Young Writers Society

Sadie glared at her for a long moment, then at Meyer, then at both of them together. "I'm going to think about this, but you can't make me stay. It's my choice."

She always had a choice. Sure, sometimes her choice was between sleeping on someone's floor or sleeping in the cold of her car -- but there was always a choice. She alone decided how she was going to behave and what she was going to do.

She turned and strode into the hallway.

Alex flinched when the door slammed, and they quickly attempted to put themselves together. "So, uh, how did it go?"

Xe curled their arms around their knees, tucking themselves even closer to the wall. Then, trying their best to swallow their panicked breathing, they gave Sadie a shaky smile.

Sadie forced herself to cool off a bit as she looked at Alex, compassion nagging at the anger. It wasn't their fault that these 'Perfection Trial' people were asinine and infuriating. And it seemed every bit as angry as Sadie was translated into anxiety for Alex. She couldn't blame them. Not really. Her anger was largely fueled by anxiety as well.

"They think they're smart but we're in control here," Sadie said, sending a glare at the door.

"Yeah, I know." They took a deep breath.

"Look, I have absolutely nothing to fall back on. No matter how terrible, this place is my only chance at surviving another day. But if you have another place to go, some other choice. Maybe, maybe you should take it."

Alex leaned xer head against the wall. "I mean, you leaving means I lose the only decently sane person I've met her so far, but I would rather go through this alone than drag you down with me."

"Meh, 'sane' is a strong word." Sadie decided she'd probably have an agitating energy if she kept pacing, so she sank down on the opposite wall of the hallway directly across from Alex. "And you always have a choice, Alex. Don't let the jerks pretend to be your savior. Your choices might suck but you've still got them. Don't let them have the smug satisfaction of seeing you groveling in desperation. We're better than they are."

Alex laughed at that. Yeah, choices, those things they were totally great at.

"What are you going to do? I mean, I've never heard anyone who's turned them down, so that either makes it rare or... or... never mind."

"Meh." Sadie let her head rest against the wall behind her and sighed. "I mean, it's not like I've got anything better to do... you?"

"Unless you count getting evicted as better, than no. My planbook is empty. But hey, maybe we can get through this together. And who knows, maybe it won't be as bad as we think."

“I mostly just want to know what their game is,” Sadie said, yawning and rubbing her face. “There’s gotta be something in this for them.”

"Maybe that can be our mission. If they want something from us, we take something in return. There has to be something to find."

“That’s the spirit.” Sadie nodded. “We’re in control here. Their little game means nothing if we refuse to play. Make them prove themselves, not the other way around.”

Alex nodded, a small but genuine smile on xer face. "Yeah! They have to have records or something of the sort here. I bet their success stories aren't as grand as they claim it to be."

They stood up, offering a hand to Sadie.

"I bet they haven't ever had a success story." Sadie shook their hand. "They seem desperate. You can fill a file folder with whatever you want. Doesn't mean you're any good."

She wished she had gotten a glimpse of her own file to see if it was accurate. She didn't like that Meyer had known about her programming ability.

Alex laughed. “I was going to help you off the floor. But alright. And if their nine-hundred success stories aren’t real, we’ll be the ones to find that out.”

“Exactly,” Sadie said. Then she laughed as she added, “bold of them to think I’m not already perfect.”