I opened the door cautiously, knocking three times as I did. The four behind me stared with the eyes of eagles as I opened the door, revealing the headmaster's office. It was tidy inside with a oak wood desk, shelves with photos of previous headmasters and a monitor standing on the desk. Behind the desk sat the headmaster- a short, elderly man. His hair was thin, grey and short, hanging barely a centimetre. "Ah, you're here. Please, come in," He gestured to the seat in front of the desk, smiling kindly. This isn't what I imagined from al lthe stories I had been told. In fact, it was completely different- we were expecting a demon who would yell at us the second we stepped in, like that teacher who yelled at us in the corridor, but instead received a kind elderly man.
"Ah. Okay," I stepped in with the other four who glanced around the room nervously, unsure of what to expect.
"You're probably confused as to why I called you five here. Well, it's better to explain in a larger room," He chuckled as he watched us standing in the cramped space of the small office. He stood up and we made way for him as he exited the office, gesturing us to follow. And we followed- we didn't want to get in trouble with the headmaster. Nervously we walked behind him, following him to the teacher's conference room where which we entered. The room was long and dull with a grey metal table stretching across the room with ten or so chairs around it and a screen at the end opposite the door where we stood. There were no windows, no colour and no warmth. Yes, it was freezing in there. But one thing caught all of our attention.
In front of the screen stood an unfamiliar man. He stood tall with his hands in his pockets and hair slicked back. He wore a neat black suit and tie and looked like he'd just left an office from the city.
"Who is this?" David asked the headmaster.
"This, children, is Mr. Wren. He will be explaining everything to you and will be accepting any questions. If you'll excuse me," The headmaster left the room quickly, leaving us in the cold room with the strange man.
"Please, sit," He beckoned us to sit at the table- which we did. The seats too were metal and cold, giving me goose bumps over my skin. I'm unsure if that was from the cold or from this strange man. We sat in silence whilst the man read through some notes. It was extremely obvious it was a script, but he maintained calm.
"Okay. So, as you heard, my name is Mr. Wren. I am here to explain to you what will be taking place next week and what to look forward to in the following weeks," He stepped to the side and clicked a button on a device he held. The screen switched to an image of a cartoony superhero and the words 'Superpowers'. "Tell me, what comes to your mind when you think of superpowers?" He asked us.
"Fire," David answered promptly.
"Manipulations," Erin answered, sounding proud of herself.
"Wow, you learnt a big word," David teased her. She nudged him away, looking towards Evan next.
"Ah... Lightning bolts? Fire balls? Flying?" He spoke with a confusing tone, sounding unsure if he was asking a question or answering one.
"Mind control," I spoke next. Then finally Elaina spoke.
"Hm. The power of love," she giggled as she spoke, glancing at Evan who in response blushed.
"You al gave great answers there. Well, maybe not the last one. But yes, when we think of superpowers, we literally think of superpowers we have seen in forms of media such as films, games etcetera. Well, what if that was brought to life? That is what the company I belong to is attempting," He checked his notes again, allowing us some time to absorb what he had just said.
"Wait, you mean you're making superhumans?" Evan asked, curious as to what this was all about.
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"Ah- well kind of. Let me explain. Five children from every high school in the country have been selected to take the 'Evolution Initialization' program," He told us.
Elaina lifted up her hand and Mr. Wren pointed at her promptly.
"What's 'Evolution Initialization'?" She asked. My bet is that he was about to explain, but she interrupted. She truly is oblivious to what is happening.
"I was just about to explain that," He answered. Knew it. "Evolution Initialization, or EI for short, is a drug developed by the company I work for that speeds up the human evolution process. Don't ask how it works, I don't either. Anyways, it speeds up the evolution, causing humans to develop unique abilities called 'EI'. These abilities are often supernatural and seen in popular media, and form from your personality. All of your parents have agreed to this project and are happy we have picked you," He explained to us and smiled innocently.
Supernatural abilities? So, the stuff we said, such as fire shooting, flight and more are actually real? Well it must be, considering that the school let these guys in and that they have chosen five people from each school. It's just insane to wrap my head around it. We could be crime fighting superheroes. But there was little crime in the world, so my biggest question:
"What is the point in this?" I asked him, getting to the point.
"Good question, I like someone who gets right to the point. The truth is plain and simple, and I won't lie to you: Money. And entertainment. You see, we don't want you to become superheroes, you're only fourteen or fifteen. No, we want you to participate in a new upcoming sport to do with the project. The Evolution Games," He spread his arms wide, as if speaking to millions of people in a speech.
"What're these games?" David asked.
"Glad you asked. The games are less of games and more of fighting matches. The goal of the game is to eliminate the other team's ace. You see, there are five people per a team- you five are the team of Eranfall high. Each of you will be given a position depending on what EI you gain. One of you is the ace. The rest of the team must protect you and attack the other team, the first one to defeat the ace wins. Simple, right?" He explained to us.
I thought. The reason they're doing all of this is to entertain people and gain money from the sport. But there must be a greater reason to all of this then just 'sport' and 'money'. What's the point in literally manipulating human evolution just to make a new sport? Nothing adds up here, and I have my suspicions.
"Okay, so when do we get the EI?" I asked. The other four stared at me as I spoke, still unsure about all of this. I had made up my mind.
"Great attitude. Next week your parents will take you to the Eranfall city hospital and taken to our lab where we will inject you with the EI. It will take approximately three days for your abilities to awaken, and when they do, we will begin to choose your positions. Of course, during games you may switch roles if we deem it okay," He told us.
"What are the other positions?" I asked.
"You will be told once they are chosen. For now, you may head back to your classes. Goodbye!" He waved as we left the classroom, discussing between ourselves about what had just happened.
"Superpowers? Is it even possible?" Evan asked, unsure about everything.
"Well clearly it is if the school and government are recognizing this," Erin argued.
"What if they're actually against the government?" David started to think up conspiracies about everything- something I didn't even know he did. I guess strange situations bring out the strange side in people.
"Of course, they're with the government,"
"No, you don't know that!"
"Why would a random guy come here, into the school if he wasn't from a real, government organization?"
"Maybe he forced the school to let him in?"
"That'd be stupid, don't you think the school could handle that?"
"No, you're stupid,"
"GUYS!" I yelled. The two of them shut up finally. "They wouldn't be against the government if they have a lab in the hospital, which is run by the government. All we know for sure is that it's a completely real organization and that this is real. not some stupid game. Now will you both stop arguing?" I finished their argument, leaving them in silence.
"Sorry sir," David teased.
"I've got a bad feeling about all of this," Evan said.
"Yeah, it is strange..." Elaina piped in now as the two discussed how strange it was.
Indeed, it is strange. Superpowers? Superhumans? Superhuman sports? A government organization choosing SCHOOL children to fight each other in a sport? This was clearly wrong, but nobody questioned it.
Before today if you had told me I would be participating in a game where we fight other kids with superpowers to win a tournament I would've told you that you're crazy. But it's entirely real. I WILL be fighting other kids, but for what reason? Because I was chosen? Why would my parents agree to this? It didn't make sense, but does anything about this make sense?