A sharp pain, much like a rusty nail being hammered into her brain.
Feeling overwhelmed and on the brink of a mental collapse, Azalea sank to her knees.
Now was the worst time to be flooded with the most depressing memories of her life.
"Another expulsion, Azalea. This is the last straw!!! If you fail to get into an academy after the Cup of Dreams ceremony then you will get married. Why must you be so reckless with your future? I wish it was you that died and not your mother."
"Our compatibility score isn't even near fifty percent. Cheer up you will find someone else, for me this would just be a waste of time and effort. I got early acceptance into Mercy Academy. Why marry you when I can get better?" grinned a handsome brown eyed jerk.
"Tell your father I will return his money. I've fallen for my first love. Forgive me for the short notice but I must call off our engagement."
"You wouldn't even let me get a taste before we tie the knot. Suppose we get married and have no chemistry in bed?"
"Beastly girl… your father spends so much on early admission, even donating a new wing to the university and she got expelled by all three schools. That sucker still dotes on her even when several DNA tests confirm she's not his child."
"It sucks to be you. I can't imagine a life without mental powers. Do us men a favor and just disappear…"
People in her past, those she liked and disliked, some who she thought meant well while others sneakily hated her guts.
Memories of these slanderous voices crossed her mind in rapid succession.
It was too much to handle and she resisted the urge to bang her head against the wall and instead sobbed softly.
Someone, perhaps her mother, had placed a seal on Azalea's mental energy.
Azalea had no clue what caused the seal to loosen.
She could feel tiny pricks of mental energy moving around her body.
For so long she lacked mental energy and it affected all areas of her life.
Many of the amenities that come so easily to others would always be denied to her.
Today would determine her future.
Azalea had no choice but to go out and face the hardest examination of her life.
The warmth of the bubble bath had long since dissipated and prompted her to action.
Not to lose her balance, she slowly stepped out of the emptied bathtub.
Skin all wrinkly and prune like she got under the shower and rinse the soapy suds down the drain.
Finally Azalea was done and wrapped her body in a large fluffy white towel after using it to remove the excess moisture.
She left the bathroom and hurried inside her bed to get ready to leave the house.
Azalea couldn't afford to risk reaching the examination center late.
Since thanks to the time blacked out in the bathroom she had fallen behind on schedule.
Her jaw dropped in shock as she stared down at the old smartwatch that needed mental energy.
It once belonged to her dead mother and became noisy as it slowly pinged to life.
Before today it was the useless watch that she always wore but could never operate because it couldn't read her mental energy.
A very subtle whiff of the lily scent teased the air and it wasn't her body wash.
Before Azalea could check if the smells were coming from her pores she got distracted.
Annoyed by the persistent beeping of the smartwatch Azalea instinctively knew how to operate the high tech intelligent wristband.
Possessing the same pair of unique eyes as her mother Azalea brought the watch closer to her face and watched it unlock itself after scanning her retina.
It just functioned like a normal smartwatch, telling the date, time and her pulse.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened but it was still a telling sign that something within her physique had changed.
Her body that used to be devoid of mental energy finally had enough sparks of mental energy to turn on the smartwatch.
Before Azalea could even celebrate her bedroom door slammed wide open.
One her biggest grievances in life was that thanks to her paranoid father Michael no locks were allowed on the bedroom door.
As usual, her stepmother Joan just barged in without knocking, determined to provoke another unwarranted argument with Azalea.
"Didn't you hear me calling your name from downstairs?"
Joan walked to her vanity table and frowned at her reflection in the mirror over the vanity..
She hated the wrinkles on her neck.
A sign Joan was getting up in age despite her slender and trim figure.
In the mirror Joan saw Azalea's towel clad figure and her potential to be another beauty like her mother made her temper flare.
Before Azalea could answer Joan shouted, "Just as rude and ignorant as your mother. Thank the heavens you're of age and I won't have to put up with your disrespectful airs anymore."
Seeing that Azalea's hair was still dripping wet, Joan didn't hand the pen and papers in her hands over to Azalea instead she rested them on the vanity table.
"Don't waste our time, sign the papers or else…"
"What if I don't want to?" asked Azalea softly.
"I was going to wait until later but I don't trust you," said Joan as she picked up the pen and papers and stomped towards Azalea."
Joan was so enraged that she grabbed Azalea's right hand forcefully.
Her sharp fake nails dug into Azalea's skin so deep it felt like they drew blood.
"Let me go!"
Joan didn't listen to Azalea and the two started to scuffle.
With all the force she could muster Azalea pushed the older woman off of her body.
In reflex for being pushed by the younger girl Joan slapped Azalea across her face for her blatant disrespect.
Huffing and puffing, satisfied Joan saw the imprint of her palm redden visibly on Azalea's right cheek.
"Just wait until your father hears about this!" Joan flung the slightly crushed papers and pen on Azalea's bed before storming out of the room.
Joan stood under the door frame, irate, then she turned on her heels.
Her voice filled with venom and loathing as she growled her last parting shot.
"No one is willing to marry you! Don't you think it's time to stop being a leech. Sign those papers or I will make you live to regret crossing me."