The Fox, Red

066 - Entry Exam

A new routine was born! Madam Odette seemed to pull back her lessons a bit to give me more time at the end of the day. I worked and cleaned up my barrier spells to where they could finally take some solid hits. It took a few weeks but I got myself up to snuff again. The weather started to cooperate as well. I could get out and run for a while. I can feel my physical strength building back up.

I know I'm back to where I need to be when everything stops hurting. Now I have to focus on maintaining that. The next few weeks are spent working myself and my mind back into shape. March is around the corner, and so are the entrance exams that I need to be on the top of my game for. Madam Odette changed up her lessons for the last week. It was grueling. It was torturous. And as someone who went to a public school whose entire funding leaned on testing, I have to say that hers was much worse. I swear that she threw in a few questions that she knew I didn't know just to throw me off.

March rolled in bringing a lot of nights with light rain and cold winds. But the day finally came. Madam Odette had me load up with an overnight bag. She would have Denny take me to town. It was going to be an all-day drive. He and I would be put up in a hotel for the night. The next morning, he and I got breakfast before heading out to the campus.

I am kind of shocked. On the surface, everything looks like a normal college campus. A few large buildings with names on them. Some wide open spaces and public spaces for students. I kind of stick out like a sore thumb though. Per Madam Odette's order, I am to wear my fine clothes. And I know why.

There are two sections to this exam. A written then a practical. The writing is done in a group setting, then the practical is done by a small panel. They pull two or three professors from different fields of study and make the potential student dance for them.

I find the main office where they can direct me to where I need to go. I follow the small map they gave me with a red line to show where I need to go. I know I found where I needed to be when I saw a long line of people holding papers, folders, and misc. Other doodads. I take my spot in line and just go with the flow. I can tell my nerves are getting the best of me. I look around at everyone else seeing them in hoodies, coats, and just regular clothes. I feel like I'm dressed for a funeral.

The line moves as they sign them in. I get up to the front and give my name. They find my name, make me sign, and give me a number. It will be my seat number and affect which group I go with to do the practical exam.

I take my seat in a large lecture hall. They only have the time that we are allowed to take the test written on the board in the front. The whole room is packed with bodies as more and more shuffle in. An older-looking dachshund sitting behind the lectern at the front of the room. He keeps checking his watch waiting for the time.

At two minutes he makes an announcement that everyone needs to be in their seats. Once the time rolls over he announces that everyone can begin. I flip the paper over grabbing the pencil that is next to it. Immediately I am overwhelmed with the words. It's small print mixed with diagrams and questions throughout the whole page.

I need to take a breath and focus on myself. None of this is something I haven't seen before. I know the symbols on the diagrams. I know the words and theory. It's just. I've never seen it in this format. This is what they teach up to this level? This is intense. I look around without drawing attention to see how everyone else is doing. The pencils are moving. I can hear them clicking against the desks as others are writing. OK, one question at a time.

Elemental reactions are not my strongest but I know enough. Multiple choice sections? Super easy. I could do these all day. Explain a theory... I don't know the theory at all. It's totally foreign to me. I'll have to come back to that one. More elemental reactions but on a diagram. Easy, it's mostly bonds and multi-bonds that throw me for a loop. Math?! There's math? I'm going to knock that out.