THE LETTER ARRIVED JUST AS SHE FINISHED WASHING THE DISHES. The distinct "clunk" of something pushed through the mail slot made her pause, towel and still-damp plate clutched tightly in her hands. She had been waiting for one week to see if she passed the entrance exam.
She did not say it aloud, but the prospect of not only failing, but returning to her father and serving a year in juvenile detention, sent shivers down her spine. She was sure that Aizawa knew what she was thinking about, as her uncle would raise an eyebrow and say, "You'll find out soon," whenever she dwelled on the matter.
To keep herself from caring too much, at which she was not doing too good a job, she took to wandering the city. In that week, she discovered a small café that served fresh pastries and a variety of wonderful coffee types and flavors, a library with many books that she had never heard of but swore to read, and a music shop.
Kendria liked the music shop in particular because it sold a variety of instruments, from guitars to keyboards to drum sets. Not only that, but the owners believed that everyone should have access to a musical instrument, even if it was unaffordable, so they allowed customers to play the set out instruments without fee.
The piano and drums were her favorite. Her mother had given her piano lessons when she was younger, and she had played the drums at school, back when she was in her school's band. She stopped taking the class when her father refused to pay the small instrument fee, but she still remembered enough to play decently. The shop owners were surprised when she played a quick little riff on the quad drums, then switched to the piano and performed the intro to Welcome To The Black Parade, which might not have been the best song choice as it caused one of the employees to burst into tears and run out of the room.
She saw Fumikage Tokoyami at the café twice, on Tuesday and on Thursday. They didn't exchange verbal greetings, but acknowledged each other's presence with nods. He liked the apple pastries, she noticed.
She also saw the earphone girl, though it was only once and it was just as she was leaving the music shop. Earphone had blinked and offered a quiet "Hey," as greeting, to which Kendria just nodded and continued walking.
Other than that, her week was quite boring and much too slow. Aizawa didn't tell her what her results were, not that she expected him to, nor did he mention when she would receive the good -- or bad -- news. She was left to wonder, and was just beginning to believe that she failed and oh no she failed she failed and has to go back when she heard the "clunk" of the mail slot.
Setting the cloth and plate on the counter, she walked over to the front door, careful not to trip over her uncle, who had a habit of encasing himself in his yellow sleeping bag and snoozing in random places. She crouched down at the slot and grabbed the mail.
An electric bill, an add for some inferior cable service, and ...
The letter.
There is was, right in her hands, "U.A. High School" spelled out on the front with a wax seal and everything.
Lips pressed into a thin line, she dropped the bill and add onto the table and made her way to her room. She sat cross-legged on the bed, allowed the cat -- she had taken to calling him Taco -- to sit on her lap, and stared at the envelope.
Too many worries and hopes and thoughts ran rampant in her mind, causing the world to blur and fade away as her own voice seemed to take over. I failed I passed I'm going back to America I'm staying with Aizawa What course No course Congratulations Condolences Oh no no no no no!
No wait don't care Yes I do care Stop it I'm not supposed to I care I care a lot and I don't want to leave It doesn't matter Yes it does The flow --
Taco swatted the letter out of her limp hands.
She blinked and shook her head violently, ridding herself of the discord inside her head. It was then that she noticed the envelope sliding around on the hardwood floor, a certain yellow cat scrabbling after it. She let out a humorless chuckled and bent down, snatching it off the ground before Taco could pounce on it once more.
To prevent the worried thoughts from returning, she simply tore the letter open, eyes still trained on the now sulking feline. It was only after Taco skittered out of the room to find Aizawa that she realized there was a small, lightweight object now lying on her knee.
She picked up the circular thing and turned it over, curious as to what it could be. However, her question was soon answered as a holographic message projected from the object. She placed in on the bed and leaned away from it.
"YOUNG SMITH!" The man speaking looked familiar, with a very distinct face and blonde hair, two tufts sticking above his head. He wore a yellow pinstripe suit. A large, unrealistic smile was plastered across his face. Funny, she was sure that she had seen this man before --
Oh. Of course. The man in the projection was none other than the number-one Hero in Japan, All Might.
"YOU HAVE DONE EXCEPTIONALLY WELL IN U.A.'S ENTRANCE EXAM!" This man was exceptionally loud. "WHILE THERE WERE MANY OTHER FINE YOUTHS LIKE YOURSELF THAT APPLIED, U.A. ONLY ACCEPTS THE BEST OF THE BEST!" All Might let out a hearty laugh. She sighed and pinched a bit of fuzz from her shirt. I knew it ...
"YOUNG SMITH! IT IS MY PLEASURE TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE HERO COURSE, CLASS 1-A!" The projection then switched to a leaderboard with the top ten results listed. Hers was at the top right corner of the glowing screen.
KENDRIA SMITH: 73 POINTS
For a moment she was confused. She knew for a fact that she had only earned forty-three points before the zero-pointer appeared in all its destructive glory. How did she bump up to seventy-three?
Her gaze slid over to the leaderboard, and she read off the names.
Katsuki Bakugo -- that one sounds familiar, Eijiro Kirishima, Ochaco Uraraka, Kendria --
She swallowed. Her name was in the fourth place slot, right underneath Ochaco Uraraka's and right above Ibara Shiozaki, whoever they were. To say she was confused would be an understatement, she was utterly confuzzled as to how she managed fourth place out of everyone that had tested.
It was then that she noticed the other columns on the board.
VILLAIN: 43, RESCUE: 30
They gave her points for saving the lilac-haired boy and Tokoyami. They gave her thirty extra points, tying her with the Uraraka person, and put her in the top Hero course.
After another minute or two of staring, dumbfounded, at the projection, she realized that she was smiling.
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