“Thanks for the ride!” The cheery voice of a teenager sounded as he jumped out of the taxi cab, taking in his surroundings. The building in front of him was far larger than anything he had ever seen in his life, and this was just a tiny part of the campus.
“Are you serious? Have you ever heard about tipping? Come on, I drove you for three hours!” His driver complained. The request from the teenager had sounded absurd, but since he had paid in advance, Jared had agreed to drive the teenager all the way here. Still, part of him had done so in the hopes of a nice tip for this inconvenience, especially given their destination was catered to a special type of people, Altered.
“I’m sorry, I paid you all I had on me. Is it okay if I tip you next time?!” The male teenager cheekily scratched the back of his head. The taxi driver had trouble believing it, but there was not much he could do. Letting out a few profanities, he drove off.
This little scene had caught the attention of the passers-by, who couldn’t help but comment on the absurdity of the situation. “Have you ever heard of someone coming to this academy who couldn’t afford to tip? That makes no sense, he must just be really stingy.”
“Maybe that's why he dyed his hair green, thinking that it might bring him the green.” Another commented with a smirk on his face, seemingly proud of his use of words.
Gary had no problem hearing them, even if they were some distance away, but their comments did little to spoil the mood. Once more, he gazed at the large campus building, a place he had never dreamt of seeing in real life. Truth be told, the teenager still had cash on him, and not exactly a small amount. Kai had given him enough to last a year in Slough, but since he had been warned that his stay here might be expensive, he had lied to his driver.
‘This is it! This is all me from here on out. I don't have anyone to help me, or get me out of any trouble I might cause.’ Gary thought, as he took in a deep breath and took his first steps forward on to the soil of the academy.
His heart rate was higher than usual, though fortunately not at a level that he showed any signs of transforming, but it couldn’t be helped. Unlike everyone else who had come here today, he wasn’t exactly an Altered, and if that came out, he shuddered to consider the consequences.
‘Kai said it would be okay, and he’s smarter than me, so he should be right.’ Gary told himself.
The academy was large, and rather than walking straight ahead through the first main building where students would usually go, instead the group of students was following the signs to some other place.
While following the signs, Gary closely observed the group he was now part of. A quick headcount put them at close to a hundred.
‘Man, with all these fancy clothes and jewellery, they even make Kai look humble in comparison. Did they come here to attend the AFA or some nightclub to whoo some girls?’ Gary thought to himself, as he internally rolled his eyes.
Speaking of girls, the group he was in consisted of around a third of them, all of them beauties who could easily be models, though perhaps some of them actually were. Gary wondered how ‘natural’ their appearances actually were. No matter their genetics, money could certainly buy them the best skincare routines, the best nutritions growing up, and if all of that didn’t work, then there was always plastic surgery.
‘Most of them should either be the children of someone rich and powerful, or be so talented that they were sponsored by a big and powerful organisation. I might be the sole exception to that.’
Thinking about this, Gary remembered Kai’s words how if anyone was to ask about his backing, he was to say the Howlers. Apparently that was what was filled out on the application form as well.
Eventually, the Werewolf’s eyes rested on a teenager with black hair that was split down the middle. Heightwise, he was about the same height as him, and he estimated that age-wise there shouldn’t be much of a difference either. He was dressed in a normal blue shirt and an inconspicuous black hoodie, though, ironically, that made the guy stand out even more in the current crowd.
Eventually the signs stopped when all the students were out on a large open field. There were a few campuses that could be seen in different directions, but they were far away. Still, they knew they were at the right place because three professors were sitting down in their seats, apparently having waited for them.
The oldest one of the lot that had an extremely long beard, and he was the only one to stand up. “As you all should be perfectly aware, the AFA is a competitive place to get in, and we pride ourselves in only accepting the best of the best… Unfortunately for you, we don’t consider you as such. You were not invited here by our scouts, nor did any of your families or other backing have a big enough influence for us to trail you separately to let you in.”
Gary had to suppress himself from grinning when the faces of his peers dropped. This statement had obviously insulted their egos. For people, who must have been pampered since birth, it was not easy to swallow being told that they were simply leftovers instead of someone truly special.
The Werewolf was perfectly fine with being called as such, he knew that it was the truth of the matter, which was why he had come here in the first place, to the AFA trials. The professor held up his hand, spreading all his fingers out, slowly moving it from the left to the right side, as if to make sure that everyone could get a good look.
“Five. Do you know what that number represents? That's how many open places we have this year. Now, don’t be too happy about it. There’s no guarantee that all of them will be filled by you. In fact, it wouldn’t be too surprising if all of you fail and get sent back home today.
“Don’t forget, we didn’t invite you, so you’ll have to prove to us that we were wrong!”
“Of course!!!” Gary shouted back.
Unsurprisingly, all the other teenagers gave him strange looks. The professor wasn't really asking them a question. Still, Gary didn’t care because he was just too excited to be here.
Surprisingly, the old professor didn’t chide him. No, he actually smiled at his antics. “I like your spirit. Let’s see if you’ll stay this chipper after the test. The first one starts now. Show us what type of Altered you are! If you can’t even do that, then there’s no reason for us to waste any more time with you!”
*****
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