Lisa massaged her neck tiredly. She’d never felt so stressed in his life. The regular process of admitting new students was rigorous enough, let alone a last-minute admission after an expulsion.

As she walked through the wide, sunlit halls of the academy, she passed numerous classrooms, the walls turning transparent when she activated the motion sensor. All the students were in holo-desks paying close attention to their coaches and professors.

She then passed over the gyms, where the practicum courses took place. She stopped on the bridge she was crossing and looked down at an ongoing Teamwork course.

They were currently playing a classic round of Capture the Flag. The team on the left seemed to be winning as their only Ilamikoan student carried their enemy’s flag to their post.

Most of the spectating students were urging the team on the right on, shouting for them not to lose. Unfortunately, the Ilamikoan’s flexible limbs carried her forward, allowing her to win. Her teammates cheered, but many students groaned in disappointment.

Lisa tried to keep the word ‘adorable’ out of her mind, but it was all anyone could think when they looked at Lílitha Houdge. She was a tiny little thing— barely 4 feet— with large, black eyes that rivalled a puppy’s in terms of cuteness.

In Ilamikoan standards, she was only 8 years old, but on Earth, she was already 23, a young woman. Still growing, but she was certainly not a child, despite her appearance.

However, Lílitha was anything but cute. Not only did her flexibility provide her power in her kicks and punches, making them similar to being hit by a wrecking ball, but she had a bite force stronger than a hippo’s. Hence her call sign.

Being the only Ilamikoan student in the academy, she attracted mockery from her schoolmates. She’d gotten on the planet team, but only as the 150th seed, and she didn’t impress as much as her other peers in the preliminaries.

Then came the other ‘outcast’ of the school: Harrison Smith, the human that reached fourth place in his first Versus competition. The Versus media outlets did their best to accuse him of cheating, claiming he wasn’t worthy of the position.

To them, he didn’t give enough effort. Lisa struggled throughout her entire career to get to first place in her last Versus, unlike him. Hajja was especially adamant with their accusations, desperate to salvage a shred of their pride after losing so many competitions already. Of course, they had the excuse of simply being in a slump. They’d bounce back in no time.

“He is always smiling despite everything, isn’t he?”

Lisa gasped, startled by Benson’s sudden appearance. “You scared the bugs out of me,” she said.

“Sorry about that,” he chuckled, continuing to observe both Harrison and Lílitha. “He is a positive soul. I’ve never seen him without that smile of his.”

She laughed, following Benson down the hall. They exited the building and headed to the Hall of Affairs. Students around them politely greeted them.

“So… who do you think it’ll be?” Lisa asked.

Benson took a breath. “Hard to say. There were many prospective students with massive potential.”

“How do you think Josephine will handle this?”

“My bet is that she will wash her hands and leave it to us. Or she will simply choose the strongest species.”

“There weren’t a lot,” Lisa remarked. “I was surprised. I thought more of the ‘tops’ would apply.”

“A few of them piqued my interest. Particularly that human girl.”

“Which one?”

“That one that fainted.”

“Benson, a lot of them fainted.”

“She had… black hair. Long black hair. Her name was… Meedle? Melly?”

“Medley?” Lisa’s heart jumped. Benson didn’t know about her visit with the Ruhirian, did he? Why would she catch his interest? Out of everyone?

She’d recognized her instantly at the practical exam the first time. She’d passed with a barely above-average grade. And in the pressure exam, she did alright, but not as good as most of her competitors. Benson’s goal was to give more underappreciated species a chance in the school, but why Medley of all the humans that tested?

They entered their soundproof meeting room and sat in their respective chairs with their colleagues. Everyone had the same, glassy-eyed expression, their eyes bursting with the desire of a comfy sleep capsule and melatonin tea… or whatever other sleep hormone other species produced.

When Josephine entered, she looked exhausted beyond measure, a rare occurrence for her. Even though they’d been given a bit of a break from the emergency admission process, focusing on the regular classes the past few days, it was still extremely grueling on all of them.

“Well.” She sighed, slumping into her chair. “How many passed with a score over 80?”

“One hundred candidates, ma’am,” one of the professors replied, scrolling on his AIDA band.

“How many passed with a score over 90?”

“Um…” He paused, sifting through the list. “60.”

“Very well…” Josephine’s fingers drummed on the table as she frowned in thought. Her golden eyes shimmered as her pupils expanded and contracted.

“We should just pick from the top ten, ma’am. There’s far too many,” one of the coaches suggested.

“We never should’ve let so many apply in the first place. I don’t know why you disagreed on the limit,” Josephine grumbled.

“We wanted to avoid accusations of-”

“Oh, please, they’ll accuse us of everything in the Milky Way. I hardly care anymore.” She connected her AIDA band to the table. “We will choose… at random. By choosing from the top ten, we will have to consult with the analysts and reevaluate the grades. I do not have the energy to go through that.”

Lisa glanced at Benson, then interjected. “But, ma’am, shouldn’t this last position go to someone who deserves it? After all, lots of the applicants worked hard.”

“There is no guarantee this new student will join the team. This is merely an admission to the school.”

“But that’s a bit unfair.” Lisa knew Josephine was very impulsive and quick to act when she was in a bad mood, but this was very irresponsible. However, the other employees didn’t react much, as if it were normal. Did she always do this?

This wasn’t the first time Lisa had gone through the admissions process as a faculty member, but this was the first time she was in the decision room. During the last process, she wasn’t called to the decision room even though she had judged the other students.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

She thought it was because she was recently hired, but now she realized… maybe Josephine was avoiding her that day.

“Lisa, we don’t have time for the analysts. By the time they respond to us, it’ll be next week. We need a decision now. It’s already late.”

Lisa glanced again at Benson, who shrugged. She pushed down the feeling of guilt and discomfort.

“I just want to get this over with. Whoever is selected will be accepted into the academy,” Josephine sighed. “In fact, if you see anyone you particularly like, reach out and tap it. I will not contest.” Many of the members stiffened at her words.

She reached out and spun the selection of applicants. Everyone stared intensely as the blue wheel glowed, emitting a soft noise. They could just barely see the applicants’ faces as they moved.

Benson suddenly stood and leaned over, tapping the wheel. Lisa froze as the human girl with long black hair and emerald eyes stared back, rosy skin shadowed with the blue glow of the computer. Beside her, it read ‘Medley, Calista’.

The vision was fulfilled.

Josephine sighed, rolling her eyes at Benson, who coolly smiled. “There we have it. The journalists will like this.” She stood. “I’m pleased this process is over. As long as no one has any objections—” she glared at the others, daring them to say a word— “I’ll prepare the message for the girl to report back to the academy tomorrow. We have our work cut out for us.” She glared at Benson as she left.

The administrators and professors shifted uneasily, hesitantly leaving the room. They obviously disagreed on letting this girl take the last spot, but it wasn’t wise to provoke Ms. Chrisman when she wasn’t in a good mood.

Lisa and Benson stayed behind, waiting until everybody left. “Unbelievable,” she said.

“I didn’t think that would work,” Benson chuckled.

“Benson… I appreciate what you do to help my species, I really do. But… her? Why her?”

“She has potential. She has that… factor. You know, the one I see in fighters that ultimately make a great impact in the competition?”

“All of them have potential.”

“Eh…” He shrugged. “Not all of them. Why are you so against this girl?”

“I’m not against her, I just think this spot should go to someone that deserves it,” Lisa reasoned. “I don’t want it to be wasted.” That Ruhirian didn’t have a complete vision. It was possible she was wrong. It was rare, but possible.

“And it won’t. You should know by now that I always know what I am doing.” He disabled his translator chip as he left, saying a Paeseoan phrase that Lisa understood. “Pali nebetem a thia.”

‘It takes a special set of eyes.’

===

Harrison returned to the Student Coach dormitories, having finished all the ‘favors’ the other nine had sent him out to do, like giving extra lessons to their low-performing Guild members— which meant getting said members out of the way.

But he was in no position to complain or confront them, at least not yet. He’d only held his 10th seed for a month. The wise thing to do was hold his tongue and just do whatever they wanted him to do. Once he made the planet team again, he’d prove he deserved his place among the top ten and earn their respect.

The other nine were lounging in the common room. Catherine and Elisa were relaxing in the sitting area; Reilly, Li Mei, and Kalis were in the HARP room; and the other four were playing an AU game in the other room.

“Did you finish up with Hoena?” Catherine asked.

“Yup. She improved her bounce kick.”

“Good. She needs that.”

“You’re just in time,” Li Mei called from the HARP. “They’re about to announce the new one.” Her message transmitted to the AU room to alert the others.

“Really?” Catherine turned off her Pet screen and rushed to the HARP with everyone else. They all took a place on the plush sofas that melded around their forms, providing them sweet comfort.

“Reilly, are you sure you don’t wanna change your bet?” Elisa smirked, nudging the first seed. “There’s no way your fighter’s better than mine.”

The AIDA gave him a large bucket of licorice popcorn and threw some into his mouth. “I’m not changing anything.”

Elisa shrugged. “If you say so.”

“I bet on that Stomek guy. The Mercearthian,” said Melsen.

“Because he’s the same species as you?” asked Li Mei.

“I’m Mearthian, not Mercearthian,” he corrected her. “He gave Lílitha a good run for her digits. He even slammed her into the ground. Shame she found his weakness.”

Li Mei chuckled. “‘Found his weakness’? Please. Any idiot knows that one shot down there is an out for any male. I actually felt bad for the poor guy.”

“I bet on Taisa Vooorken. She’s that cute Martian from California,” said Kalis.

“Oh, yeah, she was hot,” said Stösten, nodding and grinning. “I like Martian girls. There’s something about them that’s… so hot.”

“That’s why they call you ‘Minx’, right?” Kalis smiled at Delaine.

She glanced at him and Stösten with disgust. “Hack you.”

“Are you seriously betting on fighters based on their attractiveness?” Catherine looked at the two with ridicule.

“Oh, like you don’t? You’re the only one that bet on that Voraxian. He didn’t do justice for his species.”

Reilly shook his head, agreeing with him. “He really didn’t. Shameful.”

“Excuse me, but he did show quite a bit of skill. It just wasn’t customary for a Voraxian, that’s why you blokes didn’t like him.” Catherine pouted, looking away. “And… yeah, he was a right little stellar.”

Stösten scoffed. “Hypocrite.”

“Idiot.” Catherine reached for some of Reilly’s popcorn without asking and ate a handful. “Bloody-” Her face instantly contorted in disgust and she spit it all out. AIDA instantly cleaned the mess off the carpet. “What the glatch is that?!”

“Licorice popcorn,” Reilly said impassively, his mouth full as he shoved in another handful.

“That’s a sacrilege! What do you think you’re doin’?” She groaned, coughing. “AIDA, de-flavoring water, please. That mound of Trojan cache shouldn’t exist.” The bottle appeared in her pink hand and she gulped it down greedily. The others laughed at her misery.

Josephine Chrisman’s image flickered onto the screen. “Good evening, students of Fistborn. I’m sure you’ve all been impatiently anticipating this moment for the past few days. It has been a long, tedious, and grueling past month for all of us, especially our evaluators, as we’ve been doing everything possible to find the best candidate to fill in the last open spot in the Versus school left by Mr. Brutwasten.”

“She should just say who the new kid is and end it,” Kalis said.

“Now that we’ve thoroughly analyzed every candidate that passed the pressure exam with high grades, we’ve decided who deserves to join the Versus class. Tomorrow morning, the student will teleport to D.C. and start classes the following day. We trust that the Versus School students will do their best to make them feel welcome and help them catch up with our curriculum.”

“Yeah, Harrison will do all that. Get on with it!” Delaine groaned.

“What do you mean, me?” Harrison said.

“We voted on who’s greeting the student tomorrow, and you won.” Disaris snickered as he grabbed some of Reilly’s popcorn. The Voraxian grumbled and held his bucket away, mumbling for him to get his own.

“Wha-? Nobody told me this!”

“You know now,” said Stösten.

“Aren’t they giving them the AIDA tour?”

“Yeah, but someone has to show them their room and make them feel welcome,” said Li Mei. “You’re good at that, right?”

“Shh, we can’t hear her!” Catherine waved her hand.

He rolled his eyes, a retort bubbling up his throat, but he held it down. Arguing with these people wouldn’t amount to anything but him getting upset.

“The student we have chosen…”

They all leaned forward.

“… is Earthian Calista Medley of Indianapolis, Indiana.” Calista’s picture appeared on the screen.

Reilly stopped eating, his licorice popcorn-filled hand freezing halfway to his mouth. They all sat in confused silence.

“She has proven herself to be… worthy of the last opening in the class.” Ms. Chrisman paused to swallow. “I have confidence that all of you will make her feel welcome. Thank you for your attention and have a good night.”

The broadcast finished, changing to the Fistborn HARP commercials. The Student Coaches didn’t say anything for a while.

“Did anyone bet on her?” Elisa broke the silence.

They looked at each other, shaking their heads.

“Who is she again?”

“I don’t know,” said Disaris. He looked around at the others, finding everyone shaking their heads.

“Isn’t she the one who got buried?” Catherine asked.

“No, that girl was Martian.”

“No… wait- she’s the one who shut down when she realized her nose was bleeding,” Melsen remembered.

“Oh, yeah,” said Li Mei.

“They chose her?”

“Apparently.”

Even Harrison was caught by surprise. Why would they choose her?

“There’s just no way. She didn’t do anything… well, she landed a couple of hits, but who doesn’t? Doesn’t make sense.” Melsen ran a hand through his thick blond hair.

“I really don’t see how she could’ve impressed Chrisman. The lass passed out at the sight of blood! How could she survive the Versus?” Catherine shook her head.

“Should we say something about it? Maybe suggest one of the fighters we were betting on?” Elisa asked.

“I don’t think they’ll change their minds. By now, the Versus journalists are probably already announcing it,” said Disaris.

“There were plenty of other people that did better than her,” said Harrison, his face knitted in conflict.

There was a long pause before Catherine stood. “Well, I’m off to the cap. I am too tired to deal with this load of cache. G’night.” She left the HARP room and headed to the teleporter. Everyone else murmured their reply.

“I think I’ll hit the capsule, too. Maybe tomorrow they’ll change their minds.” Kalis left them, followed by Disaris, who grabbed some more licorice popcorn from Reilly as he stood.

One by one, the Student Coaches’ common room emptied, leaving Harrison alone. His mind was rampant with all sorts of thoughts.

He was hoping a human would earn the spot. He wanted more humans to go to the Versus. Normally, he would’ve been happy.

But this didn’t feel right. This girl… she wasn’t the right person for this. Something was going on. And he didn’t like it.