Chapter 2

"Please, have a seat." The Judge had a calm air about him that, for no apparent reason, pissed me off. "Sit still and try to calm your nerves. If you really do have somewhere to be, and that wasn't just a façade to make yourself look better in the eyes of your peers, you will want to cooperate."

My earlier statement popped into my head, and I now realized how stupid that had been. Of course he would have been able to see it. The key question here was whether or not my classmates had seen through the act. My temper cooled, and I followed his instructions. Although I didn't have an appointment or anything, I still wanted to be out of this guy's office ASAP. So I sat there and waited. And waited. The guy was just staring. It was really creepy, and I started to wonder what he saw. Obviously he would see my long, straight brown hair, my bangs which in the summer got natural blond highlights. I was tall for my age, 5'8, and had rich golden skin. I met his hazel eyes with my deep green ones, and felt my impatience start to get the better of me. After ten more minutes of him simply staring at me, I burst.

"Can't you see anything?" I blurted before I could resume my calm posture. I knew it was unlikely that he would answer, but I had to know if I was going to be one of them. The unsorted Krijders. Because they never finished the training, they never earned their full title of Strijder. They just kind of went away.

He merely laughed. "You just passed a very hard test. This particular test gets a lot of the weaker ones. We time how long you can wait before asking what I can see, therefore showing how much restraint you have over yourself."

"Did I do um…well?" I asked hesitantly. No wonder Pierce took so long if he had to sit through this.

"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to tell you that until the end." I could see in his eyes a calculating face, no matter how hard he was trying to conceal it, and realized that this had to be another test. Because I wanted to run up and snap his neck. And I was sure I that that wasn't the answer they were looking for. So I bit my tongue instead. Hard. The salty taste of blood filled my mouth, and I ignored the pain that accompanied it.

Neither of us talked for a good half hour after that, and I was just about to run screaming through the window, when he stood up. "You may go now." I did a double take.

"Aren't you going to tell me the results?" I was so confused. Forty minutes of my day had just been wasted, and he wasn't going to tell me what Klasse I would be placed into? What kind of moron did he take me for? "I mean, I just sat here for forty minutes while you stared, and all you say is 'you may go now'? What the hell?" I took pride in the almost perfect impression I had just done of him.

"As soon as you leave, I will call the administrators over in the Auditorium, and there you will be told your results. It does take a little time to make up my mind." A little time? The guy just sat there silent for forty minutes, and he wants a little time? But I held my tongue. Again. It took all of my self restraint, but I managed not to scream as I walked out of the office.

Stepping out, I almost forgot that there were eighty-something other kids in the hall. (Each grade contains one hundred Krijders, and I and Pierce were some of the first names on the list.) I turned up the swagger and strode confidently towards the opposite end. "So much for those plans," I said flippantly as I walked through the door at the opposite end of the ornate hall.

As soon as I was out of sight from the hall, I sprinted for the Auditorium. I was currently in the Administration Branch. This branch held, in order from left to right, the Auditorium, the Staff Living quarters, and, of course, the Offices. All the buildings at Littman were totally modern, with edgy metal railings and wood paneling and all. The buildings were also all separated, so that it created a kind of inside-out feeling. There were several offices, but one was separated from the rest by a long hallway. This hallway led to the Judge's office. I suppose he was like a principal for a normal school, except he could see into people's souls. Kind of creepy, I know. It really helps with the discipline.

If you went up a path to the north, you would have come to a split in the road. There were two other branches, each leading opposite ways, and then there was the original path continuing north. To the west (left) of the path was the Teaching Area. It contained the schools and utilities. There were archer fields in the middle of a track, a grassy field, some stables (yes the actual horse kind), and a fenced off training area containing human-shaped dummies. Next to that were the two school buildings. They both had doors facing toward each other, and although there wasn't a tangible wall, you could just tell that the inhabitants weren't meant to mingle. The school closer to the utilities was the high school, and the other was the K-8 school. The K-8 school almost never used the utilities. If you wanted to get exercise or training outside of P.E, you had to do it on your own time.

The right branch of the path led to the housing area. They were apartment-like buildings and, like the schools, there were two of them, and they were also divided by grade level. The first was the K-8 building, and it held several large rooms that each held 20 bunk beds. This building was segregated into boys and girls, and each had a sort of matron that kept the dorms in check. The housing area also contained a pool, a cafeteria, and another track. I guess they just liked to see us running.

And no, I didn't forget to mention the church, there just wasn't one. At Littman, God was optional. I personally supposed there could be a God, but figured that until it was proven, I shouldn't have to have faith. So when I said 'OMG' or sent a quick prayer up, I was merely saying it out of habit. If you're one of those people who are really religious, I'm not trying to disrespect you or anything. You should find full respect right here. But anyways, back to the story. . . Littman was in California, but I'm not talking nice, sunny L.A. No, I'm talking in the freaking middle of nowhere Northern California, stuck in a forest and surrounded by mountains. I suppose it was a great view, but I think palm trees and sunshine would have been more welcome. The entire campus was surrounded by a huge, and I do mean freaking huge wall. That wall must have been 60 feet tall and 3 yards deep. There was only one way through the thing and that was through the North gate. This gate led to an antechamber, where the main guard station was. They then passed you through to the campus. From the Gate, as it was commonly called, there was a path going south into the Institute, which is the same path we were just following north.

The Auditorium was two hundred yards away, so I was there in about a minute. Granted I was gasping for air, but I was still there. As I jogged up to the double doors of the modern building, a thought struck me. I was pretty sure that the other 4 Krijders that had gone before me had all taken less than twenty minutes. Mine had been forty. At least. Oh God. What if I was a Nothing? What if I hadn't made the cut and that was why it had taken so freaking long with the whole thing? Pull yourself together Rose! I mentally slapped myself, and then passed through the doors.

I needed to stop running, to not appear out of air when I went up to the teacher, so I sat down on one of the benches that lined the hall in front of the actual auditorium. I rested there for five minutes, hoping for the best and dreading the worst, and then got up once I had my composure back. Walking into the hall, I noticed that there were several students just sitting there in the back, pondering what the news they had just received meant to their lives. Some of them were excited, others were sad, but all were completely dazed. Lissa was no where to be seen.

Gulping, I came up to the table that had been put up at the foot of the stage. "Rose Hathaway." I tried to always say my name with pride, so I winced when it cracked. Luckily, I didn't think anyone had heard.

The attendant there smiled, then handed me a packet. On opening the packet I removed a sheet of paper, and without a second thought, started reading. The paper read:

Rose Hathaway:

Congratulations! Here starts a new chapter in your life. The information that you receive today will determine the path for the rest of your life. A few words of wisdom: always try to compromise, listen to others, and with all power comes an equal amount of responsibility. After receiving this information, please report to your dorm immediately to meet your Pack.

This section was in printer ink, and I could just tell that this is what everyone got on their report. I therefore only scanned through it, quickly reaching the hastily scrawled note:

Underneath your mask of aloofness lies a real person, one that cares about her friends, and tries to always do the right thing. You have recently been through a severe tragedy, one that has left you with a greater understanding of how life can be lost at any moment. You are also extraordinarily patient for one so young, and this allows you to look at problems from all angles. Most adults can't quite grasp what you have learned so quickly. Take head in my advice though: Never let your guard down, for those who pick you up might just as soon watch you fall, and those who stand in your way may soon become a lifeline.

Pack: 2

Dorm: 32

Klasse: Guardian

I could hardly believe it. Me, a Guardian. Guardians were the leaders of the Packs, and had to try to bring peace in all situations. They were the captains and were revered for it. Unfortunately, because they had to learn how to fight with almost anything, and had to take leadership classes and such, they also went through longer school days, more training, and harder classes. I didn't mind though. I welcomed the extra work. It kept my mind from wandering onto certain subjects that I'd prefer not to think about. Like a certain Ex-best friend. It was everything I'd hoped for. My features were overcome with joy, and I almost fell over for the pure bliss that flooded my insides.

I dug into the bottom of the packet, and my hand hit some plastic. Pulling it out, I saw that it was an I.D card. The thing was pretty cool. It had all of my info (Name, age, Pack number, ect.) plus a really cute picture of me that was going in the yearbook and a weird barcode. The card was attached to a plastic bracelet, which I quickly slipped around my wrist.

The unbelievable part in all of this was that there were only, say two female guardians out of a hundred. They rarely got selected, and when they did, it was for a damn good reason. Female guardians almost always made history, whether it was a small thing, like leading a battle, or a whole ordeal, like killing thirty Dami in their lifetime. I felt high, and I got the impulse to move. I started toward the door, wondering what my new Pack would be like. I had to tell someone the great news. It took me almost five minutes to get back to the dorms, and I again pondered whether they just enjoyed seeing us work.

Crossing into the common area at the bottom of the High Dorms, as we liked to refer to them, (Everything K-8 was the Low whatever and everything high school level was the high whatever.) I thought about what my new Pack might be like, and again hoped for the best.