TEST GROUP A
Test Group A was originally made up of thirty-six people, three of each Zodiac sign. The test derived from the age old question: do people live best with those who are of the same sign, element, or in a mixed group? Test Group A was the group the ‘signists’ were rooting against. It was hard going in the beginning of the experiment, but people came around.
There are now only nine of us left: a Taurus, two Cancers, two Aries, a Virgo, a Sagittarius, a Capricorn, a Scorpio, and I’m the last Leo. All the Air’s are gone. Unfortunate for the experiment, but good for the fires and waters. They didn’t need provoking when it came to fighting with each other.
I’m ashamed to admit that I was a bit of a signist when the experiment first started. I assumed that the Cancers were moody and whiny, the Taurus’ stubborn and selfish, the Geminis crazy, Virgos critical and drama filled, and the Scorpios viciously mean. I was even uneasy about the other Leos, never being much for the egotistical kind.
Honestly, in the beginning we were all probably retaining the worst attributes of our signs. But as time went on, the good sides came out too. Not of all of us, but most. We learned to compliment each other, fit together as tight as puzzle pieces.
It’s been the nine of us for a long time, the others dropped out fairly quickly. Recently there has been talk that the experiment was abandoned and we were left here like idiots, unrealizing. It’s been years since the people from the outside have made contact.
We have always had the option to leave through this funky- well, portal thing, I guess. Most did, and once you leave you don’t come back. It was hard to see some of them go, but we have a good group now and I don’t really think about missing anyone anymore. Everything happens for a reason anyway, right? Anyway, I don’t expect the remainders to stay here forever but I hope it’s a while. These people…I’d miss them.
I personally don’t have much of a reason to go back. My parents, of different signs, made the mistake of falling in love with each other. I have no idea how it happened though; all of the signs get put into the Zodiac camp they belong to as soon as they’re born. They got away with it for a little while before they were found out and separated into their respective camps. Dad went off to live with the Aquarius’s, mom with the Pisces, and I with the Leo’s; I never got very attached to anyone there. Maybe if I had a sibling somewhere out there I’d go back through the portal and find them. But I don’t, and my parents are adults and can take care of themselves. With that said, here seems like an okay place to be.
“Whatcha workin’ on there, Leo?”
“Please don’t call me that.” I said to Chad, the last Scorpio, as I stood up, stretching my arms above my head.
“Aw lighten up. Show us somma that fire, huh?” Chad snickered. He’s a typical Scorpio, but he’s alright. If I’m being honest he is actually more than alright. A good guy even. Alright, fine. He’s my best friend. Drives me nuts, but there it is. I don’t know how or when it happened, but does anyone, ever? The loyalty is there on both sides and it seems that neither of us need much more than that.
I grunted in reply but then I concede to tell him more. “I was just making as entry in the logs.”
“Wow.” Chad moved backward in a faux stumble, his gangly frame flailing. “Gee Lee, you’re blowin’ me away!”
“God, you’re such a Leo.”
“Hey now, don’t go tryin’ to insult me with your sign. But seriously-” he said, coming to sit down on a log next to me and the smoldering fire pit, “why? After all this time?” He finished with a sly smile.
I couldn’t help but grinning. “Always.” that’s another reason, maybe the biggest reason we’re friends. The Harry Potter connection. We both have an obsession over this ancient book that withstood the test of time. Written hundreds of years ago, everyone still knew, (even if they didn’t care about) the boy who lived. “I honestly don’t know. I just figured I should. It’s been so long since one of us has left and since we’ve heard a thing from the outside, and I just…the people that are still here-”
“Chill dude! Take a breath. I get it. Write away.” He said with a shrug. He held his knee and leaned back before his eyes grew wide. “Can I read it?”
“I don’t care. I just wrote the basics.”
“Cool.”
Chad reached out for the notebook as the gonging of a bell started.
“Ah well. Maybe after supper then?”
I nodded and we walked down the dirt path that lead through the trees to the clearing in the woods.
To Be Continued