I wake up early the next morning. Today I will be meeting my new level. I head to the closet and pick out the nicest garments I own; a fake, silk, light pink shirt and a pair of white jeans. I usually wear these clothes on very special occasions, so I decide today is as good a day as any to wear them. After dressing into my clothes, I attempt at putting my hair into a bun, but fail. My hair lies in piles over my shoulders.

As I look in my mirror mounted on my tiny bedroom wall, a nervous chill starts in my head and spreads through my body. I can see that I am sweating but my body is frozen. Crossing my arms over my chest, I take a deep breath and look strait into my reflection. I see anxiety in my blue, almost grey, eyes. Squinting them, I try to change the look to one of determination. My generic, brown hair covers parts of my face, so I pull it away and tuck it behind my ears. 'I will be fine' I convince myself.

The nervousness inside of me is replaced with adrenaline. Suddenly my brain is buzzing with questions about what my new life will be like and what my new level will be.

As I walk to exit my room, I turn and take one last look of where I've slept all my life. A small cot is placed in the corner of the room, the white covers look natural against the light grey walls. A white wardrobe is againsy the wall opposite of the bed. It is large enough to hold the few clothes and belongings I own. The room has no windows, so the lighting is artificial and plastic. Lastly, I have the small mirror on the same wall my door is on. "Goodbye" I whisper to no one but myself. It is like I am saying goodbye to my old life. It feels right.

I leave the room and close the door softly without making any sound. I go to the kitchen and prepare myself a slice of bread with some butter. My parents enter the kitchen together. My mother's eyes look glassy like she was crying. I walk over and pull them into a hug. My parents smell like old books. The smell comforts me.

"I love you Hayley," my mother whispers into my ear. I squeeze her in return. After a few moments of hugging, we release each other and I finish the last of my breakfast. Together, my family walks out of our apartment and into a crowd of 4s shuffling out of their district. We join the clump and head to the same place I took the test originally, the commons. As we near the building connected to the cities school the crowd splits into two groups. A smaller group is for the 16s and a much larger group is for anyone else who would like to attend the ceremony.

I head toward my group, squeezing my mother's hand one last time then let go. A ceremony volunteer instructs me to stand in a specific place so the line is in alphabetical order. Liam is in front of me. He turns around. "Hi 4. Ready to meet your newest level members?" he points to a group of 1s in the larger crowd.

I remember how confident I was in my bedroom mirror. "Very funny Liam. I didn't think somebody could get lower then 1" I mock him. He opens his mouth for some mean reply, but I don't get to hear it. Instead the line proceeds into the commons. Liam turns around to follow the line, but purposely steps hard on my foot. "Whoops! Sorry 4" he snickers.

I clench my teeth, holding back any sound of pain to satisfy Liam, and follow the line into the commons. We are taken to a roped off area of seats. I sit next to Liam and a volunteer starts taking attendance. By the time the volunteer gets to my row nobody is absent. "Liam McAllister" I hear him call.

"Present" Liam replies.

"Hayley McCray"

"Present" I say.

I finally realize how close I am to learning my future. When the attendance is taken and anyone else who is attending is seated, the event begins. A man dressed in a fancy suit walks onto a stage with a microphone in the middle of it, in front of the five doors where the intellect exams were conducted. I recognize him as the oldest leader in 10, Conrad Crew. He is 72, with fading grey hair and poor posture from his age.

"Welcome to the level sorting ceremony" his voice cracks into the microphone. "Today is the day that the new generation of 16s take their place in our ranks. Our level system has been a way to ensure that our society is logical and everything works. We wish to our new members of society that they succeed in their new lives. Now, let us begin"