August 24th, 2030, 9:55 am

Saturday, August 24th, is the day I have been dreading for two weeks. There was never a test or event I feared more than what will transpire in these next few hours. Today is the day that I find out and contemplate how I will spend the rest of my short life, should that be the decision.

I can't begin to describe the nervous feeling coursing through my body right now, sitting in the gathering room, staring at the lit stage ahead of me. Everything I have worked for since I got here last Monday is all about to come to fruition before my eyes, or not. My whole life rides in the balance today, and I'm not sure if I'm prepared to not hear my name. I did the absolute best I could.

I am seated beside the two kids who I trust most, Hal van Lester and CJ Martin. I don't know what I would have done if I never met them, or if they never took the chance to meet me. They weren't forced to hang out with the weird kid, Slater, but they did anyway because they saw I needed a friend. They didn't seem to mind the scrutiny the rest of the recruits showed them when they reached out to me. And for that, I am eternally grateful. Even if I don't rank, I will remember them until the day I die.

CJ is the one whose loyalty knows no bounds. He would give his whole world to you if you asked nice enough, but you could never take advantage of such a kind soul. An avid bookworm, an all-star wide receiver from Stanville, and an incredible friend all mashed into one human being. There is no one I trust more around here. He is my best friend, and I could've never asked for anyone better.

Next to my slowly healing wrist is Hal, who was my number one supporter throughout this past week. He was there when I needed him most, and he had so much to lose by talking to me. He took me under his wing and made me into a better person and recruit, giving me a fighting chance at being ranked. He was always there to cheer me on and congratulate me when I did something good. I am forever indebted to what he has done for me.

If this really is the end, I wouldn't want to be surrounded by anyone else but these two.

"Hey, Hal, is that seat taken?" Mai Rea stands idly in the aisle, pointing to the open metal chair beside the next Sergeant.

"Nope, it's all yours." He smiles, gesturing for her to enter our row. She squeezes by the three of us, holding her dress against her legs.

The Imperial Guard provided us with matching attire for this special day. Girls are given black dresses that hang down to their knees with flat, open-toe sandals. Some of the girls are choosing to lay their hair down, while others throw it up into a ponytail so it stays out of their face. Us guys were given white button-down shirts and gray slacks. They also provided an optional black tie if we chose to wear that, but I'm not exactly proficient in applying it to my outfit.

Ranks one hundred to seventy-six will be announced momentarily and is scheduled to end at around eleven. After that, we will get a break to have an early lunch, but I don't know if I could eat lunch with the current issue at hand. I could hardly scarf down my breakfast, and I don't know how I will be able to fit anything else into my stomach. My nerves are shot.

My foot stammers against the floor and I hold my hands in my lap. CJ turns to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Are you good, man? You don't look all that great."

Hal ends his conversation with the kid behind him and tunes in to me, too. "Slater, are you okay?"

My fingers tap against one another, refusing to look up at the stage where Sergeant Lee has stepped up. The ceremony is beginning soon, and I don't want to have any part of it. "I think I'm going to be sick. I'm so anxious."

"Just stay positive, okay? You will be ranked, it just might take a while." Hal assures, patting my knee. "Try to not let it get to your head. Have an open mind."

"Yeah," CJ adds. "You might not be ranked in the nineties, so don't worry if you aren't called early. You're going to be okay, Slater. We'll be here for a while, so we'll make sure to wait until you get ranked."

Although it sounds like they're rubbing it in, I find it in myself to smile along with them. "Thanks, guys."

Corporal Porter joins her colleague on the stage and faces the crowd, who dims their voices to mute. The weak lights in the room shut off, leaving the sharp ones to be pointed toward the two officers. A cold draft falls throughout the mass of kids, raising the hairs on my arm. The bandages over my wrist are the only things keeping them warm.

Sergeant Lee taps the raised microphone in front of him before breathing into it. "Good morning everyone. I hope you enjoyed these past two weeks and have learned about what it means to be in the Imperial Guard. You all have impressed me beyond words, and I never expected the level of tenacity I got from a good majority of you." He coughs, probably cueing some sort of reflection on who he isn't talking about.

"Today is the day you have all been waiting for, and I have been given the privilege of revealing your ranks. I will announce one hundred to seventy-six, followed by a short break before we begin again at twelve. That will be seventy-five to fifty-one, and then another break until one-thirty. I'll announce fifty to twenty-six, and then early dinner, and then twenty-five to eleven. Not long after that, it will be time to release who is in the top ten of Class 30." He exhales, grinning. "I know you all might not have picked up on that but we'll remind you as the day goes on."

He takes the microphone off of the stand and waltzes over to the front of the stage. "If your name is called, please come up to the stage from this set of steps here to receive your plaque and exit to your right, my left. Please, hold your applause until the end. You will meet with Sergeant Frost offstage and once your group of ranks is complete, he will escort you back to the bunk rooms to go get your things. You will be debriefed after that. Sound good?"

I don't want to be separated from Hal and CJ. I don't know if I would ever see them again after Frost takes me away. That is the last thing I want to do. But I know that they're top recruits, so they'll be picked at the end of the night, and I may still be here, unranked. What I fear is inevitable, it seems.

"We will begin with number one hundred." Sergeant Lee clips the microphone back into place and pulls a folded piece of paper out of his pants pocket. My fate is written on that crumpled mess, somewhere. "Number one hundred, Jonathan Dunn."

A boy in the first few rows of the crowd stands up and approaches the stage. We were told to remain silent as the recruit is being awarded. I don't know if I could deal with the awkwardness. I'm not sure if anyone would clap for me, anyway, besides those who I met. Jonathan shakes Lee's hand and is handed a shiny, silver plaque from Corporal Porter. He takes a right off the stage and into the darkness where Frost anticipates him.

"Ninety-nine, Sara Black."

Okay, so I've accepted the fact that CJ is probably right in saying that I won't be picked in the nineties. But the idea of me being ranked in the eighties is just as far-fetched. This has turned into a waiting game, trying to count the number of times I can tap my foot between each recruit walking up to the stage.

I need something to take my mind off all this or I'll lose it. I nudge CJ with my elbow, and he acknowledges me. "You good, dude?"

"CJ, I'm going to need for you to tell me more about that story. The one you want me to read." I can feel my stomach churning inside of me as I watch ninety-seven walk up to the stage in front of Lee. "Give me a summary of the whole book. Tell me everything you know about it."

"Uh, okay." He straightens out in his seat and leans into me to whisper. "The main character's name is Grace, and she's twenty-one, living in this real futuristic city, like way more advanced than Queen's. The guy Joe who picks her up becomes her Protector and his job is to make sure that she is trained for when she has to choose someone to protect. It's kind of hinted at throughout the book that Grace likes Joe, but no one knows if he likes her back. I think he might."

A red-haired girl steps off the stage, and Lee returns to his microphone. "Number ninety, Isaac Barton."

My name should be called any moment now. CJ said it would be somewhere in the eighties. I twiddle my thumbs, although there isn't much outgoing movement from the left. My foot continues to hit the floor again.

Eighty-nine. Not me.

Eighty-eight. Not me.

Eighty-seven. Not me.

Eighty-six. Nope.

The smaller the numbers get, the quicker my heart races. I know that with every increase in rank, the likelihood of it being my position decreases. I'm not worthy of being in the top fifty, comparing myself to the rest of those referred to as top recruits. The closer the number gets to fifty, the closer I am to finding out what the rest of my life has in store for me.

"Slater?"

CJ's voice hauls me out of whatever dark hole I just found myself in. He is looking back at me, intently. "Slater, are you feeling okay?"

"CJ, I don't know what the hell I'm going to do. I know I'm not going to be ranked in the eighties, or not ranked at all. I'm losing my damn mind."

"Hey, it's okay. You'll be ranked in the seventies, I'm sure of it."

"No, I won't," I retort, twisting my head to him quickly. "I'm not going to be ranked."

He flings an arm over my shoulders and pulls my body closer to him. "Oh, come on. Don't say that. You have to have a little bit of confidence in yourself. Even if it is false confidence, at least you feel good about yourself. Now I don't want you to be upset for the rest of the day until it's all over. That's when you can worry. For all we know, you could be the Sergeant." He brings his mouth up to my ear. "But don't tell Hal I said that. He'd kill me."

He releases me and I rebound back to my original spot. I give him a light shove, beaming. "Okay. Thanks, CJ."

The Sergeant squints as he tries to read what's on the paper in front of him. "Number eighty, Kendra Clade."

That's it. The eighties are gone, just like that. My opportunity to be reasonably ranked has vanished in the blink of an eye. A part of me wants to burst into tears, but I hold them back, tapping my foot instead. I just have to have some kind of false confidence. Let me forget about all this. But how could I? Am I not allowed to worry about my life?

CJ turns to me as my habits resurface. It's as if I didn't hear a word he just said. "It's not over until it's over, Slater. Remember that."