Anderson and Len arrived in front of the school. Outside against the stone wall, there was a giant black plaque embedded with golden letters, "Vantage Academy for the Talented."
Len glanced over at the sign, and a confused feeling came over him
Vantage, was an academy known in Breleye as well as surrounding sectors as a prestigious institution, considered the most beneficial for youth growth and development in the vicinity. Here, the powerful and wealthy send their kids, to help them further develop to guide them to future success. However, even a large bribe wouldn't be able to admit a student. Applicants must be extraordinary in a field of their choosing, educational or not, and skills must be proven without the thought of a shard of gold.
Somehow, despite being in such a financial situation, Anderson knew the owner of the school, the only reason someone such as Len would be able to apply.
"Welcome to your school Len! The principal is expecting us, so let's head inside."
Len looked back towards Anderson and nodded.
The two entered the building, drifting towards a set of stairs which led to the second floor. Climbing up, they reached the second floor and instantly turned left. Down the hall an old man stood wearing a gray suit and blue tie, waiting for them right next to an open door. They approached the man who soon nodded at them as they came closer.
"Come on in." The man said.
They entered the room, three chairs were arranged in the room, with a beige wooden table in front of them.
"Take a seat."
The man entered the room behind them, closing the door. Anderson and Len sat down and so did the man, directly across from them.
"So this kid is Len, Len Brighton?"
Anderson opened his mouth.
"Correct"
"And you are? The man asked.
"I'm Anderson Brighton, I'm sure Pline talked about me."
The man looked down towards a white mug that sat on the table in front of him.
"He did… so, might I ask if this child is your son?"
"No he is not, I'm just his guardian right now."
"I would assume so since you two look nothing alike."
The man picked up the mug from the table and took a sip of a liquid, he set it back down.
The man suddenly stood up.
"Mr. Pline explained to me that this kid had extraordinary talent. So what might be his talent?"
"Well, I'm not sure just yet, but I know he has one."
"You know we only accept children who are talented in some field, how can you say he is talented if you can't prove it?"
Anderson hesitated.
"I think he is talented somewhere physically."
"Hmm, how so?"
He hesitated again.
"He's talented in combat… I think."
"Combat ehhh? Then why don't we test it out."
"Huh?"
The man walked over towards the empty space between the door and where they were sitting.
"Kid, you stand up as well, and make sure to stand in front of me," he said.
Len looked at the man and stood up, moving in front of the man.
"Thank you."
Suddenly, the man picked up his right leg, sending it towards Len's face. His leg approached Len rapidly, making strident contact with Len's small nose.
He was stripped of his stance, Len flew into the door head first, almost cracking his skull with a hard thud that echoed just in the hall outside. His body lay limp against the wall, almost like he was glued to. He began to bleed from his nose, and his face became crimson, as did the principal's shoe.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"
Anderson's face turned a bright red, full of suddenly built vexation.
"Talented? I think not! It's best for you to leave while you can."
The man turned around, but Len suddenly started to get up.
"w-wait."
The man's eyes widened, he quickly turned around.
"You endured that?"
Len's nose slowly stopped bleeding, and his face slowly faded back to its original pale color.
The man approached Len, looking straight into his face.
He laughed.
"Kid, you sure are interesting!"
He approached Anderson who was still stunned and reached his right hand out in front of him.
"I acknowledge this kid. He seems quite interesting."
Anderson broke out of his stillness and stared at the man's extended hand.
He reached his right hand, out grabbing the principal's hand.
Suddenly, a man with brown hair entered the room carrying a plastic bag with a blue uniform inside. He looked over towards the principal, then at Anderson.
"It seems like you've been acknowledged by Mr. Roe here."
The principal released his grip, as did Anderson, and he slowly turned his head towards the doorway where the man stood.
"Pline, why are you so late?"
"Don't ask… Anyways I have a question for you Anderson, Mr. Roe didn't do anything out of line again, did he?"
A chilling smile landed on Mr. Roe's face, directed towards Anderson.
"Uh, no… Nothing out of the ordinary."
"So he did something…"
Hesitant, Mr. Roe chimed in.
"I-I'm sure you're just misjudging his answer, Pline!"
Pline sighed.
"We've gotten multiple complaints about you Simon, do you want to lose your job?"
Mr. Roe's smile slowly turned straight, then he sighed.
"No…"
Pline felt contempt.
"Anyways I have the kid's uniform, you said he was a size small correct?"
Anderson shrugged, then turned his eyes towards Len.
"Len, are you a size small?"
Len shrugged as well.
"Well, let's just hope it fits fine I guess."
Pline approached Len, who stood by the door.
"Why are you over here?"
Principle Roe directed his eyes towards Len and started smiling again.
"n-no reason."
"Okayyy… Anyways, here's your uniform!"
He handed Len the bag he looked down at the uniform inside, he began to admire its royal blue color and gold lined pockets.
Pline gazed towards Mr. Roe.
His body jolted up.
"Have you told him about the schedule yet?"
"No sir."
Pline walked over to a desk that was behind where Anderson was standing. He opened the top left drawer and pulled out a piece of paper.
"This paper includes the schedule for each day, so make sure to remember it."
He handed the paper to Len who already had his hands full with the uniform.
"You'll be in class 2A, kid."
Len nodded.
Pline started walking towards the entrance of the room.
"You two can follow me."
He gestured to Anderson and Len to follow him. He led the two down the hall away from the principal's office and approaching a set of classrooms.
"This class here will be your class, you can't enter right now since class is in session, but tomorrow you'll be able to, that's when you will be officially enrolled."
"You hear that Len, tomorrow is your first day, so we will need to get you some materials on the way home."
"okay."
Pline interrupted the two.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, the school covers them."
Anderson grinned.
"Really? Nice!"
"Yes we do, so don't worry about preparing anything other than yourself for class Len."
"O-okay."
A chime suddenly rang from Pline's front pocket. He reached his hand inside, struggling to lift the phone out of the tight pocket. He eventually lifted his phone, his face reflected across the dark screen with words displayed atop of it. He veered up from his phone looking at the two in front of him, who were staring at him, and slipped his phone back into his pocket.
"Alright, you should head home now, tomorrow is going to be a new day for you, so make sure you rest up beforehand."
Pline seemed to be in a hurry, leaving right away without a farewell.
The two looked at each other, confused.
There was a moment of silence between them, but it was broken by the awkwardness of the situation.
"Let's get out of here, your first day is tomorrow, so let's relax beforehand."
They began heading down the stairwell, eventually turning towards the exit of the school after reaching the bottom.
"So kid, what did you think?"
"it's nice."
A small light appeared in Len's eyes, Anderson smiled.
"That's good to hear, make sure you rest up when we get back, I can tell you're a bit overwhelmed by the experience."
Len nodded repeatedly.
"alright."