Graduation Day (The Testing, #3)(27)

I nod and look at the watch on my bag. Fifteen minutes. Not a lot of time, but enough to say what I need to. “There’s something I need to tell you and a favor I have to ask.”

We sit on the stone bench near the walkway. I take out a book in order to look as if we are two students comparing homework.

“What’s so important it couldn’t wait?” Stacia asks, brushing a blond lock of hair behind her ear. “Did Tomas and you break up for real?”

She rolls her eyes and waits for me to laugh as I did when she’d say something like that a month ago. When I don’t, her expression turns serious. “President Collindar has asked me to assemble a team of people to help her bring down The Testing and eliminate the people in charge of it.”

Stacia blinks. “This is a joke, right?” She looks at the group of girls walking by us and then lowers her voice. “You’re not joking?”

“I wish I were.” I give her a quick synopsis of the tug of war happening over the Debate Chamber vote and the rebellion the president was counting on that has proved false. Only five minutes remain until the start of class when I say, “I’ve learned enough to know that The Testing needs to end. Unlike President Dalton in the Fourth Stage of War, President Collindar has chosen to strike against Dr. Barnes and the people who could plunge this country again into war. But I can’t do what she asks without your help.”

Two minutes. I’m going to have to run to make it to World History in time. Hoping I have given her enough information to at least make her consider helping, I ask, “Can you meet me here in two hours?” The Calculus building is directly across from this bench. I can make it here easily after my second class.

Stacia stands. “Sure. If for no other reason than I’m dying to hear what else you have to tell me.”

“Don’t say anything to anyone until we speak. There are people . . .” One minute. “Just don’t say anything about this. Okay? Or we’ll both be really sorry.”

When Stacia nods, I race across the grass, hoping I have not just made a mistake.

Class is starting when I hurry into the room and take a seat in the back. Professor Lee’s raised eyebrow is the only indication that he has noticed my tardiness. While he begins the lecture, I fish a notebook and pencil out of my bag, then leave the bag open beside me so I can see the light of the monitor telling me if Ian’s position changes.

The need to watch the monitor, the worry that Stacia will not heed the warning I gave her, and the knowledge that Professor Lee is one of the people I am supposed to eliminate dominate my thoughts. Professor Lee has always seemed so interested in his students living up to their potential. It seems impossible to believe he would be an advocate for a larger pool of Testing candidates. Could he really want to eliminate the potential of so many additional candidates just to provide more competition during the selection process?

“What can you tell us, Ms. Vale, about Prime Minister Chae?”

The sound of my name makes me realize that I have not been paying attention. I’m just glad Professor Lee said my name before the topic; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to answer now. Thankfully, this is a topic that was covered not only in our school back in Five Lakes, but in Early Studies. “Prime Minister Chae was the broker for the Asian Alliance. It was his refusal to accept defeat during the Sanai Summit that pushed the talks forward. He is also credited with helping maintain peace by encouraging compromise between the leaders of the Asian Alliance, but despite the public’s desire to see him lead, Prime Minister Chae refused to push himself forward to be the leader of the Alliance. Had he accepted leadership, his desire for peace could have prevented the escalation that led to the Seven Stages of War.”

Professor Lee studies me. “Is that what you believe?”

I feel everyone waiting for me to speak, but I have no idea what to say.

Professor Lee smiles and glances around the room. “Is that what you all believe?”

Now everyone has been put on the spot. And, like me, no one else knows how to respond. A few heads nod but Professor Lee doesn’t speak. It is clear he is waiting for someone to speak. So, I do. “That’s what you taught in Early Studies.”

Professor Lee’s smile grows wider. “It is. We know certain facts from those years before the Seven Stages of War. We know Prime Minister Chae fought for unity and that while many believed he was out to create a power base for himself, he never tried to gain leadership of the Alliance. We also know that he traveled around Japan, China, and North and South Korea stressing the need to put aside differences and follow the new laws. After that, we know very little. Which is why you have only been taught and tested on those facts. Today, I’d like to talk about what we don’t know.”

The confusion on my fellow students’ faces must be mirrored on my own. I’d heard about the sequence of events that led up to the Seven Stages of War before I started school. I have been tested on them in Five Lakes, during The Testing, and throughout Early Studies. The idea that there is more information that I have never been told has me leaning forward in my seat waiting for whatever Professor Lee will say next.

His smile disappears. “Prime Mister Chae’s involvement in the great treaty, his call for peace, and his death are well documented. However, very little about the years when he stepped out of the limelight have been verified, which is why you have never discussed the possibilities behind those dormant years. I’d like to remedy that today.”