Jessica swept the thin doona off her legs and stood up, the bed creaking. Her ears rang with the screech of the morning bell. As soon as the worn, cotten doona was gone, a chill crept into Jessica’s bones, despite the meagre warmth enclosed in her pants and jumper. The boy next to her, Mark, has swollen eyes and a pillow wet with tears. Jessica smiled grimly at him and they slumped to the eating hall.

All the children in the state were there, as it was NSW’s Child Development Home, where every human under the age of 21 grew up. Jessica jabbed at the lumpy porridge with her spoon. She glanced at her reflection in its shining surface.

Beside her, Mark glared at his breakfast with hate, hate at his parents, the government, the world. Jessica felt no hate, only despair.

Because in two months, the Exam would take place. The very test that determined her life.