In a blinding flash of light, all the remaining applicants appeared in the hall where they had taken the written exams. But the chairs and desks were cleared to make room.
Adam opened his eyes and sighed, thankful that the stressful trial was over. All around him, the applicants were sitting on the floor, thanking God and sharing their experiences.
Officials who had been on standby swiftly got to work, attending to those who had sustained injuries. Adam watched as they came to carry the three he had put down, cleaned the place and disappeared; the process swift and efficient.
"That’s him?"
"Yeah. I saw him with my own eyes. He’s freakishly strong. Not to mention, brutal."
"You’re probably exaggerating. He doesn’t look that tough to me."
Many began murmuring about Adam, their gazes and fingers pointing in his direction. Through it all, Adam remained silent, his gaze distant.
Beside him, April looked at his side profile and smiled briefly. Adam noticed her gaze but pretended otherwise. Whatever the girl was thinking was her problem.
The commotion began to die down as the applicants turned to face the direction of the raised stage. Adam’s gaze shifted, spotting the man who had introduced himself as their batch’s incoming vice-principal.
’Why does it feel like he’s looking at me?’ Adam wondered as the man seemed to smile in his general direction.
"Welcome back, applicants." The vice-principal said. "On behalf of the academy, I apologise for what many of you have gone through during the trial. But I believe you’ve all grown from the experience."
At his words, many of the girls nodded.
"As per the announcement, an unfortunate accident befell one of your colleagues, prompting a call to end the Survival Trial."
Adam wondered who that unfortunate applicant was, his thoughts never going to the three elites he humiliated.
"But congratulations are in order. Many amongst you performed marvellously. Sadly for some of you, your journey will not begin here." The vice-principal raised his hand and snapped his fingers. A large holographic panel popped above him, displaying the overall score and rankings.
"Your detailed scores will be given to your parents and guardians, but here is a preview of your scores and cutoff point."
Adam’s heart skipped a beat the moment he raised his head to look. Right there on the display, at the very top of the rankings, was his name written in bold fonts.
’I-I came in first?’
[1. Adam Highstein - 967/1000 points]
"Congratulations, Adam. You’re the top performing applicant!"
April’s cheerful voice pulled him out of his daze, the reality of the ranking settling in. He glanced at the pink-haired girl and smiled.
"Thanks"
He was truly happy. He never entertained the thought of coming out as the top-performing student. His confidence lay in getting into the academy. Be that as it may, he was the top applicant.
Eyes all around the hall fell on him, everyone interested in seeing who the top applicant was. Adam ignored the attention and focused on the display, searching for April’s ranking.
"I’m in 321st place."
April answered before he could find her name. His eyes naturally drifted to that spot and found the girl’s name. Although not impressive, she had secured her place in the academy.
The cutoff point was below the 500th position, a red line marking that barrier.
"Well, you got in." Adam turned to her and smiled. "That’s all that matters, right?"
The girl nodded with a smile that did not reach her eyes. Adam noticed her demeanour but kept silent, his smile disappearing. Maybe that was not good enough for her.
The space had grown rowdy once more. Some were jubilating, others downcast, and some downright disappointed. There were some shedding uncontrollable tears, knowing this was it for them.
’I can’t imagine how they must be feeling right now.’ Adam thought sympathetically, though his expression remained flat. ’This is the top academy, after all.’
The second place was taken by someone called Aurelius Spencer. Adam had no idea who that person was, but the Spencer name sounded familiar. Still, that mattered very little. The gap between him and the second place was a menial 13 points.
Several minutes passed before the vice-principal addressed them yet again, "You can head out to meet your parents and guardians. Further instructions pertaining to your admission are made available to them. You are dismissed."
Adam turned to April, "I guess this is goodbye for now, April. Thanks for reaching out to me when you had no reason to." He extended a hand for a handshake.
April took the hand and replied warmly, "It was no trouble at all. And if we’re being honest, you helped me more than I did for you. Thank you."
Adam nodded as they let go. The pink-haired girl turned around and left. Before he could leave, however, an official came to stand in his way.
"Adam Highstein," the official called out in a professional tone. "If you’ll follow me this way. Your father and the vice-principal are waiting for you."
The man gestured to the direction of the raised stage. Adam paused for a moment, turned to look in the direction the official was gesturing to, and then nodded.
He followed the official with confident and purposeful steps. Heads turned, wondering where the first-ranked applicant was headed. They had their guesses, as some whispered amongst themselves.
As they headed for the vice-principal’s office, Adam silently wondered what the meeting might be about. Would he be receiving some congratulatory words, a warning pertaining to his actions, or a reward for being the first?
’Haa... There’s no point wondering. I’ll find out soon enough.’
Meanwhile, inside the vice-principal’s temporary office, Jonathan sat with a dark expression on his face. He could not help the dark thoughts racing in his head.
Was Adam’s admission going to be revoked? Was he going to be punished? He could not keep the thoughts out of his head. The thought of not knowing what this was about drove him to new peaks of anxiety.
It had been several minutes since he got invited, and his anxiety was getting out of hand. He had never felt so stressed in such a short time span before.
The soft click of the door opening pulled his focus so fast that he almost heard a snap.
"Adam!"
Jon instantly shot to his feet and closed in on his son, pulling him into a tight embrace. The relief of holding his son again almost felt euphoric.
"You’re okay."
Adam stared wide-eyed as his father squeezed the living daylight out of him. He had never seen his father look this worried.
"D-Dad... You’re cr-crushing me...!"
Jonathan froze for a moment before slowly pulling back, exhaling. He took a good look at Adam, the worry in his eyes evident.
"Did something happen?" Adam asked, unaware he was the cause of his father’s worries.
"Haa... Adam, do you realise what you’ve done?"
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