Academy days (Book 2 of IA)

[9] The starting line

The 'real' test, huh...

It had been a month since Dr. Cherrylove had told us about the final exam, and now it was upon us. We had been shipped her in separate buses so I was alone. With a poker face mixed with a slight bit of sorrow, I looked out the window. Unlike 4 months ago, the mountain ranges were covered in snow and the cliffs at the side had icicles dapping at the sides like a never ending curtain. Most of the people on the bus seemed to be around my age, slightly older or younger, but nonetheless rowdy. As the only human on the bus, I kept silent and put on my ear phones and squeezed myself in a corner seat in the back. Weary of my own state from the previous encounter with the elemental bullies, I wore a pair of white gloves to cover up my robotic hands. After a while though, the gloves do certainly feel uncomfortable. But it was a small price to pay compared to have my nerve tested on the subject again.
The whole trip took about 4 hours, and good thing there was a bathroom on the bus. By the time, we arrived it was already noon.

***

The moment I stepped outside, I was greeted with a wave of fresh air too chilly for my liking. The place appeared to be some sort of winter camp, with several squat wood cabins and shops. As we got off, our bus group formed into single file and made our way toward a snow clearing ahead. While following the line I turned around and caught a glimpse of several more buses parked back in the parking lot with students streaming towards our direction as well.

That's quite a bit of people...

By the time we got to the clearing, people were huddled in several masses, chatting, running to the portables, scanning other groups...etc.

It seems that we were all waiting, but for what?

A sudden sharp static noise burst forth, causing many to cover their ears. It was then followed by a voice from the loud speaker:

"Greetings students! We are already behind schedule, so I will keep this brief!" the voice sounded like a middle-aged women, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"What's going happen next is that I will have the teachers here in your group, hand each and every one of you your bracelet as we go along the rules."

That being said, a middle aged man in winter jacket, pulled out a large cardboard box hovering beside him, and wherever he walked, the box followed him. And as he walked up to every student in our group, he took out a white colored bracelet from the box and handed it out to us.

"Today is 21st IIMT annual survival test! Right now, there are more than 12,000 fellow students and classmates partaking this exam. They are of course, not all here as this place is only 1 of 12 starting points of the official testing grounds."

"The rules are simple, 1 hour from now, you will head out from this clearing, and make your way past through the forest in the north and into the testing grounds. Any loitering or returning to the starting point, after the exam has begun will be ruled as automatic disqualification. Further, if anyone tries to leave the testing grounds once the exam has started they will be automatically disqualified. The boundary of the testing grounds should be fairly clear, because once you are within 100 meters of the boundary, the bracelet will send out a beep. And if you attempt to get nearer to the boundary, the beeps will become louder."

"Another really important rule is that once you have put on the bracelet, and enter the testing grounds, taking it off would count as a disqualification. If the bracelet is destroyed during the exam, you are disqualified. And you must put the bracelet somewhere on your body. And this is for boys, please do not put the bracelet in your crouch area, it is despicable and disgusting."

The comment made quite a few guys burst out in laughs, and some of the more subtle girls looked away in disgust. At the same time, the teacher finally got to me and handed me a bracelet. I took it and thanked him, as he quickly strolled off to the next student. I examined the bracelet for a moment, it appeared no different from an ordinary electronic watch from the outside, but the wristband part appeared to be made out of some sort of plastic fiber.