~Test~

Dancer's POV

"Dancer! Dancer!" a voice yelled. Her bed shook her awake and she glanced up at Buck, who was jumping on her bed. "Wakey! Wakey!"

Dancer shoved him to the floor, and he fell to the ground with a thud. He held the back of his head with his hand and began to cry loudly.

Groaning, Dancer covered her ears and shushed him. "Buck, stop! Buck, you're ten years old. Buck, I'm sorry!" The young boy cried louder, tears streaming down his black skin. Dancer had not slept well and Buck was not making it any better. Dancer threw the blanket over herself, waiting for one of his parents to enter.

Buck sniffed after a few minutes, seeing that no one was coming to his aid. His need for attention stopped and he ran out. Her room filled with silence once more and she felt cold. She felt more alone than ever, her best friend gone and she did not know if she was even still alive.

I should have gone with.

Dancer kicked off her sheets and laid on her back. Feather's question had glued itself into her brain all night. The ceiling projecting it in the dark. She hated it and was angry at Feather. When she heard her creeping down the stairs, she debated on rushing to Feather's parents. To tell them what Feather was about to do. Feather would have hated her for the rest of her life, but she would not be worried as she was right now.

She wanted to do something to show Feather that she was there. That maybe if Feather saw her once more, she would change her mind on her own. The idea was a long shot because she knew that once Feather had a plan, she stuck with it. Stubborn like her father.

Getting up, she slowly got ready for the exam. She was half-way pulling her dress on when her bedroom door swung open. Dancer grabbed her blanket and wrapped it around her. Denim shielded his eyes, dropping a pastel green dress.

With his eyes still close he turned around. "Mother said to give this to you. Also said she'll do your hair... and uh if you have seen Feather?"

She walked over and shut the door on him. "No, I haven't seen her. Why? Is she not in her room?" she asked.

"She not in her room nor downstairs. Father and Mother are worried since there's no reason for her to be out today," he said from behind the door. "They expected her to be here since it's your big day."

Dancer let out a shaky breath. She should be here: helping her with her outfit, walking her to her exam, celebrating afterward. She bent down and picked up the dress, before sitting on the edge of the bed. She had not noticed that she was crying until the door creaked open.

The boy was too shy to come in but his voice showed concern. "You okay? Uh, do I need to get-"

"It's okay, Denim. I'll take it from here," the gentle voice told him and Nia, Denim's mother, came in.

Dancer quickly wiped her face and turned her back away from her. She could see Nia's concerned expression through the cracked mirror, which no doubt revealed Dancer's features. Nia's hand led Dancer to sit back on her bed while a wet towel ran over her face.

"That's the dress your mother wore during her exchange with your father," Nia said, the towel stroking her skin came to an end. "She'd want you to wear it."

Dancer ran a thumb over the smooth fabric. Button-down in the front, short flowy sleeves, and tied at the front with a bow. Dancer looked at her before standing up and shrugging off the old dress. She twirled in the mirror, the dress falling below her knees, and faced Nia.

"Thank you," Dancer whispered.

Nia smiled. "Let's do your hair now."

~~

Keeping track of the exact time was the least of Eden's worries. When important meetings needed to gather people, the high council sent Yellow boys door to door to gather them. Eden resources need to be spent wisely, which meant the clock on their wall will forever read 10 2.

The boy from Yellow stood at their door and looked up at her. "Your slip, Dancer Blue. The exam will take place in the Great Hall."

Accepting the slip, she glanced at Nia's husband. He would be the one to lead her to the Great Hall, just like every girl that was to take the exam.

Nia quickly swooped her up into a hug. "You've been a joy to raise, Dancer. No matter where you end up, you are welcome to visit us anytime."

Denim stood just behind her and give her a quick side hug. "You got this. Like you told me on my first day at the academy. Just do your best and that's all they can ask for."

She smiled at him before turning her attention to the younger boy, Buck. For once he was not bothered that no one's attention was on him. He lifted his hand for a high five but quickly moved it away when she went for it. "Ha! Too slow like always Dance."

Dancer chuckled and moved back to their father. "Love you too, Buck." The two of them began their walk, waving back at them until they disappeared from view.

~~

"Welcoming Dancer from Blue," the greeter yelled to the other girls and boys in the Great Hall. A table laid food and drinks on the side of the room while people danced in the middle. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and looked to Nia's husband.

"Terrell... This is the exam?"

He nodded and patted her shoulder. "Just use the knowledge you learned from class and you'll do just fine." He fixed the top of her hair and smoothed out the shoulders of her dress. "I believe you are ready."

"So I'm just supposed to dance?" The idea seemed stupid and hard to believe that this is how they were going to judge. She was expecting some test whether it was written or pouring a cup of tea. The teenagers all seemed to be relaxed and smiling, the adults were not even holding a clipboard.

Terrell chuckled before pulling her into a quick hug. His voice was low and quick, "Let them approach you. Dance, offer him a drink, and you take his things. Smile and listen. Speak to him but keep your ideas simple and don't offer too much of an opinion. Do exactly what they taught you in class," he pulled away and clasped her hands together. "Best to get going, don't want to hold you up. We'll talk afterward."

She stood there, watching him leave behind the other girls and guys that were entering with their parents. His words burned into her like a warning and she cautious turned to look at the ball. It was no doubt a test, but his warning felt out of place with the environment.

"Dancer, was it?" a male greeted her and offered his arm. He wore his military outfit, just like every boy at the dance. Expect he had a medal on his breast pocket compared to the others. He noticed her glance and he smiled. "I was offered a special rank a few weeks ago. I'm Archer from Yellow."

She slowly took his arm. "As you said, I'm Dancer."

"Well Dancer, would you have this dance with me?" he asked her. His brown eyes looked to hers with a smile. His two canine teeth stuck out when he smiled, making Dancer chuckle to herself.

"I'd love to."

Smiling happily, he led her onto the dance floor and took her in his arms. His light brown arm snaked around her waist while the other held her hand. "I'm going to be completely honest here. I've only ever danced with an invisible partner so I don't know how this is going to go. Please forgive me in advance."

"Already forgiven."

"You're too kind."

The two danced across the tiled floors, heels clicking to the beat of the musicians' music. Only once did he managed to step on her toe which led him to profusely apologizing numerous times. Her dress spun around her as he twisted her around, before ending it with a dip. Out of breath, the two pulled away with a smile. A strand of Archer's black hair escaped his comb hair and she reached up to place it back in.

Archer froze in place and she did too once she realized what she had done. "Uh sorry. It was you know... sticking out and like-"

He patted the top of his head before quickly shrugging it off. His ears reddened at the tips and he turned away. "Want a drink?"

Dancer's ears perked up and the warm feeling went away. "Ah yes! Of course!"

The two traveled to the table and stared at the available drinks. A girl beside them picked up a pitcher filled with tea and offered it to her dance partner then herself. All the cups were mismatched yet were cleaned for use. She did not want to pick some lame-ass cup, but something elegant yet sturdy. The last thing she wanted was her dance partner to think she was incapable of being a gracious host.

Before she could reach for his cup, Archer held a beautiful glass cup that was decorated with a flower. The cup was chipped near the top but otherwise in perfect condition. "I think this cup is suitable for someone like you. Tea? Water? Lemonade?"

This definitely was not part of her class. She should be the one delivering the drinks, not him. Glancing back, no one seemed to be paying any attention to them and she went back to gazing at the cups. "You... you don't have to do that. I'm capable of getting our drinks, Archer."

"I know, but I am just as capable as well," he smiled at her.

"Water is fine," she answered him. She selected a plain cup, with a gray lining at the top and bottom. She looked at him and asked him the same question.

Archer took the time to look over the drinks before selecting water. "I heard the tea tasted like shit."

"Yeah, a few elders tried to make their own tea. They haven't gotten a hang of the process yet, thus tasting like leaves and hot water." Dancer took a sip of her water before looking up at him. She choked on her water from the image on his cup.

Archer quirked an eyebrow, before looking at his cup. "Oh yeah. I think it's quite fitting don't you think. I mean you did choose it after all." He stroked the goatee on his cup as he held it to his face. "Wait I got it." He quickly turned around, before slowly turning back towards her. "Hey there, Miss," the cup still pressed against his face. "I heard from a friend that you had a thing for men and goatees. Seems kind of like a Pre thing, but hey, we all have our types."

Dancer was left speechless and covered her blush with a sip of her water. He continued to stand there, leaning over her while wiggling his eyebrows. Chuckling, she said quickly, "I... I don't know to say, Mister."

"You could say yes."

The two broke out in laughter before silence fell upon them. An unfamiliar feeling settled in her stomach when she glanced at him, and he seemed to have the same look. She wanted to hold his hand again, his calloused hands against her smooth. To see his toothy smile when she made him laugh. His looks seemed hesitant and it made her doubt that he felt the same way. The thought was stupid and childish, of course, he liked her.

He was definitely flirting with me, right?

"Dancer! Archer." Mrs. Skitters approached them from beside and said, "Please follow me. I need to speak with you."

The two looked at each other and set their cups down. Mrs. Skitters led them away from the dance and into a private hallway with six other adults. One of the girls, Dancer recognized from her graduating class. Dancer was to sit next to her, while Archer sat on the other side of the hallway with three unfamiliar adults.

Mrs. Skitter stood in front of Dancer's side and addressed just them, "As you know. The graduating class officially deems you adults and no longer do you cower to your mother and father. Normally one from each sex moves up in rank but this year we selected two as stated before. Those colored ranks are useless to you now, so I'll be collecting them."

Was this what Terrell warned her about? If she stuck with tradition would she remain as a citizen rather than hanging near the government. The idea did not seem too horrible despite not being able to walk freely around the town as she pleased. It required more work being at the top of other ranks, thus less 'free time.' Mrs. Skitters stopped in front of her and Dancer reached for her bracelet and stopped.

"I guess I forgot to put it back on, ma'am," she lied to her. She clasped her hands together and looked away from her gaze. While there was no punishment for not wearing the bracelet, it was severely frowned upon and disgraced.

Sighing, Mrs. Skitters turned away. "Does not matter now."

She placed the bracelets into a bag before the boy at the far end of her group asked, "Why are there eight of us then?"

"They are your matches and guides to Doveport."

Dancer and the girl glanced at one another in confusion. Neither of them learning this. The two boys beside them went instantly pale to her sentence and the girl nudge him. "What is she talking about?"

"Doveport-"

"Doveport is your new home, per se. In exchange for goods and medicine, Eden supplies our town with young adults," a blonde female from the other side said. She looked each of them in the eye before turning her attention to Mrs. Skitters.

Mrs. Skitters nodded and added, "You four and your matches leave tonight."