“It had my name on it,” I sighed.

“It definitely didn't,” he carelessly laughed, smiling broadly with each and every one of his perfectly white teeth showing. There's another thing that bothered me; he was born with this perfect smile. I on the other hand, yet again being granted with misfortune, had to have braces for three years. Three. Years.

“You're unbelievable, every time!”

“How is this, you can come with me and a few friends for burgers tonight.”

“And…”

“And I will buy.” He sighed.

“Okay, but I swear the next time you eat my leftovers…” I continued as I shoved him to the side.

“Haha very funny…” he mumbled.

We continued walking tensely in silence, staring at the ground. His hands balled in the sleeves of his sweatshirt. It's not as though my brother and I didn't have anything to talk about; we were actually quite close. Anyway, we had avoided getting too involved in a conversation with each other. This was probably to avoid the chance that The Selection would come up. We both knew it may soon follow, and neither of us was ready to talk about it. It was just too painful. Especially because of Dad. Jacob tensed up. His shoulders were practically up in the sky they were so rigid.

The bright shades of red and orange gleamed in the trees. It smelled fresh, like apples and cinnamon. There were hardly any helicars out, and I didn't see many air bikes out either. Now those were cool; you still do all the pedaling as you would a regular bike, only it rides like a jet pack. I think Jake asked mom for one of those for Christmas last year.  Most people in our town walked from place to place anyway, as it was so small. The bright orange, Welcome to Madaket sign reflected the beaming rays of sunlight. Madaket is our tiny town right here in Massachusetts. There are only a couple hundred people living here. Tiny, I tell you.

The air was clear and brisk, perfect for sorting my thoughts, which I had many of, hands shaking, knees trembling in the cool wind. The weather wasn't exactly ideal, but with what was soon to follow, there's nothing in this world I would trade for spending time with my brother, even if it meant walking in the cold, awful weather. It looked beautiful outside, but it sure was cold.

“Emma!” my best friend Madison shouted, a smile crossed her face from ear to ear.

“Hey, Kit Kat.”

“God, when are you going to let me live that down?”

“Oh, you mean you ate, what was it, Jakey?”

“37.”

“Ah yes, 37 kit-kats and then threw up all over my mom’s brand new helicar.” Jacob and I snickered.

“Jake!” Josh, one of my brother's friends, shouted from the lacrosse field. Josh was taller than my brother. He towered over me, which at times was intimidating. Josh definitely wasn't my favorite of Jakey’s friends. Don't get me wrong, he's nice and all, but he really is your stereotypical dumb jock. He doesn't say much to me.  It's not that he was quiet when I'm around; he was loud, he just didn't say much to me directly.

“By Em, later Kit-Kat.” 

There was a long pause. My brother leaned in to give me a hug goodbye. I didn't want to let go. It was as if every time we said goodbye, I wasn't sure if it would be final. I tensed up a bit, holding on for as long as I could.

“Be careful,” I cautioned, quiet enough so only he heard me.

“I know,” he sighed as he headed off with Josh.

He hesitated for a moment. He turned around, softly smiling and nodding. I must say this wasn't as reassuring as he must have thought. I smiled back, but deep down I knew both of our smiles were fake. He turned around and swiftly ventured off with Josh.

“Emma, Madison,” she continued, “you do realize that in order to be on time, you must check in with security and get scanned within fifteen minutes, don't you?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Well, then I highly recommend you pick up your pace unless you would like to have a word with  the chancellor that is.”

“Yes, ma'am.” We continued as our pace sped up.

The exact moment we had been facially recognized for our presence, our teacher rushed us out of her room and onto our next class. Homeroom didn't end for another 15 minutes, so this appeared to be a bit strange. Then again, I can't remember the last time things were normal around here anyway. The moment the last student left her room, she slammed the door and closed the blinds. Her head hung low, eyes staring dead at the ground.

The number of guards in the halls today was much higher than usual. There were at least three in every hall. All in unison, every teacher's door in the hallway had been locked and slammed shut. The lights were shut off throughout the entire school. I had anticipated a number of terrible scenarios that were about to happen.  I must admit that none of these were good. My mind immediately jumped to Jacob. I wanted to know where he was, and if he was okay. He was the only thing that I had cared about.

Guards began to storm the halls. I felt like I was in the climax of a horror movie.

“Everyone, shoulder to shoulder, on the wall now!” one of them shouted, head held high, shoulders forcefully held back. Fear rushed through me. Palms sweating, heart racing unsteadily, I had never been so scared. I didn't know where he was or if he was okay.

“Student ID and chips out, everyone, now!” one of the guards yelled.

They were wearing black suits that appeared to be padded. Their faces were covered with masks. They began vigorously scanning chips and checking IDs. I saw my brother down the hall on the other side. Our eyes met. He shook his head from side to side, head held lowly, eyes filled with sadness. His forehead was shiny; a tear rolled down his cheek. I believe this was his way of telling me not to do anything stupid for him. The guards began to take the older boys. I could only pray that he wouldn't get taken this year. They neared him, going down the line of people.

“Name?” a guard began to question me.

“I said, name?” he asked; the annoyance in his tone became clear.

“I'm sorry?” I questioned, unaware that I was even being spoken to.

“Girl, what is your name?”

“Oh, um, Emma.”

“Emma….” he continued, impatiently waiting for a response.

“Anderson, Emma Anderson,” I continued.

“ID please.”  The guard scanned my ID. Through the corner of my eye, I noticed Jakey getting questioned. My anxiety heightened. I noticed my breathing getting heavier and heavier. His face looked so serious. It appeared to be full of fear. His foot was tapping quickly. This was a habit of his that I picked up on. He tends to do it when he's nervous. 

I watched the guard turn him around and push him into the lockers.  “No…” I mumbled to myself.  The guard began forcefully pushing him toward the exit, hands cuffed behind his back. “No! No!” I screamed, tears heavily streaming down my cheek. I ran towards him.  “No, please, no!” I sobbed.  “Let him go. Please let him go,” I bellowed, clutching onto the guard's arm, pulling with all my strength.

I screamed in pain. Another guard had lashed me with the electric stick.  “No please, please don't leave me, Jakey, please, don't do it…” I mumbled in pain.

I woke up in my room, alone. I was a bit groggy. My memories seemed to be faded. Confusion crossed me.

“Mom?”

Footsteps rushed down the stairs.

“Em, are you okay? How do you feel, hun?”

“A bit confused…okay is definitely not a word to describe how I feel right now.”  I glanced around my room. My eyes met a picture of my brother and me from my 15th birthday. My memories began rushing back, like water forcefully flowing through a waterfall. What was cloudy and perplexed now become crystal clear.

Tears rushed down my cheek. Pain ached in my heart. I cried. I cried for the boys sent to war. I cried for the mothers that lost their sons. For the sisters that lost their best friends. For the friends who lost their teammate. I cried for my brother. And I cried for me. I cried knowing entirely that the worst had not even neared. That all that would soon follow was pain, agony, and emptiness. That god awful feeling as though a part of you is missing. That hole in your heart that cannot be replaced by anything other than what left it.

I walked down my muffled stairs, head hung low, eyes glued to the ground.  I entered the kitchen, moping.  “Open,” I demanded.  The refrigerator door opened vigorously. Sitting on the top shelf was an untouched styrofoam container box of leftovers. My heart sunk.  “Guess I'm going to have to get used to that…” I mumbled as my last tear fell from my face.

I made myself a cup of Ramen and headed to the couch. I wasn't sure what to do at that point. That is typically when Jakey and I would try to make something for dinner, emphasis on try. We would sit on the couch and watch movies while we talked about our day. This may seem cheesy, but to us, it wasn't. We were best friends. To pass time, I decided to plug in one of our telegrams, one of the early ones. On the front of the case it read, Emma Jacob And Family: 2075. I knew this handwriting. It was my brothers. It was written in blue ink. Probably the feather pen our father gave him before he was drafted. A tear began to roll down my cheek as I traced my finger over each and every letter. I plugged the telegram into the TV. 

There we were, innocently playing in the bright green, dancing grass, smiles from ear to ear. I miss those days. I miss the days never worrying if I would see my brother that night, the days where everything was just right. Just the way it was supposed to be. Sorrow and anxiety never overcame me. Everything was just, right. Now everything was as screwed up as it could possibly be. 

As the different images and videos appeared and passed on the screen, tears began quickly rolling down my cheek. I wiped away a few tears. Without hesitation, I commanded the TV to shut off. It was too soon. Too soon to look back and see us happy and pure. Too soon to remember what has now left a hole in my heart.

-Maya Sweeney