Unclassified; Zero and Still Standing

Squad 11-D sat in a loose circle inside their Base.

The transmitter had long fallen silent. Yet nobody had moved.

Isaiah finally broke the silence.

"So how exactly are we supposed to capture someone from another squad?"

Soraya folded her arms.

"First of all," she began, "the Academy never said capturing people was the main objective."

Everyone looked at her.

"Miss Heaven specifically said Scale hunting continues." She gestured casually. "So nothing’s stopping us from ignoring the bounty system and searching for Scales like we’ve been doing."

Grover slowly raised a hand.

"Problem."

Soraya looked at him.

"We didn’t find a single Scale yesterday." He scratched the back of his neck. "If Reggie and Finch hadn’t stolen from 12-C..." He shrugged. "...I’m pretty sure we’d have ended the day with nothing."

Several students nodded.

"True."

"He’s right."

Soraya exhaled.

"Yes." She didn’t deny it. "But what exactly do you all want us to do today?"

Her gaze swept across the circle.

"Take another reckless gamble?" Her expression hardened. "That little adventure cost us a squad mate."

Nobody answered immediately.

Then Reggie quietly raised a hand.

"Excuse me."

Soraya snapped her gaze to him.

Reggie continued in mock politeness.

"I’m not trying to ’fault-find’ or anything..."

A few groans escaped from the squad.

He paused before speaking again.

"...but we still don’t know where we stand. The Academy hasn’t announced any accumulated points since we began."

Several brows furrowed.

He spread his hands.

"So we have absolutely no idea whether we’re ahead, behind or barely surviving."

He leaned forward.

"Considering that, I don’t think it’s wise to ignore today’s Directive just because Scale hunting feels safer."

Someone nodded.

"He’s got a point. There has to be a reason today’s Directive is Capture and Bounty. Those bonus Scales have to translate into bonus points."

Soraya gave a quiet, bitter laugh.

"’Reason?’" she echoed. "The only reason Directives exist is to stir conflict."

Her voice sharpened.

"Not to generously hand out invisible points."

The irritation on her face was obvious

Isaiah quietly placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Easy." He lowered his voice. "Calm down."

She didn’t shrug him off.

Reggie continued anyway.

"Still, I think it’s safer to assume the bonus matters."

Soraya looked at him.

"And your definition of ’safer’ is kidnapping people?"

"This is Trials." Reggie shrugged. "Anything’s allowed."

Soraya rubbed her forehead.

"Someone else should speak, please." She sighed. "I’m not sure how much longer I can tolerate hearing his voice."

Reggie angrily muttered something under his breath.

Nobody asked him to repeat it.

A hand slowly went up.

Yesu.

Soraya nodded. "Go ahead."

Yesu looked around the circle.

"These points everyone keeps fussing over..." She frowned slightly. "What exactly are they for anyway?"

Every head turned toward her.

"And what are they even worth?"

A slow smile spread across Soraya’s face.

"Would someone like to enlighten our recently transferred classmate?"

She never took her eyes off Yesu.

Farida eagerly leaned forward.

"They’re basically like test scores. Only better." She smiled. "Whatever total points the squad earns, every member receives that exact score in their Academy record."

Yesu blinked. "So everyone shares the same result?"

"Exactly." Farida nodded enthusiastically. "And if the score’s high enough, it covers other academic evaluations. Which means you won’t have to work nearly as hard during the semester."

Yesu considered that. "So they’re like insurance?"

Farida laughed.

"Something like that."

Yesu slowly shook her head.

"I don’t know about you guys, but I’d rather study until my brain melted than go through all this."

A few students laughed weakly.

Soraya didn’t.

"That’s assuming we have a choice." She said gravely.

The laughter disappeared.

Reggie nodded.

"And that’s exactly why we need enough points. So all of this..." He gestured around the Base. "...isn’t for nothing."

This time almost everyone agreed.

If they were forced to be here then they might as well make it count.

Soraya quietly observed them.

Somewhere along the way, they had all changed.

Not dramatically. In the littlest ways, here and there.

It may have been too small for anyone to notice but Soraya could see it clearly.

They had become a little cleverer. A little more skilled. A little braver. A little more mature.

A little more united.

Maybe Trials weren’t entirely the death traps she’d always believed they were.

Or at least, what Academies made them out to be.

Perhaps they were simply forcing people to grow faster than they should.

The squad waited on their leader. Isaiah was most anxious of all.

Finally, Soraya straightened.

"We shall follow the day’s Directive." She looked around the room. "Capture and Bounty."

Isaiah’s eyes flew wide open.

"What—"

He barely got the word out.

The rest of the squad immediately erupted into discussion, unusually pleased with the decision.

Ideas flew in from everywhere.

"How do we carry out the kidnapping? Ambush?"

"Lure them?"

"Tie them up?"

"What if we..."

Isaiah stared from one face to another as though everyone had collectively lost their minds.

Carrots, who had been watching the proceedings with skeptical eyes, suddenly raised a hand.

The room quieted.

"Before we start making plans on how to go about the kidnapping," she tilted her head. "Don’t you guys think we should figure out who we’re kidnapping first?"

Silence.

Then—

"Right."

"That’s smarter."

Everyone instinctively looked toward Isaiah.

He was still staring blankly at them.

Farida frowned. "Isaiah, is there something wrong?"

He swallowed.

Reggie leaned forward.

"So? What class are we paired with today?"

Isaiah opened his mouth and coughed, as if something meaningful would have came out if it wasn’t for the coughing.

Carrots cracked her knuckles confidently.

"Relax. We’re not scared of seniors anymore. We brought down some yesterday. A few more won’t kill us."

Isaiah finally found his voice.

"We’re not paired with seniors."

Confused looks spread through the room.

Everyone tried recalling the pairing chart they had memorized before the leaving Echelon.

An uneasy feeling settled in their midst.

Farida’s eyes slowly widened.

She already knew. She just didn’t want to believe it.

"What..." Her voice came out barely above a whisper. "What class?"

Soraya seemed like she had been enjoying the show. She answered immediately.

"11-A."

The room fell silent.

Unlike before class pairing revelations, there was no shouting. No complaints. No disbelief.

Just a long, heavy, silence.

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