The room falls into silence as the pebble bounces audibly off the dummy’s head. One bounce at a time, it loses energy until it lies flat on the cold, hard ground. As it stops, the snicker of a chuckle can be heard from behind me.

  I don’t even have to turn around to know who it belongs to. I know it’s Penelope. From the sound of it, she’s trying to stifle the laughter, but to no avail. As the laughter echoes my ears blush a darker purple. It’s okay, I can recover. It’s not like that one time when smelly Doug made it seem like we were friends. My reputation never recovered from that.

  “Well, that… was… a good use of [Throw]. It did exactly what it was supposed to. Is there anything else you would like to show us, Chosen One?” Professor Stargazer asks, hoping for anything else.

  “I apologize. I should’ve explained first. This is the only [Skill] I can show you all,” I say, making it up as I go along.

  “My apologies, Chosen One. I thought you would have more skills. If I had known I-” the professor says before being interrupted.

  “No, you misunderstand. I didn’t say that this was my only [Skill]. It’s just the only [Skill] I’m willing to show you all,” I say, technically not lying.

  “I don’t quite understand. What do you mean?” she asks with a genuine look of curiosity.

  “I need to keep my [Skills] close to the chest. You never know who’s watching,” I say, leaving an air of mystery in the air.

  “Of course,” says one of my classmates, “the forces of evil could be watching at this very moment. Revealing your skills would be the same as sleeping in a field of enemies.”

  The room gasps at the revelation. Penelope looks around the room in complete disbelief as the crowd starts to agree with the statement.

  “That’s why you used the most common and weakest skill imaginable. The foresight to think that far ahead. I almost jeopardized your sacred mission. I shouldn’t have asked you to show your [Skills]. I’ll put down that you excelled,” the professor says, obviously distraught.

  The best lies are the ones where you don’t even lie. With a stoic face, I nod my head and catch a glimpse of Penelope in the corner of the room. With a knowing wink, I send her into what can only be described as silent fury. She is so much fun to wind up.Well, now that we’ve finished the practical demonstration, we will take a small break and then return in thirty minutes for the written exam. Don’t be late,” the professor says cheerfully as she starts to set up the room with conjured chairs and tables.

  A break? I was getting hungry. I wonder- Wait, did she say a written exam? No, I must’ve heard wrong.

  “Did you study for the written exam?” a classmate asks her friend.

  “Of course. Only an idiot wouldn’t have studied. After all, the placement exam is made by the brightest minds in Sylvian University. Anyway, want to grab a bite to eat?” her friend asks as they walk out of the room.

  Thirty minutes to study like my life depends on it, or I can go eat something and let my worries melt away. The choice is obvious.

  A bacon melt is what they call this thing. Bacon with hot, cheesy cheese, juicy ground beef, and toasted golden bread. My mouth salivates at the very thought of this work of art entering my mouth. Whoever said lies don’t get you anywhere didn’t tell enough of them. The cheese melts as it sends me into a nirvana that I didn’t believe could be possible.

  “CJ, are you listening?” Hopper asks as he flips through a textbook.

  With great pain, I pull myself away from the ecstasy that is the bacon melt. “What?”

  “I asked if you're really not going to study,” he asks as he reaches for his bowl of carrots.

  “It isn’t going to make a difference anyway,” I say as I take another savoring bite.

  “Wow, you must have a lot of confidence,” Penelope says as she rudely interjects from the other table.

  “You would think that with so many open tables in this cafeteria, you’d find someplace else to sit,” I say between bites.

  Penelope regally takes a bite of her steak. “And let you walk around unchecked? I’m not going to let you go that easily.”

  “I proved myself at the auditorium. I don’t know what else you expect me to do,” I say as I take the last delicious bite.

  Without warning, she flips her chair around and gets right up in my face. “I don’t know how you pulled that stunt, but I know you’re not The Chosen One, and I’m going to prove it,” she whispers.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  She has either the greatest insight or has a vendetta against my good looks, but as long as I keep winding her up, she should get in her own way. So, not a serious problem, but a fun one.

  “Yeah, yeah. Keep getting distracted, Penelope. I’m sure you're going to do perfectly fine on this exam, but not the best of course,” I say, winding her up.

  “You may have gotten lucky earlier, but your luck's going to run out. Plus, this exam has nothing to do with luck; It’s about knowledge. Of which I am bursting with,” she proclaims.

  “You seem pretty confident. Want to make a wager on it?” I say as a devilish smile slips past my otherwise calm demeanor.

  “Nice try, but I’m not falling for it this time.”

  “I thought you were certain that this exam has nothing to do with luck, but I understand. You're scared of losing. Perfectly understandable. I’d be scared, too, if I had to go against The Chosen One,” I say, placing the bait.

  Her pointy ears blush with a faint tinge of red as she stands up abruptly. “Fine! When I win, you have to show me one of your supposed hidden [Skills].”

  With a hint of joy in my eyes, I stand to meet her. “I’ll take that deal, but what should I ask for when I win? I know! When I win, I want to hear a genuine apology from you for calling me a charlatan.”

  “Deal!” she says before walking off in a huff.

  “You two seem… close?” Hopper says as he continues to study.

  “Really? I met her today. Would you mind letting me borrow one of those textbooks?” I say as I grab one from the pile.

  “Yeah. It’s not like you already grabbed one,” he says with a hint of sarcasm.

  As I start to flip through the long texts, one of the cafeteria staff members comes up to our table. “Excuse me, sir? How will you be paying?” she asks.

  “You can put that on Penelope's tab. She said she would pay,” I say with a devilish smile.

  Words, numbers, dates, and a whole lot of information swirl in my mind as I sit down at my desk. Cramming everything in ten minutes was a smart and responsible idea. Everything is going to work perfectly, and not a single mistake will happen. Confidence is the first step in achieving anything, and I’m fucking full of it.

  “Well, class, I hope you’re all ready for the written exam. This exam will cover a wide variety of topics, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t know the answer. It’s meant to challenge you and identify the areas in which you lack. You’ll have two hours to complete this exam. Make sure to fill out your name and as many questions as you can. When you're done, you can come and place it on my desk. If there are no questions, let us begin,” Professor Stargazer explains.

  With a wave of her hand, the exams appear on every desk. As the packet plops down in front of me, it gives an audible thump. For the love of the Gods, how long is this thing? You’re supposed to complete this in two hours. I don’t think I could eat this in two hours, much less complete every question. With a glance, I notice that the rest of my classmates have already started. Some look as shocked as I, but others like Hopper are quick at work. Then there’s Penelope. The speed at which she’s rushing through this packet is comparable to the skill she used in the practical exam. At the rate she’s going, she’ll be done in an hour. Let's give it a try.

  Question One: Tyranus the Slumbering Disaster was sealed away by which Chosen One and how? Ok, maybe the first question is harder than the rest. I’ll skip a couple of pages and check another one.

  Question Twenty-Eight: Why is it recommended that children under the age of sixteen should not [Level Up]? Why would I know that? That’s just how it is. I’ll just skip another page or two.

  Question One Hundred and Two: If two carriages are moving in opposite directions at the same speed over a three-mile stretch, at what distance will they meet if the driver of carriage A has the [Blessing of the Rider] and the driver of carriage B has the [Blessing of the Navigator]? Ah, fuck. I made a deal that I’m sure to lose. Did Penelope hustle me, or did I not think this through? It must be the former. She would’ve won, too, if I didn’t have my secret weapon, but before I do that, I have to fill out this entire thing. I wouldn't want others questioning why I didn’t write a single thing.

  After two hours of writing pure bullshit, I set the magic quill down. At this point, I’m the last student left in here, and that’s just the way I want it. With a deep breath, I get up from my desk and walk towards Professor Stargazer. This is going to take a lot of skill and a shit ton of luck. My specialty.

  “Professor, I’m do-” I say as I fall spectacularly towards the Professor's desk.

  With a planned landing, I knock the entire stack of exams off the desk and onto the floor. As they scatter onto the ground, I drop to my knees and try to ‘save’ as many as I can. My poor attempt only makes the situation worse, sending even more papers flying off her desk. As the papers fly, I catch a glimpse of Penelope's exam, and I snap it out of the air. The Professor quickly joins me on the ground as we organize the papers back onto her desk.

  As she turns her back, I swiftly rip the front page off of Penelope's exam and replace it with my own. “I’m sorry, Professor. I guess I was clumsy,” I say as I hand her the papers.

  “Thank you. It’s odd how you managed to trip over nothing,” the professor says with a hint of mistrust.

  “You can never be too careful with all these uneven floors. You never know when you're going to make your next misstep. It could be today or tomorrow or even when you’re least expecting it. Even The Chosen One can make a misstep every now and then. It’s what you learn from it that’s important.”

  She gives me an odd look before nodding. “I understand, Chosen One. Everyone should strive to have the wisdom and mercy that you wield. Have a good day.”

  “May you have a good one as well,” I say, backing out of the room.

  The moment I do, I’m met by the face of Penelope. “I hope you’re ready to pay the piper,” she says with a cocky smile.

  “Don’t you think you’re counting your eggs before they hatch. The results don’t go up until tomorrow morning. We’ll see who won then,” I say as I walk back to my room.