Pop Quiz

Kaede quickly realized that sitting in the classroom during break times was the best part of his school day aside from lunch. He liked training. And he liked learning. But it wore him out. Training during the day with Nova was hard. Nova was very meticulous in what he did and he always trial and erred everything. Thanks to him, Kaede had a good understanding on his limit with mana and just how many things he could do before he was completely depleted. Then at night he worked himself ragged with Bingo. She somehow became more and more energetic everyday. Thanks to her though, he could do Bingo style pretty decently and that was an accomplishment for just a few days. 

But all of this was taking a huge toll on his exhaustion levels. He could barely stay awake during classes these days! Was the rest of his school career going to be like this? He didn't know how much longer he could hold on. He was starting to think he was very brazen in suggesting that he and Nova make it to S tier.

Nova on the other hand took it very seriously. Even now, during their break he was trying to quiz Kaede on mana concepts. Kaede just nodded his head dozing off, not even really sure what he was saying.

Nova snapped his fingers in his face. "Hello? Are you paying attention??"

Kaede pouted. "I'm tired."

"I can see that."

"Then give me a break."

Nova sighed. "You're the one who wants to be the best in the school. There are no breaks when you're F tier."

Kaede glared at him, but before he could get his rebuttal out Mr. Lewis walked into the classroom. Kaede noticed something was a bit off with him. Usually he had a naturally cheerful demeanor, but he seemed… nervous today.

"Everyone, I've just been informed that there will be a pop quiz."

Kaede was a little puzzled. A pop quiz? Shouldn't he be the one making it? Why is he surprised? He turned to ask Nova about it, but his face had become pale. And all the other students in the classroom also seemed very worried.

Marin raised his hand. "Do you know who will be administering the quiz?"

"I do, but I can't say just yet."

The other students furrowed their brows in worry. Kaede looked around at the class. Should he be worried too?

"Everyone please make your way to the gym." Mr. Lewis said.

Kaede got up from his desk slowly and looked over at Nova. "Is this pop quiz really hard? Why is everyone stressing out?"

Nova glanced at him with a hint of pity. "A pop quiz here means that a high ranking mage is coming over to evaluate our skills."

Kaede finally felt the worry that everyone else seemed to have. "What are we going to get expelled if we don't do well?"

"Depends on who's giving the test." Nova said. "They're coming straight from the mage council so anything could happen just on their whims."

Kaede felt his stomach drop. He could be expelled? He didn't even get the chance to properly develop his skills. Suddenly he felt bad for complaining that his training was too tiring. If he was even able to barely scrape by in the pop quiz today he'd humbly serve Bingo and nova for the rest of his life.

Once they were in the gym everyone immediately started warming up. Kaede wasn't sure if he should do anything though? If he used his mana now would he have enough for the quiz? What would be on the quiz? Why was the quiz taking place in the gym? Why were even the high tiers worried? Kaede's head spun a little bit. This was probably it for him.

"Don't get into that awful mindset." Nova said.

"I didn't say anything." Kaede moaned.

"Yeah, but you have that look on your face. Just do your best and demonstrate what you've learned. You've only been here for two weeks and have made great progress. Surely whoever is administering the test will recognize that."

Kaede felt slightly better at those words. Nova was right. Two weeks ago Kaede didn't even know that mana existed and now he had managed to learn two new styles. If they didn't recognize that maybe he shouldn't be at this school.

But he really really hoped they recognized his hard work.

"Everyone take a seat!" Mr. Lewis said.

Kaede and his classmates walked over to the side and sat in the bleachers. Kaede's heart was almost thundering.

"It'll be alright." He told himself.

The gym doors opened and a woman with short, red hair walked inside. A few of the other students gasped at the sight of her. On his left, Nova has somehow turned paler. She walked with the confidence and authority of someone who had the experience to match up with her skills. Kaede swallowed hard. He was sure that this test would not be easy at all. The woman stopped in front of them.

"Hello everyone! I'm Paris Weaver although I suppose most of you already know who I am."

The other students nodded, but didn't say anything. They were all in too much shock. Kaede didn't know who she was at all and yet he got the sense that she was really important.

"Today I will be administering your pop quiz." She continued. "I've heard that you all have been working hard in your studies. The mage council values hard work and results so I'm here to evaluate that. I hope you all do well. Now before I begin does anyone have any questions?"

Kaede had a million questions, but they were all very stupid, so he decided to keep his mouth shut. No one else spoke up either.

"Very well then let's begin. Today's pop quiz will be one on one fights between the students." She fished a yellow flag out of her pocket. "You win the fight when you have taken your opponent's flag away from them."

Kaede felt his entire body go cold. One on one fights? He was going to fail this pop quiz.