The Flame

(As a little heads up, Cari is pronounced Carry)

Today is the day. That was the first thought I had when I woke up on Manifestation Day. I was FINALLY going to find out what was in store for me; what my future was going to be. I can only imagine what Cari’s feeling. She’s always the very excitable one, always looking out for the next party or holiday. And today is a BIG holiday. 

I got up, and in the dim light got dressed in my favourite clothes: a soft, stretchy, dark pink shirt that said ‘This is it, get used to it!’ in a funky grey-blue colour, and a pair of tight jeans that came up to my belly button. As I walked to my door, after quickly braiding my hip-length honey-blonde hair, I stopped to look in my mirror. It was long enough that, at the right angle, I could see all of me, but as it was sitting on the floor, I could only see below my neck. The shirt clung to my soft curves, and the jeans were just dark enough to make the shirt look nice, without it looking too dark. I smiled to myself, proud of the look I had put together, and opened my door.

The first thing I saw was my twin’s face. I jumped back in alarm, almost hitting my elbow on the door handle. Cari had a big grin on her face, which, in certain circumstances, might look a bit manic.

“H-hi,” I said, cautiously, “How long have you been standing here?” Cari checked her watch.

“Uhhhh, since before the electricity came on?” She said just as I noticed her shirt was on backwards.

“Yeah, I can tell. You’ve got the ‘Talk to the back!’ side of your shirt in front. You might want to switch it before we go to the Conc.”

“Oh. That would be a good idea. Mum’s made breakfast!” Cari raced down the hallway to her bedroom and slammed the door. I shook my head as I went down the stairs, smiling at Cari’s excitement. 

When I got to the bottom, I smelled the delicious aroma of freshly cooked waffles, the smell of burning butter ubiquitously filling the house. When I got to the kitchen, I blinked a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the light. The kitchen, living room and dining room all got more electricity since we spent more time there than anywhere else.

“Hi Mum,” I said as I sat down in front of a steaming pile of pancakes, “These look good!” Mum smiled and put three more on the pile, still super hot from the pan.

“How’s my not-so-little girl doing this morning? Are you excited? Nervous?” She asked, turning back to the pan and pouring more batter on. I thought about it and took a pancake.

“Yeah, I guess I’m feeling a bit of both,” I said, squeezing a generous dollop of syrup onto the pancake. “I want to know what I’m doing for the rest of my life, but at the same time, I’m worried I’m not going to like it.”

“I know the feeling, Hill, but they usually get it pretty spot on.” At that moment, Dad walked in, reading a slip of paper. He looked up at my nickname and smiled when he saw the pancakes.

“Ah, a special breakfast for my two special girls.” He sat down, grabbed a plate and heaped three pancakes onto his plate at the same time, stray crumbs going everywhere. He grabbed the syrup bottle, squished half of its remaining content on his plate and took a big bite.

“Sof ferrs oor fiter?” Dad said, spitting a few bits of pancake on the table. Mum frowned at him.

“Honey, what do we tell the girls about eating with their mouths full? Come on.” Dad nodded sheepishly and chewed the rest of his mouthful. He swallowed and I could see the sizable lump slide down his throat.

“Sorry, sweet. What I meant to say was: So, where’s your sister?” He shovelled another big chunk of pancake into his mouth, waiting for me to say something.

“Uhh, I think she’s changing. She was up before the electricity came on so her shirt was on backwards. She should be down any-” My sister burst into the room, thankfully with her shirt on the right way.

“So,” She said breathlessly, “How many do we each get?” She slid into the seat next to me and pulled a plate over to her, messing up the tablecloth. She then picked up the plate with all the pancakes on and dumped it over, the hot pancakes mostly going on her plate, but some of them missed, sending them onto her lap and the floor. Cari looked at the ones on the floor, then at Dad and simultaneously, they both dived for spilt pancakes. I leaned back and tried to protect my plate from being overturned, but Cari’s arm came at me and I had to duck.

“THIRTY SECOND RULE!!” They both shouted as they each claimed a (decidedly uneven) portion of the floor-cakes. I sighed and rolled my eyes, rubbing my side where Cari’s elbow had hit me. Mum did the same, minus the rubbing, and gave me a look that said: ‘What can we do?’. I chuckled and ate some of my own breakfast before it got cold.

“Right girls, finish up your morning sustenance and then we should head out. You never know how much traffic there’ll be on the way to the Concourse.” Mum said, finishing up her pancake frying and walking out of the kitchen to, presumably, get her things together. Dad had some stuff to finish before the Manifestation Ceremony so he was going to catch up with us later. I finished my pancakes and put my plate in the washing-up pile.

As I walked up the stairs, I wondered what my Gift might be. Maybe telekinesis? I grabbed my always-packed bag from my wardrobe, making sure not to bump any of the neatly lined-up shoes next to the bag and checked on Cari. When I peeked into her room, she was frantically trying to find something, but she was doing it in the worst way possible. She was throwing stuff around, making her already messy room even messier. I knocked tentatively on the door frame.

“Cari?” I asked, stepping into her room, and trying to find the next clean spot of floor to step on. “Um, are you nearly ready? We should be going in the next two minutes if we want to make it on time.” She grunted in response, still throwing stuff all around. Thankfully, she avoided throwing things at me, but I doubted she was doing it on purpose.

“AH HA! Here it is! I knew I put it in this draw!” She turned to me and smiled, “We can go now.” She said, getting up and walking all over the stuff on the floor. I sighed and rolled my eyes, not understanding how she could live in such squalor. 

We ran down the stairs together, a silent challenge to get out of the house first. I didn't know how Cari ever thought she could win; I always had my stuff in the same spot, therefore I could find it faster and put it on faster. She was constantly looking for something else and not finding it.

Again, I made it outside first. I sat on our low garden wall, waiting for Mum and Cari. Mum came out first, calling out over her shoulder that Cari should hurry up. Seconds later, Cari stumbled out of the house, her light almost breaking on the ground as she righted herself and ran to meet us at the car.

It was darker outside than in my bedroom, so when Mum turned on the car, the headlights revealed our neighbours trying to get out of the house as well. They waved at us as we drove past, our car silently cruising down the smooth road. Mum drove us through the familiar roads, ones that we knew well, thanks to the weekly meetings in the Concourse, which is where we were heading now.

As we pulled up to the car park, I could already see the crowds of excited family members, neighbours and friends. Manifestation Day was a city-wide holiday, so everyone who wanted to witness the 15-year-olds get their Gifts could. If they could find a decent spot to watch that is. There were people from all different sectors here, I saw some in the jumpsuits of the Maintenance sector, there were a couple of brightly coloured tops from the Public Interactions and Entertainment sector (we usually called them PIEs), and the smart suits used by the Government Employees/Members (Also known as GEMs) Then there was the occasional non-uniformed Self-employed sector member walking around and giving me and Cari encouraging looks. Our sector was a small one compared to some others, like the PIEs and the GEMs, but that meant everyone knew each other. It was probably one of the best sectors to live and work in.

Suddenly, a voice spoke over the loudspeakers, causing everyone to fall silent.

“Can all 15-year-olds report to the back of the stage to begin the Manifestation process, please? Parents and guardians, please make your way to the front-row seats to ensure you have a good view of your beautiful children when they announce their Gift!” The speakers clicked off, leaving a slight ringing in the air as everyone rushed around, trying to find where they were supposed to be.

Mum crouched next to us, looking up at Cari and me.

“Girls, remember, whatever happens in there, we will always love you and you will always have a place in our home. Go show them what you’re made of!” She smiled at us and gestured towards the stage. Mum had told us what to expect, so logically, I shouldn’t be that scared. But I was. 

For some reason, Cari had to push me forward for my feet to move. She looked at me curiously, almost like she hadn’t expected me to be the one who was afraid. She should know me better; anything that’s undefined is scary for me. That’s why I was dreading this and loving it at the same time. I loved it because it meant I would finally find out which sectors I could get a job and eventually live in, but I was dreading it because I had no idea if I would like the sectors I was given. If I had a Gift like telekinesis, then I would probably have a job in the Maintenance sector, but if I didn’t…. Well, I had no idea what other Gift I could have. And that’s mostly what scared me.

When we got to the backside of the stage, there was a smiley woman, probably from the PIE sector, directing 15-year-olds into five lines. She was calling out names and as the kids stepped forward she would point to the line they belonged in. There didn’t appear to be any reason why they had to go into different lines; there were already different sectors in each line.

“Who are you two?” The smiley woman asked, finally noticing Cari and me. I looked at Cari, but she was smiling at the woman.

“We are the Lloyd twins. I’m Cari and this is Hillary.” I gave a shy smile when Cari pointed to me.

“Oh,” The woman said, “Well, you’re a bit late. I’m Natasha by the way.” She looked down to address her clipboard, the one she had been reading the names off of and pointed her pen at Cari.

“You,” Natasha said, “Are supposed to be in that line, in front of Terry. And you,” She pointed at me and looked down. Then her eyes widened. “Oh, you’re in the front of line three. Huh.” She made a shooing motion towards line three and I shuffled to the front. Natasha clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Ok, now you’re all in the right space, the ceremony will begin in approximately 2 minutes, so please stay quiet. If you’re in the front of a line, when the light above the door goes green, step into the room and close the door behind you. Then, follow the instructions the voice gives you and hopefully all will go well!” She ended with a smile and walked off. 

I glanced nervously around, noticing Cari was already chatting with the boy behind her. When I met the eyes of a boy in the front of line two I attempted a smile, but he just glared at me and looked faintly sick. I looked down at my shoes, feeling a bit sick myself. I was about to find out what I was going to do for the rest of my life, whether I liked it or not.

Suddenly, I heard a faint ding! And the light above the door went green. Never mind, I was definitely going to be sick. I reached out for the handle and curled my hand around it. One of the kids behind me kicked the back of my shoes, and I took that to mean “Hurry up, weirdo”. I turned the handle and stepped into the room. It had white walls and a white floor. The only piece of furniture in it was a white, plastic-looking chair. I closed the door gently behind me and sat in the chair. A moment later a soft-sounding female voice spoke, even though I couldn’t see any speakers.

“Welcome to the Manifestation Chamber. Please sit in the chair provided. Your simulation will begin in 5…4…3…2…1.” Then the chamber went dark.

I resisted the urge to scream, but then I felt a tickle run up my spine. I felt the hairs on my arm stand on end, and the back of my neck prickled. Then I heard a crackling sound. The smell of smoke found my nose, and I itched it. Then the room started heating up. The walls burst into flame. This time I didn’t try to stop it; I screamed. 

But then I remembered what Mum had said. It was all a simulation. None of it was real. I calmed down a bit, but the flames still roared all over the walls. I sat there watching them and suddenly realised I wasn’t scared anymore. The constant fluctuation and dancing motion of the flames had calmed me. I took a deep breath just as a word appeared over the door.

Pyrokinetic the word read. And then the door opened.