Page 28 of Rite of Unity

“No!”she wailed, running from the line.A woman who must have been her stylist rushed her to the nearest bathroom.

“I’m so sorry,” ten said, as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

I stepped forward, avoiding the mess, and pulled a tissue from the pocket of my dress.I’d never had a dress with pockets before, but now that I knew about them, I could never go back.Vera had stuffed my pocket full of so many things I didn’t think I’d survive a river crossing, but it turned out one of those items would come in handy.

Not that I thought Vera would be pleased if she knew I’d used her stash on another contestant.

“What’s your name?”

Number Ten lifted a shaking hand and offered me the tissue.

“Keep it.”

She smiled, but her dress didn’t have pockets, so she tossed it to the ground.I tracked the movement.Nerves.It was nerves.

A woman I hadn’t noticed standing to the side of our line darted forward and picked it up, tossing it in a waste bin.

“I… I’m… Deena.”

I took her trembling fingers in mine and squeezed.“I’m Maryn.”

She nodded, glancing over my shoulder.“Do you think she’ll be mad?”

I shook my head.“She’s fine.Do you want to practice with me?”

Deena’s eyes widened.“But.We’re competing.”

I leaned toward her, inhaling through my mouth to avoid her breath.“I won’t tell them.”

She laughed, unexpectedly and loudly, then leaned in too.“This isn’t my first Rite.”She glanced over her shoulder.The line hadn’t moved.Seven must be performing for her audience.“I was in a Rite with a boy from my Covenant House last year.I failed Trial One back then too.I can’t speak in public.”

Her hands rattled in mine, and I squeezed tighter.“The trick is to picture the audience as a group of your closest friends and family.Those who would support you no matter what.”

She shook her head.“I only performed for the Covenant House.Just thirty or so people.”Her skin went pale.“This is the whole nation.”

She looked green, and I backed up, tugging my hands free a moment before she spewed again.

“Eight.”

“I’m sorry,” Deena cried.

I shook my head.“It’s okay.Just keep practicing.”

I looked down, reading the lines on my screen again.

When ten was called, Deena was white as a ghost.Her producer had to lead her onto the stage and I thought she might faint before she even reached the center.

Eleven, Phoebe, rushed back to her place, straightening her newly styled hair, and in far less time than any of the others, her number was called.

I took a deep, calming breath.Think of Mama and Dad.I closed my eyes, picturing them in my mind, and exhaled.

“Twelve.”

I opened my eyes and stepped onto the stage.

"I am proud to have grown up in the Middle—safe, provided for, protected by the walls that separate our great nation from the chaos beyond them.

“We do not speak of what lies outside those walls out of fear.We do not speak of it out of cruelty.We speak of it as a reminder of what we have been given.