The ACT

I got out of the car and immediately wished that I had Susan's fur coat in Narnia. Not so much because it was the warmest of all of them and the temperature at the moment was -68 degrees, but because it was by far the awesomest and, I admit, at the moment I was not. The awesomest, I mean.

So I entered the building, the school I might have been going to had I not been homeschooled. I gazed fondly at the bleak, empty walls. Ahh, what memories I might have made here. Although technically those memories would be a few years in the future. Wrap your mind around that one. Memoryception.
My sister, my brother, and I hopped swiftly into a line. Mark, who had already been through this experience, was soon lost from our sight. We never saw him again.
Just kidding. He was right around the corner.
But Claire and I thought he was long gone, and when the lady at the table shouted in Spartan tones, "Writing? Or no writing?" we gazed at her mournfully and didn't reply. Apparently this was enough for her - we obviously weren't the poor souls she was looking for.

After they decided that we were certified victims, (and showed the most horrific picture of me in the history of ever to the entire world) we passed the tables and were ordered to wait in a long, dark corridor. It was lined with small metal boxes which I can only assume held torture devices for those who failed to comply. But oh, we did not care, for there was Mark!!! He didn't care either, and was leaning against a box with a disinterested expression.

Presently, after twenty-five of us had gathered in the hall, a Person of Tremendous Influence walked in. It was Roz.
You've all seen Monsters Inc. You know who Roz is. I was so excited, because never in a million years had I imagined that she really existed. Yet here she was, a test administrator in a little town high-school. I whispered to Claire, and would have shouted out, but she covered my mouth before I had the chance. "That's not Roz." she murmured, and my world fell apart.
For about three seconds only, because after all, I had Reeses Pieces in my coat pocket.

We were escorted by Admin. Roz and a nameless woman to a "classroom" where people "learned things." They told us where to sit and we did. None of us wanted to experience the things inside the row of boxes. My desk was right next to Edmund's. Not Prince Caspian Edmund, you understand. Dawn Treader Edmund. For the rest of the time I sat as still as I could. Because that kid's got some wicked sword tricks.
We were given several pieces of paper while they took from us several pieces of paper, and then Admin. Roz talked for a while. At least, I think that's what she was doing. At any rate, we were now ready to begin.
We were all silent as the grave. I would have said 'silent as the Paris poster on my wall,' because I think it'd be a whole lot quieter than some dirt with a person under it. But sometimes posters fall down in the middle of the night and they make a loud sound that causes you to sit up in panic because you think that you are the person under the dirt.

We opened the "booklet" as it was called, and we started filling bubbles. Not literal bubbles, you understand. Oval shapes that we colored in.
And suddenly, everything came together. I understood what the test was for.
To every question, there was a right answer. All you had to do then, was to pick the correct one. You could ignore the question, because it's nothing you've ever heard of. They're not testing your skill and intelligence. They're testing your luck and aptitude for coloring. I sure hope my lucky stars are as lucky as I think they are, because I started filling in bubbles like a mad woman. "Deep breath." I told myself. "All it takes is the rudimentary knowledge of art that you learned in the preschool you didn't go to, and a good bit of serendipity." This made me quite calm, because I have large amounts of both.

A few hours later, we were done. I could have finished much faster, but not everyone can color as quickly as I can. So I was patient and waited.
Admin. Roz and Nameless Woman took our papers and we were free to go. We dance-walked to the car, singing with glee at the top of our lungs.
We were free.

~Margaret