CHAPTER ONE

I took the paper from Legi when she handed it to me, although I knew I wouldn’t need it. No child my age needed a reference to test someone on a subject like this; we all knew it by heart.

“Okay, Aleta. You just say the color, and I’ll say what its for,” Legi instructed, ready to be tested.

“Okay,” I said. “Black.”

“Black is for the Untouchables,” said Legi. “Such as garbage men, sewer-runners, hunters, assassins, and butchers.”

“Very good,” I said. Legi had given me the exact answer that was on the sheet. I smiled, remembering when I had had to memorize all of it. I had had so much fun. “What about Blue?”

“Blue is for the Nobles, such as the Lords and Ladies and everyone who works under the Royals.”

“Purple,” I instructed.

“That one’s easy. That’s for the Royals, the King and Queen and the Prince and Princess.”

“Exactly. That’s an important one. Now, how about Yellow?”

Legi laughed. “Of course I know that one,” she said, showing me her wrist. “Yellow is for the Children.” Around Legi’s wrist was a thick yellow band, branded on to her as a tattoo when she was just born. I had one just like it on my right wrist. But soon that would change.

“Red.”

Legi twirled her hair as she tried to remember the answer. I shook my head at her, motioning for Legi to put her hand down. Legi immediately stopped twirling her hair. She was going to be going into manner classes in less than a year, and I figured it was never too early to start learning. I myself had had a problem with twirling my hair when I was little. That had been before they had started the tutoring program. There was no one to tell me that it was impolite to twirl your hair.

“Oh! I know!” said Legi. “Red is for the Army, such as the Generals, Soldiers, Knights, and Law Enforcement.”

“Good job, I knew you could do it,” I encouraged. “Now what about Orange?”

“Orange is for the Uppers, such as the Doctors, Merchants, and Politicians.”

“You’re almost done. How about Brown?”

“Brown is for the Lowers, such as the Servants, and Farmers.”

“And White?” I asked.

“White is for the Middlers, such as the Blacksmiths, Carpenters, Teachers and Store-Owners.”

I clapped for Legi. “Yay, you did it. See, I told you. You’re going to pass the test with excellent marks. You have no need to worry.”

“Thanks for helping me study, Aleta,” said Legi. “When do you turn sixteen?”

I sighed. My upcoming birthday was all I had been able to think about lately. “In exactly one week,” I answered. All I had left was one week. After that, my whole future would be determined. I would be placed into a group; the color of the thick tattoo around my wrist would change. I had been a Yellow for sixteen years. I had learned everything I could to prepare me for my sixteenth birthday. It was now just up to my talents, and the Nobles, to decide what the future had in store for me.

Personally, I was not particularly favoring being any color. Nothing really appealed to me. I supposed if I had to choose, and if I had the right to choose, I would be a Carpenter. That would mean I would be settling for being a Middler though. Not that there was anything wrong with that.

“Aleta, do you think that I could be a Soldier when I’m sixteen?” Legi asked.

“If that’s what you’re really good at, then of course,” I said, being truthful. “You just have to work really hard. Now, go and tell Mai that you’re ready for your test. Go, go!”

Legi ran away excitedly. She had wanted to start classes for so long. You weren’t allowed to attend classes until you had passed this test. I knew that Legi would pass, and she would start going to classes as soon as the new year started. I would already be set in a color by then.

Thinking about my sixteenth birthday made me think about Kayo, and I began my worrying again. Today was his sixteenth birthday. His future was being decided at this very moment. Kayo was in my year of training. We had grown up together. It was kind of guessed that we would be Partners someday. It made sense. We were the same age, I was the best girl in my class, and he was the best boy. We excelled in everything we did. People said that Kayo was good-looking and that I was pretty. We were a perfect match, and I was almost certain that the Nobles would see that as well.

I had two weeks to find out what I would do for the rest of my life. Then, a little after that, I would be someone’s Partner. Most likely it would be Kayo. We would produce children and continue our jobs for the rest of our lives.

I didn’t really know what happened once a woman stopped being able to produce children. Sometimes, a girl that wasn’t as smart and pretty as the others would be an old man’s new Partner. The men were able to be Partners until they were seventy. We women had only until we stopped being able to produce.

There weren’t really any women around that were older than fifty or sixty. It was a question that everyone avoided and no one talked about. Where did the women go? Did they all die before they turned sixty? How come the men lived longer, then? No one knew the answers, and everyone knew better than to ask. It was just the way things were.

I found myself worrying once again about Kayo. I hoped that he wouldn’t be made Black. If he didn’t get placed into a good Color, then we might not be able to be Partners. I had no idea who I’d Partner with if it wasn’t Kayo. For some reason, the idea of Partnering with someone I didn’t know made me uncomfortable. I don’t know why that was. Most people were Partnered with people they didn’t know. That was probably because people didn’t really know each other all to well. The life that we lived was pretty much spent alone. The Children spent most of their time learning and studying alone, preparing for their sixteenth birthday.

Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Kayo. “Good afternoon,” I greeted. “How did it go?”

Kayo showed me his wrist. “Red. I’m a General.”

“A General! Good job,” I congratulated him.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Kayo. “All jobs are equal.”

That’s what they told us, and that’s what they wanted us to believe. All jobs were equal, everyone was equal. But everyone knew better than that. Being a Black meant you were going to live a life in the dumps of the city. Being a Noble or a Royal meant you would live in the Palace and lead a life of leisure. There was a big difference between the two, and everything in the middle.

“Yeah, right,” I said with a nod. I knew Kayo didn’t believe this either. “So I guess I’ll see you in two weeks, then?” Technically we weren’t even supposed to be talking. Kayo was now an Adult. He was no longer a Yellow, they had branded him right over the tattoo. There wasn’t even a trace of yellow left. The only adults allowed to speak to the Yellows were the Teachers. Kayo was a General, not a Teacher.

“Yes, two weeks. Good luck to you in your placement.” Kayo walked away without another word, and I was left alone again. It was amazing how quickly people changed after being placed into a set Color.

---

Hey everyone. So, for those of you who have already read this story that I last updated long ago, this is the kinda revised version. There was a lot missing before, which you reviewers helped me realize. I tried to do a better job with this one. Hopefully it will help somewhat to make the story better. It still needs a lot of work, but I want to continue this story and update again so I'll save the massive revising for a later time. I'm going to be putting up one revised chapter every day and then start new chapters after that. I hope you enjoy it as much as you did the last time around. Thanks for your reviews.

Shady