My heart beat faster and faster in anticipation as I approached the stage, walking up the ramp and onto the familiar, shiny wood platform. By the time I was in position, the seats all around me were nearly full. 

So many people care about my choice, about my life. 

"Welcome back everyone, the second half of Claire's Membership Day ceremony will now commence," came Eva's calm, unemotional voice. "During your break, Claire met with the four division leaders and learned about each of our divisions. Now, she is ready with her choice. Claire, you may begin," she paused.

Fishing the paper Eva had given me out of a gorgeous lilac shoe, I started to read. 

"I, Claire King, hereby promise to comply with the rules and policies of the World Glitch Organization to the best of my ability and therefore request membership." 

"Membership granted," Amanda yelled through a megaphone from her Government box. Confetti cannons exploded with a synchronized "POP!" and applause echoed through the building. 

"Yes, let us congratulate our newest member," Eva smiled. "But we all know the important part is yet to come. Claire, continue-" 

"I now request entrance into WGO's..." The choice was easy, I didn't want to be a spoiled, annoying Codie, I wasn't exactly athletic enough to be a good Speedie, and I obviously didn't want to be a Sloppie. "Cookie Division!" I declared. The Cookies stood up in their seats and applauded generously, and I smiled in acknowledgement. 

I looked to my left to see that Eva's confident smile had been replaced by a deep scowl. "I truly believed you were intelligent, but even Codies do make errors sometimes," she said so softly I was the only one who heard her.

"Claire has made her choice, and now it is time to see if the Chair agrees," Eva assumed her fake, pleasant demeanor once again. On her cue, two Codie helpers carrying a large armchair stepped onto the stage. 

"Now just go sit in that chair, we'll do the rest," Eva instructed as they set it down with a thump. 

The Chair looked like an ordinary chair and felt like one to sit in, but any Glitch could tell it was far more. Dizzying spirals of Code covered every inch of it, much more complex than the simple code of a chair. This wasn't a chair, this was a Code machine. 

"Subject detected," said the Chair in its robotic voice. "Initiating subject scan." The Chair began to vibrate gently under me, almost like a tickle. After about a minute, it stopped. 

"Scan complete, sending results to output device." I hadn't noticed it before, but there was a long line of Code connecting the Chair to a printer in the corner of the stage. As soon as my scan was finished, a glowing green orb began to travel across the line from right under me to the printer.

With my Glitch eyes, I could tell the printer was no ordinary object either. It too was a masterpiece, with tiny rings of green numbers, letters, and symbols enveloping it and giving it the ability to print things beyond the known three dimensions. 

The entire crowd seemed to hold its breath as the printer beeped once, signaling that it was about to start printing. In a few seconds, a sheet of crisp, white paper was expelled from its side with a whoosh and the its Code ceased to spin and hum. It felt like the entire world was holding its breath as Eva pulled the paper out with her long, red fingernails. 

"Ladies and gentlemen of WGO," she began with a purposeful smile. 

"WGO welcomes its newest...SLOPPIE!???" Every person in the amphitheater seemed to gasp at the same time as Justin and I exchanged horrified looks. Eva looked back down at the paper to make sure she had read it correctly. She had. 

"Vince," she whispered into her earpiece, thinking I couldn't hear her. "I guess we'll have to call off the welcome party." His reply was muffled and unclear, and even if it wasn't, I couldn't have possibly heard it over the angry Glitches. 

I blinked furiously, trying to keep myself from crying in front of everyone there, but a single fat tear still managed to slip down my face. This only made the crowd even more enraged. 

"Silence!" A piercing voice cut through the tumultuous air. I turned my head to see that Amanda had stepped out of her box and was standing at the top of the amphitheater. "The Chair has made a decision, and the Chair's decision is final. We all know that the Chair sometimes makes unexpected choices that we don't always agree with, but it is the authority on division placements. Period. If anyone is found protesting Claire's placement as a Sloppie...well, I hope we don't have to find out what happens then." 

"You shameless animal!" Came a shout from within the Government box. Hair whipping in the wind and face red with fury, my sister, Megan, emerged to stand behind Amanda. Shocked and fearful faces turned to her. Clearly, it wasn't common for someone to stand up to Amanda. 

"How can you just stand there while a fourteen year old girl with an amazing Glitching level and a plethora of talents is sentenced to be a maid for the rest of her life! You're the president, you can change her placement if you want, yet you chose to just sit by and watch!" 

"Aww, Megan," Amanda hissed, a cruel smile playing on her lips. "Always the good big sister, aren't you? You'll do anything for precious little Claire, even when you know what it means for you." 

Even when you know what it means for you. 

A chill ran down my spine, that couldn't possibly have good implications. There was definitely something between Megan and Amanda that I didn't know about, something dangerous that Megan wanted to steer me away from.

"And that concludes Claire's Membership Day ceremony," said Eva in an uncharacteristically whimpery tone. Her face was still white from shock and she looked like she was about to faint. "You may all now return to your normal afternoon activities. Claire, meet your new friends-" she pointed to the Sloppies running down the steps to the stage and I stared at them in disgust. Their clothes were ripped all over and covered in repulsive stains, and their movements were too casual, almost lazy.

I'm not like them, I'm not like them, I can't be like them! 

"Hey Claire, welcome to the club!" Tim attempted to pat me on the back, but I wrenched away. "Listen, I know you're disappointed, but level 4 or not, you're a Sloppie now. We're all you got now, you can't afford to be on bad terms with us. Come on now, let's get back to the Can." 

"The Can?" I asked, surprisingly numb. 

"It's the Sloppie place. Back between Cookietown and the Speedie Track." I nodded, falling to the back of the group as the Sloppies walked to their Can. They all smelled like things I didn't want to know about, and I almost gagged at the thought that I would probably soon be just as fragrant.

"Hi!" exclaimed a giggly voice from somewhere off to the side. I turned my head to see the rebellious, purple haired Sloppie- Kelly- to my right. 

"Welcome to Sloppies! I'm sooo tired of being the only girl on the core team, the guys are driving me nuts! Having you around will even it out a bit." She pointed to the four boys in front of us as they snickered and jabbed each other in the ribs.

"I don't want to be your friend, creep!" I yelled, whipping my head around before she saw my tears. 

"You know, I wanted to be a Cookie too," she said softly. "But I guess things just didn't work out. I should've listened to Tim, I should've just shut my mouth and accepted it, but I didn't. That just made things worse for everyone." 

Slowly turning back around, I noticed the innocence and the belief in her big, brown eyes. She really believed the Chair was right, she really believed that this was her place. 

This isn't her fault. They didn't even give her a chance.

"How can you just let them do this to us?" I fumed. "How can you not fight them, at least question their methods? You can't take a kid you've known for half a day and tell them what their life's going to be like!" 

"I used to think like that too, at first" Kelly smiled sadly. "But now I get it. Some people are supposed to stand out, to make a difference, to change the world, but some aren't. There's people like us too, people who were born to fill space, people who've gotta stay passive and just go with the flow if they don't want to cause a catastrophe."

"So this is the Can," Tim yelled over his shoulder, pointing to a black building in front of us. It was perfectly rectangular with no windows, a single door, and a flat roof. I could see why it was called the Can. 

When I opened the door, I was immediately greeted by the putrid odor of sweat, trash, and stale pizza. The only lighting came from five flickering bulbs hung from thin chains, giving the place an eerie feel, and there were no furnishings except a single ratty couch and an old TV, which a few Sloppie regs were currently fighting over.

"Everyone, let's welcome our newest core Sloppie, Claire King!" Tim announced, his reply a few unenthusiastic cheers. 

"You should probably return that," Kelly pointed to my dress. I had totally forgotten about it! When I looked down, I found to my horror that the hem was caked in a thick layer of mud just from walking around in the Can. 

"Where's the bathroom?" 

"Down that hallway. Your new clothes are probably down there too."

Walking into the bathroom and shutting the door, I peeled off my beautiful dress and shoes to change into the t-shirt and shorts they had put there for me. Hanging the dress on a bar, I turned to give it one last look. The dirt that covered it almost made me cry again, I had taken off more than just that dress. I had taken off my old life.