Chapter 11 – The Golden Tier
Just a few days after, Thomas began noticing something strange.
Catherine, who had always been distant and formal, suddenly became warm—too warm. She began greeting him with sweet smiles, soft touches on the shoulder, and questions that felt practiced.
"What do you want to be when you grow up, Thomas?" she asked one afternoon, kneeling beside him in the common room.
Thomas gave a polite smile. "A scientist, maybe."
Catherine chuckled. "A bright boy like you? That sounds perfect."
But he didn't trust the smile. Catherine wasn't like Sister Mary, who had held his hand through tears and bandaged scraped knees. This was new. This was... artificial.
Later that day, she called him into the small office adjacent to the administrator's wing. "Just a little welcome meeting," she said lightly. "You've been under Sister Mary's care all this time. But now that you're Almost six, you'll be moved to my group. Think of this as your first big-boy interview."
She winked, as if it were a game.
Thomas climbed onto the wooden chair, hands still and alert on his lap.
Across from him, Catherine sat behind the desk and opened a beige folder—thick, unlabeled. She began flipping through pages, humming thoughtfully.
"You've really grown into something special," she said, eyes scanning the documents. "Smart, quiet, cooperative. It's always nice to get a Golden Tier boy."
Golden Tier?
Thomas tilted his head slightly, pretending curiosity. His eyes focused on the folder. Something was tucked just beneath the top page—a folded note. Thicker paper. Important.
Then the phone rang.
Catherine stood up with a sigh. "Excuse me, dear," she said, crossing to the side of the room where a beige corded telephone sat on a small stand.
She picked up the receiver, turned away, and began speaking in low tones.
Thomas didn't wait.
He focused.
He had practiced Reach for over a year now. Not to float objects. Not to push or pull. Just—move. From point A to his hand.
His eyes fixed on the folded paper inside the folder. He pictured it in his hand.
A soft pop. The weight of the paper touched his fingers. He slipped it under the desk and carefully unfolded it.
T-6
High Demand – Note: Exceptional Features
Golden Tier Candidate
The air around him seemed colder.
He didn't know everything, but he knew enough. "High Demand"? "Golden Tier"? These weren't descriptions of children. These were classifications. Labels.
Products.
He swallowed hard. Catherine's voice still droned softly behind him. He refolded the paper quickly, imagining it where it had been.
Pop. Gone from his hand. Back inside the folder.
By the time Catherine returned to her seat, Thomas was smiling again.
"You were telling me you like helping Sister Mary?" she prompted.
"Yes," Thomas replied quietly. "She's kind."
"She is," Catherine agreed. "But now you're growing up. My group will help you become even more... yourself."
He nodded.
But inside, the pieces had already begun to fall into place.
Catherine wasn't just a caretaker. She was scouting him. Evaluating. Preparing him for something that had nothing to do with his future... and everything to do with someone else's plans.
He had to find out more.
And he had to do it fast.