“Jioni!” Tracey screamed. “You will be an Agent, right?”
Jioni couldn’t respond. In fact, she could barely hear Tracey. Though she wanted to say yes, the words couldn’t form on her lips. It would be a lie. It wasn’t possible to take the test. And the indignity of realizing that she’d fail Tracey again with her answer. Jioni inhaled loud enough to be audible. Her heart beat rapidly as her hand brushed against the door handle.
But before it could open, she heard a mechanical roaring sound; the air felt heavier, and her vision blurred as it tried to adjust to the new setting. The wooden floors faded beneath her and turned to clay; the wooden walls changed into a grass field with trees; the ceiling lamps were now the sky, and night became day. The smell and the feeling were all too familiar: it was the Agent Trials.
Tracey had used the remote.
“I know you can pass it,” Tracey yelled. “Right here. Right now.”
