Gracie tossed me a half-smile as she opened the field house door. Watching her disappear, I crossed the path leading to the lab. Its design echoed the glass, wood and steel of Mendel's main building, but on a smaller scale. Sucking in a breath, I squared my shoulders and stepped inside.

"Wristband, please." A bored-looking young attendant waved his device over my arm. "Thanks. Head up the stairs and to your right until you reach Cognitive Room B."

Cognitive Room B. So, that's where it all starts. Nodding at the attendant, I stepped forward, absorbing my surroundings.

The foyer's ceiling was high, the floor marbled, and I spotted a handful of students climbing a wooden staircase to my right. Grabbing the iron rail, I followed them up, tracing my fingers lightly over the grooves etched in the stone wall. Mendel's crest had been carved into the rock, and the wide eye in its lower left quadrant seemed to watch me as I passed by.  

At the top of the stairs, a large sign pointed to Cognitive Room B. A girl with an asymmetrical platinum haircut held the door open and we exchanged quick smiles. I recognised her from res, but didn't know her name.

"Come in, come in!" a man's voice called excitedly from inside. Great wooden beams stretched across the ceiling, textured sound proofing panels lined the walls and thick drapes swathed tall windows, blocking out the sun. It would be easy to forget time in a room like this.

Dr. Kelly stood at the centre of the room and waved us over. "Hey, we've got a few chairs left. C'mon over, guys." His wide smile was charismatic, his dark hair looked messy in a purposeful way, and he wore a t-shirt that said, Vaccines Cause Adults. He was a walking Silicon Valley stereotype.

Curved tables were arranged around him in a horseshoe. A flatscreen and set of headphones accompanied every seat; and an Edison light bulb was screwed into the table top beside each monitor. None of the bulbs were turned on. Grabbing a chair near the horseshoe's curve, I plunked myself down and the platinum blonde sat next to me. 

"Hi. I'm Marin." I whispered. "I think I've seen you at Watson."

"Yeah, you look familiar, too." Her voice was soft. "I'm Phoenix."

I lifted a brow. "Really? Cool name."

"My parents thought so." She lifted a brow back. "I used to hate it, but it's growing on me."

The lights began to dim and Dr. Kelly cleared his throat. "Ok, I think we're almost ready to start. Can you grab the door please?" He nodded at a slight girl who'd just walked in.

"Told you I'd see you around." A husky voice tickled my ear.

Spinning around in my chair, I caught Archer's grey eyes and dimpled grin. I must have missed him come in while I was talking with Phoenix.

"Geez! Do you always sneak up on people?" A wave of heat lapped the back of my neck.

His grin morphed into a full-fledged smile. "I wouldn't call it sneaking. I'd prefer to call it ... the element of surprise." He wiggled his eyebrows and the warmth from my neck spread up my chin to my cheeks.

God, Marin, please don't blush.

"Mind if I sit?" He grabbed the chair beside me. His movements were so fluid; I was pretty sure he'd never been clumsy a day in his life.

"Seat's all yours," I shrugged, dragging frigid images across my mind, trying to stop my blush in its tracks. Cold water. Ice cream. Popsicles. Snow.

"Welcome future scientists!" Dr. Kelly shouted and bowed low, waving his hand with a dramatic flourish. "Some of you sitting here today have the potential to join the greatest scientific minds of our time ... we just have to figure out who our best candidates might be."

Clasping his hands behind his back, he strode around the horseshoe's perimeter, glancing at us as he spoke.

"'I'm happy to give you a peek behind the PACK program's mysterious curtain. If you're here, it means we've already determined one of your potential aptitudes for streaming falls under our Cognition program."

Just like Dad hoped.

I'd never dreamed of following in my father's scientific footsteps. Not that I'd dreamt about any career in particular, I just wanted my own path — despite what was hidden in my DNA, not because of it.

"More of your cohorts will be taking cognitive tests in the coming days, but I like to keep groups small so I can monitor individual results myself. You're a random sample, so I'm hoping you can all get along for the next two days." Winking, he flashed a set of brilliant white teeth while a chain-reaction of nervous laughter moved from one end of the horseshoe to the other.

Two days? I guessed it made sense — if students had two aptitudes to explore, and we spent two days on each one, streaming could be announced on Friday.

"The touch-screen monitor in front of you will turn on in a minute. Just follow the instructions and move items on the screen with your fingers." Dr. Kelly swiped at an imaginary monitor with his hand. He wasn't tall, but everything else about him was super-sized — his voice, his enthusiasm, his smile. Maybe his ego, too? I smirked to myself, but decided to reserve judgment. After all, Mom said he'd been cool when he worked for Dad.

"Answer as many questions as you're able. When you've reached three incorrect answers, the program will notify you that the test is complete. As soon as you're done, please flip the switch beside your monitor to turn on the lightbulb. No talking until everyone's finished."

My knee bounced nervously under the table. Taking a test was never fun; not knowing what to expect made it worse.

"I'm going to turn down the lights to limit any distractions." Dr. Kelly's voice was calm. "Please put on your noise-cancelling headphones — and good luck!"

The lab went from dimly-lit to dark, except for the monitors' glow. Wiping my sweaty palms on my Mendel-issued leggings, I bit my lip and breathed out through my teeth.

"Hey, good luck." Archer whispered. The light from his screen cast a sheen against his face, turning his grey eyes a pale silver.

"You too." I gave him a small smile. Pulling on my headphones, the sound was siphoned from my ears, amplifying nothing but my breath and beating heart.

Green-lettered words began travelling across the screen and I blinked.

Cognition Series 3.0

Abstract Reasoning Sequence beginning in 3... 2 ... 1 ...

My pulse drummed and I shifted in my seat.

Please review the following patterns and choose an appropriate response to complete the series.

Six boxes appeared on the screen — the first five contained an array of black dots and lines in a progressing sequence. The sixth box contained a question mark. At the bottom of the screen, five potential solutions appeared.

My eyes scanned the boxes as I looked for patterns to predict the correct response. Dots and lines filled my brain, mapping out the sequence to its logical conclusion. Decision complete, I dragged my response over the question mark.

Sample query complete. Session beginning in 3...2...1...

My eyes and fingers flew as new patterns and solutions bloomed on screen. As soon as I swiped a response, a new sequence appeared. More boxes materialized while dots and lines multiplied with increased complexity. Ideas formed, turned and folded in my brain, transforming almost effortlessly into elegant solutions.

I puzzled and swiped until all the boxes dissolved and a string of words appeared:

Session complete. Please remove your headphones and turn on your light.

I blinked. It's finished? I'd been so mesmerized by the test I wasn't sure how long I'd been answering questions. Pulling my headphones off, I saw Archer reach over to turn off his light.  Around the horseshoe, every other bulb was lit. He and I must have been the final two to finish.

"Nice work." Archer winked.

"You, too." I thanked my lucky lightbulbs the dimly-lit room hid the blush that crept back onto my cheeks.

"Excellent work, everyone!" Dr. Kelly boomed. "You've earned your free time today." Crossing his arms, he leaned back against the table. "I'm going to spend the afternoon assessing your results and will see you back here bright and early tomorrow morning!"

A collective groan rolled across the horseshoe.

"Okay, okay. Not as early as Dean Hawthorne woke you up this morning. Meet me here at nine a.m. — sharp! You're welcome. Now, scram!" With a jaunty salute, he kicked us out of class.

***

Thanks for reading! Phew! This chapter took a long time — I've been doing some research trying to bring the PACK experience to life. I wonder what Day 2 with Dr. Kelly will bring? Please comment and vote if you like it!