pilot would fly the forbidden routes over the city, especially twice in - The speaker interrupted her troubled thoughts with a relieved note in the voice: A PILOT-IN-TRAINING MERELY LOST HIS WAY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, HE WILL BE RELEASED. Fiona shivered at the amusement with which the Speaker had proclaimed the Pilot's punishment. For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was the worst possible disgrace – a major dishonor also to those who lived with them.

Now, Fiona mused a year later, she felt the fear of something new, and strange, again, much as she had when the plane flew overhead. Of course, she knew that the Ceremony of Twelve was a standard ceremony that all citizens would one day go through. Even so, Fiona could not shake the feeling that this Ceremony was different – which it was – from the Ceremony of One through to the Ceremony of Eleven last year. Fiona, however, thought that – not only was this ceremony more important, but it marked the beginning of her adult life – so she would no longer be as close to her friends, Jonas and Asher, and her family. Sighing silently, she righted her bike and rode away from the House of the Old, where she had chosen to do most of her volunteer hours that year. Fiona enjoyed working with the Old, her gentle nature directed her to jobs that would let her be a more direct help to others.

"Fiona! Wait up!" Asher cried. He pedaled his bike at a crazy speed to catch up with his soft-spoken friend.

"Hello Asher," Fiona replied serenely. Then, a bit awkwardly, "I just finished my volunteer hours. At the House-"

"Of the Old, big surprise! Hey, so did I, so you wanna ride near the river before we hafta go home?" Asher was not very careful about speaking clearly, and often spoke too fast. Fiona agreed wholeheartedly to the bike ride, and they set off in silence. Fiona thought of Jonas, her other friend, and wondered what kind of Assignment he was likely to get at the upcoming Ceremony. Asher, of course, would get something fun, like Recreational Director. That would suit his spirit perfectly. As for herself, Fiona knew better than to say anything out loud, but she knew that she would either be a Nurturer of newchildren, or a Caretaker of the Old. These were the two places where she volunteered the most of her time and effort. But Jonas – he distributed his time evenly between all of the places with room for more volunteers. He had no idea what he was going to be, and just hoped that he would like it. Fiona was worried about her careful friend, worried that he would get Assigned to a job that he did not really fit into, or something like that. Almost all of the other Elevens in their group were leaning towards one field or another. Even the ones who didn't would be easy to place based on their temperaments. But Jonas… He was a bit different from everyone else. Sure, he followed rules and all of that, but Fiona didn't think he had an Assignment in mind. He had worry lines all over his face, which creased whenever his friends spoke of their favorite places to volunteer, and what Assignment they hoped to get. True, Jonas had joined in on these discussions, but only to say what he didn't want to be, and to list vague jobs that "might just be okay". Fiona snapped out of her reverie when her bike slid from the paved cement of the river walkway to the gravel path leading back to the city. She began to chat merrily with Asher, and soon the disturbing facts she had been going through in her mind faded into the background.

All except for one thing – He looks different, too, Fiona thought. Jonas has pale eyes…