ELI WALKED SILENTLY beside her with his hands shoved into his pockets. Sophie kept her arms folded across her chest, her gaze glued to the ground. A sense of awkwardness had enveloped them.
"I've had to take the test before," Eli said after a while, breaking the silence. "It isn't that bad."
Sophie glanced at him. "Really?"
He nodded and looked at her. "You have too. You just don't remember it."
She scowled. Shaking her head, she followed Eli down a hallway, toward another massive wooden door. He pushed it open and led her down yet another hallway. "I have no clue what you're talking about," she said.
"That's how you got into this school," Eli said, matter-of-fact.
She paused and wrinkled her eyebrows at him. "What?"
He grinned impishly. "Each state has its own standardized test, doesn't it?"
Her nod was slow, hesitant.
"The standardized tests are created to test your knowledge on basic subjects. At least, that's what most kids are told. What you don't know is that on each test, there's a special section. It tests your instincts. If you happen to score particularly high, the academy takes notice. It means you have the basic qualities of a changeling."
Sophie stared at him. "And that means...?"
"It means that you have a higher chance at surviving the change, when compared to other humans." Eli wiggled his finger in the air. "Each student here at the academy has scored high on that section."
"I guess I scored high then," Sophie muttered. "Is that why the Headmaster wanted me to apply for the Night Class? Does everyone have to apply?"
Eli paused. His gaze settled on hers, a crease forming between his brows. "Everyone does, but don't get asked until further on. Usually after their first two years."
"Oh," she said.
"That just means that you scored particularly high," Eli explained, and smiled. "Which only serves to help confirm my theory."
Sophie arched an eyebrow. "And that would be?"
Eli shook his head. He stopped in front of a massive wooden door. It that looked vaguely similar to the door guarding Sophie's dorm. He pushed it open and Sophie squinted at the harsh light that seeped from the room behind it. A disgruntled harrumph sounded, and Sophie looked around. An arrangement of desks sat scattered around the large room, like a school classroom. Margret sat in one, her arms crossed over her chest. Her gaze glared holes into Sophie's face.
Sophie couldn't help but smirk.
"So nice of you to join us," Aubrey grumbled. She stood at the front of the room, a sour expression on her face. Headmaster stood beside her. His expression remained placid.
Eli scratched at the back of his head. "It was my fault." He gaze locked with Headmaster's. Something meaningful passed between them.
"Sophie, you may take a seat, my dear," Headmaster said. His gaze broke away from Eli's and landed on Sophie. His lips twitched with a smile. "Then the second challenge will begin."
Sophie nodded and hustled toward an empty desk. There were quite a few to choose from, and she sunk into one near the back of the classroom. Eli sauntered toward the front of the room, his hands moving to his pockets. Aubrey glared at him as he approached.
Headmaster waited, gaze flickering around the room, until all eyes turned to him. Then he nodded and clasped his hands together. "Now then. As some of you may know, the second challenge is meant to test your mental and instinctual knowledge."
Sophie sunk down into her chair as Headmaster started his introduction. It had the same rules as before; there was a time limit, and you couldn't only miss so many questions before you failed. If you failed this challenge, and failed the first, then you'd be out of the games completely.
She knew that she hadn't done as horribly as she would have liked for the first challenge. Somehow, her body's control had escaped her. She'd completed the course before she could stop herself.
This time, however, it would be a lot easier. She'd taken tests before. She could just Christmas-tree it.
Aubrey passed a slender packet out to everyone, followed by a single answer sheet and a pencil. Sophie glanced the answer sheet over when she received it. There were only fifteen questions.
"You have forty-five minutes to complete this test," Headmaster announced. "That should be plenty of time."
Sophie wrote her name at the top of her answer sheet. Aubrey sat on the corner of a table that had been situated at the front of the room, her arms crossed. "You can return your test here when you finish."
Headmaster nodded again. "Right. I leave them to you, Aubrey," he addressed her with a sharp look. Then his gaze shifted toward Eli and Evangeline. "I would like for you two to please follow me."
He stared toward the door. Sophie watched Eli shuffle after him, looking sheepish. Headmaster paused at the door and glanced back over his shoulder. He wished the contestants good luck. His gaze traveled across the group, until it landed on Sophie.
As a chill trickled down her spine, he smiled.
Then vanished through the door. Eli followed, and then Evangeline, and the heavy door slammed shut behind them.
Aubrey cleared her throat. "Alright. Get started, and don't even bother to cheat. I'll catch you."
Sophie tore her attention away from the door, and down toward the packet in front of her. She thumbed through the crisp papers, skimming through the questions. They seemed to range from basic mathematics to various grammatical questions and psychological scenarios. As she glanced at them, a startled burst of familiarity shuddered through her. Her entire body froze. She set the packet down on the table and stared at it. Her mind whirred, broken, and horrified. She picked up the packet again and flipped through each page again.
Then she set the packet down again and pushed it to the edge of her desk.
The questions were more familiar than she'd anticipated.
She distinctly remembered them from a small spiral-bound notebook. They had been scribbled out on the paper in haste. The notebook had been among her mother's old books and school work, hidden in the attic to rot. Sophie had found it when she was younger.
That particular book had been her favorite. In her notes, her mother had started to list out baby names. The name Sophie had been her favorite, from the hearts and doodles that surrounded it.
Sophie's hand traced over the outside of the packet. A hard lump had formed in the back of her throat.
How had her mother gotten those questions?
I apologize if this chapter is confusing. I feel like I'm just dumping a butt-load of information on you, and not much is happening in it. Just let me know if you have any questions! ♡
PS. I'm so excited. I finally bought Paladin by SallySlater and it's beautiful. It's my absolute favorite book on this website (I've read it at least six times now). If you like Game of Thrones, Mulan, and demons, you will love this book. Definitely worth my food money.