Amara found a seat in the corner as far away from the others as possible, in order to have some private time to sort out the mess inside her brain. She picked at a loose thread on her sleeve as she began her inner statement: “I did wrong. I shouldn’t have tried to use Destruction energy, and I shouldn’t have talked to you both that way.”
Are those your genuine thoughts? Destruction asked her.
‘Yes.’ Amara confirmed. ‘But I don’t regret trying to retaliate. If there’s ever a next time, I’d still make the same decisions.’
We were not trying to fault you for fighting, or retaliation, if that is the word you are going to use. Life said, her voice sounding somewhat exasperated. We did not agree with you being reckless about your actions.
It might not have gone as deeply in your thoughts as we’d have liked, but what I bring to the table is much, much more than breaking windows and cutting your snacks. Destruction added, his tone sounding uncharacteristically serious. You also might be thinking about how much control you have, but really, you don’t even hold enough of a fraction of what’s sufficient.
Amara twirled the loose thread between her fingers and snapped it, then rolled the thread into a tiny ball and began to fidget with it.
Going off topic. Life continued. Holding your emotions in check is very important as well. We know you’re highly capable of doing so, so if there ever is a next time, you should pick better steps to achieve what you’d want. Having someone mutilated or killed from your power may be temporary satisfaction, but any regret afterwards will be permanent.
‘I’m really sorry.’ Amara thought, no longer able to act tough and keep her eyes from welling up with tears.
I’ve had worse days. Well actually, MANY worse days, so don’t think your woes are the biggest deals ever since the beginning of time.
Life sighed. I do hope you can take this experience to heart, though. What you should do with that boy can come later; For now, take a quick break and get ready for your turn at the next section. It is supposed to be an interview, right?
‘I believe yes.’ Amara wiped her face in one swift motion, then looked around the waiting room to see if anyone had noticed her. Nobody seemed to look her way.
Get yourself prepared then.
Amara nodded, then realized how futile it was. She gazed at the door where Ramir went through, and saw it open up again, this time without anyone in the doorway.
“Amara Amberwood?” a voice called out from behind the door. “Please come in.”
Walking over on shaky legs and a mix of nervousness and lingering unhappiness, Amara stepped through the door as she held her breath and closed the door behind her.
What welcomed her was a long wooden desk stretching from one side of the room to the other, forming a barricade that separated the room into two alongside multiple stacks of paper piled on top. Behind the desk, five adults dressed in gray uniforms sat in matching wooden chairs, all examining Amara visually as she took in her surroundings.
The leftmost interviewer was a man that looked to be middle aged, with a pair of black framed glasses and a stoic expression. The second left and the rightmost interviewers were both blonde women in their thirties that looked similar to each other at a glance, but looked quite different upon closer examination. One had piercing green eyes and her hair in a high ponytail, while the other had brown eyes and her hair untied. The man sitting in the chair second from the right hunched somewhat uncomfortably, for he was quite a bit taller and muscular than what the seat was intended for.
The man sitting in the very middle appeared to be the oldest. He had a full white beard and eyebrows matching in color, but was completely bald. He stared straight at Amara, who found that she somehow couldn’t gather enough strength to meet his gaze for more than a second in return.
“Welcome, young lady.” The old man in the middle was the first to speak. He had a rather calming, quiet voice, but had an unexplainable quality that commanded the listener’s full attention. “No need to be nervous here, we’re just going to ask a few questions, and you can respond however you prefer. Feel free to call me Silas, by the way.”
“Hello.” Amara thought of nothing else to say on the spot.
“Shall we start?” The blonde lady on the right looked at something that resembled a pocket watch. “Our first question to you is: why did you apply to us?”
“Don’t feel pressured to respond right away, take some time to think.” The other blonde lady smiled slightly.
Amara instantly felt more pressured.
I’m curious about your answer too. Destruction said in a quieter voice than usual.
Don’t distract her! Life scolded.
Amara gulped and clenched her fists, as she felt a streak of cold rolling down her spine from nerves. She attempted to calm herself down a little with some rhythmic breaths, then remembered that she still carried a time deduction penalty. In the end, she just ended up speaking the first thing that came to mind: “I don’t know!”
Two synchronized sighs echoed inside Amara’s brain as she faced the unified stares from five stunned and silent interviewers. Knowing she had to recover from the blunder fast, her tongue seemed to suddenly develop the ability to move on its own: “...I mean as in, I have many different reasons for why I applied to the Academy, and I don’t know which reason is the most important.”
That sentence seemed to open up a single consistent flow of thought inside a jumbled mess that was Amara’s brain. Physical exhaustion, energy depletion and anxiousness combined made her have no other choice but to follow this single stream of hope, as she appeared to continue her speech without a pause.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“When I had my Talent awakened, I had the chance to meet Helena, whom I believe is a graduate from the Academy. It was she who first recommended to me that I can try to apply here, and my family agreed that it’s a place with great education. I also have companions that suggested the Academy to me.”
“I see.” The middle aged man sitting on the far left answered, his expression unchanged, emotions in his eyes hidden from Amara behind his lenses. “Are you referring to Helena who is working in the psychology program?”
“I don’t—I mean, I remember her havin’ a stethoscope Talent.” Amara quickly stopped herself from blurting out another ‘I don’t know’. She has no idea which department Helena worked in, so all she could provide was her memories of the woman.
The woman with brown eyes leaned forward in her chair, putting elbows on the desk, and crossed her fingers in front of her face in a typical pensive pose. Her movement caught Amara’s eye, and as their eyes met, the woman spoke: “So, the next question is, what do you hope to learn and acquire in the Academy?”
“Ways to use and control my Talent better, and of course, for an education after graduating from the school in my hometown.”
Amara paused to think about what else she can add to her answer to make it sound more professional, but the blue-eyed blonde woman, the one who held the watch, cut her off short: “Considering that we’ve received notice of a penalty regarding you, miss, I’m afraid that will be all the long-form questions we can ask of you.”
“Really?” Amara’s lips automatically curled upwards as she relaxed at the news, then she tried to mask her change of expression by pursing her lips. Even if she’s not had an interview before, she naturally felt that acting happy at ending the talking early did not make her look sincere.
“There is one major question, though.” The large man sitting on the right side of the room spoke in a deep voice that reverberated inside the room. “Can you tell us what your Talent is?”
“It’s the concept of Life, s-sir.” Amara stuttered on the way to address this interviewer.
“A Conceptual Talent?” The old man in the very middle spoke. His voice was hoarse, almost raspy, and he immediately frowned at Amara’s response. Strangely enough, despite his demeanor, he didn’t make Amara feel judged or disliked. “Can you come forward and let me test your Talent points?”
“Sure.”
Amara hadn’t had her Talent points tested since her Talent awakening with Helena, due to the reason that the testing equipment cost a hefty amount of money, and the fact that her score had fluctuated far beyond what was considered normal. Her grandparents eventually decided to not spend the money, which didn’t bother Amara much; her own ‘tenants’ could easily provide the numbers far more accurately anyways.
The old man gently tapped two fingers on Amara’s wrist as she approached him by the desk. He closed his eyes while still frowning, as if he was trying to find something in Amara’s pulse. Waiting for a reaction felt like it had taken hours for Amara, but eventually, the man began to speak in a half whisper, as if he was trying to not startle Amara: “And you are thirteen years old?”
“Eleven.” Amara corrected in as deep of a voice as she could muster to sound a bit more mature.
“You do know that our age limit for first-year applicants is thirteen years old right?” The middle aged man chimed in. “You might be a bit too early for—”
“No, she’s right where she should be.” The old man interrupted, opening eyes to look right at the middle aged man. “I, personally, strongly urge every one of you to agree with my decision.”
“What?” The blonde woman with blue eyes objected immediately. “Pardon me, but I do believe Miss Amara’s written exam scores are still waiting for further review, and her—”
“Her Talent score is thirty-three. Age eleven.”
The room fell into complete silence, where not even the sound of breathing could be heard. The other four interviewers displayed various expressions of disbelief, but none disputed the old man’s claim out loud.
Amara herself was surprised as well. She anticipated her score to be solidly above thirty, but her actual score was still higher than her expectations. Just a week prior, the deities had measured her to be around thirty-two points in mortal human metrics, but she had no idea she had grown more in such a short timespan. Advancing from thirty-one points to thirty-two had taken her four months, and moving from twenty-nine to thirty had taken nearly a full year for her.
He rounded up. Destruction delivered a dose of bluntness right on time.
“Are…are you certain?” The middle aged man eventually questioned.
The old man replied: “Before any of you ask further questions, no, I am confident I am not mistaken, and there are no suspicions with the result.”
“This can’t be!” The woman with brown eyes exclaimed.
According to the admissions requirements that Amara had vaguely remembered from reading with Pauley, the maximum age of applicants should be no older than thirteen, and the minimum Talent score should be twenty points. Because Amara herself was well past the Talent score minimum and still had more than a year to go until she’s thirteen, most of her attention was spent fretting over the exams instead.
Amara nearly strained her neck trying to look at every interviewer as they each spoke. Seeing the doubt on the other four adults, she scratched her head a little sheepishly, and asked: “Is there a way for me to prove…?”
“If the Headmaster is vouching for you, then we doubt we’d need to have extra verification.” The woman with blue eyes answered, her tone oddly disgruntled, though Amara can’t quite tell why she’d sound that way.
The old man shot her an disapproving look.
“Ahem, I agree to accept and welcome Miss Amara to our Academy!” The large man rushed to pronounce his words, declaring his stance before any of the other interviewers could.
“I, too, agree to welcome Miss Amara.” The woman with brown eyes quickly followed up.
“Well, then it doesn’t matter what my vote would be.” The woman with blue eyes said while putting her watch inside her pocket. “This young miss would be welcomed regardless.”
Amara still couldn’t see why the blue-eyed woman would sound so negative, but she vaguely knows that it was an issue that extended far beyond her presence. Therefore, she chose to not raise any questions for the woman, and instead focused on thanking the other interviewers: “I really appreciate this opportunity!”
“Welcome to the Academy.” The old man—or as he should be called—Headmaster Silas, extended his arms while giving Amara a warm smile. “If you have no other arrangements for the day, do feel free to ask for a guided orientation on our campus. Simply turn right once you exit this room, continue all the way down the hall then turn left, and there should be a booth with older students to welcome you. If you do have other plans, tomorrow is also available for tours.”
“Thank you.” Amara said with a small bow to all of the interviewers. She had no idea about what to say next, so she just turned around and left the room as fast as she could manage without appearing like she was trying to escape.
As soon as Amara took in her new surroundings, she realized that she had not returned to the dim waiting room, but a completely new and empty hallway. The door she went through closed behind her with a click that echoed off the walls, confirming that it was not a hallucination, but the reality: somehow, by going through the very same doorway, Amara had landed in two entirely different locations.
Having no choice but to follow the Headmaster’s words, Amara turned right and walked down the hall, each step along the way being multiplied by the eerie acoustics. The hall was the same shade of gray as the uniforms worn by the Academy staff, the only difference in color being the light bulbs that hung in a straight line along the ceiling. There were no signs of other life and no signs of an end to the hallway, which only contributed to the uncanny atmosphere.
Amara got increasingly creeped out the further she walked. Luckily, before she could regret her choice and turn back to the door she left behind, a thin rectangular opening in the wall to her left caught her attention. Not only was it a change in the surroundings for Amara, but it also emitted sounds that sounded like human chatter, which were enough to convince her that it was the right direction to go.
Squeezing past a few more meters of concrete wall, Amara was greeted by a few rays of sunlight; miraculously enough, the sun was still up in the sky after all the time she had spent on her exams.
“AH!”
Someone let out a short yelp of surprise when Amara stuck her head outside.
Amara put on her best apologetic smile at the person she startled. She knew she probably didn’t look her best at all, with what used to be shoulder length hair tangled and burnt shorter from her duel earlier, now mixed in with mystery flakes off of the walls when she tried to squeeze her way back into the outside world. Her clothes were crumpled and covered in soot, with her face likely just as dirty as the fabrics on her body.
“Are-are you a newbie?” The person Amara startled was a short-haired girl in her late teens, who had been leaning against the wall for rest. She wore the same gray uniform as other staff members, which seemed to be the standard outfit for all personnel on campus.
“Yes…? I’m sorry if I scared you. My name’s Amara.” Amara pulled the rest of herself out of the wall crack as she tried to introduce herself. Sadly for her, the first impressions she gave out were less than stellar.
“Did you know there’s a door right over there?” The short haired girl pointed behind Amara with a still shocked expression. The latter’s eyes followed the direction and found a proper double-door exit, only about twenty meters away from the crack she squeezed through.