3 Chapter 2–Written Exam

I sit there at my desk waiting. I'd finished my exam a while ago now. It's being graded at the moment by a grumpy-looking instructor. Every now, and then she glares around the room through her narrow spectacles. I sit there in silence before she finally calls my name.

"Benjamin Dariff, collect your exam papers."

I stand up to grab my papers, annoyed at the teacher. 'Tch.' I hate when people call me "Benjamin" it's "Benji". It's not that big of a deal but annoys me to no end.

Papers in hand I head toward the exit. I'm stopped by an instructor at the door. I recognize him actually. He's the coachman from before or so I thought. He now dons a robe-like jacket that's emblazoned with the academy emblem.

'So he's an instructor.'

"Hello, again Mr. Dariff," he says, retrieving a small notepad from his jacket pocket. He flips through a couple of pages. and then stops. "Ah here we go, are familiar with the name Marshal Cranel," he asks.

"Yes, I shared a room with him and Kate," I say.

Satisfied with my answer he nods, closing the notepad.

"Through the main entrance to your left, you'll see the dorms a short walk away," he says, tipping his hat and moving aside, "Rest well for the duels tomorrow Mr. Dariff."

I thank him and leave the exam room. The cold breeze nips at my neck as I open the main entrance doors. I clutch my test papers—nervous. I'll admit I was confident—before I saw the actual test. It was a test of general knowledge alright. It asks about every question under the sun. I slowly flip the papers. Sixty percent.

I sulk the rest of the way to the dorms. Marshal and Kate got to leave before me. 'I wonder what scores they got.' I pull open the door and I'm met with the toasty warmth of the room. It's a nice common room. It has a fireplace, and a generous amount of couches, chairs, and tables that litter the room. Teams mingle together, some getting along well, and others not so much.

I turn my head toward the sound of bickering and sigh. I recognize the two's voices. In the rightmost corner of the well-furnished room were Kate and Marshal. As I approach their arguing becomes more clear.

"What do you mean 'at the very least'," Marshal says, throwing his hands up, "I'll bet you didn't do that well and you're just—"

"Hello Benji," Kate says, noticing my approach.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about," I ask, taking a seat at their table.

"He's upset because he didn't do well on the exam," Kate says, pointing at a very irritated Marshal.

"How was I—", he starts.

"So what was your score Benji," Kate asks, interrupting Marshal.

"I got a 60," I say, a little reluctant as I hand her my papers.

"Oh," Kate muses after a moment, "You know a lot about the Elf Lands."

"Well yeah, I did live there a few years ago," I say.

"And you have some idea on how other magic systems work," she continues, giving Marshal a smug look.

Embarrassed, Marshal snatches my papers from Kate's hands.

"How was I supposed to know I'd have to put so much detail, I'm not an elf," he says as he reads through my papers furiously. After a few moments, he looks up with a sly grin, "Regneil, huh?"

I'm confused until I see Kate's embarrassed face.

"Sticky fingers," she curses, snatching back her paper.

"I would've found out eventually, and a 73 isn't that good either," Marshal says breezily, waving my papers at her.

"We're gonna be one hell of a team though, eh," he continues with a chuckle, "The Regneil family's princess, and the son of Sandra Dariff. We'll be unstoppable."

I laugh nervously while Kate glares at Marshal.

"Come now, let's not start off with a grudge," he says, holding his hand out to Kate," Let's bury the hatchet now, you have your secrets, I have mine?"

"Fine," she says, shaking his hand.

"Unless of course, you're willing to tell," he adds, with a cheeky wink before letting go.

Kate rolls her eyes and stands up.

"You guys should head to your room. It's getting late," she says.

"Oh yeah, you and me are roommates," Marshal says, grinning at me.

"Rest well," Kate says, with a wave heading to the nearby door to the girls' wing.

"I'll show you our room," Marshal says standing up as well.

He leads me to the other side of the room through the door to the boys' wing. We walk down the hall passing rooms stopping at room 10. Marshal opens the door with a key. It's a nice room—not too big, not too small. There's a bunk bed, two dressers, and a desk for us to share. I also see the extra luggage I sent made it here okay.

"Mhm, it's pretty nice," I say—nodding.

"Surprised you think so," Marshal says.

"What makes you think that," I say, climbing up onto the bunk bed.

"Well, surely your mom has a lot of money," he says, staying back by the door.

"Yeah sure, but my room wasn't much bigger than this," I say.

"That's a surprise," he says, stroking his chin.

"Not really," I respond.

"Well, your key is in the dresser," Marshal says, opening the door.

"Where are you going," I ask.

"Nowhere important, I'm just gonna go check on someone," he says, slipping out the door, "I don't know how long it'll take. So get some rest, ok?"

"Okay," I say, as Marshal closes the door. I sit on the bed for a moment, then look over to my luggage.

'I might as well unpack before going to bed.'

After finishing putting away all of my stuff. I tap the mark by the door twice. This dims the overhead crystal. 'I should be getting to bed.' I'd hoped Marshal would have returned by now, but alas. I climb into bed.

Excited thoughts of tomorrow's duels buzz around in my skull. Nonetheless, I snuggle into my new bed and fall asleep.