But he kept walking, reached his desk and sat
down.
Astro, the last to return to his desk, held the tube out in front of him
as if it were alive. The room was silent as Dr. Dale rose from her desk.
"All right now, boys," she announced. "Inside the tubes you will find
colored slips of paper. Those of you who have red slips will remain
here. Those who find green slips will return to their quarters. Blue
will go with Captain Strong, orange with Lieutenant Saminsky, and purple
with Warrant Officer McKenny. Now--please open the tubes."
There was a tinkling of metal caps and then the slight rustle of paper
as each boy withdrew the contents of the tube before him.
Tom took a deep breath and felt inside for the paper. He held his breath
and pulled it out. It was green. He didn't know what it meant. He looked
around. Phil was signaling to him, holding up a blue slip. Tom's heart
skipped a beat. Whatever the colors meant, he and Phil were apart. He
quickly turned around and caught Astro's eye. The big Venusian held up a
green slip. Tom's heart then nearly stopped beating. Phil, who had
breezed through with such confidence, held a blue slip, and Astro, who
hadn't even finished the test, held up the same color that he had. It
could only mean one thing. Failure. He felt the tears welling in his
eyes, but had no strength left to fight them back.
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