Atlas pov
The air vibrated with excitement as we all lined up to get our number for the exam. The main emotion that I felt was nervousness but there was one present that stood out to me. Pretty sure it stood out to all the Mermaids, It was confidence mixed with pain. The enrollment exam for Vycreek Magical Academy is no joke. Out of the three thousand people that were here today only two hundred of us are going to make it.
The girl behind the table asked " Name and Shift?"
" Atlas Anderson, Mermaid shift."
" Are you Andy Anderson's son?" She asked
" Yes I am." I said already dreading the school year.
My father being the right hand to the King of Cordorn was a big deal but I needed to prove myself. I could not have all my victories riding on his name.
" Can you keep that to yourself?" I asked, " I want to be treated as a normal person."
The girl gave me a wink as she handed me my number. As I made my way through the crowd looking for Noah and Trey I noticed the strong emotion again. It was rolling off a girl in black and teal workout gear. She stood out being the only person with long sleeves.
Trey placed his hand on my shoulder and asked " Checking out the competition."
" Something like that." I replied
" She has a vibe about her." Noah said as he walked up. " I am not a mermaid but the way she is carrying herself she has confidence. Plus the fact she is in long sleeves while others were smart enough to wear tank tops."
Before I could respond a voice boomed across the field. " Welcome to day one of the enrollment test. I am the headmaster Howard Richerson. I would like to thank you for taking the time to join us. As you all know only a handful of you will make it through this. Today we will be testing your physical strength along with your mental strength. The first test will be a running test. There is a trail marked out with teachers posted along the way. If you need to stop or are unable to continue please let a teacher know and they will help. Now go."
Someone yelled " How many miles do we run?"
" As many as you can." The headmaster said.
Running was not my strong suit. I trained hard for this and was able to make it ten miles before I had to stop. Most students dropped off at mile five. I watched in surprise as the girl that I noticed ran past me with ease. The girl running with her yelled at her that she was stopping here and to have fun.
" Man, I still don't know how she can run like that." The girl panted " I am Brenda by the way."
" Atlas " I said " I have not seen many people run like that."
" Olivia has always run like that." Brenda said " She runs like someone is chasing her. I bet she will run at least two more miles just to get ahead."
I shook my head at that thought. I was always supposed to be on top but luckily they averaged all the tests together. The next test was swimming , even though we could not use our shift, this test was going to be mine. I ended up tying with Oliva , I had to do well on the last test to be the top student. Strength was the hardest since it was the last one of the day. This is where the mental strength came in. Most of the students have either settled for whatever rank they got, while others have already given up. For this test Oliva and Brenda tried for first.
" Looks like you are going to have to do better tomorrow." Trey said
" On the bright side you will have good competition. You always complain about not having a challenge." Noah said
The next day did not go my way either. She managed to finish all the tests faster than me. "Looks like I was going to have to learn to be okay with second place. It has been a long time since I ended up in second place." I said to the guys as we walked toward our hotel.
" she probably got lucky." Noah said, trying to cheer me up.
"But still it is ridiculous how she is so good at everything." I said
" Just think about it " Trey said " if you were able to use your shift you would have beaten her at several things."
I nodded as I headed into my room. Who knows maybe she cheated and would get kicked out.
The next day there was a little grey box in front of my door. I opened the box and a Green crystal sat on a black velvet cloth. The headmaster's form appeared in front of me. His voice broke through the silence as he started to speak.
" Welcome to Vycreek Magical Academy. Out of the thousands of students that have applied and competed, you have risen above them. Take pride in the fact that out of the two hundred that did make it in you have ranked second highest among your peers. I look forward to seeing you at the opening ceremony."
I heard several excited screams through the hall. I felt several people had their spirits broken. I tuned them out the best I could. Trey and Noah busted through my door, both of them speaking at the same time. After calming them down they told me that they both have made it. My phone started to ring as we sat talking about the next steps. It was my dad. The guys decided to head out while I talked to my dad.
The first word out of his mouth was " Why did you get second."
There was no greeting or anything, it was straight to the point.
" It will not happen again." I replied know that it can't
" Good, do not let the girl beat you." He said and then hung up
How he knew I will never know. I headed down to find Noah and Trey . The next week was a flurry of activity while we got everything we needed for the first day of school.
The actual school was an old castle that was repurposed. It has several hundred acres of land surrounding it. The grand hall was everything that you would expect. It was not as grand as the one in the castle that the king lives in but here it was also nice. We were led through the hall towards the dining room. There are six tables representing the six shifts. Above each of the tables were their corresponding constellations. We all stood behind the headmaster as he gave an opening speech.
" Welcome back for another year. I would like to welcome our new students. The top three students from the enrollment exams are as follows: Olivia Ashborn, Atlas Anderson and Brenda Stonehill. I look forward to seeing how you end this year. Please have a seat at your table."
I walked over to the Piscis Austrinus or the mermaid table. My heart dropped as Oliva walked over to the table as well. It was going to be difficult being in the same dorm. I had to be on my best behavior. It still doesn't sit right with me being in second. After Everyone was done eating the headmaster got back up and said " Now that everyone has had their feel lets get to something more exciting. I will call each of you up here and you will get your blessing.
While you will not be able to use your magic until you get your grimoire. Now let's begin."
Each student was called one by one. All of them have one element. When it was my turn I felt several hands on my shoulder. Voices whispered things in my ear that I could not understand.
The symbol for water and Earth appeared before me. As I was heading back to my table, Trey's dad Mr. Lightwood congratulated. Gasps filled the air as the symbols for all six of the elements appeared around Olivia.
' You have got to be kidding me ' I thought ' there is no way someone is that powerful.'
After all the excitement died down we were dismissed to our dorms. I decided to put the girl out of my mind. As long as she was out of sight out of mind. Several of the older students were guiding students to the right dorms. I followed the instructions to the door with my name.
My breath caught in my throat as I read the name right beside mine. The universe had its way of joking. My blood started to boil as I came to terms with the fact that the one person that can give me a run for my money is going to be bunking with me. I pushed open the door to see her sitting in the center of the floor with her eyes closed. She slowly opened them and asked " What side of the room do you want?"
Her eyes had a shine to them like she was crying. I let my powers out trying to feel her emotions but they were locked down.
" You can have the left side if you want " She said " That way I won't have to walk through your things to get to the bathroom."
I just nodded, taking the left side. We unpacked in silence as I processed my thoughts.