There was a short giggle. “Welcome to Vanderwald Academy.” A petite girl with long, wavy icy-blond hair stood beside the mirror. “Please walk straight down this hall and make the first left. The first double doors you see is the entrance to the Grand Stage. The interviews will begin shortly.”

I followed her directions through the corridors lined with dark wood moldings and tall windows. Arriving at the door, I could hear the chatter of animated students inside. When I entered the amphitheater, some turned to stare while others took no interest. Around fifty applicants sprinkled randomly in the seats around the room. I took an empty one near the front.

“Is this seat taken?” The shaggy-haired boy I had seen earlier at the Jemela mirror portal towered over me. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was sitting, or if he was really just extremely tall, that I felt he would have to duck to walk through doors.

I shook my head. “Help yourself.”

He took the seat beside me. “I saw you at Jemela. My name’s Ryan.”

“Selena. Nice to meet you.”

“Are you excited?” The glow in his eyes twinkled.

“Yeah I am. You look a bit more excited than you did before.”

“Well, my parents were being way too crazy over the whole ordeal. Breathing down my neck, constant clinging, hyperventilating…” he listed. “The usual.”

Maybe, it’s all parents, and not just mine. “My parents didn’t really want me to attend.”

“How come? Vanderwald is so prestigious. It’s every parent’s dream that their child’s a Valkryn.”

“I just mark it off as being overprotective,” I said.

“I totally get it.” He nodded. “So, what’s your Ceres?”

“I’m able to manipulate electricity,” I answered, then hastily added, “and a material called chrome.”

“Fellow elemental! No wonder I felt a connection with you,” he said, beaming. “I’m able to merge with any material I come in contact with.”

He touched the armrest of the chair with the tip of his index finger and soaked up the leathery material until it covered his hand.

“That’s amazing!” It was my first time actually seeing another elemental Valkryn perform their Ceres.

“Well, show me yours.”

I concentrated a small orb of electricity in my hand and popped it up. With a snap of my fingers, it exploded and showered down in jagged sparks.

Ryan clapped before getting distracted toward the stage. “It looks like it’s about to start.”

A young man walked to the center of the stage. His golden light hair was brushed neatly to the side, and the shine of his blue eyes looked like the sun sparkling on the ocean. His nose was straight and complimented his long, thin face.

“Welcome to Vanderwald Academy!” the man announced. “I am Headmaster Elmore.”

This man looked much too young to be the revered headmaster of Vanderwald Academy.

“As all of you know and have probably been anticipating, the first event on our agenda are the interviews! This interview is more of a placement test for incoming Valkryns. It is a display of your Ceres in any method or form you choose. After you present, a few of our administrators, alongside me, will evaluate what class you will be placed in

“There are three levels: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Once you are admitted into a class you will be committed to it until the end of the year, with the exception of the annual examinations held in three months’ time. So, if you are not admitted into the class of your choice this round, you have a second chance to be promoted, if you prove worthy through your examination score.”

Though I wasn’t aware examinations would be held so early on in the year, it was somewhat comforting knowing that even if I wasn’t able to make it into the Gold class this time around, I would have enough time to practice for a second chance.

Headmaster Elmore continued, “Now, I will explain the format of the interviews. They will take place right here on this stage.”

Murmurs resounded.

“Yes, that means your fellow peers will be present as you display your Ceres. Also, if you take a look above you, to the second level, you will see that the current students of Vanderwald were also invited to observe the new applicants. Some of them may very well be your future classmates.”

Excited students hung over the railing on the upper deck, whistling and hooting at us, while others leaned back in reservation. The new students looked more and more concerned as the headmaster continued speaking.

I took a deep breath. But Ryan seemed fired up, and just about ready to jump out of his seat.

“Now, without further ado, let’s begin the interviews. When your name is called please take to the stage and wow us!” The headmaster clapped and took a seat between four other administrators. Oddly, a young girl with tight doll curls and a large pink bow, wearing a frilly acquiescent dress, sat at the tables as well. I wondered if she was the daughter of one of the administrators.

“Now then, the first to go will be,” the headmaster announced, “Jenny Sloff.”

A short girl with a red bob jumped up in surprise. She fiddled with her shirt as she trembled onto the stage.

“State your name, level, lineage, and Ceres,” the tall lanky administrator ordered.

“Hello, my name is Jenny S-Sloff…” she stuttered. “I am a l-level one elemental V-Valkryn with a Ceres that allows me to m-manipulate water.”

Jenny took a deep breath. Staring straight at the water cups on the table next to the administrators, she lifted her hands and the water floated out. She spun it together in a swirling pattern—with every flick of her finger the water followed.

Each time a couple drops dripped onto the table, she flinched in response. She finished off by separating the water back into each cup. She bowed nervously, then stood unnaturally still.

“I guess we’ll be needing new water, then,” the tall slender administrator muttered, just loud enough, as he pushed his cup away. The girl flushed a deep pink.

Headmaster Elmore clapped. “A wonderful start to the interviews. Please stand by while we discuss.” The headmaster had failed to mention that they would also be announcing the results of the interviews in front of everyone, and the somewhat horrified faces of the students around me, at the sudden realization, was undoubtedly reflected on my own face in some shape or form.

The administrators shook their heads, rustled through their papers, and whispered among themselves. When Headmaster Elmore nodded, everyone straightened, frozen, waiting to hear the first outcome of the interviews. “Jenny Sloff, you will be admitted into the Silver class.”

Applause sounded among the audience. She smiled widely, letting out a long breath. Her red face lightened, and I realized the poor girl had been holding her breath during the entire deliberation.

“Please make your way to the Silver class section.” The headmaster motioned. She nodded and practically ran off the stage almost tripping on the last step.

The next few individuals performed their Cereses. There were at least ten people who presented, but nobody had been admitted into the Gold class—the majority of applicants were placed into the Bronze class.

One student had the Ceres to balance on anything no matter how thin or small the base was.

A male student with large round glasses was able to detect the exact temperature of any item.

A thin, almost skeletal, female student had the Ceres to change objects into edible pieces of food. Despite the fact the “food” was edible, it didn’t seem to provide any nutritional value.

“Lucas Brayden.”

All at once, the students began muttering once the name had been called. Nobody stood up though. Applicants began glancing around the room.