Rita sat on a bench, she was rubbing her left shoulder because her normally fair skin was puffy and red from pain. Her shoulder had been bandaged, not because she had been cut, but because her skin felt raw after being poked with needles for so long. Rita grimaced as she tried to rub the pain away, in her other hand she held an envelope. It was thick and heavy and it was filled with her in depth results and, if she passed, her instructions. Rita was allowed to look in the envelope to see what kind of future she would have, but she wanted to wait until she was with her parents.

 They had raised her until she was fourteen, they had moved away from their friends and never stayed in the same place too long for her. For the past fourteen years they had given up their life for their job, Rita thought that they deserved to find out at the same time she did. She stifled her curiosity of the envelope by playing with a chain around her neck. She twirled it around her finger gently and watched it snake around her wrist. Rita looked up when she heard a knock at the door, it slowly opened and a head popped out.

“Your parents are here to pick you up.”

The head pulled away from the door which opened all the way to show her parents walking in. They were both wearing formal business clothes but they didn’t look formal at all; her father’s blond hair was sticking in all directions and her mother’s blond hair was put into a frizzy braid. Rita looked nothing like her parents, they got sunburn and she got tan, they were blond and she was a brunette, they were normal height and she was tall, they had green and blue eyes and Rita had dull brown, they were complete opposites. Rita had nothing in common with them but they were her parents, not by blood though, Rita was adopted as an infant. The only reason she had been adopted by them is because it was their job, not because they actually wanted too. But nonetheless, they were family, and they all loved each other.

“Hey sweetie, how did it go?” Her father asked.

“I think I did well, but I don’t know for sure yet; I haven’t opened the envelope yet. I wanted to wait for you to be here.”

Her parents smiled and sat on either side of her, they leaned in eagerly as Rita opened the letter. She pulled out a heave stack of paper and unfolded it, it was several pages full of statistics, numbers and boring looking paragraphs, and while her parents looked at those she continued to flip through the packet. The last page had “Summary” written in bold letters at the top, below it there was all of her results, and Rita detached this page from the rest and read it.

Rita Young has made it past the first phase, she will be advancing to the second stage in three days at Yankton, Nebraska. In phase two she will take a part in the DNA alteration branch, she will be given the DNA of an animal that suits her best. To learn of the DNA that will be injected in her look at the marking on her left collarbone.

Below it there were three plane tickets, one for everyone in her small family, Rita looked at her parents and told her that she had made it to the second stage. They looked up and grinned, her father snatched the paper from her and read it over while her mother hugged her.

“Let’s go dear, we have packing to do.”

“Never mind packing”, her father said “We have to celebrate, do something special.”

“Mom, before we leave can we check to see what kind of DNA they’ll put in me?”

“No, we need to let the pain reside.”

“But the paper said tha-“

“You were reading the summary, I was reading the in depth one and it said that you should wait till noon to see what it is. Half an hour, then you can.”

Rita slumped in her chair and nodded, she didn’t want to have to wait; she wanted to know now. It’s like the scientists were deciding her fate without her consent. The three of them all got up and went through the door to leave. They walked through a hallway, it was mostly empty except for the occasional family that was leaving. They went through several steel doors and ended up outside. Rita blinked at the sunlight and waited for her eyes to adjust. Her parents got in their car and waited for Rita. She climbed in the back seat and buckled her seatbelt. Her parents started the car and pulled out of the parking lot at onto the road.

Rita grabbed her book and continued reading where she had left off. Time got away from her but three hours later she had finished the book and watched a movie and a half. They pulled into their driveway Rita got out of the car and stretched, the first thing that she noticed was that there was no pain in her shoulder. Then she realized how long it had been and remembered that she could take off her bandages. Rita dashed up the stairs to her bedroom and shut the door, closed her window, and drew her curtains shut. One of the many things that Rita had learned from her parents is that if she ever did anything that had to do with the gifted project then she must do it in absolute secrecy. Rita pulled off her shirt so she was wearing only a sports bra, she sat in front of a mirror.

 Rita felt the bandages wrapped around her shoulder, she found the end and began to slowly unwind it. Around and around, she started out slow but curiosity got the best of her so she ended up tearing it off to see what lay beneath it. Rita desperately wanted to find out what her future would be like, and whatever was beneath this would greatly impact it. The last of the bandages fell off, there was a thin cloth stuck to her skin. Rita dug her nail under the corner of it and peeled it away, it stuck to her skin but reluctantly peeled away.

Beneath it there was a silhouette of a bird. It was in flight, its wings spread wide. Rita let out a sigh and gently touched it, it felt cool against her skin. Rita wondered what would happen to her, how much it would change her. Would it change her change the way she looked, and maybe even the way she thought. Rita pulled her shirt back on and stood up, she quickly opened her curtains and window; she unlocked her door and raced down the stairs.

“Mom! Dad! I know what it is!”

Her parents rushed up to meet her, they had eager looks on their faces. Rita tugged at the collar of the shirt to reveal the marking of the bird.

“I’m going to have bird DNA, maybe I’ll be able to talk to birds, or whistle real well.”

Her parents chuckled at her excitement, they both looked happy that she had gotten a marking that she was happy about. Rita squealed and jumped up and down.

“Sweetie, that’s great. We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning, you have the rest of the day to say goodbye to your friends; we will pack for you.”

Rita nodded, already she could feel her excitement leaking away.

“Alright, I’ll go… Say goodbye to Robin.”

“Stay as long as you want dear, this will be the last time you see him, after all.”

“Yeah, I’ll go now.”

Rita grabbed her phone and walked outside and a cold gust of wind made her shiver, she rubbed her arms and trudged down the street. She knew that it was for the best, leaving her friends every time she moved, but it was hard to do. Her parents wouldn’t allow her to keep in touch with them because it was too dangerous. She didn’t like it, but that’s the way it was, you could never be too careful.

 Rita walked past countless houses before she came to Robin’s. In the backyard, Rita could see targets in the backyard for hunting, Robin’s older brother Sky loved to hunt. Rita walked up to the door tried to open it but it was locked, she sighed and pressed the doorbell. She could hear the ringing sound which was quickly followed by the sound of footsteps. The door opened to reveal a tired looking Robin, his black hair was messy, his olive skin looked dull, and his dark eyes looked bleary.

“What’d you come for?” he asked between yawns.

“Robin, I came to say goodbye”

“Are you going on a trip?”

“No, I’m sorry but I’m moving.”