After a sleepless night, Shon woke up at early dawn and dressed in exam attire. He stretched his limbs and dropped to the floor for a few pushups. Then he took out his notebook and glanced over the key materials one last time.

Shon made himself a light breakfast with just enough food to keep him energized. He heard that anxiety would worsen nausea experienced during the stormrunning field simulation, and he would die of embarrassment if he threw up during the exam.

Shon took a deep breath and headed to the train station. The exam center was an hour-long train ride away. Thankfully, he got Zora to keep him company.

“You know, Shon, you should treat yourself to a cab ride sometime,” said Zora. “Today would be a good day to do it.”

“Well, they say standing is good for blood circulation,” rebuked Shon. “You get a better warmup by standing in the train.”

“I call bullshit on that. I bet you are just trying to wear me out so I can’t kick your ass during the field simulation.”

Shon laughed, but deep down he knew that he couldn’t afford a cab ride when it cost a day’s worth of meals. Of course, Zora would offer to pay for it in a subtle way that wouldn’t hurt Shon’s pride. However, Shon hated being indebted — especially financially — to other people, even if it was his closest friend.

Nonetheless, Shon was grateful for Zora’s company on this train ride. The Stormrunning exam was perhaps the most important event in a Fraxian’s life. Most Fraxian families would throw in everything they had to raise their children’s odds by just a tiny sliver. Zora’s father had ordered her a private ride, so she could get ample sleep on the way, but she refused it immediately upon hearing that there was no space for Shon.

At this early hour, the train was mostly empty, but it already reeked of sweat and other bodily fluids. Most passengers were in shabby clothes or dirty work uniforms, Valerians and Fraxians alike. There was no other sound except the monotonic rumbling of wheels against rails and the unstable radio broadcast from the car next door.

"A new wave of colossal Sandstorms had struck the Northern Provinces. Refugees are flooding towards the interior."

The northern provinces. That was where Shon's mother and sister lived. Shon walked closer to the radio.

"The city of Thiab is in ruins. Over 8,600 Valerians and 2,300 others had been killed."

Two Valerian women were also listening to the broadcast.

"These damn Fraggers are like roaches," one of them said.

Shon was too busy worrying about his family to care about the slurs. Besides, they got a point. Although it was mostly Fraxians who lived in the impoverished frontier provinces, they were more likely to escape the storms with their enhanced thermal cognitive capacities. It was always the Valerians that died in the storms.

Shon thought about Thiab. The city of Thiab was bordering his family's town. For now, his family was safe, but luck wasn't something he could count on.

Zora grabbed lightly onto Shon's wrist. She knew about Shon's family too.

"Don't think too much, especially now," said Zora.

Shon took a deep breath and tried to focus on the present again. However, his inner peace didn't last for long.

There was a sudden commotion in the car next door. A few large middle-aged Valerians were ganging upon a young girl.

Shon took a closer look at the girl. Her eyes were blue, but the irises did not carry the natural luster. Shon could easily tell that she was wearing some cheap camo contacts, products that Fraxians used to conceal their most identifiable physical feature. Thankfully, the Valerians hadn’t noticed that.

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However, they began getting more physical. The one in the center shoved her against the wall, and the others began towering over her.

Shon instantly felt the air chill, literally. He cursed lightly and began approaching the train. A Fraxian under fear would instinctually pull heat towards themselves, resulting in lowered ambiance temperature. Since this fight-or-flight response was a dead giveaway of not only their identity but also their mentality, Academy Fraxians like Shon had learned from a young age to control this reaction. However, the girl here had no such training.

After a few seconds, the air had chilled so much that even the Valerians next to her could sense it. Immediately, they laughed.

“I thought I caught some normal thief, but turns out this one’s a Fragger,” said the huge man in the center.

At the sound of that word, Shon strode towards the group. Zora tugged on his arm and shook her head, but Shon ignored her.

“Excuse me, guys, is there a problem here?” Shon said firmly, inserting himself between the girl and the Valerians.

“Mind your own business, Fraxian,” said the one in the center as he turned towards Shon.

“I don’t want any trouble here. Let’s all take a step back, shall we?” said Shon, raising his hands up with palms open.

“Shut up, did you know what she did?” said the man on the left. “She stole our hard-earned money.”

“Yeah, I didn’t mix concrete for eight hours just for a lazy Fragger to take it for herself,” added the one on the right.

Shon looked back at the girl, giving her a look that asked whether these accusations were true. The girl looked away in fear and nodded her head lightly.

“Give them back the money,” said Shon.

The girl reached slowly into her pocket and produced a few crumpled bills. The man in the center snatched it away from her. Then he spat on her face and let out another slur. Shon’s fists immediately clenched tight. He fought against the urge to punch him. He didn’t want any trouble on the Exam Day.

“Alright guys, you have your money back. Can we all go home now?”

“How unfortunate,” said the center guy, “but we can’t let a criminal go unpunished. Especially a Fragger.”

As soon as he dropped the slur again, he swung his left hand and slapped the young girl straight across the face. The blow was so strong that she fell towards the wall. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

The center man raised his right fist and went for another blow, but Shon stopped his attack halfway and firmly grabbed onto his wrist.

“How dare you raise your hand against a Valerian?” said the man. He glanced up and down and noticed the Academy badge on Shon’s shirt.

“You are an Academy Fraxian,” he laughed. “Isn’t the Stormrunner Exam today? They would fail you immediately if they knew what happened here.”

Shit, they are right. Shon thought. However, he simply could not stand by and do nothing. He let go of the man’s hand, but he got into a combat stance, ready for another strike from the man. The man looked at him in a taunting gaze, as if daring him to fight back so he could report him for assault.

Suddenly, Zora’s voice broke the tension.

“There’s no need to escalate, gentlemen,” said Zora calmly as she inserted herself between them. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”

“Tell your little boyfriend to walk away now, and we will not report him,” the man sneered.

“You cannot report him for self-defense. Proof’s right there” Zora pointed towards the ceiling. The men looked up and saw a surveillance camera glaring down. Evidently, the camera had also recorded the man striking the girl first, but the cops probably would not care. Even if Shon walked away innocent, he would still miss his Exam, which was the only opportunity for him to turn his life and his immigrant family’s life around.

Before the men could rebuke her, Zora continued speaking.

“However, I understand your desire for justice, so I suggest a compromise.”

The men stared at her. So did Shon.

“I’ll call the cops right now. They will arrest her at the next stop. You get the justice you want, and we walk away without trouble. Is that a deal?”

Zora extended her hand, waiting for a handshake of truce.

Shon stared at her. He couldn’t believe that she would turn that girl over to the cops. Petty theft would land a Fraxian at least a few years in jail. Valerian prisons were notoriously bad. Who knew if she could even survive?

Shon desperately wanted to do something. He wanted to punch them. He was confident he could beat them up badly. However, that would only get him arrested and disqualified from the Exam. The bright Academy student would be branded as a criminal. After all the sacrifices his family had made for him, he could not bury his own future from a fit of rage.

As time stretched out, Shon felt sweat beads rolling down his forehead. He hated how useless he was. He did not have Zora’s eloquence and calmness to produce a better solution, and perhaps there was no better solution. After all, it was undisputable that the girl committed theft. However, something just didn’t feel right.

But there was no time for Shon to protest. The man in the middle nodded his head and shook Zora’s hand firmly. The girl broke into a sob. She knelt on the floor, begging the Valerian men for forgiveness and pleading with Zora not to call the cops. However, the deal has already been made, and Shon and Zora could not wager their future over a hopeless case of theft caught on camera. Under the Valerian men’s tight scrutiny, Zora called the police.

At the next stop, two Valerian officers handcuffed the girl and escorted her out of the train. The girl stared desperately at Shon. Shon kept his gaze straight and quickly walked away. He did not look back.