Hayze stares out the window at the forest and city surrounding the center tower.
Hayze: (It’s hard to believe it’s over… our first year at U.A. is complete. Safe to say, I didn’t expect it to end like it did. This exam was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life… even my internship was easier than this. The exhaustion, the sleep deprivation, the hunger, the stress, the people, the filth… it all compounds and ways you down. But, it’s over… we’re fine.)
A flashback begins. The doors to each booth open, and Walker is standing there with a stern expression.
Hayze: (Oh boy…)
Eve: Alright, I’m calling it. Hayze fucked up.
Hayze: Oh great… that’s back...
Eve: What did you just say!
Hayze: “Do you have any chicken nuggets?”
Eve stares at Hayze.
Eve: You’re lucky, that’s funny.
Jake: Answer the man!
Hayze: And I pressed my button. If you didn’t, you’re apparently less predictable than I thought.
Eve: Wait... I also clicked your button. Jake?
Jake: Yes?
Eve: Don’t act dumb.
Jake: … I also pressed Hayze’s button.
Eve’s eyes widen.
Eve: So… that means...
Walker clears his throat, and they all turn their attention to him.
Walker: Congratulations, you have passed the Red Orb Challenge and, by extension, this exam.
Eve: So Hayze didn’t fuck up. That’s surprising.
Hayze: You act like this wasn’t my idea...
Eve: Shut up.
Walker: I think I’d be more concerned about your other teammate.
Jake has passed out from hunger.
Eve: At this point, I’m numb to anything he does.
Hayze: I’ve been toning him out since Gavin farted on him.
Walker: Yeah… I’ll take him to Recovery Girl. You two can head up to the lounge and enjoy your night. Tomorrow everyone who passed will assemble together for some final words from Houston and me on the semester.
Hayze: Alright.
Eve: I’m just so glad this is over.
Walker grabs Jake and opens a portal.
Walker: I have to say, I didn’t expect anyone to attempt this challenge, let alone pass it. Good job.
Eve: Thank you, sir.
Hayze: Yes, thanks.
Walker leaves. The flashback ends.
Hayze: (I was expecting a little more out of Mr. Walker… I mean, the only reason I led us to that challenge is that I thought it was a part of the broader picture of the exam. But hey, maybe he’ll explain more during the final assembly.)
Hayze hears a knock on the door to his room.
Hayze: (I guess I should be more concerned with what Eve said before the challenge. She sees that I’m not stable. Even when my quirk isn’t on, my personality is inconsistent. I jeopardized us in multiple instances in that exam, and my motivation for why was different each time. I fought Aaron out of selfish pride, I fought Killian because of strategy, I surrendered and subsequently smashed our orb out of impulse, and then I diverted 1-B out of gallant. Something is wrong with me, and I need to fix it before I get someone hurt.)
Hayze opens the door to see Aaron.
Aaron: Long time no see.
Hayze: Great to see you, Aaron.
Aaron: I’d say the same to you, but I’m still ticked about our fight.
Hayze: Yeah… I thought so. How long have you been here?
Aaron: Lilith and I got here early in the morning. Justus, Silver, Kevin, and Wes' team all trickled in over the day.
Hayze: So we’re 6 out of 7 right now?
Aaron: Yeah, uh… just Zach, Karma and… Alexis are left.
Hayze: Are you worried?
Aaron: Nah, they’ll get here.
Hayze stares at Aaron.
Hayze: So, uh… why did you come to see me?
Aaron: Oh right, all the guys from our class that are out of the infirmary are chilling in Alden’s room.
Hayze: Why Alden’s room?
Aaron: Because he’s in the infirmary.
Hayze: Ah… makes sense.
Aaron: I heard you guys had just arrived, so I thought I’d come to see if you want to join.
Hayze hesitates.
Hayze: (If I’m not in the right headspace, the last thing I should do is isolate myself…) Alright, I’m in.
Aaron: Dope.
Hayze and Aaron arrive at Alden’s room. Inside, Demetri and Isaiah are telling the story of how they defeated Sydney to Jace, Gus, and Angel.
Demetri: The fight only lasted about 2 minutes.
Isaiah: Yup, we took care of them quickly.
Demetri: Kevin was off collecting firewood for us, so he couldn’t witness the massacre.
Gus: I thought you said this was during the day… Why would Kevin be collecting firewood?
Demetri and Isaiah are silent.
Demetri: You see, she tried using her water blast attack on us, you know, the one she used on Hayze way back during the Sports Festival. After we dodged it, we led a full-on assault.
Isaiah: I blasted her with my laser beam!
Demetri: Then I wrapped my strings around her and smashed her.
Isaiah: She forfeited pretty quickly after that, and to be honest, I don’t blame her.
Demetri: She was so impressed with us that she gave us her bra as an act of gratitude.
Jace: Well, that’s a lie…
Gus: Show us the goods!
Demetri and Isaiah sweat profusely.
Isaiah: /WHY WOULD YOU LIE ABOUT THAT!/
Demetri: /I DIDN’T THINK THEY’D ASK FOR PROOF!/
Isaiah: /OF COURSE, THEY WOULD, DUMBASS!/
Silver and Kevin are hanging out on the opposite side of the room.
Silver: Is that story even slightly accurate?
Kevin: Parts of it, they did beat her without my help, but it wasn’t exactly an act of courage or strength by any means...
Hayze: Yeah, I ran into her earlier today. She uh… said they pantsed her to win…
Aaron bursts out laughing.
Kevin: Did she also tell you about “the deal?”
Hayze: Yup.
Kevin: Yeah, they’d better hope she doesn’t pass the exam. Their lives end tomorrow otherwise.
Silver stands up and greets Hayze.
Silver: It’s good to see another group from our class has passed.
Hayze: Yeah, this was one long exam. I was worried not everyone would make it.
Kevin: So that just leaves Zach, Alexis, and Karma? It looks like we’ll have a clean sweep.
Silver: Last I saw, only 3 1-B teams were here. So Mr. Houston is going to be pretty ticked if that holds.
Aaron: God, I’d love to see that.
Silver: True, but imagine Mr. Walker if just one of our teams didn’t make it.
Kevin: Hell hath no fury like Mr. Walker when we embarrass him…
Aaron: Well, luckily, we won’t have to see that.
Hayze: I gotta say, it feels good for all of us to talk to each other again. Those 4 days felt like 4 months.
Silver: Definitely, being able to relax after all of that stress is nice.
Kevin: I just can’t wait to sleep in a real bed.
Hayze: Leaves and dirt weren’t doing it for you?
Kevin: Well, I guess it was more my company…
Isaiah and Demetri: WE HEARD THAT!
Kevin: You were supposed to.
Hayze looks around the room.
Hayze: Jace, weren’t you with Justus? Where is he?
Jace: Oh, he got walloped by one of Mr. Boom’s sonic attacks. It wasn’t too bad, but we’ve only been here for a couple of hours, so Recovery Girl is probably just being precautious.
Hayze: Yeah, Jake had a lot of injuries that built up over time, so he’s in the same boat. Recovery Girl was pretty quick with my checkup.
Aaron: Wes got knocked around pretty hard, so he will be bedridden for a couple more days.
Hayze: Well, Wes I already knew about. Eve, Jake, and I ran into Blair and Saige during the exam, and Saige filled me in.
Aaron: Other than that, Alden broke his neck.
Hayze: Expected.
Aaron: And then Zach is still out there.
Hayze: Rough.
Jace: Silver, tell Hayze about what happened during the exam!
Hayze: Huh?
Silver: I beat Justus.
Hayze is surprised.
Hayze: Wow… that’s… huh.
Silver: You're surprised? Just because you beat me doesn’t mean I haven’t gotten stronger.
Hayze: No, I just kind of forgot you guys hadn’t fought before.
Angel: That’s true. Your rivalry did fall pretty far on the back burner after the Sports Festival.
Silver: We didn’t have a good time to fight until now. How about you, Hayze? Did you have any good fights during the exam?
Aaron starts to sweat.
Hayze: I kicked Aaron’s ass.
Everyone is surprised.
Aaron: You didn’t kick my ass! I’d say it was pretty close!
Hayze: I mean, yeah, but phrasing it like that is way more fun.
Kevin: Damn, so that makes you #4 in our class.
Aaron: Woah, just because he beat me once doesn’t mean he takes my spot!
Kevin: Well… you lost to Hayze, who lost to Justus, who lost to Silver, and then me on a separate occasion, so I’d say you’re #5 now.
Aaron punches his palm.
Aaron: Okay, then how about I climb up to #3 right now.
Kevin: I’ll gladly beat you again.
Aaron realizes what he's doing.
Angel: Woah, guys, calm down. We’re supposed to be relaxing.
Aaron: No, it’s okay, Angel. I was just kidding around.
Kevin notices Aaron’s peculiar demeanor.
Kevin: (Hm… that’s strange… Aaron isn’t usually one to back down from a fight…)
Jace walks over to the rest of the group with a deck of cards.
Jace: What do you guys say to some poker?
Aaron: Pfft, you better know the rules. I’ll deal. Silver, Kev, Hayze, you playing?
Kevin: I’m in.
Silver: I’ll join, I guess.
Hayze watches as the eight class members get in a circle to play cards.
Aaron: Alright, because there are a lot of us, we’re doing Texas Hold ‘em!
Hayze smiles.
Hayze: (It’s nice seeing all of us back together… After all, these are friends, and I’ve never been able to say that in my life before… I can’t ever forget that, or I risk letting Khaos loose…)
Aaron: Hey! Hayze!
Hayze looks up.
Aaron: You in or out?
Hayze: *grunts* I’m in.
The guys play cards and enjoy the night trashing Alden’s room, leaving an upper decker in his toilet. Afterward, Hayze walks back to his room.
Hayze: (That was fun… I should hang out with them more often, and maybe I should pay Wes a visit in the morn-)
Ash: *from afar* Hey, Hayze!
Hayze turns around to see Ash.
Hayze: Ash! Long time no see!
Ash walks up to Hayze.
Ash: I’m glad you made it.
Hayze: Same to you, although I never really had any doubt.
Ash: Oh- I- me too! About you! I mean! Ha…
Hayze: Jace told me all about how you kicked Alden’s ass. Nice job.
Ash: Oh, right, it was nothing. He had to use smoke and mirrors to give himself a chance.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Hayze: Still, a win is a win.
Ash: Yeah…
Awkward silence.
Hayze: (Why does she seem nervous…)
“ Ash: (So that means there was only a 14 day time period for his quirk to go from a failing grade to a passing one. I guess it’s not impossible… but… it’s just hard to believe.) “ - Chapter 71
Ash: (I don’t know what to say… I don’t want to be accusatory, but...)
Hayze: Ash, are you alright?
Ash: Yeah, yeah, yeah! I’m fine, just…
Hayze: Just what?
Ash: (I can’t do this now…) Would you want to hang out next weekend? I kind of have something I want to ask you about.
Hayze: Uh… sure… you can’t ask it here?
Ash: I think It’d be more fun this way. We never hang out outside of school.
Hayze: Oh, okay, if that’s what you want to do.
Ash: Cool, cool, I uh… I’m going to head back to my room now… bye!
Ash runs off.
Hayze: Bye…
Hayze heads back to his room.
Hayze: (What was that about? Ash typically isn’t that frantic… hm…)
Hayze sees Isaiah and Demetri walking through the halls.
Hayze: Hey! Guys! Wait!
The next day the students gather in the main hall. Silver looks around and notices a lot of people are missing. Justus and Jake are no longer in the infirmary.
Silver: From my count, there are only 23 people here… which means 18 people are either in the infirmary or haven’t passed.
Angel: Yeah… and the bad news for us is that Alexis, Karma, and Zach aren’t here yet.
Jace: Dude, there’s only like seven 1-B kids here!
Kevin: Look at Mr. Houston. He’s sweating bullets!
Houston and Walker are standing on stage, with Houston looking very nervous.
Houston: (Jesus… Walker showed me up again! I know only a few are in jeopardy of failing, but still… this is embarrassing!)
Houston looks behind them, revealing a massive digital clock counting down to the end of the exam with just 00:04:34 left on it.
Houston: (Dammit…)
Among the 1-B students are Hailey, Verity, Fabio (Now bald and crying in a corner), Killian, Tobias, Alec, and Gavin.
Killian: You’ve gotta be kidding me! Where is everybody!
Alec: I wouldn’t expect Filip, Charlotte, or Ryan to show up. I kicked them to the curb yesterday.
Hailey: Woah, Alec! You betrayed our class! I thought you were gung-ho about sticking together against 1-A!
Alec: After Tobias was eliminated, I had no choice.
The others are shocked.
Killian: Tobias! You were eliminated!
Tobias doesn’t respond.
Alec: Don’t expect him to talk about it. He got played hard.
Tobias: So did you, mongrel.
Alec: Yeah, well, at least I don’t go around acting like the king of strategy.
Tobias: Shut your mouth!
Alec: Make me!
Gavin gets between them.
Gavin: Why don’t we all just calm down and neemu, neemu, neemu?
Alec and Tobias back off each other.
Hailey: Don’t you guys see that this kind of fighting got us in this mess! We probably lost most of our class today… show some respect.
Alec scoffs.
Alec: Whatever… All I did was trim the fat.
Hailey: What about Reed’s team? Are they alright?
Killian: No… Gavin and I took them down a couple days ago. They probably are on their last leg.
Hailey: Jesus guys!
Alec: See? It wasn’t just me!
Hailey: That isn’t the point! I’m starting to see why there are only seven of us here!
Killian: After Whitney went down, we had to do what we had to do. I regret nothing.
Hailey: *frustrated grunt* Surely I’m not the only one who isn’t okay with this!
Hailey looks at Verity, who shrugs, and Fabio is crying loudly.
Fabio: My beautiful hair! WHYYYY!
Alec: Why couldn’t we have lost him…
Saige giggles.
Saige: I wonder who did that?
Eve: You, you did that.
Saige: I know, and it’s still funny!
Aaron looks nervous. Hayze notices this.
Hayze: You alright, man?
Aaron: Hm? Yeah, yeah… I’m good.
Hayze: It’s okay to be worried. All of us are.
Aaron: I know, I just… I don’t want to look like I don’t have confidence in her- them, you know?
Hayze smiles.
Hayze: Yeah… I getcha.
Hayze looks at Ash.
Hayze: (Hm…)
Aaron notices Hayze is holding a sealed bag.
Aaron: What’s that for?
Hayze: Nothing.
Suddenly the doors to the hall open: it’s Sydney, Talon, and Ester. Hailey looks excited.
Hailey: You guys made it!
Demetri and Isaiah hide behind Kevin.
Kevin: You guys lived a good life.
Demetri and Isaiah: /SHUT UP, KEV!/
Hailey hugs Ester.
Hailey: Sorry about what happened back there. We kind of had to start looking out for ourselves.
Ester: It’s okay, all’s well that ends well!
Killian and Alec: WAIT, SO YOU GOT ON US FOR SHIT YOU DID!
Hailey: Shut it!
Sydney starts looking around the room.
Eve: What’s up with her?
Blair: Yeah, it’s like she’s looking for somebody.
Sydney spots Demetri and Isaiah cowering and starts angrily walking toward them.
Sydney: You neanderthals are going to pay-
Hayze intercepts Sydney and hands her the bag.
Sydney: Wh- what’s this?
Hayze: /There’s a signed note calling off the deal. It also says if they breathe a word of it ever again, you have the right to castrate them./
Sydney takes the bag.
Sydney: /This better not be a trick./
Hayze: /I said I’d get them to call it off, didn’t I?/
Sydney stares at Hayze.
Sydney: Whatever.
Sydney storms off. Hayze walks back over to his class.
Blair: What was that about?
Hayze: Nothing.
Saige: I think you’re lying.
Demetri and Isaiah run over and kneel before Hayze. Tears are rolling down their faces.
Demetri: Thank you, Hayze! Thank you so much!
Isaiah: We promise we will never make that mistake again!
Hayze: *sighs* You guys shouldn’t be making a scene right now…
The clock is ticking to its final minute.
Angel: This is it…
Aaron: (Come on…)
Thirty seconds.
Walker: (They can make it… I-)
A walkie-talkie on Walker’s belt goes off, and he grabs it.
Multi: *walkie-talkie* Walker? Are you there? Over.
Walker: Yes, what’s going on? Over.
Multi: *walkie-talkie* Alexis Meadows from 1-A has arrived with 10 white orbs. Her team passes. Over.
Walker: Roger that. Over.
The 1-A students look relieved, especially Aaron.
Aaron: (This is strange… I’ve never been this worried about someone before… maybe I should- no, I have to stick to my plan.)
The clock ticks to zero. Walker clears his throat.
Walker: And with that, the hero course’s first-year final exams are over. Here are the results:
[https://i.ibb.co/ZmDkQS5/8e973987c19b9f1d87ec2d29e879fe0c.png]Houston looks disappointed. A couple members of 1-B look sad for their classmates that failed.
Jace: Woah! Hayze! You guys did the red orb challenge?
Hayze: Yeah, we-
Eve: It really wasn’t that hard.
Jake: Then why were you sweating when it was over?
Eve: Nevermind, I’m not numb to it yet.
Justus looks up and down the board.
Justus: (Kevin also defeated a pro… with Demetri and Isaiah as his teammates? Is he also catching up to me?)
Kevin: (That board makes me look a lot better than I actually am. I didn’t beat a pro with them, I just passed Ms. Fatal’s test… but hey, I might as well milk it.)
Silver: (Aaron finished first with weaker teammates, although he lost to Hayze, he’s still not someone to overlook.)
Aaron clenches his fist.
Aaron: (That bastard!)
Alec notices Aaron’s frustration and smiles.
Blair: (Wow, we actually did pretty well for ourselves…)
Ash: (I’m thankful I had Justus and Jace as teammates, but I wish I could feel like that finish was more of my doing than theirs.)
Saige: (Damn, Alexis had a rough go of it. I wonder how she feels about this.)
Kevin notices Sydney and Talon’s team’s orbs.
Kevin: (Huh… I guess they checked the sewers...)
Sydney: (With those three fools expelled, no one will ever know they gave me a sewer bath!)
Walker: We’re happy to see that 12 of 14 teams passed the exam. I’m sure some of you are worried about the state of the eliminated students. Well, the truth is… we lied.
Everyone is surprised.
Killian: Lied about what? The expulsion! The thing that motivated us throughout the whole exam!
Walker: Well, only slightly. You see, hero work can be a life or death situation, and we needed to simulate that to the best of our ability to truly make this exam feel like it could be the end of you. So as a result, six students failed the exam, but only two were expelled.
Killian: Huh?
Walker: These were your scores on the written exam:
[https://i.ibb.co/BcThVT7/b853019d2c662a900bd105bc1a62b522.png]Walker: The practical exam couldn’t be the only thing separating you from expulsion. This is an academic institute, so your grades have to come into play somehow. If your score fell below the red line, failing the practical would have been grounds for instant expulsion.
Jace: (NO WAY! SO YOU’RE SAYING IF MR. BOOM DIDN’T ACCIDENTALLY LET IT SLIP THAT HE’S AFRAID OF HEIGHTS, I WOULD BE DONE!)
Gus: (Aw, man…)
Wes is watching everything from a TV in his infirmary room.
Wes: (So when I left the exam… my fate was literally in the hands of Saige and Blair?)
Wes clenches his fists.
Wes: (I can't continue to let that be my story… I have to step it up… for my sake!)
Walker looks around the room and notices some confused faces. Silver raises his hand.
Walker: I’ll get to the green line in a minute.
Silver lowers his hand.
Walker: The four students above the red line that failed have already been escorted to an intense boot camp that will last the next eight weeks. If they pass that, they’ll return to the hero course for next year. If they fail, they’re done.
Hayze inspects the board.
Hayze: (1-B had fewer people in the failing range and more above that green line… whatever that means…)
Walker: Alright, now that those formalities are out of the way, it’s time that I explained the nature of year 1 of U.A.’s hero course.
This draws everyone’s interest.
Walker: You may have noticed that we didn’t do a lot of hero work or training in direct heroic scenarios, which may have frustrated you. However, that's what we wanted. The goal was to assess your ability to work in teams, work towards a goal, critically evaluate situations, act accordingly, make intelligent decisions, drive yourself to become stronger, and progress as human beings. On the first day, you were tasked with working in a duo with someone you had just met; you had a single goal and multiple adversaries. That’s when the teaching began. We wanted you to get used to the idea that your success isn’t entirely in your hands, and you have to manage relationships and the emotions of others to truly succeed. That test isn’t tied to hero work, but it draws upon teamwork, planning, and execution. Your first month was similar. You had tasks with clear goals and a team. Then the Sports Festival came around in October; this was your first time to shine as individuals in front of the entire nation. You got to see exactly where you stood amongst your peers, you had a benchmark, and if you weren’t happy with it, you would have to get better. It also exposed the gaps in strength between you and your peers, and I’m sure many of you referenced your performance in the Sports Festival to determine if you grew or not during this exam. After that, it was more team-building exercises, with the unfortunate field trip capping it off. Then, you had your internships. You see, it’s not just about knowing where you want to end up. It’s also about seeing it. We allowed you to watch with minimal involvement in how a hero operates to show you what you’re striving to become and give you a little taste to incentivize you. Throughout the rest of the year, your exercises focused on the core values I mentioned at the beginning of this speech. All of which accumulate in this final exam. Houston and I showed you five words during class that we said you’d be tested on during this exam:
“ Walker has written 5 words on the board: Adaptability, Loyalty, Unity, Strategy, and Efficiency. “
Walker: Adaptability: I’m sure many of you had plans that you had to adjust from when things went awry at the start of the exam. Adapting on the fly is essential for making intelligent decisions as a hero.
Aaron recalls his defeat at the hands of Tobias and his subsequent hunt for a rematch.
Walker: Unity: If your team wasn’t a cohesive unit, you would never pass this exam. One slip-up of a team member acting out of selfishness could have cost you everything. Hero work isn’t a solo operation. You need to be cooperative.
Demetri recalls nearly costing his team the exam when he ran into the city by himself.
Walker: Strategy: Everybody here had to make a plan and stick to it. Battles aren’t always decided by who is the strongest. So you need to strategize and put yourself and your team at the best odds to succeed. Heroes strategize and make plans nearly every day.
Silver recalls his plan to divide and conquer Justus’ team.
Walker: Efficiency: heroes don’t have forever to do things. They don’t have the luxury of sitting down and thinking through all of their options; they need to make split-second decisions and execute them at the perfect time. Otherwise, people could die. That’s why you had a time limit for this exam.
Kevin recalls the decision Fatal presented to him.
Walker: Finally, the only optional value, Loyalty: When you’re all heroes, you’ll be competing with one another for fame and glory. But it’s only a competition if you make it. Sometimes you have to do what’s best for you to survive in the biz, and that’s the cruel reality.
Hayze recalls smashing his orb to prevent Killian and Gavin from taking it.
Walker: This exam and your first year, in general, weren’t designed for you to be given tasks that closely resemble hero work, but instead to show you how the values and traits that define what we do as heroes can be applied in many facets. This year was the first step, if you passed this exam, you showed us that you embody the qualities of a hero, and now that you’re past that step, you can move on to next year, where your coursework will much more resemble what heroes do daily. We know you guys are ready to be heroes, and this exam showed us that you understood and grew this year. I virtually guarantee that every one of you is a different person than you were when you stepped through the doors into the arena. Congratulations.
The hero course teachers and the principal step out from backstage, clapping.
Walker: I’m happy to officially say that you are now known as Class 2-A and 2-B.
The students cheer and celebrate.
Walker: We hope you treat this summer not as a chance to slack off and ignore your studies but as an opportunity to relax and continue your training regiment. Trust me, your peers will show up on the first day of next year with new tricks, don’t be the one that is just as strong then as you are today. And I guess now that I’m mentioning summer, that leads me to what the green line means.
This catches everyone’s attention.
Walker: U.A. faced many controversies this year… such as attacks on your students and the death of a teacher. So, the school has decided it needs to boost student morale and give the public a reason to know that the next generation of heroes hasn’t been compromised.
Principal Ewing steps forward.
Ewing: That’s why we’ve decided to hold another festival, The Showcase Festival.
Silver: (Showcase?)
Kevin: (I like the sound of that!)
Ewing: The showcase will be a time for students from all classes to show off what they can do to the public, the support course will have their gear on full display, the business courses will be able to show off their many marketing, accounting, and financial ventures and the general studies and hero course students will be able to make their own booths and displays of their choosing, obviously pending faculty approval of course. The point will be to create a joyous atmosphere for all of our students to work together, show off, and have a fun, stress-free time. This will also be a time for the graduating students to unwind before starting their careers.
All of the students are staring at Ewing with blank faces.
Ewing: *sighs* I guess Walker can explain the part that pertains to you all.
Walker clears his throat.
Walker: The main event of the Showcase will be a fight between the new top student of U.A. and one of you.
Everyone is shocked.
Jace: Woah! The top student at U.A.!
Gus: That would be the strongest person in the class a year ahead of ours.
Angel: No way that any of us could defeat them one-on-one!
Kevin: (I want in on that match!)
Aaron clenches his fist.
Walker: You’re right, Angel. This is why the person representing your class will be able to assemble a team to fight. They will act as the leader before and during the Showcase. Obviously, there is no expectation that you’ll win. In fact, you’re not even going to be given enough team members to the point where it’s considered a fair fight. After all, this is supposed to show off the next generation’s bright future. If the top student loses, it won’t look good for the school.
Eve: Hm? Then what’s the point? What’s in it for us to want to compete in this main event?
Walker: This festival will be broadcast around the country like the Sports Festival was. The person we’ve selected will have an opportunity to show off their leadership skills and their ability to assemble a team. Hero agencies love that. As for the other team members, keep in mind that all of you will be sidekicks once you graduate. Heroes can get a nice preview of what you can do and how useful you can be to them. So this is a massive opportunity for all those involved, and nobody will blame you when you lose. There’s hardly any pressure.
Killian steps forward.
Killian: Look, we get it. It’s a big deal. Just tell us who gets the job!
Walker smiles.
Walker: The chosen student is the one who embodied all five of the words I listed when talking about this exam.
Everyone starts looking around.
Eve: (Don’t tell me…)
Walker points in the crowd of students.
Walker: Congratulations, Hayze.
Aaron, Silver, Justus, and Kevin: (Hayze?)
Killian: (THAT GUY!)
Jace: Nice, Hayze!
Angel: Congrats, man!
Gus: Please don’t pick any girls to be on your team...
Hayze: M- me?
Walker: When you fought Killian’s team on the second day, you divided your team and their team into three best matchups, your team was outmatched, but you planned around that and gave yourselves the best odds to come out on top. And then, in that same battle, you adapted your strategy when you realized it wasn’t going your way and smashed your orb to protect your teammates from further harm. This split-second decision could have cost you the exam, but you took it because you had faith in your teammates and yourself. After that act, you rebuilt trust and unity with your teammates to ensure that your gamble would pay off in the long run. And it did when your team was the only team to complete the red orb challenge, a task designed to be the ultimate test of a team’s trust and understanding of one another. Finally, and most importantly, you were the only one who understood the loyalty aspect of this exam. You crushed your orb to protect your teammates and your classmates as well. You refused to betray your fellow students for personal gain even if it put you and your team in jeopardy of failure; you stayed loyal and encouraged your teammates to do so. I’m proud to say that you understood this exam better than any of the other 40 first-year students and have earned the right to compete in the showcase.
There is a moment of pause before the teachers, and subsequently, the students start clapping. Adrian and Saige both look concerned.
Blair: (Hayze… you’re awesome…)
Hayze is a little embarrassed about being praised.
Walker: The Showcase is in two weeks. You’ll have to select four class members to be a part of your team. You can choose from anyone above the green line.
Silver: (So that’s what the green line is for…)
Hayze raises his hand.
Walker: Uh… yes, Hayze?
Hayze: Can I pass the duty off to Alden?
Walker: No, but you get a fifth teammate because that was hilarious.
Hayze: Nice.
Hayze’s eyes change to yellow. Adrian notices this and looks very shocked.
Walker: And I guess that’s all we have to say. Congratulations again, and we look forward to seeing you in two weeks for the Showcase.
All of the students cheer.
Hayze (Narrating): And thus ended the Final Exams, a chapter of growth for all of us and the closing of the book of our first year at U.A. I’m proud to say I'm still on the path to becoming a hero. I’m glad I have the chance to show everyone what I can do… but I do have some skeletons in my closet that need clearing out…