Sitting on a bench, waiting for a bus to come and drive me to my death wasn't the way I wanted to spend my afternoon.  To make things worse, I had no jacket and the weather was only about 20 degrees Fahrenheit.  Poor me.  Eventually, the bus came.  I glanced at the bus driver, a young woman with blonde hair.  She gave me a look of pity that did not make me feel any better.  I sat down near the back and started to zone out.

"Hello!" someone called.  

 I looked around, realizing that there were very many people already on the bus.  I'm that kind of person.  People don't exist to me until they do something that catches my attention. 

"Erm...Hello?" the voice called again.  That's when I realized that the voice came from a girl sitting right beside me.  

"Hi.  I didn't realize that you were the one calling to me," I said.

The girl grinned and shook her long, black hair to the side.  I took that moment to take in her features.  She looked British and had an accent, but there was something about the eyes that made me want to say she was Asian.

"I'm Suri.  Suri Knott,"  the girl introduced herself. 

"Amaranth Woodward.  You've got a pretty accent," I found myself saying to her.  

"I'm British and Japanese.  Are you going to the test too?" she asked.

"Yeah.  I think everyone on the bus is going.  I see only fourteen-year-olds," I looked around the bus.  12 was the age where you were required to enter the test.  Then, the bus halted to an abrupt stop.  

"Are we there already?" Suri asked.

"No, bu-" My sentence was cut off with a very loud scream issuing from the front of the bus.  

"IT'S AN EAGLE!" shrieked the bus driver. 

"What the-" I broke off when I saw the giant stone eagle that had landed in front of the bus.  Behind the eagle came a line of soldiers wearing protective gear and were pointing guns at the bus.  

"I think the ride to our death may have been delayed," Suri murmured to me.