The Elite Game

Chapter 1. A Trapped Bird.

“You have thirty minutes to answer the questions, the person with the highest marks quality for entry. Good luck!”

It's dead silent save the sound of an enormous ticking clock in the room.

I'm not sure why it's there but it sure does help increase the tension. It always catches my eyes whenever I raise my head. 

The first page is a name page with clear instructions. 

Rule 1; We see you.

Rule 2; We hear you. 

It's a clear threat just in case it crossed my mind to turn my neck. 

With deep breaths I brace myself and head for the next page, and then–

“How was it,” mum asks the moment I slam the door shut. 

I sigh, murmuring under my breath, “I– don't want to talk about it, please not now.”

Racing straight to my room I crash on the bed, and take a few moments to recount just how stupid I was.

I want to forget it but I just can't.

‘There's absolutely no way I'm getting in.’ 

*****

Knock!

Knock!!

“Good morning Tad, what is it?” Mother curiously asks, pretty surprised to see our neighbor at our front door at 6am in the morning. 

I draw a little close to find out what's going on myself, when I notice a bunch of teenagers running into one direction. 

A sense of dejavu hits me, as I rush straight into my room. 

“Good morning Mrs Rachel, my mum says I should tell Ande that the results are out!”

The results are out!

“The results are out?” Asks mother worriedly as I dash out of the house. 

Mixing up with the crowd, I hurry straight to the town square where the notice board has been places. 

The place, flooded with people aspiring to get into the Academy just like myself. 

Dammit! 

I hate this many crowd, it's one of the reasons I need to leave this damn place. 

Pushed-

Crushed-

And stepped on-

I make my way to the front row in search of one thing. 

“Ha!

Where's my name?!”

I spend the next ten minutes checking each name on the board, but mine was nowhere to be found, but more disturbingly, no one on the list made it. 

“Did you seriously think you were going to get in? 

Your name isn't even on the list, you probably didn't write anything at all.”

Ah! 

Of course that voice.

Angered and frustrated, I turn around while wearing a fake smile, trying my best to hold back. 

It was my biggest interest to not offend him and sarcasm was the only way to handle him as I could never take him down in hand to hand combat. 

“Well Zane, whether I did or not has nothing to do with you especially since I believe you also didn't get in.”

“Hey!”

Zane leaps forward barely held back by his minions when an officer walks back forcing him to get his character in check, and giving me time to run of course. 

Although disappointed that I didn't get in, everything seemed to be going well, for the time being at least. 

Knock!!! 

Knock!!!

Knock!!!

“What is wrong with some people!” I yell while waking up from sleep. 

I glance at the clock, it's barely six in the morning, why are people visiting around six in the morning?!

“Is this the home of Rachel Deer?” I hear an unfamiliar voice speak. 

“Yes,” she nervously answers. 

“I have a message for your son, if you don't mind, can we come in?”

Mother goes silent for a while. 

I sure hope Zane isn't responsible for this, I don't know how I'd be able to fight off his father's men if either of them is at the front door. 

“–of course.” 

I hurry down the stairs, struggling to put on my shirt when I'm met with a rather unfamiliar scene. 

About seven men are waiting in the living room and they look nothing like our Division, or the Officers. 

Seeing as I make my way to my mother's side, they all revert their gaze to me. 

One of them suddenly gets in the way between my mother and I and stretches out his hand. 

“What for?”

“You don't know what a handshake is?”

“Oh!” 

Well isn't that a nice way to call me dum.

“Congratulations Ande, I'm actually pretty surprised to see such excellent grades, I'm sorry if you nearly got a heart attack during the release of the result. We don't usually let the winners know until a week later because they're special,” he says. 

“What? 

I got in? 

I didn't fail? You weren't angry with my answer.”

“Angry? Ha! If anything it made everyone laugh, believe me we needed that laugh,” he responds.”

What a very strange man. 

He grins a bit excitedly and then with a snap of his finger the men rush in while carrying some boxes. 

“This is everything he would need to get ready for his first day at school. I'm certain he'd like to meet the rest of his classmates, so do well to get him prepared.”

“We will,” mother says. 

The strange man chuckles lightly and proceeds to leave when he halts by the door and turns around like. 

“Oh and Ande,” he calls out to me. 

“...”

“That's quite the spirit you've got, we'd be looking forward to seeing it pretty soon.”

Oh shit, I knew I pissed em off. 

“Ande, what's she talking about?”

“Oh it's nothing.” I laugh. 

‘To think I also got in!’

I can still remember pretty clearly how I felt after finding the first question. 

Stupid. 

Not because I was stupid but because they wanted to show me how I stupid they saw me as or rather us. 

That's just how low they thought of us, fortunately for me, I inherited countless books and a nice memory from my father before his passing, there was no way I was going to fall for this. 

I smiled at the papers and wrote boldly on the paper, “I'm not stupid!”