1 Chapter 1

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

My alarm clock woke me up. I rolled over and turned it off. Today was not a good day. Today was the day everyone who turned 16 got their assignments. As someone born in the lower caste we didn't get to choose what we did with our lives but it was chosen for us. I got up and got dressed. The usual light grey shirts with dark grey pants. I went in the other room and my mom was making breakfast.

"Hi Sweetie! I was able to get oranges to go with breakfast today!"

My mom was the best to try to make today as good as she could. My dad walked in and just gave me a hug. We all sat down to eat our normal breakfast of oatmeal but with a side of oranges that were a rare treat.

The ceremony was at 9:00 so we all got ready to go by 8:00. Mom brushed my hair for me as she hadn't done since I was a child. We both had long brown hair that we preferred to braid to keep out of our faces.

Finally ready to go we left our living quarters and headed for the arena. As we walked towards our destination we joined the crowd also headed there as it was a required attendance. It was a sea of color. The different jobs that our people were given determined what color clothing we wore. As a child we wore grey. But my mother wore black as she worked in a warehouse and my father wore green as he worked in the fields. Those who worked as maintenance wore a dark grey, while those allowed to work in shops wore pink, orange, or purple.

As we arrived at the arena those of us who were getting our assignments were singled out and we were herded to a waiting area. There were 18 of us this year. One was someone I had a hard time looking at. His name was Connor and until 3 weeks ago I was betrothed to his twin brother Brian. It hurt my heart to just see him there.

"Attention!"

We turned to the voice. Of course it was an Upper. That's what we called those from the higher caste system. This one was a strict looking female and she had a male mage with her along with three other Uppers. They were allowed to wear whatever they wanted to and she had a beautiful silk shirt with black slacks. The mage was wearing their traditional red robes which is how you always know when their around.

"In a few minutes you will form a line and follow me onto the stage. There are dots and you will each stand on one."

Now was the time to start being scared even though there was nothing I could do to change what was about to happen.