The Normals | ✓

T W E N T Y - S I X

A R D E N

When I open my eyes, I feel like I've been asleep for hours when in reality, as the Mask tells me, it's only been about five minutes. I look around me. Everything's the same, but I have some strange feeling twisting around inside me, like the aftertaste of a particularly hectic experience. The Mask undoes the restraints -- my wrists are really red, like they've been rubbing against the restraints continuously -- and takes the stuff off my head, messing up my hair in the process. He allows me to pull my shirt back on while he throws even more holograms into the air and taps away on the tablet.

Once I'm done, he turns to me. "I hope that wasn't so bad. Most people only feel slight discomfort when they take the test, so it should've been alright."

I rub my wrists. They sting. Slight discomfort my ass.

"Anyway," he continues, "I have your test results now, and once I send them to the headquarters, they'll have a treatment plan ready by next week or the week after. For now, I want you to remember this number." He presses a small, flat object into my palm.

I turn it over and find it's a rectangular pin with a number on it. 0628. "What does it mean?" I ask.

"We don't go by names here," he explains. "It's too complicated and the whole last name thing makes it even harder. With a number, we can easily identify each person and what makes them an abnormis just by hearing their name."

I shake my head. "I'm sorry-- what?"

"The pin I just gave you is your test result, and it will be used to identify you during your stay here."

"My test result? But this is just a four-digit number."

"Each digit represents the score you got on each part of the test," the Mask says. "It's helpful to the staff and authorities when they're referring to a particular person. That way, we know exactly what you scored on the test without even knowing anything about you. The higher numbers are where your Differences are the strongest, so by hearing your number, we can immediately know which areas you need the most help in. This is also useful because no one ever gets the same number in their time here, since everyone is different from each other."

I turn the pin over in my hands. The imprinted number glints at me. "So this... this is my name?"

"Yep! Better get used to it fast, since your Instructors and classmates will be calling you by it now."

"O-okay..." Just follow the rules and you can get back home. Just follow the rules and you can get back home.

The Mask gives me a little push in the direction of a door I hadn't noticed before, and so I get off the chair and head toward it. Looking back, I see he's already busied himself with his tablet again and pays me no notice when I push the door open and leave.

I step out into the pentagon room again, sunlight now streaming in from the large glass ceiling. It takes me a moment to figure out where to go, but then I see a Mask waving me over to a group of kids about my age. (Am I still a kid? I like to think of myself as one.) I recognize Angelo and a few others I had seen milling about the hall and bathrooms last night. I go to stand by Angelo, and he gives me a slightly confused look before speaking to me.

"Arden... right?"

It's my turn to be confused. The name sounds familiar and feels affiliated with me, but it feels foreign. "Yes?" I reply. "I think so?"

He fiddles with the pin attached to his shirt and looks away, before turning back to me and lowering his voice. His eyes dart to the ground, avoiding mine. "I can't remember my name."