The Military Academy
“Did you start section seven?” Mo asked.
“Barely. I’m on page three,” Lesley said, opening the knapsack and lifting out all her study material for the Military Academy entrance exam.
Mo paced outside the examination room, her agitation growing every second. Where was Les? The exam would start in ten minutes, and there was no sign of her. Les better not have changed her mind. Not showing up would sink her military career before it even started. If she missed the exam she’d registered for, she’d get a zero, and she probably wouldn’t be permitted to register for it again.
Without thinking, Mo reached for her comm unit, but its holder was empty. As required, she’d surrendered it, along with her knapsack and cloak, when she’d signed in at the reception desk. “We’ll provide everything you need,” the clerk had said. Yeah? Well, right now, she needed her flaming girlfriend to show up. Last night, Les had said she’d be here. What could have happened since then?
Mo stopped pacing. Maybe Les had been in an accident. She could be lying in the infirmary! Or maybe she’d lost her nerve. Mo peered into the examination room. The clock at the front read 9:52. Eight minutes. Wait— She listened to rapid footsteps, the sound drifting from a nearby corridor. Someone was coming, someone in a hurry. And whoever it was would turn the corner and come into view just . . . about . . . now.
“Where have you been?” Mo snapped when Les reached her.
Les took a few seconds to catch her breath. “Mama wanted to talk about plans for the Festival of the Way. I couldn’t say, ‘Sorry, I have to go, I have to take the Military Academy entrance exam.’” She glanced over her shoulder.
“Maybe you should have.”
Les glanced over her shoulder again.
“Will you stop doing that? They won’t pop up out of nowhere.”
“I’m not used to lying to them, okay?” Les replied. “If it were you, you’d be jumpy, too.”
“Karen’s covering for you,” Mo reminded her.
“I know, but what if they decide to visit her?”
“Les, if they wanted to visit her, they would have turned it into a family outing when you told them you were planning to see her. But Karen invited you because she wants to show her little sister around the college. She wants to introduce you to everyone, spend some time with you because she’s only seen you once since the Indoctrination Academy.”
“She wants no such thing! It’s not even happening!”
“They think it’s happening. That’s all that counts.”
A pained expression crossed Les’s face. She rubbed her forehead. Mo reached up and touched her cheek. “It was either that, or tell them about the exam. You didn’t want to tell them, so—”
“I know. I just don’t feel good about lying to them, that’s all.”
“At least one member of your family understands what you’re doing. Karen thinks it’s great that you’re taking the exam.”
“She won’t think it’s so great when Mama figures out she was in on the whole thing,” Les said.
“Your mama won’t have to figure it out. If you pass, you’ll have to tell them. About everything.”
“I’ll worry about that if I pass.”
“You are going to try to pass, right?” Mo said, her temples pulsing. “You’re not going to throw the exam?”
Les shook her head. “I’d never throw an exam. But I have to take this one step at a time.”
“Well, if we don’t get a move on, you won’t have to tell them at all. Come on.” Mo grabbed Les’s sleeve and tugged her toward the exam room.
Few empty seats remained, all near the back of the room. Les would hate that. “Over here,” Mo said, pointing to two desks in the same column. “You take the one in front.” At least then, Les wouldn’t be right at the back.
Mo settled herself into her chair and adjusted the positions of the monitor and keyboard until she felt comfortable. Ignoring the pencil and several pieces of scratch paper on the desk for now, she read the orange letters on the screen: MILITARY ACADEMY ENTRANCE EXAMINATION. Where she was, and why, suddenly became real. She’d better not blow this. Unlike some people—she glanced at Les’s back—she wasn’t a natural study. But she wanted this badly. If the military accepted her, she could serve the Way, really serve the Way, without sitting in an office shuffling paper. If she failed, she didn’t know what she’d do.
She had to pass. She would pass. Argamon knew she’d studied enough. And here she was, sitting in a military outpost in C2, taking what she hoped would be the first step to her future career. Okay, it wasn’t military headquarters, but it was one of the larger outposts, not one of those single-room jobs.
Someone plunked himself down at the desk to her left. Good, they hadn’t been the last ones to arrive. She stared at Les. Was Les as excited to be here as she was, or too busy worrying about her parents?
The door shut behind her. The proctor, who’d been sitting at the front of the room when Mo had first stuck her head in to see if Les was there, stood. A woman, presumably the person who’d closed the door, bustled to the front and stood next to him.
“Welcome to the Military Academy Entrance Examination,” the proctor said. “This is the examination location for residents of Sectors C1 through C3, inclusive. Is anyone here not a resident of Sectors C1 through C3?”
Nobody raised a hand.
“Good. The examination will run from ten to noon. You will then have a one-hour break for lunch. The second part of the examination will start at one o’clock sharp and run until three. During the examination, there will be no talking. No leaving the room without permission. If you need to leave the room, raise your hand.” He raised his hand in demonstration. “Wait for me or Sub-lieutenant Kent to come to you. When you’ve finished the examination, turn off your monitor and sit quietly. Any questions?”
Silence.
“At exactly ten, your keyboards will unlock and your monitors will display the first page of the exam. Good luck.” He focused on the clock.
Mo glanced around the room, counting heads to keep her mind occupied. Around thirty people, but this wasn’t the only exam room. She recognized only one other person from C3. He’d graduated from the Learning Academy the previous year. What had happened in the meantime? Les was sitting as stiff as a board, facing straight ahead. Was she—
“Begin!” the proctor’s voice rang out.
Lesley finished reading a page of the study material for the advocacy exam and imagined herself ripping it to shreds. That was the second time she’d read it, but she still hadn’t absorbed anything. Studying for the Military Academy entrance exam, keeping up with her classes at the Learning Academy, and cramming for the advocacy exam had proven too much for her.