The Similars (The Similars #1)(14)

No one answers.

“Good. Let me remind you that the five juniors ranked at the top of their class will have the privilege of becoming a part of Darkwood’s prestigious Ten. Seniors who were initiated into the Ten last year will remain part of the Ten as mentors, and senior Madison Huxley will serve as this year’s Ten leader.”

My gaze wanders over to Madison, who beams as students shoot her admiring and envious looks.

“And now,” Fleischer says dramatically, “you may open your envelopes.”

Ripping is heard across the cafeteria as juniors tear into their letters. I don’t open mine yet. Instead, I watch my fellow classmates’ reactions. Some are devastated, others ecstatic.

I glance at Levi. He’s still reading, clearly unconcerned with anything that’s happening around him—especially the envelope sitting in front of him on the table.

“Emma, for God’s sake, how can the suspense not be killing you?” Pru teases as she nudges my envelope toward me.

Unable to deny that I’m now nearly as curious as everyone else about how I ranked, I turn my attention to my envelope and slice it open.

Emmaline Chance. Stratum: 5

I am fifth in my class. I am part of the Ten.





Dark Lake


I stare at the card with my name on it. I’m not entirely surprised. On the day of the stratum test, I’d forced myself to banish my grief over Oliver’s death and focus solely on the task at hand. Those four hours turned out to be a welcome respite from the feeling of the serrated knife. It’s no wonder I did so well on the test.

I suppose I should be celebrating now. At the very least, I should be happy to have some good news to report to my father—but all I can think about is him. I don’t look back at him. I don’t want to see him reading that book so cavalierly. I wonder if he’s even bothered to open his envelope, and what his rank is. Then I feel a pang of guilt. Except for the four-hour block during the stratum test, Oliver has occupied my every waking thought since he died. I’m resentful of these questions about Levi that crowd my mind. Resentful of him. This is exactly why I told him to get lost. Because his very presence threatens my memories of Oliver.

“Who’s going to share?” Pru pipes up, interrupting my thoughts. “Pippa? Emma? Don’t everyone talk at once.”

“You know the rules, Pru. No one has to share their stratum if they don’t want to,” I remind her.

“Oh, please. Like you’ve ever cared about rules. Hand it over,” she says, reaching for my envelope.

But I hesitate. It’s not that I don’t want to tell Pru about my rank. It’s that I haven’t even processed what it means. And I’m not ready to. Not yet. Then the view space begins flashing, and I’m saved from having to answer her. But my relief is short-lived as I remember from past years what happens next. The names and faces of the top five juniors are about to be displayed. Great. Now I have to sit here while my score is revealed not just to Pru, but to the entire school.

Within seconds, a face appears in the view space, a smiling holographic head that rotates in the air above us, giving everyone an opportunity to stare at it.

It’s Madison. But she’s the Ten leader, so it can’t be her… No, it’s Maude—her Similar.

The room begins to buzz. I glance over at the Similars’ table to see Maude’s friends congratulating her, including Levi, who has set his book down and is, surprisingly, engaging. Over at the originals’ table, flanked by her fan club, Madison looks ready to murder someone.

In the view space, words scroll across Maude’s image in giant type.

MAUDE GRAVELLE. STRATUM: 1

Maude’s face dissolves, and in its place comes another familiar one. Not Tessa, but Theodora. I’m starting to feel a strange sense of déjà vu. First Maude, now Theodora? Two clones, holding the top two spots in the junior class?

I watch as Theodora’s name scrolls across her image with her stratum.

“Wow,” Pru says to Pippa. “Your friends are totally winning at life right now.”

Pippa shrugs like it’s no big deal, but I see a hint of a smile on her face. She’s proud of them. But she doesn’t look surprised. It’s like she was expecting this all along. Meanwhile, the noise level in the dining hall has risen a decibel or two. The reveal of these first two Ten members has stunned nearly everyone, including Madison and Tessa, who confer at their table, both of them noticeably distressed. I can’t help but enjoy seeing them thrown off their game.

As Theodora’s face dissolves, another one takes its place. My heart leaps to my throat. It’s Levi. He’s nabbed the number-three spot.

The whole cafeteria erupts. This is unprecedented. Madison jumps up from her seat, ranting about how the Darkwood board is going to get an earful about this. The Similars can’t waltz in and steal top rankings from longtime Darkwood students. She’s convinced the stratum test must have been rigged in their favor.

Up on the view space, Levi’s face disappears and another takes its place.

“Pru?” I say out loud, my eyes widening at her rotating image.

PRUDENCE STANWICK. STRATUM: 4

I’m not surprised Pru’s scored so well. She’s one of the brightest kids at Darkwood.

“I can’t believe you didn’t say anything!” I chide before swallowing a spoonful of stew, mindful of the fact that I need to eat, even though the pharmas dull my appetite.