The rest of the interview went smoothly. I would even dare to say it went well, as Kent–he said he resented being called Mister Smith–seemed quite happy. He was friendly and kind, but weirdly sarcastic at times. Forty five minutes later I was exiting through the previous battleground, taking a few photos with Nick in the process.
Ahmed was waiting outside. Apparently, Stelios was going to take us both back–me to my home, Ahmed to the hotel he was staying at. We waited for the mechanic/driver in silence, apart from a single–confusing and worrying honestly–moment. He took out a card which apparently had his phone number written down and handed it to me.
“If you make it to Atlantis, give me a call,” he’d said, almost like a warning. “I’ve met the kind of people that’ll be waiting there. People like us, we need to stick together. If we don’t, we end up as little more than stepping stones for the pampered brats. I don’t usually trust people so easily, but Jensen says you’re cool. Don’t prove him wrong.”
While I believed he was being overdramatic, he had a point. It was like what Birgit and I had talked about. Situations like these were better when you had a friend with you. But it wasn’t just that. People like Birgit, like Iraklis, people with true power–real power–were going to be there. Perhaps if we worked together, we’d be able to help each other truly shine.
Eventually, Stelios came to pick us up and take us home. We left Ahmed at an AirBnB he was staying in. A couple of minutes later we reached my home. Strangely enough, the ride back seemed to go by a lot faster. Looking at the car’s retreating form, I couldn’t help the smile that had practically split my face in two.
It was all I could do to not let out a loud cheer at what had happened. I had just gone through the Atlantis exams. My sheer fanboy-ish excitement was enough to overtake the anxiety and fear that were brewing in my stomach.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” I said to myself, a small laugh escaping my mouth.
“I didn’t know it was customary for people to talk to themselves here,” came Birgit’s voice in English. I turned around to see her behind me, dressed in her usual training get up and holding a large paper bag.
“You know this is the third time you’ve opened a conversation like that?” I responded in English as well.
“Did you know you’re freakishly tall?”
“Did you know that you’re almost eye to eye with me, therefore you’re freakishly tall too?”
Birgit smirked. “I assume the exams went well?”
I fiddled with the seams of my gloves as I thought about them. Kent Smith seemed pleased with the interview, but the battle was a whole different beast. One I had to make a conscious effort not to overanalyze.“The interview went well enough. The battle is something I’d rather not speculate about. How about you?”
“I froze my opponent in place and crushed the interview,” she said smugly. “I’m here because there’s something we need to talk about. Something serious.”
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I clenched my hands at this.
The last few serious talks I’d had with Birgit were quite heavy, and to be honest I was feeling very tired. Between my lack of sleep last night and the training today, I was positively exhausted, and I hadn’t even realised it until now. Just hanging out I could do, I had more fun with her than I’d originally thought.
“For fanden da også, aren’t you going to invite me in?” snapped Birgit, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.
“What?”
“You know what? I don’t have the patience for surprises,” she said loudly. Overly loudly, causing me to laugh. Until what she said registered properly. Surprises?
“Surprises?”
The temperature of the street dropped as Birgit let out a groan and started trembling. Letting out a sigh, I placed my arm around her cold form, leading her inside my house. Thankfully my parents were out, so I managed to avoid that situation. I also took out a grey hoodie and handed it over to her while she gave me her bag.
“I’m not going to break you know, but thanks,” she said as she put it on. “Open it up.”
Opening it up, I saw a black, long sleeved shirt, and yet my mouth dropped when I saw it. It had a large water trident in front and one in the back. It was merchandise for Poseidon, retired World Power Wrestling champion.
But it wasn’t just any merch.
There were four trails of blood going down the front, stopping around the middle of the chest. Two years ago, Poseidon had fought against the then champion. He was wearing this shirt and wiped the floor with his opponent. Two hits to the face, which resulted in these stains, were the only hits he received that day.
And it was one of the few things that never received any merchandise.
“Yeah, it’s real. I had to do a lot of begging to get this, so I hope you like it,” said Birgit with a smirk on her face.
This time, I couldn’t keep myself from squealing like the fanboy that I am.
Realising what I’d just done, I put one hand on top of my mouth, but it was too late. Birgit was giggling uncontrollably now, and I burst into laughter soon after. It took a full minute for us to quiet down after that, and even then we couldn’t shake the goofy smiles off our faces.
“Thank you,” I said with as much sincerity as I could muster. Birgit’s smile turned sombre at that. Her hair was messy, and my hoodie was almost comically oversized on her, yet I found my eyes drawn to her.
“Don’t be an idiot,”she said dismissively. “It’s not a big deal. I didn’t even have to pay for it.”
But it wasn’t just about today. This summer was one of the most exhilarating and yet one of the most nerve-wracking, stress inducing times of my life. And as I looked back on it, there were times I wouldn’t have made it through the summer if not for her.
“It’s not today though,” I said quietly. Today was, against all odds, a good day. Even if there was a high chance I didn’t pass the physical exam. Which meant that I wouldn’t make it to Atlantis. Which meant that I needed to say this now, or I might never get the chance to.
“You really are an idiot,” said Birgit, snapping me out of my thoughts. “You’ll make it into Atlantis. Being a hero is in your blood. A true, corny, Alpha Surge type of hero. Lord knows you’ve helped me get through this summer. Helped me in ways you probably don’t recognize. You-” she paused, looking down slightly before blushing and looking back up abruptly.
“Birgit? Are you okay?”
“Shut up,” she said quietly, sounding almost embarrassed. “I'm fine.”
“Are you sure?”
Instead of answering, she just leaned in, close enough that I could feel her breath against my lips. I didn’t say anything, just looking into her eyes, as she looked into mine. It was like we were in a standoff, neither of us doing anything, until Birgit let out a deep breath.
“Happy Birthday, Alex,” she whispered, and leaned in once more.