It was absolute chaos. The dog was barking, the cat was in a tree, my little sister was covered from head to toe in mud, my big brother was arguing with my dad, and I, Heaven Mitchel, was trying to stay calm. I ran upstairs and locked myself in my room, I played music on my laptop as loud as I could to block out the noise from downstairs. I slumped on a fluffy white chair in the corner of my room and gazed out the window at the tree where my cat was hiding.

I know, Heaven. Why would anyone name their daughter Heaven? I was far from perfect, as you’d think someone named Heaven would be. Just look downstairs, my life was a mess. My mom used to be a private investigator but she vanished six years ago on a case in San Diego. She used to ask for my help with cases, sometimes her suspects had children who went to my school and it was my job to question them, build relationships with them, maybe even go to their house. My little sister, Phoenix, was too young and my older brother, Logan, was never interested. Since mom vanished I’ve had nothing to do. We had moved to a different town when she disappeared; we now live in a small town called Aureum.

My fifteen year old brain was starting to feel overwhelmed so I stood up and slid open the window. A branch stretched from a few feet below it to the tree trunk. I carefully lowered myself onto it and walked across it like a tightrope. I didn’t see my cat as I climbed down and I assumed she had either gotten down or was higher up in the tree.

Once on the ground I unlocked the gate around the backyard and started the walk to the local coffee shop. Firefly Cafe was only a few blocks from my house, and surprisingly wasn’t too full. I guessed everyone was getting ready for the Golden Trials.

I suppose now is a good time to mention that I don’t live in a normal town, I don’t have a normal life, and I definitely am not normal. Every year, there’s the Golden Trials to test if you’re ready to “move on”. You’re supposed to study for the Trials for years, I started late, when I was nine. Most kids start studying when they’re six.

It’s like a normal test, except the results could determine whether you continue to study for another year before taking the test again or whether you’re ready to ascend. Ascending… well… I won’t talk about it. Nobody really knows what happens to someone once they’ve ascended. Some people come back down, either because they’ve been sent back down to help others study, or because they’ve failed a quest. Either way, you’re not allowed to talk about what happens when you ascend, if you try you go up in flames and a second later your body is ashes.

You don’t want to fail a quest. It means total humiliation for the rest of your life. Most people shudder just at the thought of it. Sure, humiliation doesn’t sound so bad. It’ll go away after a while, right? Nope. Every year, after the tests, the mayor reads a list of names of the people who have failed a quest and they remind us why they failed. Since this has been going on for such a long time, the list is pretty long.

The Golden Trials were next week so most people were trying to cram in extra knowledge, parents were helping their kids study. As I walked to my friend’s house with coffee in one hand, I passed an old, closed down clothing store which I knew held the entrance to the black market. The black market sold everything you weren’t supposed to have; answers to the Golden Trials tests (they always mysteriously went missing or were incorrect), supposed keys to the Ascendant Stairway, weapons, self-answering pencils and pens, pretty much anything that could help you escape this cage of a town or pass the Golden Trials.

I approached a house that looked exactly like my house, and any other house in the town. I knocked three times, paused, knocked three times again, paused, and knocked twice. The door swung open and there stood a handsome, friendly looking boy with dimples, gray eyes like a storm, and dark brown hair that almost looked black. I grinned and launched myself into Aiden’s waiting arms.

“I got you something.” I said, teasingly handing him my empty coffee cup.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it.” He said, tossing it behind him. Wind came out of nowhere and carried the cup into the kitchen where we could hear it fall into the trash can. “Josie’s upstairs.” Aiden said.

I followed Aiden up the stairs and through a neat wooden door with a white board stuck on it. On the white board was a list of chores, written in pretty handwriting with a red marker. Nearly all of the chores had been checked off.

Inside the room was so white, it takes a moment for your eyes to adjust. Once they do, you see a tall bookshelf in one corner beside a white chair for reading, the chair was similar to mine but mine looked fluffier and more comfortable. On the other side of the room was a desk with neat rows of pencils and tidy stacks of papers. In the middle of the room, standing on a soft white rug, was a large bed with white blankets, sheets, pillows, and everything else that goes on a bed. Josie was laying on her stomach on the bed, her feet in the air. She was holding a pencil with one hand and a piece of paper in the other. In front of her was an open book.

I sat down on the foot of her bed and snatched the book away from her, “Preparing For The Golden Trials? Jo, you’ve read this book a million times. You know it word for word.” I said.

“And that still isn’t enough! Heav, we’re starting the Golden Trials this year. I want this to be my last year as well as my first.” Josie complained, reaching for the book. I stood up and walked over to the open window, I tossed the book into the yard below. Though, of course it wouldn’t stay there long. A few seconds later the book whizzed back through the window and into Josie’s waiting hand. I sighed.

“Come on, Jo! You can study later! I want to go see if there’s anything interesting in the black market!” I said, staring grumpily at the book in Josie’s hand.

Josie had moved in with Aiden when she was five years old, her parents both ascended and had to leave her behind. As the mayor, Aiden’s mother felt it was right of her to adopt Josie and care for her. Josie and Aiden didn’t act like they were siblings though, they acted like best friends, and I was their best friend too, of course. There was something about Aiden and Josie’s house, it was probably because their mom was the mayor, but whenever you throw anything anywhere a gust of wind carries it to where you want it to go.

“The black market? Heaven! We can’t go there- I don’t want- I refuse to cheat!” Josie said indignantly.

“We’re not going to get the answers. I’ve heard that they never work anyway. And I said I wanted to see if there’s anything interesting at the black market. And I’d hardly count the answers to a test as interesting.” I said.

Jose still looked unsure a few minutes later as Aiden and I dragged her out of the house. “I really don’t know what you’re expecting to find. At this time of the year, most people are selling stuff about the Golden Trials.”

I made a slight grunting noise to show that I heard her, and that I did not like what she was saying. It would be a waste to go there and find just a bunch of stuff about the Golden Trials.

I guess by now you might be wondering why I have a grudge against the Golden Trials. It’s nothing, except that they took away my aunt. She was the closest thing I had to a mother when my mom vanished. My Aunt cared for me, and she showed me around town, she taught me about the Golden Trials and helped me study. But then… When she was twenty-eight, she finally passed the Trials. That should show you how hard they are, my Aunt was the smartest person I know, and it took her thirteen years to pass the test.

A year later, we received information that my Aunt had died on a quest. The only person in this dumb town who I still liked. I hadn’t met Aiden and Josie yet, it helped when I did, to have friends, people who cared. I know, I know, my family cared. But I couldn’t really have a heart to heart with my seven year old sister (who at the time was two) or my older brother who was too busy fighting with my dad about curfew, and girls, and rules, and the fact that he had two years to study for the Golden Trials, and everything else that goes on in a teenage boy’s mind.

So that’s my deal. The Golden Trials took everything away from me and left me alone, in a dark room with no doors or windows, and it was slowly filling with water. Soon, I’d drown.