All the trees disappear. The lizard is reduced to a blank white space, like the basket, the math problem, and all the purple fruit.

It's just a blank box.

"What is this?" Skylar asks warily.

"I don't know. I've never read about this anywhere.."

A large blue screen appears before us, a happy face emblazoned on it.

Then, the happy face disappears, and text begins to roll out across the screen.

If you have reached this part of the Test, you are almost done. There are only a few things left before you receive your results. How are you feeling?

"Honestly?" I ask the screen.

Why, yes. Feel free to be as honest as you wish.

I regard the screen curiously. "I feel... relieved and scared."

"I feel accomplished," Skylar says, giving a textbook answer.

Wonderful. If you were to create anything you wanted, for this world, what would you create?

"A way for the wildlife here to become tangible," Skylar blurts out quickly. "The trees we have here are false, and the animals are barely-"

He cuts himself off quickly, like he's said the wrong thing.

Do you not wish to continue?

"Er, I think I've said enough," Skylar replies, eyes darting around nervously.

Alright, I see. And you?

Two pixelated eyes appear on the screen, and I swear they're looking at me.

I have to choose my answer carefully. Since I was five, I was told that the correct answer was to 'create new technology and advance society'.

But that feeling of doubt is creeping into me. That feeling of not knowing if my answer is correct, and not knowing whether it'll increase or decrease my score.

I can imagine it, though. The version of Riono I want to see.

I don't exactly know what happened next, but the white space around us became that version in my head. Trees, with leaves. Birds, chirping. Colorful buildings.

The system literally took the words out of my head and made them tangible. 3D figures.

The eyes of the screen glance around.. Curiously?

Interesting answers, Varolen Myrk and Skylar Peroal. I will return shortly. In the meantime, please enjoy yourselves here.

The screen disappears, and the city that was conjured fades away.

"So, we just wait?" I ask stupidly.

"Yep." Silence falls between us. Then Skylar asks," How'd you make the room display something?"

"I... am honestly not sure. I just imagined something and it worked."

"Hmm..." Skylar closes his eyes, and a few seconds later, something begins to take shape on the walls. A higher tech train, a larger farm. And more smiling faces.

This would be nice if the buildings had more variety....

Not even a second later, it does. They vary in size, color, and shape. A little like the buildings from the Earth Author Dr. Seuss's books.

Skylar grins wildly. "Niceeee."

A ball materializes in my hand, and I get a weirdly insane idea. "Wanna play ball tag while we wait?"

"Why not?"

I throw the ball straight at him, but it misses by a wide berth. Still smirking, Skylar steps to the left away from the ball as I charge toward it.

I grab it and fling it again, and somehow, SOMEHOW, Skylar creates a wall that causes it to bounce right off.

"You didn't say I couldn't," Skylar offers as an explanation. The wall disappears as quickly as it formed.

"I wasn't even going to say anything, actually," I reply, hurling the ball at him. This time, I take a little inspiration and put rocket blasters on the back of the ball.

The modified toy in question speeds straight at Skylar, who creates a shield to fend it off.

I add a homing device on a ball. The red object hits Skylar's makeshift shield and bounces on his head.

The dude takes the ball and turns towards me. "Come here, Varolen!"

"Nah, I'm good." I create a hoverboard and go up. Was it possible to make the room.. Bigger?

The ball is flying towards me as I concentrate. Slowly, I feel the walls expand. While I weave around the space, I envision obstacles around the room. Forests, rocks, playground slides.

Don't ask me about that last one.

They materialize from thin air. Soon, there's no white space left.

It takes me a little more than a moment to realize I'm smiling.

That's right. Shudder, dear reader.

Suddenly, clear Plexiglas walls surround me as well. I'm trapped.

A familiar red ball zips around. It approaches the mouth of the trap as I'm trying to visualize it going away when the entire room disappears.

Replaced with the jungle is a dark room with several receptionist-like booths in front of us, all with people with lab coats and clipboards.

Slowly, lights flicker on. A screen presents itself to me.

I glance sideways and see Skylar has one too. I brush off the headset that I hadn't even noticed until then and sit up in my plush white chair.

Maybe, maybe everything will be okay.

Skylar looks at me, then back at his screen. He starts scrolling through it.

At least, if we go down, we go down together.

It lightens my heart a little when I turn to my own screen.

Congratulations, Varolen Myrk. You have passed the Intelligence and have henceforth been put into the upper class. Below is your evaluation. Results will be sent to your legal guardians shortly after you leave the facility.

Your intelligence score is:

76

No.

No no no no no.

Why?

Did I do everything wrong? It was the lizard, wasn't it? That lizard puzzle and the math problems. I should've thought it through more, looked harder. Analyze further.

I manage to keep myself together and keep going.

Your District is:

Creativity

What the-?

No, there has to be some mistake. There are only FOUR districts, Science, Math, English, Communications. There was never a fifth district.

I can't go home like this.

Not with this conclusion.

I bet my parents would be proud when they see I got under an 80, into a district that doesn't even exist.

I laugh.

Skylar peers at me, worry and concern painted over his face. The glee from the game of tag has faded away. "What... What did you get?"

"Nothing fucking good." And I laugh some more. "Creativity is not a district."

"Did you get a 77 too?"

Oh great, Skylar got one point higher than me. What a fucking joke.

One of the people from behind the booths approaches us warily. "Skylar Peroal and Varolen Myrk," he says carefully, periwinkle hair shining. "Due to the district you have been placed into, the Intelligence Score is deemed inaccurate."

The words don't make it to me. Tears are coming out of my eyes. The punchline should be just around the corner.

"As you know," the researcher continues. "There are 4 districts, but there was a lost fifth one. For nearly a hundred years, no one has managed to test into the Creativity District. You two... are a special case."

This is one hell of a dream, I'll give you that.

The researcher's silver eyes dart around the room. "How are you two feeling?"

"What the living hell is the Creativity District?" I demand.

"It's a lost district. You know that the Omniflora is the symbol of Omniscern, yes? There are only four petals, but in the past, it has had five. The fifth petal has been exempted for the past seventy years due to the emptiness of the fifth district. And now, you two are here. You can bring the fifth district back!"

The researcher's eyes actually light up with joy.

"Wait, wait," Skylar replies, struggling to make sense of this as much as I am. "We're supposed to.... Revive a district? We didn't even know it existed- And how do you plan to explain this to our parents?"

"My parents will never understand," I say unhelpfully. "Definitely not my father. A lost district? It's insane."

The researcher seems unfazed to everything we've said thus far. "You two don't seem to understand. Testing into this lost district is much better than scoring another perfect hundred on the IT."

"Hah! How do you expect us to rebuild the Creativity District? Just go around telling everyone it does?"

Periwinkle researcher pushes his glasses up as he scribbles something on his clipboard. "The reason you two managed to Test into this district was because of your activity in the Blank Room. On an ordinary standard, no one would have thought of playing games in there, let alone expand the room. You are the missing piece that Omniscern has not had in so long."

"You still haven't explained how you want us to revive the Creativity District."

"You will be taking classes at Summerstern University, but your classes will be different. Have either of you scrolled down to the career section yet?"

I take a moment to do just that.

Here are some recommended careers based on your district result:

Graphic Designer

Architect

Author

"When you were both asked the question 'What would you create for this world', you both had visions. Ideas. Because our world is so academic driven, no one really has ideas anymore. It is simply wake up, study, accomplish, sleep, repeat. No one has tried to construct something new. Not in a long time."

"So you want us to change the world?" Skylar asks skeptically. I really can't blame him.

"You must understand this, boys. Without the Creativity District, the idea of those trees you see everywhere would not have existed. The buildings would never have been built. Books would have never been written.

And academics are not the only measure of Intelligence. Take that information with you when you tell your parents. I completely understand that they may react strongly to this information. We have already sent a message ahead, informing them the importance of the Creativity District. If they say anything negative, ignore them. You are so much more clever and intelligent than you know."

The researcher leaves us there, digesting this information.

A district that's behind all the innovation of the world? That existed? Really?

"What's going to happen, then?" Skylar asks.

The researcher glances back and smiles slowly. "You two will become the greatest Omniscernians."

I get up out of my chair. "We can leave, right?"

Without waiting for an answer, I exit the room.