It was Wednesday as the second bell of the day rang, initiating the start of break. Silence, alone, was in the locker room back from training. Tapping the metal with her fingers, she grabbed her bag from her locker and cocked her head in thought.
'Well, that was anticlimactic. Whilst everyone else tried to get through their security and failed miserably. I just walked up to one of the guards, silencing them and the alarm above before walking past them and succeeded. Seems like this will be a doss this yeah, huh...' she thought, sighing in disappointment as she closed the locker.
Upon leaving the room to start her late break, she bumped into her teacher.
"Oh, Silence. Congratulations on passing the test. I didn't realize it was that easy," her teacher said, sparking a conversation with her as they both went the same way.
"Uh... Y-yeah Sir. Is it going to be that easy in the real thing, or will I have to try then?" She stammered, trying not to sound too rude and awkward as she joined the conversation.
"Don't worry, it will get a bit harder this year, but not much. I'm surprised to see how convoluted some of the other's plans were..." the teacher replied, seeming to be caught in deep thought as he suddenly stopped.
Silence was about to leave before she was prompted to stop by another question, "By the way, have you seen the tournament listings? I didn't see you going for the "
She shook her head, soon following her teacher's gaze onto a nearby poster.
Saxton Highschool's Axton Inter-school Demonstrations (AID) 2040 roster.
Major:
Capture the flag:
James Jackson (Thor)
Sarah Ascii (Anubis)
Alexis Depp (Phase)
Micheal Mini (Silver)
Sam Recon (Feel Good)
Subs: (TBD)
Construction:
(TBD)
Obstacle course race:
Kimberly Hooding (Jaguar)
Albert Hafling (Fool's Gold)
Reece Normad (Beat)
Subs: Jack Repping (Sprint)
Charlie Fleeting (Flex)
Normal:
Beam toppling:
Lesley Love (Blaze)
Melissa Shard (Silence)
Harriet Summers (Root)
Subs: Kieran Hemmingsworth (Gust)
Weightlifting:
John Ashley (Bulk)
Subs: Sarah Skyline (Hook)
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Larry Lark (Rope)
Cross-country:
Robert Lark (Wing)
Aaron Nelson (Glider)
Penelope Smith (Cheetah)
Peter Casket (Sky Surfer)
Subs: N/A
Superpower tennis:
Gail moodhook (Solar)
Maggie Salk (Lunar)
Subs: (NA)
Minor:
Cheering/ cheerleading:
(TBD)
Martial art competition:
Rosie Adams (Claw)
Subs: Lisa Dread (Dread)
Lecturing:
Sarah Salk (Encyclopedia)
Alice Smith (Bookworm)
Lewis Wordsworth (Doctor)
Subs: N/A
Upon reading it, Silence clenched her fist.
'Why the hell are they using my full name?!' she thought, barely holding off from yelling it aloud, for the crowd around her to hear.
The teacher shrugged, asking her, "What's wrong? Did you not want to do the Beam Toppling. It is an odd choice anyway... Oh." He soon answered his own question.
Begrudgingly, he put his hand on Silence's shoulder in an act of comfort. He then tried to calm her down by calmly explaining, "You have a thing about your name, don't you? Try not to get stressed out. It's not like there's an actual issue with the name anyway. You can always try to negotiate with the school council if you want. But I'd suggest using the next session as a stress release before confronting them, though. We're doing basic combat training anyway."
Leaving Silence there to think, he promptly left the corridor.
' ... 'No issue'? The hell is he talking about? Does he not know my situation at all!?' she screamed in her mind, soon slapping herself to calm down.
Bemused onlookers soon ignored her, as she stopped acting so madly. After a moment of fresh air, she came to accept the teacher's advice continuing to thoughtlessly wander towards her classroom to wait for the next lesson.
-
Another lesson over, Silence's stress had completely dissolved by now. After hearing her classmate's gossip for the first time, she realized she was completely out shadowed by pretty much every other person competing. And punching, slashing, and slicing training dolls for two hours did a lot to help this. She still wanted to ask about her name being disclosed but wasn't in the same panic as before.
Climbing the outrageous tower to the Student Council office, she actively listened out for gossip regarding the competition and competitors. Not that she cared about it, but any evidence to support her initial doubts could add towards a case if needed.
None of the sorts were said, most just fangasming over the CTF team's lineup, which made her relieved.
Eventually reaching the stupidly over-sized door with the blinding sign. She caught her breath knocked, stating her name and asking for permission as calmly as possible. A familiar male voice replied, allowing her access.
She heaved the door open, walking to where the blonde boy beckoned as she tried to state her reason, "I..."
Thor took no time in interrupting, "You're here about you full name being used on the poster, correct?"
Silence nodded so he continued, giving no chance for Silence to butt in whilst doing so, "You're an idiot. Seriously, I understand your reactions to what happened at the introduction dinner, even I started to remember the bad history your name... but to still be shy about your name now is just plain idiotic! Let me ask you a simple question. Who's been in the inter-school competition, one of the nation's most popular televised events, for two years, and shares your surname? Tip, they are currently the most dominant mage in the entire fucking competition and your sister!"
He stopped, letting Silence intake the criticism before berating her again but soon started to mime his words, "You realize that no one actually cares about the 'Shard Dynasty incident' now, right!? Your sister..."
Thor, and the two girls in the room with him, tilted their heads in confusion as none of their voices came out.
Silence used this to finally make her point, "Sorry, but you were talking too much. I came here simply to ask about the using full names and hopefully to request that my name would not be disclosed since I have a bad history with people using the name. It's true that I didn't think about my sister's effect on my image, but I've been bullied whilst she's been on the screen due to the same reason. So why should I trust that it'll stop now?"
She paused, taking a drawn out breath before continuing, "I understand that you're busy and that my presence may be disturbing you. But you could've just denied me entry and dealt with my reaction however you know... Anyway, this is going nowhere. I'm gonna assume from your statements can't do anything about my issue and peacefully leave. You can have your voices back now."
As she finished, she sighed. Giving their voices back before leaving the room calmly.
In her wake, the three people remaining started to mumble between themselves, clearly surprised how the previous scene went.