Versus (Parts I and II)

Chapter 7- Second Stage

"My databases tell me you applied for the fighting school immediately after the Socializer scholarship application."

How was it possible? It had to be a hacker. Someone could've recorded her voice. Their AIDA software was a little old, and updates were getting expensive.

But... who would do this?! Why would anyone falsely sign her up? Was this some kind of joke? A sick prank from one of her haters?

What if it was those people at the bar? Did they do it for revenge? It had to be them. She had to contact Fistborn and tell them she was hacked. She couldn't send in a fake application.

Although... that would mean a very long, legal process. She'd have to prove herself innocent. There were too many cases of false applications in the Versus.

Maybe she could call her parents... but they were at work. They'd freak out if they knew they were hacked again. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to report the case, tell Fistborn it was a mistake, but the lengthy process didn't seem worth it. Just another way for the Versus to torture her.

Her fingers unconsciously combed her hair. "God, help me, what the heck is happening...?" She took a deep breath. She glanced at her partially eaten breakfast, her appetite gone.

Maybe Catalina knew something? They were after her first.

She teleported upstairs and ran to Catalina's wall. "Cat, may I come in?"

"What is it?" she asked through the speaker.

"It's important."

A pause. "But what is it?"

Calista bristled. "May I come in, please?" she said through gritted teeth.

Catalina sighed. "Fine." The wall dissolved for her.

Inside, Catalina was sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded by a transparent, blue globe, probably designing something.

"What happened?" she asked from inside.

"I got a message. From Fistborn Academy."

Catalina's globe instantly closed, revealing her shocked face. Her hands were suspended in midair. "Um... from Fistborn?" She put her hands down, fiddling with the fabric of her suit. "What was it about?"

Calista explained the hack. Catalina's face changed from shock to deep confusion. "A hack?" she inquired. She ran a hand through her blond waves. "I don't know why anyone would do that."

"Right?"

Her sister leaned back leisurely. "I don't know what to tell you, sis."

Calista tried to ignore it, resisting the urge to scold her for the way she sat. "But who would do this? And why? Could it be those people from the bar?"

"I don't think so. They didn't know who you were."

"They knew you. And they know I'm your sister! They could've gotten my info!"

"Cali, I really don't think so."

"But why would they do this out of all things?! This doesn't make any sense!"

"Okay, calm down."

"Calm down?! I have to take two tests that I never even studied for! Two tests I didn't even want! I wanted a full-ride to NYWS! I need to tell them I was hacked."

Catalina suddenly stood. "No!"

"No?!"

"I..." She paled, her mouth flapping. "Do you know the process for that? Those academies, they thrive on false applications. They get a lot of digits from every case. They'll try and accuse you to suck the code out of you."

Her stress levels rose and she started combing her hair with her fingers, unconsciously fashioning a braid. "Well, what am I supposed to do?!"

Catalina shrugged. "Take the tests."

"I can't take those-"

She tensed, bursting with stress. "You have to! Once someone applies and they get into the second stage, they need to take them or they get fined! We can't pay that fine."

"But I don't want to get into the second stage!"

"Then fail them."

Both turned to the wall. Catalina let it dissolve, revealing Carter, who held a device to hear their conversation.

"What the-" Catalina bolted towards him. "Where did you get that?"

Carter ducked out of her reach, holding the device away. "It's the most obvious thing in the galaxy. You score below 60 tacks, you're out. Simple." He shrugged.

Calista paused, contemplating his words. "Fail them?"

"Yeah. Do your worst and they'll throw out your application. Besides, it's one spot and thousands of applications. The odds are low that they'll choose you."

She nodded, ignoring his last remark. "Fail the tests." She then chuckled at herself, lightly slapping her forehead. "Duh. I'm uber-dumb. Why would I think...?"

Really, why didn't she think of that? The minute she thought about those tests, she envisioned herself desperately trying to score high above the 60 tacks.

Catalina looked between them. "But... no, Cali... you can't just fail on purpose."

"Why not?"

"I mean... you're getting a free pass into Fistborn. I'd take advantage."

"Are you crazy? I don't want to go to any fighting school, and you know that."

"No, just..." Catalina fidgeted. "I'd do my best. It's pretty humiliating to fail like that."

"She doesn't even need to fail on purpose, Cat," said Carter. "She can't fight worth a bug. She would fail anyway, wouldn't she?" He smiled widely.

As snide as the remark was, he had a point, so Calista refrained from hitting him. Catalina, however, smacked him with an intense frown. She seemed tense and hinted at disapproval.

Calista nodded. "Yeah, yeah..." She paced, taking deep breaths. Her fingers crafted a braid in her hair as her stomach clenched.

Why didn't she feel relieved? Why wasn't this a weight off her shoulders? Carter was right. Once she failed the tests, she wouldn't have to worry about being involved with the Versus at all.

She groaned, realizing what she was thinking.

"What?"

"Nothing." She rubbed her churning stomach. "I, uh... I'm gonna go to my pod, get some beauty sleep. Got all stressed, you know?" She passed through the wall.

This was a free chance. A one-in-a-million chance. What did she have to lose?

A lot. She had a lot to lose.

But it wouldn't hurt, right? The girls didn't need to know. They would never find out.

She just had to do her best. If she didn't pass, she didn't pass. What mattered was that she took the chance.

Do you think Catalina did a good or bad thing?