My New Hero

Waiting

It was dimly lit in the stuffy auditorium making it hard to find a seat that wasn't already taken. I squinted, looking for a seat that was at least somewhat secluded from the noisy and distracting kids around me. It started to get louder as more kids flooded in. God I don't know it was possible for it to be this loud. My tail twitched and whipped around in discomfort.

When was the last time I've been in a big crowd like this? I thought. I tend to avoid loud crowds because of how sensitive I can be to being overstimulated. Especially hearing. Usually I'd be with someone familiar to me to make it better. I looked around a little more frantically for a far away seat when my tail was stepped on by someone. This sent a jolt of pain up my spine, making me wince. God, I hate crowds.

Then I spotted a seat in the very back with empty seats around it.. Quickly i sat down without a second thought. Sighing, I tried to block out the noise and focus on anything interesting around me. The first thing I saw was some old gum stuck to the floor by my feet. Yep this is definitely a school all right. Sure a prestigious school for heroes. But a school nonetheless.

I'm finally here, this is attainable. I reassured myself. I felt the sides of my seat, trying to ground myself by focusing on its cold metal texture. It felt nice on my clammy hands. I hummed to myself quietly. Its something my family taught me to deal with large crowds or when my senses get overwhelmed. I hummed the familiar tune and kept tracing my hands against the metal to keep me here, in the moment.

Sure, I didn't do well in situations like this. But when in battle or trying to figure out things through observation I was exceptional. At least that's what my family told me.

Suddenly the auditorium got darker and a man with golden hair came waltzing onto the stage. It was hard to tell much about his features since I was all the way in the back. Then he spoke into the microphone. I could almost see his smile by the energy in his voice. "As you all know you've come here to take the acceptance exam to see if you can make the cut for UA. We have multiple fake cities that the exam will take place in. There are 200 targets hidden around each city. Each target has its own point value ranging from one to four. Your task will be getting as many points as possible. Now so you all know. There will be a robot trying to keep you from destroying the targets. If someone destroys the robot then they will earn 100 points." he said in seemingly one breath.

Chatter erupts from the crowd, berating my senses all at once. I couldn't help but pick up bits of conversations. Some were talking to friends about hoping they got in the same city. Others boasted about how they were going to take care of the robot in no time. I honestly wouldn't mind listening to what my competition was planning to do if it wasn't so goddamnloud.

The smiley man continued, making the auditorium quite down again. "You've all been assigned a letter, that letter will be the fake city you'll be fighting in." I honestly didn't pay much attention after that. It all became a blur as we got assigned to our different cities. All I paid attention to was the city that I was put in. City A. Usually I am very attentive but right now I had one thing on my mind. And that was getting into UA.

...

I stretch my limbs, trying to relax my stiff muscles. It was hard to relax when understanding the gravity of this exam but I need to anyway. I had learned through training that being stiff and nervous made you a sitting duck in battle. So I took some deep breaths and loosened up my shoulders.

Ten minutes until the gates opened, then it passed to five. I started to pace as the time ticked down more and more. My emotions didn't betray anything by showing on my face but I was feeling the pressure starting to compile onto me. Three minutes until those looming gates unlock. Two minutes.. 

One minute. 

Suddenly my tail twitched from pent up pressure in my body I didn't know I was holding. I forced it to stay still, letting out a irritated sigh. I prided myself on how I could keep a unshakable poker face but one of my most prominent tells was my tail movement... I hated that. I try to keep that as under control as possible. But in times like these it was difficult.

Thirty seconds. 

...

Twenty seconds.

I could hear my heart pulsing as I held my breath.

Ten seconds.

There's no turning back.

The gates opened slowly and I moved quickly towards the artificial city.

 Wether I was ready or not, today was the day that I would prove my worth.