New Beginnings : Rise of the Darkness

Dealing with Her (New Feelings Pt. 9)

Edgar POV
A week had passed since Colette and I had become a couple; all of us had celebrated together. The four of us were now three pairs and together we headed to the Tourmaline Hall for our Alchemy Examination.

Word had spread of the two—as Colette called it—"most famous guys" dating and Janet noted that the girls we passed in the hallways were staring at us with envy.

As we stopped outside the exam room, Janet hugged Fang and I, cheering, "All the best for your exams, guys!" Colette snapped a photo of the four of us together, sticking it in her scrapbook and scribbling a label for it.

Just before Fang and I entered the room, Janet called to me, "Edgar? I hear Lady Ispera is a tad unhappy."

Sighing in exasperation, I pushed open the doors and asked Fang, "Don't you wish you didn't take Alchemy?"

"Nope! If I didn't, I wouldn't get to see the drama between you and Lady Ispera!" Fang laughed, running a hand through his hair.

Wondering what kind of drama Lady Ispera would show, I adjusted my scarf nervously.

So much for a tad unhappy—after Lady Ispera handed the examination paper to me, she gave me a cold glare and stalked away, turning the air around her chilly. It wasn't a metaphor—she controlled ice and the frost particles around us.

"How was the test?" Colette asked curiously as she gave me a supportive hug when I exited the room.

"It was fine, but I sure got drama from Ispera..." I lamented.

"You should have seen it—she gave him the coldest look I've ever seen. Like literally," Fang laughed.

Janet was busy typing on her RoboPlanner. She complained, "Okay, here's the insane exam timetable. Next Monday, there's Geography Paper 1(essay) and 2(another essay) and Paper 3(yes, another essay). Then, on Tuesday, there's Physics Paper 1 to 4—thank god those are short. On Wednesday, there's Chemistry or Biology Paper 1 and 2..."

Colette continued, "On Thursday, there's History Paper 1 to 3. Lastly, on Friday, there's Astronomy Paper 1 and 2 followed by the Cryptozoology paper.
Next Monday, there's Elementalism Paper 1 to 4. Tuesday has Agriculture's only paper, combined with Alchemy Paper 3 and the Philosophy Paper. Wednesday contains Metaphysics Paper 1 to 3. Lastly, Thursday is for everyone's respective main area of study. Like Fang's is Martial Arts!"

"Thank god I only take the minimum of 9 subjects!" I heaved a sigh of relief. "I feel bad for Fang—he has to take 12 subjects' papers!"

Fang sighed, "I'm happy PE isn't an examinable subject."

Janet asked curiously, "Fang, you take 13 out of 15 subjects, right?"

Fang answered, "Yeah, I don't take Biology because it's at the same time as Chemistry and I can only pick one. Since I prefer Chemistry much more, it's natural I don't take Biology. I just don't take Metaphysics because it's really boring."

"Oh! Did you guys hear that from next year onwards, the 1st Graders(11 year-olds) can take Geology as an examinable subject? It is still non-examinable like PE." Colette informed us.

"Eh...I don't really like Geology." I told them.

"Actually, neither do I! But I'd much rather take Geology than Metaphysics, which I take just to hit the minimum number of subjects." Colette said.

"I already take 10 examinable subjects," Janet said, "so I definitely wouldn't want to take Geology. By the way, you guys wanna go to the Main Cafeteria for lunch? The second Alchemy Paper starts at 1300 and it's already 1157."

"Yeah, sure! Let's make sure we eat enough to help us think," I agreed. "Also, I'm very hungry."

As we walked down to the cafeteria, I added, "Guys, do you think there's any chance Lady Ispera won't be an invigilator for the second paper?"