Metcalf grabbed her gear and walked for one of the training center’s exit. There was nothing left to do there. She only had about five thousand academy points left. This amount placed her with the lowest ten percent of the students at the academy; the lower half of the red zone.
It was a little hard to believe. She had gambled points at the Stream Quarter Training Center for almost a decade. For the amount of time Metcalf has been lingering in the school. The final will be extremely had for her to pass.
Sure, she wanted to climb the ranks before midterm. So did everyone else. That was the only reason the training centers were packed this time of year.
She passed a few students worriedly looking at their rank on their handhelds. Unlike them, she knew when to let go of hope. With the training center’s stiff competition, no one would challenge her except a student in an equal position. With the scant few points to work with, it would be weeks before she would manage to crawl out of the red zone. By then; midterm would have passed; she would be on the final exam list; and the training center would be empty again.
She only gambled because it was the only way she could keep enough Academy Points to stay at the school. It was possible to get points from accomplishing tasks in a class but the classes were boring. She would prefer not to see Naoh and Koh but if not for them, she would have been out of the school a long time ago.
Exiting the training center, she took of her helmet. The hue on her beautifully youthful face was split down the middle; red on the right and white on the left. She still had a slight green tint due to her not quite being of age. That did little to mask the face of a thinking reasoning warrior.
Strangely she was not upset at her fate. Sure, she would prefer it to be different. Leaving a school where students enjoyed everything, free of charge, was a major inconvenience. Then again, she no longer had to prey on lesser skilled students.
She wanted to participate in real work and use her talents for something real. Guard duty was in no way glamorous but her actions made a real difference in people’s lives. With any luck she could land a good placement with a nearby city.
Still with the sudden change, Metcalf felt like she should be angry at someone. However, no one person seemed to fit the criteria to be stuck with the blame though.
Lance? Not him. How would he know how things would end up for her? He actually looked sad when he saw how many points she was losing. He had the potential to become a great Protector. He only had to learn to project more of his skills rather than touch everything.
Herself? No. Lance did something that the Quarter Masters had taught against for the longest time. There was no way to predict that it would actually work. She simply did what all students in her position would do. She knew continued gambling would end like this eventually. Students that gamble eventually lose. She lost.
Naoh? Koh? No. They were heartless sharks, and there was no way they would help her now, but they had nothing to do with this. They helped her stay afloat in the school until now. And in the end, she made the decision to challenge Lance not them.
No one was to blame. The day started like any other and it ended like this. Metcalf didn’t like it, at all. However, she lost her say in the matter a few minutes ago. Her time at school ended at this year’s Final Exam, unless she passed.
Metcalf giggled at the thought, Yeah, Good luck with that.