Next part:
It's been awhile since the last Assignment Day--a year, in fact--so that I am nervous. The counsellors are often chilling and stone cold and don't show much emotion. It scares me to think about my former team: Blue. No one knows this except for Lisette and Brandon and maybe Dawn, my best friend. Blue must be like this too, but what I've heard is that they're more of a republic. I like our government system better than whatever vile thing Blue can conjure up. I've been living in fear of them coming back for years and I don't feel a smudge better about what's currently going on. We'd lost Madrid two days ago and they nearly have St. Petersburg, but we're still fighting. Right now we've got control of Siberia, for the most part, and most of Eurasia, or what's left of it. It's been a war just trying to get a piece of candy these days and it's not getting the least bit better.
I comb my hair, the sharp toothed comb tearing through my chocolate hair like butter, or melted cheese. I feel it snag on a large knot and I sigh in exasperation. Here I am, a twelve year old girl, almost a teenager, and I still don't know how to care for my hair. Yanking on it, I feel strands of my hair rip and tear and finally I comb it out. Pumping my fists in victory, I can't help but think what it was like during World War II. Must've been hard living in Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp. But thinking about the past just makes me think about my real mother and father, and that hurts, so I just shut down all independent thought.
I turn to my dresser and pick up the nice red satin dress and look at it with a critical eye. Nothing's wrong with the hem, or the sleeves, and it shimmers. Ooh, it shimmers! I pull the neck hole over my head and put the rest of it on, swishing the dress around and looking into my full-length mirror. It's absolutely perfect for my body and I immediately love it. There's a note on it that I didn't notice on my dress, so I pick it up and study it. Bought this dress for you, hope you like it. Wear ur red slippers with this. Love you. -Lissy. The note is cute and thoughtful, just like Lisette. I smile and open my closet, and search for the red slippers.
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