Obviously, the lottery will be rigged. The three teams will be decided long before the first day. My second chance will not go to waste.

  -Roger Hill’s Notes

  June never learned how to swim, so she just sat by the pool, glowering at any passerby that looked in her direction.

  Alpha Team meandered the Principality for hours, finally taking a break in the Recreation Center’s Poolside. The Recreation Center was bigger—no, scratch that—deeper than each of the Halls. Each of the respective Lanes of the Halls eventually connected to what was both a colossal support beam and a tower with countless floors dedicated to some sort of afterschool entertainment.

  It was Isaac’s idea to visit the Poolside, the indoor water park. June didn’t bother asking why, but Isaac offered his reasoning anyway.

  “If hard times are waiting for us, you gotta relax while you still can, man!”

  Alex didn’t care to give an opinion, unsurprisingly. Claudius seemed content to be anywhere, so he didn’t count either. As for June, she just didn’t come up with an alternative. So they went to the Poolside.

  “Don’t worry,” Isaac said as they entered, feeling the warm humidity of the water park on their skin. “There’ll be strategizing and tactic-izing too. I’m all over this.”

  This was bullshit, of course.

  That bastard Isaac was just checking out girls under the pretense of relaxation.

  So now June was stuck breathing in stuffy, heated air, miserable.

  Through the splashing and voices of countless students bouncing off the walls, June overheard the conversation between Isaac, Claudius, and Alex from the edge of the pool.

  “I gotta say, I like what I see around here.” Isaac said, a piglike grin on his face. “Middle school was bleh, but high school girls? Top tier, baby!”

  “That so?” Alex asked as he lounged in a unicorn floaty.

  “Don’t act like you’re not thinking the same thing, man! You’re still a guy, even if you look all gi—”

  “Don’t finish that sentence.”

  Isaac laughed nervously.

  “My bad, my bad.” Isaac quickly attempted to recover the conversation.

  “Back to what I was saying, though. Normal girls can’t compete with the Myriad High girls, and that’s a fact.”

  “I suppose their Blessings are more combat-focused compared to a normal schoolgirl.” Claudius nodded.

  Alex snorted. Isaac looked at Claudius, finally remembering that he was there.

  “I wasn’t talking about their Blessings, man.”

  “. . .Oh?”

  Claudius pursed his lips as he wondered what Isaac could have possibly been talking about.

  “Let me guess, Alex. You like those preppy, nerdy Manipulation chicks, yeah?”

  “If I like what I see, I like what I see.” Alex stated.

  “I respect it, but the Amplification girls are the peak. Always taking care of their bodies.” Isaac turned to Claudius, almost hesitating to speak.

  “So uh, Claudius. What about you?”

  Claudius smiled, holding his hands out as if to ascend.

  “All Blessings are wonderful. I could never fixate myself on a singular classification.”

  “You know what? My bad for asking.”

  It was at this point that June had lost her patience.

  “Can we actually do something about the shit-pit we’re in!”

  Isaac visibly cringed as he felt the eyes of other students descend upon the four.

  “Dang, June! You should’ve just said something!”

  “Well I’m saying it now, Ballsaac. It’s been an hour of you being a perv and nothing to show for it! Take this seriously.”

  “Maaan. Looks like the fun’s over, boys.”

  Isaac sighed as he pulled himself out of the water. Claudius followed suit. As for how he managed to keep his goth-style makeup dry, June didn’t bother to ask. Isaac wrung out the water from his messy hair as he looked down at June with a grimace.

  “You got my full attention, now what?”

  June waved the black folder in his face.

  “We read through this and figure out how we’re going to pass.”

  Isaac looked at her, frowning in deep thought. It was annoying, the concept of Isaac coming close to any kind of actual thinking.

  “What?”

  “What’s with this seriousness you got going on? You never act like this.”

  “You barely know me!” June shouted.

  Isaac smiled.

  “That’s true. But we got a whole month to worry about the Early Assessment, remember? Overthinking is a real pain, take it from my main man Jerry.”

  Before June could swear at him, Alex appeared by Isaac’s side.

  “What we should really be talking about is our Instructor.” Alex said.

  While June didn’t agree with him, the thoughts still seeped through her main priority. How the hell did that nerdy turtleneck manage to become an Instructor with no Blessing? It didn’t make sense.

  “Instructor Hill. . .” Claudius muttered. He gave a small frown, as if he struggled to remember something important. “If he is telling the truth, we are in dire straits.”

  “I mean,” Isaac replied, adopting a defensive tone. “I wouldn’t pick an Instructor with no powers but it ain’t that bad! He’s a cool guy, and he kicks ass!”

  “So you knew he was a Non-Blessed?” Alex asked.

  “Nah, but—”

  Alex sucked his teeth.

  “And he didn’t tell you? I assume you were in his little afterschool program thing, right? Where you and the other two took on that criminal? Don’t you think it’s wrong of him to expose you to potential harm without even having a Blessing to protect you with?”

  Isaac was at a loss for words.

  “I. . .”

  “The Blessed are many because each Blessing is a small part of the Myriadic Plan,” Claudius began. “A Non-Blessed is a rare occurrence because they are without plan, without purpose. Having him as an Instructor is quite the foul omen for us.”

  “Screw that! If he managed to get in, he’s gotta be good at his job!” Isaac said.

  June almost regretted confronting Isaac. All it did was derail the objective from one distraction to another. She shut her eyes and stomped her foot on the ground. A small tremor rocked the surrounding area, generating waves in an otherwise lazy river. When June opened her eyes, a sizable dent was left on the floor.

  In a low voice, she said, “I don’t care if he deserves to be an Instructor or not. I’m passing his class. Try not to forget whatever bullshit reason you have for joining T.H.R.O.N.E. until we survive the Early Assessment, got it?”

  “Damn, easy June. . .” Isaac looked as if he wanted to say more on the subject, but kept quiet.

  “Let’s change venues before they charge us for damages.” Alex said.

  As they made their way out, Isaac leaned down to whisper.

  “June, what do you really think about Teach not having a Blessing?”

  Once again, Isaac wore a pensive expression that didn’t fit him at all.

  “What I said is what I said. Either way, we’re stuck with him, and I’m stuck with this team.”

  June grit her teeth.

  “So focus, Ballsaac.”

  “Can’t this wait, Thomas?” Robin said.

  “No, it can’t.”

  The Founding of Myriad High was open in his left hand as he used his other hand to click through articles on a public computer. Newspaper articles dating back to nearly a decade ago were stacked on the long table where they sat.

  “Why not?” Robin asked.

  “We need to get a handle on his intentions ASAP.”

  Robin huffed, shaking her head.

  “You don’t trust him.”

  “You’d be crazy not to!” Thomas shouted.

  Lloyd’s miniscule voice struggled to find itself.

  “We shouldn’t shout. It’s a library. . .”

  Thomas paused to scan his surroundings. The Main Library was shared between all of the Halls, so the size of the place was obviously staggering. If Thomas were to figure out where the hell Instructor Hill came from, it would be here or the Empyrean Library. While Lloyd had gained a level of comfort in the Main Library, Gloria-Grace became an antsy distraction, like a gnat between the eyes. The former comfortably perused cookbooks with a smile, while the latter noisily shuffled between seats and newspapers.

  Thomas’ chest tightened. He didn’t even realize he was raising his voice. You always had a weak temper. Stop that. You have to explain your side of the story calmly and concisely.

  “I apologize for yelling.”

  “It’s whatever.” Robin quickly replied. She looked embarrassed.

  “That’s right,” Gloria-Grace said. She pretended to be poring through a newspaper, but the corner of a hot-pink fashion magazine poked out the sides. “You must forgive Thomas for his curiosity. I feel the same way.”

  Thomas couldn’t believe it. Of all people, Gloria-Grace understood the urgency of the situation the most?

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Hm, yes.” Gloria-Grace continued. “We must know his likes, his dislikes, his pet-peeves, his sign, his type of woman, his—”

  Never mind.

  “Slow it down, sis! Aren’t you a little too old to have a crush on a teacher?” Robin asked.

  “A crush? Me?” Gloria-Grace laughed. “Nonsense.”

  “What’s nonsense is that there’s nothing to find about this man!” Thomas fumed. “Roger Hill’s place of birth, the year he was born, how he managed to get in, nothing!”

  Here comes the anger again.

  “And worst of all, there’s no public Agent Profile on him, so unless he is somehow Dominion-ranked, he is telling the truth about being a Non-Blessed.”

  Robin pulled up a chair, sitting down in a less-than-ladylike manner.

  “In his defense, it’s not like the faculty members don’t know him. If they trust him, there’s nothing for a bunch of trainees like us to worry about, yeah?”

  “That’s another issue of mine, him knowing people.” Thomas growled. “He even knows my crooked cop of a father.”

  Gloria-Grace gasped as she pressed the back of her hand to her forehead in a mock faint.

  “He’s a mysterious handsome man on the side of justice but isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty? It’s just like my novels!”

  Ignoring her, Robin replied, “Instructor Hill isn’t a bad person.”

  Her tone was matter-of-factly, as if she had made a decision. Thomas noticed a softer look in her eyes. Is she pitying me?

  “Oh?” Thomas scoffed. “And how do you know that?”

  She smiled and pushed her legs out toward Thomas, making him flinch. It was always the tomboyish girls who ignored personal space. Thomas hated that. She moved them in circles, as if that made her point somehow.

  “What does that mean?”

  “I lost these legs a few months ago.”

  Thomas wasn’t sure what face to make. Gloria-Grace’s antsy shuffling and squirming had come to an abrupt end. Lloyd dropped a cookbook onto the ground.

  “You l-l-lost your legs?” Lloyd stammered.

  “Yeah. That Spitfire guy burned down the apartment complex my family and I lived in. The roof collapsed on me and. . .” She made a gesture with her hands falling to her thighs.

  Lloyd audibly shivered.

  “My family isn’t rich or anything, so we couldn’t pay for someone with the right Blessing to fix me up.” Robin’s voice was monotone now. “It was crazy, to go from a girl with dreams of being a gold medalist in the Olympics to waking up with stubs for legs.”

  It was starting to click for Thomas.

  “Spitfire was—”

  “Yup. If it weren’t for Roger and those three, my family and neighbors wouldn’t have even known to start evacuating.”

  Robin laughed as she blinked back the moisture from her eyes.

  “I hadn’t met the guy yet and he saved my life. And then, he visited me at my hospital bed and offered to save my legs too.”

  Thomas slowly nodded.

  “I get it. You joined for the medical coverage. Replacing lost limbs would be pocket change for T.H.R.O.N.E.”

  A grateful smile crept up on Robin’s face. She thought Thomas was beginning to change his mind. Not that easily.

  “That wasn’t an altruistic action. You know that, right? You’re no longer a civilian. In fact, you’re considered an adult combatant now.”

  “He saved my life and gave me another chance. If that’s not altruistic, then screw altruism!”

  Thomas stared at her, thinking of something to retort. Then, he thought better of it. Robin was just that kind of person. Nothing he could say would get to her, now that she’s trapped in a web of gratitude. So Thomas stopped trying.

  “That’s reckless. You’re a reckless thinker, Robin.”

  “Really?” Robin scratched at the back of her head. “I feel like I’m pretty normal.”

  Thomas closed the book and stood up from his chair.

  “I think I’m done here. He’s a ghost.”

  Robin stood up as well, glad to be leaving.

  “A real friendly one!”

  “Don’t be too sure.”

  Gloria-Grace scrambled to return the unused newspapers.

  “Wait! Did you at least find out his type?”

  Jeremiah wasn’t sure why he was in a mall.

  To be precise, he wasn’t sure why he was in a mall at the moment. The three of them were supposed to be poring over the files they were given. Instead, Ashley skimmed through the files and made a snap decision to go on a shopping spree in the Recreation Center’s Mall. Jeremiah would have at least attempted to get things back on track, but. . . Ashley’s been. . . Jeremiah thought. Kind of aggressive lately. Was it something I said?

  His third teammate wasn’t making things better, either. Actually, Natali was actively making things worse. What was she doing exactly? Nothing much. Just being taciturn and elegant in Ashley’s immediate vicinity. Somehow, Jeremiah had to get these two girls to get along when they were basically ice and fire.

  After a while of Ashley burning through her first (and decently sizable) paycheck from T.H.R.O.N.E., Jeremiah made a suggestion.

  “Ashley? Could we take a break? Lunch, maybe?”

  Ashley narrowed her eyes in disappointment.

  “Hungry already? I guess we could, like, eat something.”

  “Well, not exactly. It’s more like. . .” He looked down at the countless shopping bags Ashley had delegated to him, clutched in his fat hands.

  “Tired.” Natali concluded. It was the first thing she said in hours. Jeremiah nodded sheepishly. Ashley shook her head as she turned to leave the expensive makeup store they were in.

  “Like, whatever. Let’s go.”

  Jeremiah felt like he should have been more excited about where he was. Everything about Myriad High was a sci-fi fantasy come true to him, but his current situation was nightmarish to say the least. Mr. Hill having no powers, the Early Assessment, and now I’m in a lion’s pit with these two. . .

  Jeremiah ruminated over his crappy situation, mumbling stock responses to Ashley’s words, and managed to overthink himself into a sleepwalking trance. All the way until he found himself sitting at a table. Ashley was waving the black folder in his face.

  “Heyyyy, Earth to Froggy! Come in, Major Froggy~” Ashley cooed.

  Jeremiah blinked twice, reassessing his current circumstances.

  “Oh, sorry. What were we talking about?”

  “‘We?’ Think I can have a conversation with that?” Ashley jabbed a thumb at Natali. While Ashley had an over-designed, calorie-monster of a parfait, Natali seemed to be halfway through a buffet constructed from various foods belonging to different restaurants. It was awe-inspiring: the sheer volume of the food, how quickly Natali was polishing through it, and the impossible elegance of her table manners.

  “Girl can totally eat.” Ashley sounded impressed.

  “I see that.”

  The two waited for her to finish. Not that it took long. She wiped her face as she returned her soulless gaze to the other two. Jeremiah was glad to finally have an actual conversation with this girl, so he spoke first.

  “Well, let's read through the files together and see what our Instructor wants.”

  “Yes.” Natali replied.

  Ashley passed the papers to Jeremiah.

  “I read most of it already. It’s kinda crazy~”

  “You did?” Jeremiah asked as his eyes dissected the text. “When?”

  Ashley’s (currently) orange eyes twinkled.

  “It doesn’t take that long to try out new clothes, Froggy.”

  “I should’ve known. You just wanted to monopolize the. . .” Jeremiah’s sentence elongated as the details of their mission rocked his mind. His voice dropped several octaves as the surprise brought out a croak.

  ”Informatiooooon?! What the heck is this?”

  “Riiiight? Roger’s out of his mind!” Ashley cackled.

  Despite his flabbergastation, Jeremiah passed the folder to Natali with a shaky hand. She took it wordlessly and read through it silently. Surely, even Natali would react to what we’re supposed to deal with! The only clue to her own shock was a slight pause in the back-and-forth of her irises as she took in the Early Assessment’s orders. Jeremiah decided to take that as a sign that the girl wasn’t completely robotic. It gave him hope. Maybe he could get along with this stone-faced girl after all?

  Natali placed the folder down on the table and her eyes narrowed until they were closed. Was she trying to think of what to say? Jeremiah wondered. I couldn’t blame you for that. I haven’t even tried to think yet.

  Ashley smirked as she rested her head on her hands. The rainbow-dyed ends of her hair served as a cushion. And here’s another one to worry about. These two are practically nemeses.

  “So, like, I think we should totally talk about our Blessings. If we combine our powers or something, we’ll be able to pass.” Ashley shot a look at Jeremiah. Swallowing his saliva, Jeremiah nodded.

  “That’s right. Considering what Mr. Hill said today, he wants us to use our Blessings to the fullest, which is probably the true goal of the test.”

  “Use my Blessing to the fullest?” Natali said. “I understand.”

  Jeremiah smiled.

  “Right! Well, our Blessings, to be specific. It’s a group project so we need to work together.”

  “Yes.” Natali agreed.

  “Well in that case!” Ashley twirled her hands as an unpeeled orange floated up from the table. It danced around to the tempo of Ashley’s hands. With the motion of a grand conductor, she made the orange “dance” to the background music playing from the Mall’s speakers.

  “I’m telekinetic. Or, like, colorkinetic? Every time I wake up, I can move any object that’s a specific color. Also, this is super lame but if it’s too heavy, I’ll pass out.” Ashley clenched her fingers as the orange quickly peeled itself. Then, it split itself into clean sections. Ashley popped a slice into her mouth and smiled.

  “I see.” Natali nodded. Thankfully, she seemed to absorb the information without any condescension Jeremiah could sense. She also didn’t show any interest or awe, but that would be too much to hope for. Natali’s eyes focused on Jeremiah’s now. It’s still not easy doing this. It’ll never be easy.

  “Um, my Blessing is. . . hard to explain. Anything I can swallow, I can regurgitate in the exact same state it was in when I swallowed it. My stomach isn’t human. It’s the stomach of a frog.” Jeremiah stumbled over his words, hurrying to find a positive note to end on.

  “B-but it’s also tough and heavy!”

  “I see.” Natali nodded again. Jeremiah tried not to look so relieved. There was comfort in Natali’s near lack of emotion. As Jeremiah attempted to cloak his relief, Natali’s blank look changed. It made no sense. Her eyebrows were raised, her eyes taking on a strangely gentle vibe. Jeremiah expected a sneer, not. . . whatever this was. Ashley must have also been thrown off. She cleared her throat and gestured towards Natali, using the floating orange slices like a pointed finger.

  “Alright, your turn. Don’t be shy~”

  “No.” Natali said.

  Huh?

  Huh?

  “I’m s-sorry, what was that?” Jeremiah asked.

  “Yeah!” Ashley chimed in. “I think I, like, missed something.”

  “You did not miss anything.” Natali said. “I will not disclose my Blessing.”

  Whatever feigned friendliness Ashley tried to make, her efforts quickly dissolved. With a reddening face, Ashley slammed her hands down as the orange slices exploded into pulpy juice.

  “What the fu—”

  Jeremiah threw his hands up as if to hold Ashley back.

  “Ashley, wait!” Jeremiah shouted. “Just wait.” Ashley’s chest rose and fell as her face continued to contort in rage. What would Mr. Hill do right now? What would he say? Jeremiah couldn’t react like Ashley. Natali wasn’t an enemy, even if she was being this way.

  Mr. Hill would gather information.

  “Why don’t you want to tell us?”

  Natali calmly wiped any orange juice that managed to reach her. Her response was longer than expected.

  “I did not and will not tell you because of many reasons.” Natali scanned the rest of the food court. “You two are recent residents of Seraph. I do not expect you to understand that our Blessings are more than just the foundation of who we are. It is our greatest strength and our greatest weakness. Why would I divulge crucial information to my very being in a public, highly surveilled space?”

  Natali took a sip of her coffee.

  “No, I’ll use my Blessing and talk of my Blessing when I absolutely need to.”

  Still fuming, Ashley spoke up. Her voice was strained.

  “Even when your enrollment is on the line?”

  Natali sneered.

  “It is not. We will pass.”

  Before Ashley could get into it with Natali, Jeremiah interjected.

  “Ok. I’ll trust you.”

  Ashley’s jaw dropped. She stared at Jeremiah with disbelief, betrayal even.

  “Why?”

  “Because we don’t have a choice. She didn’t come here just to get kicked out, right? Arguing won’t change a thing. We’ll work around you Natali. Is that fine?”

  Natali nodded while Ashley covered her face with closed fists. Jeremiah ended up doing the same. As he buried his face in his hands, he once again thought about what Mr. Hill would do next.

  Unfortunately, Jeremiah was not Mr. Hill.

  Not by a long shot.