After Aidan finally woke up from his nightmare, he slowly started getting ready and dressed. The memories of the scary dream were gradually fading away, becoming dimmer and blurrier with each passing minute. Aidan was no different: just like always, after any sleep, his memories were nothing more than a fuzzy echo of the night before.

His worries slowly turned into excitement and anticipation for the day ahead. He glanced at the calendar again and saw the circled date - Monday, September 3rd. Written on top in big, red letters was: "Academy Exam!". The words were circled not less than three times, making them seem even more important and serious.

As soon as he read it, his stomach felt like it was filled with air and his breath caught - he was obviously nervous. But it wasn't surprising; after all, very few were lucky enough to inherit the "DNAmpulse" gene and try their luck to get into the academy and become a hero. To be precise, only 0.2% of the entire population of Earth had this gene and superpowers.

However, Aidan didn't yet know about his abilities, as he had only recently turned 17. He could only guess his possible class, relying on the dreams about the knight that had just started recently... But as soon as he began to think about it, only the end of the dream, his never-ending nightmare, came to mind. Standing in front of the mirror with his toothbrush in hand, he stared at his reflection, frozen in place, unable to tear his eyes away. But in his mind, he saw those same scenes he was so afraid to witness.

"No, not now," he muttered mechanically, shaking his head, trying to push away these intrusive thoughts. "Definitely not the day to think about this crap."

He glanced at the calendar once again. Today is too important a day to get lost in the nightmares of the night before.

Finishing brushing his teeth and washing his face, he decided to focus on reviewing the exam questions and topics. Stepping out of the bathroom, he headed to his wardrobe. The clothes he had laid out from the day before were waiting on the shelf, ready for their moment. He started putting on his best attire. Aidan wanted to impress the examiners with his appearance, although he knew it was probably a futile effort. But maybe he could stand out and be memorable, at least during the interview.

He chose loose straight pants that gathered slightly at the bottom, a white t-shirt, and threw on a light unbuttoned shirt over it. Sliding his hands into his pockets, he turned to the mirror, assessing his appearance once again. His goal was to appear quite composed and confident, but not overdo it and look like a total geek at this moment.

Once dressed, he ran his hands through his hair, adjusting a couple of perfectly white locks that stood out from the mass of his black hair, and continued to review the topics, muttering to himself under his breath.

"Existing classes: Daries, Experts, Lumixes, Enhancers, and 6 more. Their distinctive features, mana reserves, main characteristics... Well, that's easy to remember," he said, starting with the easiest topic as it was the most interesting. The topic of superpowers and heroes was on everyone's mind.

His voice sounded confident, but at the same time, it was noticeable how he paid special attention to details. Aidan aimed to memorize every detail, every characteristic of each class, to be ready for any questions during the exam.

"Next, fundamental sciences..." he sighed heavily. "Archimedes' principles, Newton's laws... Gravity... Um, I think it was something like - 'any two material objects interact with each other'..." Reciting it like a poem, he went over the theory by heart.

"And the formula, it was... darn it," he forgot the formula again, glancing briefly at his desk. On top of a stack of open textbooks lay a pile of notes, with formulas, illustrations, and paragraphs from reference books written on them. Stickers of formulas hung on the top of the desk, serving as a reminder of what needed to be memorized. Blank sheets of paper were there for notes, but they seemed too empty against the background of the knowledge he needed to absorb. All this created the impression of a study center where every corner was filled with knowledge and necessary information.

After finishing a quick review and running through biology, history, physics, and math in his mind, he grabbed his phone and checked the time. The screen showed 7:38 AM. Realizing it was time to leave, he straightened his shirt and hair in front of the mirror once again. A light perfume scent and traces of deodorant lingered in the air as he walked through the living room to the front door. His parents were already having breakfast, and they were surprised to see him leaving without eating.

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry right now," Aiden said, quickly putting on his shoes. His hands moved a little awkwardly in haste, as he really couldn't eat properly when he was nervous.

"Did you review everything properly?" his mother asked, approaching him to say goodbye.

In a hurry and somewhat reluctantly, Aiden replied, as if he didn't want to talk unnecessarily, afraid that all the topics he had reviewed would fly out of his head if he opened his mouth. It was as if he feared that if he opened his mouth and started talking, all his knowledge would fly away with his words.

"Yeah. All good. I'm off," he answered briefly, trying to preserve every word as if it were a precious gem. He hoped that he would have a few more words left for conversation later, before he forgot everything.

"Good luck on your exam, and let me know when you're done," his mom said, bidding him farewell.

After bidding farewell to his mother and hearing her wish for good luck, he left the house and headed, with slightly hurried steps, towards the bus stop where he was supposed to meet his best friend, Kyle.

Aiden and Kyle had been friends since school, since the very first grade. Like all kids, they both were into superheroes, and it just so happened that out of all the classes in their grade, only the two of them had the impulse gene. It was no wonder they became close friends. One could say they grew up together, spending almost every day together.

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After school, Kyle or Aiden often invited each other over to their houses. There, they watched superhero movies, series, and read comics together. Their tastes in cinema coincided - their favorite movie was "Aliens vs. Heroes", and their favorite comic was "The Impulse Man", based on the existing gene, describing modern classes and superpowers.

Approaching the bus stop, Aiden noticed Kyle from afar. He was standing, rummaging through his backpack, occasionally checking his smartphone and the bus schedule. As he saw Aiden approaching, he smiled and waved at him.

"Good morning," Aiden mumbled sleepily.

"Morning," Kyle replied cheerfully. "Looks like someone didn't get enough sleep, judging by those bags under your eyes. Studying questions all night? Or did you spend the whole night playing games again?"

"Oh, yes, I was studying the theory. I don't even remember falling asleep," Aiden replied, avoiding the topic of his sleepless night.

"Better tell me, how did you do with the theory?" Aiden immediately asked, trying to steer the conversation away from his tired appearance.

"Oh, it could have been better... Physics is the hardest for me," Kyle replied.

"Yeah, I struggle with it too. I find it hard to memorize formulas, so if I get a physics problem, I'm doomed," said Aiden, suddenly remembering that he wanted to talk less and avoid distractions, so as not to forget the hastily crammed knowledge in fundamental sciences. He rolled his eyes, sighed, and thought to himself, "Well, that's it, I'm screwed now. I've said way more than I wanted to."

Digging into his brain, he tried to recall the formulas, and, to his surprise, he hadn't forgotten them yet.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Aiden saw the bus approaching in the distance, bearing the sign "Impulse Academy" instead of a number. Nerves twisted inside him again, as if butterflies were fluttering in his stomach, just like back in the 3rd grade when his classmate Ashley, who he liked, started talking to him. Glancing sideways at Kyle, he realized his friend was nervous too, although he tried not to show it.

They boarded the bus. It was 8:01 AM on the clock, and it would take approximately 15 minutes to get to the academy. The exam was scheduled to start at 8:30, so they had plenty of time to check the lists and get to the classroom after they arrived. Actually, for Aiden, this was the best option - to arrive just 15 minutes before the exam started. If he had more time, his anxiety would devour him from the inside. So he preferred to take the last bus leaving from his home at 8 in the morning.

Looking around the entire bus cabin, he saw other students of his age, all aspiring to enter the academy. Many of them were discussing the upcoming exam excitedly, while others sat immersed in books and printouts, trying to cram bits of knowledge into their minds. Although most of them smiled, there was a tense atmosphere in the air. It seemed that if all the voices were silenced for a moment, the whole cabin would be filled with the sound of accelerated heartbeats. They couldn't be called students yet, as he was keenly aware that not everyone would pass. But he had never seen so many gene carriers in one confined space before.

"Perhaps some of them will be my future classmates," Aiden thought. "Of course, if I pass the test."

"Did you see the news report yesterday?" Kyle interrupted his ominous thoughts. "That villain showed up right in the middle of the city, taking an old lady hostage. It seems he was Rank B."

"Yeah, did you watch it too?" Aiden replied, unable to keep silent any longer. "During a break from studying, I heard the TV from the kitchen. At first, I went out to ask them to turn it down, but then I noticed the news. That villain seemed to be an Enhancer class," Aiden continued. "He's a complete idiot for going out alone with that class. Plus, his rank isn't that high, he clearly didn't plan it well and didn't anticipate that there would be two heroes nearby. And realizing he messed up, he grabbed that poor old lady and held a gun to her, he clearly..."

Cutting himself off, Aiden realized he had reached the word limit, and all the knowledge he had so fervently absorbed last night was about to start leaking away. But he was so engrossed in the topic that he couldn't hold back. Moreover, the appearance of villains in such public places was rare, and he hadn't had a chance to discuss this news with anyone yet.

"Oh, I thought the same thing when I saw it," Kyle joined in the conversation enthusiastically. "His class doesn't have weapons; he used a regular handgun."

"So, he just lost it. Although, if you think about it from another angle, since he had a gun, it means he bought it beforehand, preparing for the attack. But even then, it looks like a foolish act without any strategy or plan. Most likely, soon they'll announce that he had a seizure or something like that. Just another psycho. I'd give him 0 out of 10 for ingenuity."

Finally deciding to join the discussion, Aiden broke his own promise not to talk and focus on reviewing the questions. He couldn't help himself when it came to discussing villains and heroes. Deciding to go with the flow, he continued the dialogue. Besides, he thought that discussing tactics might be useful for the exam. Although, in reality, he was calming himself down and making excuses.

"If we get a question about battle strategy in the exam, you'll definitely get the maximum score," he praised Kyle. "And an extra point for bullying the villain."

"Haha, wasn't it you who started calling him that?" Kyle chuckled, breaking the ice.

They laughed together. Looking at Kyle, Aiden felt a sense of protection. Kyle was one of those few people who were truly determined and decisive. Since childhood, he had been filled with a sense of justice. Even when he was in elementary school, Kyle always stood up for the weak, even if it meant standing up to older kids. He often got into trouble for it and went home with bruises, but he never backed down. He probably decided to become a hero even earlier, maybe in kindergarten. And Aiden always looked at his friend with admiration and respect. In fact, Aiden had never seriously considered becoming a superhero until he met Kyle, but after getting to know him, he saw his bravery and ambition and wanted to measure up to him, as if trying to reach Kyle's level.

As they continued their journey, they discussed the heroes from the latest news.

"A team of just two heroes, but they worked together so seamlessly," Kyle said. "Classes 'Stabler' and 'Sword Enchanter' It's really rare to find a suitable partner."

"If I'm not mistaken, they graduated from the academy two years ago and started working for the hero organization 'Guardians.' It seems they formed a pair even in the academy; they complement each other well. That stabler cleverly timed his 'Shackles' over the villain's area, slowing him down. That gave the swordswoman just enough time to disarm him."

"Awesome, I missed the news before their interview; I left at the most interesting part, shit."

As they talked, the bus reached the final stop, and when they saw the academy with their own eyes, the nervous atmosphere returned. Everyone present understood clearly: this was the moment of truth. Today it would be known who among them would be able to enter here, and who would go back home empty-handed. Perhaps, some of them would even remember their past life as a villain... It was both frightening and exciting at the same time, and as Aiden and Kyle stepped off the bus, they were already standing at the gates of the academy.

"Today everything will be decided," Aiden thought, his heart beating strongly and loudly. "But it seems I've forgotten all the theory. Fuck."