Versus (Parts I and II)

Chapter 8- Practical Exam

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Daddy

"Good morning, Miss Calista Medley. It is now 9:15 in the morning of September 20th, 2349 in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Your practical exam for Fistborn Academy is scheduled at 11:00 AM today at the AU Projector in the Industrial District. What would you like for breakfast?"

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Calista didn't know what grade she got on the written exam, but she was sure it was nothing short of mediocre. It felt like a passing grade, at least.

She studied to the point that she missed her beauty sleeps and Thinning appointments. She managed to convince the girls she'd simply burned out and needed a break. When she came to them with bags beginning to form under her eyes, they crashed. They'd even treated her to a full Thinning Spa treatment so she could look 'beautiful enough' again.

Her parents were surprised when they heard about the application, but a lot more thrilled than when they heard about the Socializer scholarship. It was clear they preferred Fistborn, even her mother, who used to speak against this competition. Maybe the Socializer career really had declined that much.

Now it was time for her practical exam, and she had to hope no one would recognize her. For the first time in years, she wished she had no fans. She was tempted to use one of Catalina's Masks, but since they were illegal, she would just have to keep her head low.

The family arrived at their destination through the travel tubes. The AU Projector building was a simple, one-floor facility with no interior. There were about 10 oval doors on each side, where each user would enter and use the installed Projector to virtually arrive at their real destination for whatever appointment they needed.

Calista's stomach dropped to her feet. Two sides of the building were reserved for the Fistborn applicants, and holy glitch, it was packed.

People waited in hovering shelves with comfy seats on them, connecting their AIDA band to the system around them so they could remain entertained during the wait. The Medleys proceeded to one of the shelves with available seats.

Just as Calista sat down, the seats moved, an applicant having finished. She looked up and saw a Martian teleporting outside the boundary with his Air-Car.

"Calling Amidan Stok," the AIDA announced.

Calista squinted, her eyes scanning the crowd. There were all sorts of people; different colors, different sizes, different features. But a minority could still be seen among the waves.

There were hardly any humans. In fact, there were almost none.

She sighed. This was one of the reasons she'd given up all those years ago. What was the point? How could she compete with all of the stronger species? She'd held her own against that group at Cosmos, but that was probably divine intervention. Maybe they were already drunk.

Calista connected her AIDA band and played an episode of Astrana on her mini-screen, the bubble blocking off the sound around her. She'd studied and practiced as hard as she could, so she preferred de-stressing before the exam.

The past few days were absolutely grinding, mostly on her limbs and abdomen. Under the guide of the free pre-training module Fistborn offered, she'd done push-ups, sit-ups, jogs, and basic fighting exercises to prepare her body for the test.

She definitely wasn't used to so much physical exertion anymore, having collapsed after only 10 push-ups the first time. If it hadn't been for Catalina pushing her so hard, she never would've made it to 25. And the sweat... ugh! It was revolting.