Close to me

State

July 2093

It was a big school. When I walked in, I saw a table and some very professional looking people.

"Hey hun, are you here for the test?" a middle aged woman greeted me.

"Oh yes. My name is Erica Wilson" I said.

"Perfect! Come follow me" she stood up and headed down the hallway.

Compared to the people at the district test, she was very nice.

"My name is Shelly. I am the principal here" she said as she turned another corner.

"I am anxious to see who out state representative is!" Shelly said.

"I am very anxious too" I said.

She opened two big doors to the gym. It was ginormous. There were a bunch of desks lined up in rows, and some kids were already sitting at them. There were many adults, and all of them looked stern.

Shelly brought me to a desk towards the back. Probably because my last name started with a W.

"Ok so this is where you will be taking the test. You aren't allowed to ask any questions unfortunately. When you are finished with your test, raise your hand and one of the adults will take your test. After they take it you are allowed to leave. The winner will be announced in two days, on Thursday. Do you have any questions?"

"Oh I don't think so, no" I said.

"Well then I should probably get going. Good luck Erica" And with that, Shelly walked away.

Oh wow that was a lot to take in. I was still so nervous though. I just needed to be confident.

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After a while they handed out the tests. It could literally be a book. It would take hours for anyone to finish.

As I completed each page, I recognized questions from the school and district test. So I was pretty sure I knew the answers to them.

I was about half way done when the girl next to me raised her hand.

You're kidding!

An adult walked over to her.

"What's your name sweetie?" they asked.

"My name is Hailey Williams" she said a little too loudly. She seemed like an over achiever.

Hailey handed the adult her test then walked out. She either was really dumb and guessed the answers for all of the questions, or she was some super-smart nerdy kid.

I decided to stop thinking about Hailey and finish my test.

I was almost done when I noticed the boy next to me kept looking at me. There was no way he could even see my test over the privacy board so I ignored him.

I was on the last page when the same boy next to me raised his hand. An adult took his test, then he left. I felt more comfortable after he was gone.

Finally I finished my test, so I raised my hand. Shelly was the adult to come over and take my test.

"Oh Erica! I'm sure you did a great job. Your ready to leave now" she said.

I headed out of the gym and it felt like a breath of fresh air. I didn't realize how hot it was in there until I stepped outside.

I walked down the stairs towards my car and I saw the boy who sat next to me standing by the rails of the stairs.

"Hey Babe" he said.

"I'm not your babe" I said and I continued walking.

He followed me.

"Why don't you take a ride with me back to my place" he said.

I started to get scared so I started recording the conversation and made sure emergency dial was one tap away.

"My name is Ryan. What's yours?" He cut in front of me.

"I am not interested Ryan. Get out of my way" I said sternly.

"C'mon Erica" he got closer. How did he know my name?

Just as he tried to kiss me, I kicked him in the groin.

"Listen here little shit. If you think you can go around assaulting women looking like that, your wrong. You are the most disrespectful human being I have ever met and you need to learn some manners" I said.

He tried standing up. "That wasn't very nic-"

I kicked him again. He fell to the floor.

"No it wasn't bitch." I walked to my car and turned it on as fast as I could.

If I was being honest, I was really scared. But I was safe now. In my car. On my way home.