Eliminated

Chapter One

“Taylor, it's time to get up,” my mother whispered.

“No,” I said, turning over. “Not if it's The Drawing today.”

“I brought you some breakfast in bed for your birthday,” mom said sweetly, showing me a tray with sausage, grits and fruit.

I smiled, sitting up. “Thanks, mom,” I said, taking a bite of buttery toast.

“You're welcome,” she said, and kissed my forehead. “We need to leave in a couple hours for The Drawing, so bathe and pick out a nice outfit."

I groaned. Usually, I didn't mind going to The Drawing. But this year, I qualified to be drawn. Why couldn't The Drawing just be one day before my birthday? It was terrible.

“I know you're worried, especially since you're an only child...” mom whispered. “But it will be alright. Not all kids here have siblings.”

If you were an only child, you had ten balls in the Drawing Machine. For every sibling you had, you lost a ball. For example, if I had two siblings, I would only have eight balls in the machine.

“I am going to go get ready with your father,” mom said, then walked away.

I slowly ate my breakfast, then looked through my wardrobe for a nice dress. My family was one of the richer families in town, so I had plenty to choose from.

I chose a simple but pretty dress that was blue silk with puffy, short sleeves.

I then prepared a hot bath to relax in for a while. After slowly sliding into the bath, I rubbed strawberry smelling soap on my arms and thought to myself, You won't get drawn, you won't get drawn, you won't get drawn, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry.

After changing, I was just in time for The Drawing. “Ready to go, Taylor?” mom asked. I just sighed and nodded yes.

We were pretty far from the Drawing Center, which was in the center of our town, so we took our horses. A lot of people took horses, so there was a place to tie them up.

As we tied our horses up, we realized almost everyone was here. I took my place in the front section, for the people aged fourteen to twenty-five. I hoped none of the older people had kids. I knew last year, they did.

The Drawing Man was standing on the stage beside the Drawing Machine. It looked a lot like a gumball machine, except you didn't insert money, you just push a button, and it didn't have gumballs, but instead balls with unlucky people's names.

“Hello everyone! I am your Drawing Man this year, Zane,” said the man on stage. No one clapped. Why is he happy to pick out people who are going to be sent to their deaths? It's terrible.

“Well, we will start with team one,” he said after a moment of silence. He pushed the big, glowing button on the machine, and a ball rolled out into his hand.

“And the first contestant is...” he paused for suspense. “Lola Winds!” A strong-looking girl who seemed around twenty walked up on stage. A few tears escaped her eyes, but if she hadn't been crying I wouldn't have even known she was sad.

Zane called off more names. Some people sobbed, others just cried a little, and some seemed happy to be chosen.

“Time for team two everyone!” Zane called cheerfully, but no one else was cheerful except the two people who actually wanted to be drawn.

“Our first person on team two is... Andrew Palm!” He slowly walked on stage, sadness obviously on his face. He looked pretty old, probably one of the oldest members on team two.

A very young girl held by a someone who seemed about seven screamed, “Daddy!”

“Shh, it will be alright, Violet,” the seven year old whispered, but the toddler started sobbing. He must be their father.

A woman who seemed about his age, standing in the front section, yelled, “Win for them!” The mother or sister.

After that, Zane called out the next name. “Our second member on team two is.. Jasmine Winds!”

Lola, the first girl called, stared at the girl who must be Jasmine in shock. “Jasmine, no!” she yelled, finally giving in to full crying. Sisters fighting against each other...

“Next we have... Phillip Angelo!” Zane called. A young boy who looked around my age walked up to the stage, then stood beside Andrew and Jasmine. He stood straight. He didn't look happy, but he also looked like he was not going to give up.

“Our fourth member of Team Two is Zinnia Pine,” said Zane. A lot of people gasped. Her older brother, Tyler Pine, won the game a few years ago.

She walked on the stage, seeming happy. I understood why she was happy: she would have a chance to prove she was just as good as her brother.

By now, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to get picked. There was only one person left, and it was a small chance that was going to be me.

Zane slowly pressed the button and read the ball. “Last but not least, we have...” he paused again. Everyone was holding their breath. Who was the final unlucky person?

“Taylor Chapters!”