Pauley had carefully pulled out a piece of something that resembled a piece of black cloth. He waved it obnoxiously close to the tip of Amara’s nose, who successfully identified the item after several moments of thought.
“‘Tis the info…infoportal thing, innit?”
“Oh my, so you DO remember what this is.” Pauley rolled his eyes and began to pull his luggage away. “I’m gonna take it back cuz you dropped it!”
Amara sprinted and caught up to Pauley with ease. “No take backsies!”
Pauley rolled his eyes again as he stopped walking, but still eventually wrapped the infoportal on Amara’s wrist again. “Don’t you dare lose it another time.”
“I won’t.” Amara promised.
“Good, and I’ll teach you how to use it on the way. You really don’t want to be late…”
Pauley quickly explained the basic functions of the device, such as the method to add in people’s contacts and how to check for battery power. Amara nodded along for most of the way, internally thinking that this device is but a smartphone with a projectable holographic interface instead of a touchscreen. Despite Pauley’s energetic comments about how much more advanced this technology was, Amara still couldn’t tell much difference between the two; however, she’s long been used to this situation, as the two of them had determined long ago that Amara had little affinity for the technically complex concepts.
Pauley eventually went for a long pause to catch his breath, right after explaining in detail how to encrypt text on the hologram screen to protect user privacy. Amara stared blankly ahead of her as she continued walking, brain filled with nothing but jumbled thoughts, and the persistent screams from a certain purple orb:
Which blasphemous scoundrel had invented these torturous chants?!
‘Not me.’ Amara thought halfheartedly.
I am certain these are entry level knowledge for existing in mortal society. Life commented with a bare hint of smugness in her voice.
Perhaps Death was not as detestable as I had believed.
Amara dear, Life suddenly addressed Amara. You’re about to walk into—
Amara walked nose first into a brick wall.
Pauley’s panicky voice could be heard loudly behind her as Amara came to her senses rather painfully: “We didn’t mean to squeeze into the line! No, she’s just zoned out…I’m so so sorry!”
Amara turned around to see a long line of families all staring angrily at Pauley, who was sheepishly trying to move his possessions out of their way. By the looks of these strangers, Amara had managed to walk straight between two pairs of parents, and Pauley had unintentionally caused a blockage with his luggage while trying to chase after Amara.
“I’m sorry!” Amara dashed towards Pauley to help him out. Unfortunately, the strangers weren’t very forgiving towards them; as Amara shoved a suitcase away, she clearly heard a mutter: “Kids these days…running wild without any manners…”
“What’d you say!”
Pauley covered both hands over Amara’s mouth. “Ahaha, don’t mind her, we’re sorry.”
Before Amara could shake him off, Pauley quietly tapped a finger that was covering her cheek. Receiving the signal, Amara stopped trying to struggle, and simply let Pauley pull her behind his back. As they traded places, Amara quickly slipped something into Pauley’s hand.
“We’ll move to the back, I promise!” Pauley proceeded to declare his statement to everyone who was looking towards his direction. He waved several times somewhat dramatically, then gestured for Amara to follow him with a simple head tilt. As they both moved, Pauley said in a half whisper: “It’s the beetle, right?”
“Right.” Amara answered in the same hushed tone of voice. “Who’s it for?”
“You’ll see, duh. For now act like nothing happened, because this is the application queue for the Academy.”
“What?” Amara lifted her head to gaze around, but the lineup seemed endless.
“Keep your voice down!” Pauley hissed. “We’re just broke, sorry countryside kids with no sense of the big city!”
Amara gave him a thumbs up as she turned her gaze down towards her shoes.
Oh my, incoming soap opera. Destruction’s voice spoke with unmasked glee.
By the time Pauley had dragged Amara to the end of the lineup, the people behind them suddenly erupted into chaotic gagging noises and shuffling movements. With a wordless glance towards each other, the pair began to hold their breath at the same time. No sooner had they done this, there was a cloud of visibly yellow gas wafting up through the air, its source precisely being the few people that had given Amara a hard time just earlier.
Though these people managed to remain standing, all of them looked clearly like they were trying their hardest to hold in their stomach contents. Other people nearby were quick to distance themselves from the evidently repulsive gas; a few were gazing around for signs of Amara and Pauley, though the pair had expertly hidden themselves behind a few adult figures to effectively disappear from sight.
Just as the gas was spreading outwards toward innocents, a transparent ripple in the air suddenly came into existence, and the yellow color of the potent gas was swiftly sucked into the ripple, becoming similar to a dust whirl in appearance. The unnatural sight caught the attention of Pauley and Amara, alongside most other people that were in the queue.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Under many different gazes, the yellow air swirl rose steadily upwards, dissipating in midair at approximately the height equivalent to a three-story building, dispersing the yellow gas within as if it had never existed to begin with.
After witnessing this event, Amara dropped her gaze down, just in time to notice that a new person dressed in a sleek gray business suit had appeared amongst the crowd, and was politely giving a nod to someone covered head to toe in a black cloak. The two were too far away for Amara to hear what they were speaking, but after a brief exchange, the cloaked figure was gestured by the suited person to head towards the front of the line.
“Excuse me, both of you.”
Amara had no more time to watch strangers; right in front of her and Pauley’s faces, the adult figures they were concealing behind was replaced by another person dressed in a gray suit, who looked to be a grown man with dark eye circles and beard stubble, but was still forcing a smile on to his face.
“Are you the two of you applicants for our school?” The man spoke in a hoarse voice. His facial muscles barely moved when he talked, making his smile seem even more stiff and fake.
“No…no, I’m not the one applying.” Pauley quickly denied.
The man looked at Amara. The latter gulped in nervousness, fearing that their antics had been discovered.
Her fear almost immediately came true as the man spoke once again: “Miss, if you don’t mind, can you please follow me to the school gates? We have some concerns regarding your actions. And you too please, sir.”
Pauley began to follow the man forward on shaky legs; Amara, after a brief moment of mind blanking panic, trailed after them. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that most of the gassed strangers were invited towards the gates too, albeit on the other side of the queue.
About three minutes of wordless walking later, everyone that got brought forward was gathered by the corner of a long row of reception booths, which were all active with applicants. The man who had led the way for Amara and Pauley directed them right in front of several other individuals in professional looking gray suits, all of which had stoic expressions on their faces as the pair were brought in front of them.
The other party was brought in almost at the same time. A quick glance showed there were five children around Amara and Pauley’s age, and eight adults, who were all throwing furious looks at the pair.
“Thank you for joining us here.” Out of the people in gray, one lady who looked to be in her forties stood in the very middle, and broke the uneasy silence first. “We have noticed there had been conflicts between both sides, and it has resulted in a rather…hazardous situation. I hope that all of you understand that we are a Military Academy, and we take public health and safety extremely seriously. So, is anyone willing to explain—”
“IT’S THESE KIDS!” One red-faced father cut off the lady in rage. “They thought they could cut into OUR line and get away scot-free! I say ban them right here and RIGHT NOW!”
Woah, not cool. Life said as Amara instinctively cowered away slightly.
“Please calm down—”
“Aren’t you all some officials with some rankings? Why can’t you see how TERRIBLE these two would become?!”
“Enough.” The lady was visibly displeased with being interrupted twice. She looked at another lady who stood beside her and instructed: “Please bring this parent and child to the very end of our lineup.”
“Wait, WHY?” The father barely had time to raise a fist before he was swept away in a gray blur. His child, who was a dejected looking boy around twelve years old, disappeared with his father without ever looking away from the ground.
The lady in charge returned her to her remaining audience. “As I was saying earlier, could anyone explain what had happened?”
The other adults froze in a mix of fear and shock as to what had just happened. Their children, seeing their parents keep quiet, didn't step forward either.
Amara looked at the situation, decided to take a deep breath in , and took a small step forward. “I am sorry, madam.”
The lady watched her with a gaze that made Amara feel like she was being analyzed like some sort of a lab specimen. She took yet another deep breath, and said in a shaky voice: “I was the one who was applyin’ for here, and, and Pauley here is just to bring me in town cuz my grandparent’s ain’t have time with harvests at home. It’s my first time in the city, so…so I ended up walkin’ into some people here.”
Amara pointed at the parents, who all showed varying levels of disdain or scorn at her accent and her description of family. The lady’s gaze remained fixated on her with no show of emotion.
“Me n’ Pauley said sorry when we tried to go to the right place, but then I heard someone say we’ve no manners…so I gave ‘em a beetle that I made that work like a stink bomb. I didn’t mean to make anyone panic and make y’all worried, I’m so sorry.”
“Beetle?” The lady blinked slowly. “What do you mean, you made it?”
Amara peeked back at Pauley, who gave her a small head bob of encouragement. She then proceeded to take her third deep breath, and continued: “I saw dung beetles before, and I was inspired to see if I can combine ‘em into a walkin’ tickin’ stink bomb and give us, uh, me more time to run before it goes off. It’s never hurt anybody, I-I promise!”
A small snickering noise could be heard right then. Both Amara and the lady turned their heads to the group of parents and their children, but none of them gave any clues as to who made the sound.
“Does anyone have disagreements regarding what this young miss has said?” The lady asked in a flat tone, but no one spoke up to confirm or deny.
“In that case, I shall take this miss’s word as the truth.” The lady then declared. “I believe that this was an incident that both sides are responsible for, and hence, all of the applicants within this group should be penalized in the entrance examinations. Does anyone disagree?”
A few parents looked upset, but again, no one spoke up.
“Then I shall announce the penalties. Each applicant shall have thirty minutes deducted from the allowed time in their written portion of examinations, and their Talent demonstration time within the interview portion will be reduced from five minutes to three. Now, please return to your original spots in the lineup—young miss, follow me.”
The others in gray began to direct the different families back towards where they came from, while Amara’s mouth hung open in surprise and a sense of impending dread.
“Go! Just go in!” Pauley reached out and patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll be waiting, okay? When you’re done just send me a message on your infoportal, okay?”
Amara nodded quickly as she saw the lady in charge begin to walk into campus. She muttered a goodbye to Pauley and sprinted to catch up.
She caught up to the lady in the midst of a concrete-built, empty square, where most other buildings were sprawled all away. She peeked around as much as she dared to, but all she really saw was a blur of gray in every direction, save for some trees and shrubbery that lined up two sides of the clearing.
“What is your name?” Just as Amara was getting immersed in looking around in her surroundings, the lady she was following spoke, taking her attention back to her.
“Amara, madam.”
“I meant your full name.”
“I-I’m sorry.” Amara stuttered. “I’m Amara Amberwood, surname’s same as my town.”
The lady looked back at her with a small frown on her face. “Interesting.”
Amara could feel herself break into a cold sweat.
“Where are your parents?” The lady asked as she turned her head back.
“I’m adopted, madam.”
One small and somewhat uncomfortable pause later, the lady said: “You can refer to me as Ms. Vexpley.”
“Yes, ma…Ms. Vexpley.”
The two of them took a slight left turn into a smaller clearing that branched away from the main square, and had a small cluster of low-rise buildings arranged in a semicircle shape, which were all painted a dull light gray color, just like the rest of the campus.
Ms. Vexpley picked up her pace as she continued to question Amara: “How old are you?”
“Eleven.”
“Are you aware that our oldest admission age for new students is thirteen?”
“Yes, Ms. Vexpley.”
“And you’re confident that you’ll be able to complete our entrance exams?”
“Yes, Ms. Vexpley.”
The pair now headed towards the front doors of a sprawling building that sprung open as they approached. Amara barely spent any energy marveling at the automatic doors, as she was nervously following Ms. Vexpley down a narrow hallway that was predictably gray colored in decor.
Their final destination was the very last door in the hall, which was pushed open to reveal a rather large space behind, with several dozens of delicate machinery that made Amara’s eyes hurt just to look at them.
“Where’s Montrose?” Ms Vexpley called into the seemingly empty room. Several seconds later, a lanky, bespectacled main in a brown coat rose up from underneath a table.