Name: Class:

The Fog Test

By Pamela Love
2019

Pamela Love is a writer who has published several fiction books for children. This short story is
set on a future Earth where people do not experience weather. In this story, the narrator, Kris, is
a young boy taking a test to prove he is ready to emigrate, or move, to a colony in space. As you
read, take notes on how the narrator describes the weather.

[1] “I failed the fog test?” I sputtered in disbelief.1

How? It was the simplest part of the weather
exam — the “fog” wasn’t even real. All I’d
needed to do was complete an easy obstacle
course2 wearing virtual reality goggles, which I
did…just not in the time allowed. I shook my
head.

The weather examiner sighed. “Kris, the

Colonization Service doesn’t like the word fail.
Only twenty percent of those taking the
weather exam pass. Few humans qualify3 to
leave our planet after growing up with Earth’s
weather control.” He jerked his chin toward
the window, at an ever blue and sunny sky.
(Rain was always scheduled after nightfall.)
“Not to mention living indoors nearly all the "Untitled" by Rick Gebhardt is licensed under
time. CC0.

“I’m sure you’re disappointed, but it’s probably for the best. Survival’s4 not easy off-Earth. Hard
work. Wildlife. Wild weather. Drought. Floods. Blizzards. Sometimes I wonder why anyone wants
to emigrate.”

Clutching his desk’s edge, I said, “Sir, antimicrobial chemicals are making my sister sick. They’re
needed to prevent epidemics,5 but she’s allergic. Her doctor says she must leave Earth.”

1. shock, not accepting something as true

2. An obstacle course is a set of challenges a person tries to work through.
3. Qualify (verb) to say that someone is ready to do something, such as a difficult job
4. the act or fact of continuing to be alive

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 [5] The examiner tapped his screen. “Fortunately, your sister has already passed the weather
exam.” I squirmed, although that was wonderful news for Lia. Mother had qualified, too. I
should be glad, but now they’d have to leave me behind. Alone. Oh, they’d visit…sometimes. But
travel between Earth and its colony took nearly a year, one way.

“Mr. Examiner, may I finish the weather tests?” I blurted out.

Surprised, he blinked. “Why?” Had he watched me stumbling in the fog? Did he see me wave my
arms, as if that would clear away imaginary mist?

“Coming here for the exam is the first time we’ve left our building in two years. School, food,
medical care, work, recreation… everything’s there.” Just going out the door made me homesick.
Most people felt that way. Besides, daily announcements reminded us that unneeded travel
outdoors wasted vital resources6 and contributed to pollution.

“Yes, your future’s secure,7 Kris. Aren’t you grateful?”

[10] “Not if I can’t stay with my family. Besides…” I shrugged. “Security’s not enough for me
anymore.”

The examiner frowned. “This exam is required because — ”

“The first off-Earth colonists couldn’t handle wild weather,” I interrupted. I’d read everything I
could about colonization.

“Couldn’t handle? They thought they’d drown when it rained. Wind made them gasp for breath.
When it snowed, they refused to leave their shelter. They demanded to return to Earth. Our
planet can’t afford such a waste of resources again. All prospective colonists must pass the
entire weather exam. Good luck in the future.”

Jumping out of the chair, I said, “Sir, even if I’m not a colonist, don’t make me a quitter. If I am,
my future isn’t worth much anywhere.”

[15] He tilted his head for a moment. Then he tapped his screen again. “We don’t like the word
quitter either, Kris. You’re authorized8 to complete the exam.”

5. an outbreak of a disease
6. Vital resources are necessary or important things needed to live like air, water, etc.
7. Secure (adjective) free from fear or danger
8. to give permission to do something

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 Weather Test #2: Wind

Opening the door, I promised myself: I won’t fail here. This obstacle course would be different. I
could see where I was going. And with nothing to lose, I wouldn’t be nervous.

I wore special protective gear this time — a “sweater,” which fit over my shirt, and a “hat,” which
fit on top of my head. Both were made of weird, thick cloth. They squeezed against me
strangely, but weren’t uncomfortable.

When the door closed, the fans powered up, purring like a cat I saw on video once. The
simulated9 winds switched directions often. This room, one of the largest I’d ever seen, had no
obstacle course. No furniture, either.

Multiple wall slots snapped open. Small objects of different materials and shapes rolled,
fluttered, and rattled across and above the floor. The examiner’s voice announced, “Collect all
twelve objects. You have three minutes.” A buzzer sounded.

[20] “Where do I put them?”

“You must hold them all. Hurry! Every second counts.”

The wind yanked objects away just as I got close. That imaginary cat’s playing with me like a toy
mouse, I thought.

I’m not used to running. Who runs on Earth now? Too much danger of falling or running into
someone else. But each pounding heartbeat meant one less second to finish this impossible
task.

So I ran, chasing things down one at a time, frantically10 stretching for anything within reach.
Once, I even jumped to grab a piece of paper. (Wish I’d remembered to bend my knees when I
landed.)

[25] A worse discovery was that grabbing one thing often meant dropping another. Finally, I tucked
things under my sweater, the smallest ones under my hat. Moving became harder, but I
stopped losing things.

The buzzer sounded. The fans stopped. I was two items short. Worse, when I handed in what I
had, the examiner said, “You didn’t ask permission to use the protective gear that way.”

9. to imitate the look, sound, or feel of something

10. Frantic (adjective) very excited with worry or fear

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 Over my stammered11 apology, he told me I had fifteen minutes to report to the rain test room.

Weather Test #3: Rain

Believe me, the weirdness of a sweater and hat is nothing compared to anti-rain gear. The
“raincoat,” made of shiny, stiff fabric, covered my clothes. The too-large “boots,” also sleek and
shiny, went on my feet.

Imagine a stick with a bunch of thinner ones spreading from the top and covered in a fabric to
make a meter-wide waterproof circle. That’s an “umbrella”—a portable roof I held over my
head.

[30] All this equipment would keep me (mostly) dry, I figured. Which was a relief, because like
practically everyone on Earth, I’d never been wet. With sonic cleaners, why waste water?

The door slammed shut. The floor was uneven, almost bumpy in spots, and still slick with water
from the previous test. Listening for directions, I walked into the center of the room. Instead of
the simulated rain, a familiar purr began.

The examiner’s voice asked, “Did you know rain often comes with wind?”

My umbrella blew inside out. Ruined equipment — would I have to pay for it? Then the
simulated rain came pouring down. A gust of wind gave me a face full.

Forcing my eyes to stay open, I checked the umbrella. Nothing torn or broken, as far as I could
see with water blurring my vision. Kneeling, I tried wrestling it back into shape. I failed, but had
an idea. Could the wind fix the umbrella? What will the examiner think?

[35] Probably that it wouldn’t work. Which it didn’t.

Oh, I tried. Turning slowly, I held the umbrella like a shield against the wind rather than the rain.
By now I was so wet, holding it upright wouldn’t help much anyway. But the winds kept shifting.
Accidentally or on purpose? I didn’t know.

Frustrated, I finally spun, swinging the umbrella wildly, trying to catch an air current just the
right way. My left foot came out of its boot, but for a split second my plan worked — I laughed
as the umbrella reshaped itself. Then it twisted back.

Water fell harder. My bare foot splashed in the first puddle I’d ever felt. Bizarre.12 Another wind

11. Stammer (adjective) to speak nervously with repeated sounds; to stutter

12. very odd or unusual

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 shoved me hard. I skidded, landing face first in more water.

The buzzer sounded. Snorting, I tried to get what water I could out of my nose while I emptied
the dripping boot.

[40] The examiner entered. He picked up the wrecked umbrella with two fingers. “Leaving now is no
disgrace. Most applicants do at this point anyway.”

Humiliated,13 I sat there feeling like a failure, whether he used the word or not. But I knew I
couldn’t feel worse. “I’m not an applicant anymore. I didn’t even pass the fog test.”

Now that my third test was over, I could hear the snow room nearby. What was the howling —
another wind machine? Unless those are people, crying to get out. But would the examiner waste
energy by keeping the fans running in an empty room?

I scrambled to my feet, stuck my foot back in the boot, and sloshed toward the door. “You said I
could finish. Let me go in.”

“Kris, you’ll fail. Again.”

[45] I thought they didn’t say fail here. “Not until I try. Again.”

Weather Test #4: Snow

Rolling his eyes, the examiner insisted I dry myself with a “towel” (which felt wonderful) and put
on new protective gear before the final test. This time, the coat and boots were thicker versions
of the ones I’d just given back, and the hat was warmer than the wind test one. There were
“mittens,” too. With all my fingers except my thumb squeezed together, I wasn’t sure how to use
the “shovel” the examiner handed me. “Clear the floor of snow inside the marked square. You
have ten minutes.” I stepped through the door.

And I thought the wind was cold.

That cat I’d imagined playing with me before was angry now — hissing and spitting flakes in my
chattering teeth. The cold felt like the cat was snapping at me. And the fans weren’t purring
now; they were snarling.

Every step was a struggle against losing the boots in the heavy, wet, and so-cold-it-felt- like-
there-should-be-another-word-for-it snow. Big shovelfuls were a mistake, I soon found out.
Much better to work faster with smaller loads. Either way, muscles I’d never used, or even knew

13. to make someone feel embarrassed

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 existed, ached.

[50] But when the examiner opened the door and called me out, my head was high, even though my
back hurt to match my arms. And even though I’d barely14 cleared seventy-five percent of the
area.

The weather examiner hung up my coat. “That was another — ”

I held up my hand. “Failure. I don’t mind saying it. Thank you for the chance.” At least the
weather didn’t make me quit. And it had been interesting. “I won’t forget it, sir.”

“Nor will I forget you.” He folded his arms. “I was about to call it another unorthodox15 success,
Kris.”

“Success?” I grunted, holding out the dripping hat.

[55] “Your fourth.”

“Fourth!” The hat slipped from my fingers. “But I failed every time. Even the fog test.”

“Kris, you passed the fog test when you insisted on taking the other, tougher ones. The first
colonists demanded to return to Earth to avoid wild weather. You wanted to challenge it again.”

“But after the wind test, you said I cheated by using the protective gear to hold — no.” He raised
his eyebrows as I worked it out. “You said I didn’t ask permission.”

A smile. “Creative thinking. And you didn’t finish shoveling, but we had to call you out of there.
Those who don’t pass are pounding on the door, yelling to be released before then.”

[60] Still inside the mittens, my fingers trembled. “The umbrella?”

“Designed to fail, to test your reaction.16 You tried to fix it with the wind — that was a first. You
thought of weather as a tool, not an enemy.”

He tossed me a dry hat. “You’ll be needing that on Colony World.”

14. Barely (adjective) only just; hardly

15. very different from how things are ordinarily done
16. response

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 "The Fog Test " by Pamela Love, Cricket, © by Cricket Media, Inc. Reproduced with permission. All
Cricket Media material is copyrighted by Cricket Media, Inc. and/or various authors and illustrators.
Any commercial use or distribution of material without permission is strictly prohibited. Please visit
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Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license

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 Text-Dependent Questions
Directions: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete
sentences.

1. What is the theme of "The Fog Test"?

A. Being in different types of weather can be difficult and puzzling.
B. Thinking of our family makes it easier to overcome hard times.
C. It can be hard to adjust when moving to a new place.
D. Not giving up when you fail makes you successful.

2. Which of the following shows that the setting of the story is different from how we
live today?
A. "Small objects of different materials and shapes rolled, fluttered, and
rattled across and above the floor." (Paragraph 19)
B. "So I ran, chasing things down one at a time, frantically stretching for
anything within reach." (Paragraph 24)
C. "Which was a relief, because like practically everyone on Earth, I'd never
been wet." (Paragraph 30)
D. "Turning slowly, I held the umbrella like a shield against the wind rather
than the rain." (Paragraph 36)

3. How do paragraphs 12-13 add to the story?

A. They show how the narrator and the examiner are very different people.
B. They give background information about why the weather test is given.
C. They show that the narrator will do anything to stay with his family.
D. They give a hint to the reader about how the story will end.

4. What can the reader infer about how Kris feels about the weather test based on
paragraph 50?
A. He is unaware that he has not passed the snow test.
B. He is proud he was able to complete some part of the snow test.
C. He wonders what will happen now that he has not passed the final
weather test.
D. He suspects that the examiner has been trying to trick him with the
weather tests.

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5. Why does the narrator compare the weather to a cat throughout the story?

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 Discussion Questions
Directions: Brainstorm your answers to the following questions in the space provided. Be
prepared to share your original ideas in a class discussion.

1. In the story, the people on Earth do not leave their homes in order to save "vital
resources." What are some vital resources that you think they need to save? In what
ways do we waste some of these vital resources on earth now? If you knew that you
or your future children would have to live in a world where they could not leave their
homes, what would you do differently to save these vital resources?

2. Weather on Earth can be unpredictable and scary at times. If you had a choice, would
you want to live in a world where you experienced the different types of weather like
wind, snow, and rain, or no weather at all, like in Kris's world? Why?

3. The examiner calls Kris's test an "unorthodox success." How can doing things in a
different way be a good thing? In the context of this text, how does thinking
creatively help us succeed? What is a time when you have thought of a creative
solution to a problem?

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