OBTICEO

Chapter 27: EXAMS DAY-1

Caligo woke me up at 45 minutes past 7. "You took a bath? You came back to your cell?" I asked when I saw him drying his hair while sitting on my bed, mine's already dry. He's now wearing his uniform so I quickly get up and change into my uniform. I was expecting to smell Gio's body wash but I was surprised to smell mine. Did he just use my body wash and shower gel?

"Did you use my body wash?" I asked after changing into my uniform. I grabbed my combat boots. "Yes, I did. But not only your body was, but also your shampoo, and I also used your toothbrush" he kneeled in front of me, making me blush. He continued fixing my shoelaces. "Why in the world would you do that? My shower gel and body wash smells so girly. You would smell like one!" I retorted as he finish tying my shoelace. "I don't care" he stood up and gave me a smack kiss. "Now, hurry up and finish your bathroom routines or we'll be late" I was stunned but he was right. We're going to be late so I quickly run to the bathroom, brush my teeth, the one that he used, and wash my face.

"Let's go!" he said as I went out of the bathroom. He even opened the door and fixed the seatbelt for me. What a show-off. He's not even a gentleman so why bother? He did not have to pretend in front of me, I already know him.

"You are late! Good thing Soren hasn't come down yet" Gio greeted as we enter the headquarters. All of my co-trainees are already sitting in the living area, I sat down in between Gio and Chylus. We arrived 3 minutes after hour 8. I just smiled at Gio, I did not bother answering, nervousness started to crawl its way into my nerves. This is it! I tried reviewing everything I learned these past few days. From throwing a simple punch to avoiding punches. I recall everything in my head.

"Why the hell do you smell like Mady? Is my sense of smell trying to trick me? It's either that or you really smell like Mady OR Mady's smell is just so strong that I can smell it with her across the table" I was distracted when Aes spoke. I knew from the start that they would notice right away. I directed my attention to Aes' question and Cal's answer.

"No one's fooling, your sense of smell is in good condition" now everyone in the living room is attentive. They wanted to listen to these two man's conversation. Who wouldn't be curious, a work head assistant smelled exactly like his student, a female student at that. Of course, everyone would conclude something. Now, Caligo must say something that can prevent them from concluding negatively.

"How in the world did Mady's scent transfer to your body? You went to Mady's cell. Or Mady had a sleepover to your place" Aes' eyes widened. He looked at both me and Cal, trying to fish for some information from us.

"The former, I taught her some tricks that can help her later" Cal answered, everyone, started to continue what they were doing before Aes hysterically caught our attention.

"That's not fair! We're your students too. Favoritism is not welcome in this place" I laughed at him. Aes is a handsome man but he acts childish most of the time. He looks like someone snatched his favorite candy from him.

We all went back to our own businesses, nervous started crawling back to me. My heart was racing, I couldn't think clearly, trying to recall everything on my mind. I am afraid to fail the exam, I may not be good at this field yet but I don't want another work.

"Relax!" Caligo laughed at me. "Yeah! You'll be fine" Gio seconded, looking at me with a comforting gaze. I just rolled my eyes at them making them both chuckle.

Our eyes quickly darted to the stairs when we heard footsteps coming down. "Is everyone here?" he asked as he set his foot on the living room. No one answered him, he just roamed his gaze around the room and when he confirmed that everyone is present, he started explaining how the exam will go.

"There are five trainees in total, an odd number. Every day for five days, four will go against one another and one will take a break. The trainees' schedule will be announced on the same day. The grading system will be just like other exams, there will be 100 points that will be shared by the two opposing trainees. Their points will vary depending on their performance but unlike last time, the winner will have additional 20 points while the loser won't have any. The winner will be determined by me and Caligo but if we picked different winners, your co-trainees will vote and whoever has the most votes will be held, winner. The points that you will share, I will be the one who will give the points. The duel will last for 15 minutes, we'll go back to the headquarters and rest for 30 minutes and then continue the exam with another 15 minutes for the remaining duel. The passing points will be 200, you can have more points than 200 but fewer points would mean changing work" he explained. I wanted to shrink when he looked at me during his last sentence. It added pressure to me, I really hope I wouldn't fail. I noticed that there is a long break after the first duel. What for? The first duelers can rest while watching the second duelers. Why waste time? But who am I to complain?

"Now let's all head to the benches and I will announce today's examiners" Soren and Cal stayed in the headquarters as we march outside, to the benches. I sat down next to Chylus, we were the only ones who are sitting, the rest was warming up.

"Don't be nervous. If you feel like you're losing the duel, just kick us on our private parts. I will forgive you if you do it to me. But only if you feel like your losing badly--" Chylus was cut by Ry. I never knew Chylus would say something like that. Chylus in terms of looks, for me, is number one. And his cold character adds up to his charisma. It never once occurred in my mind that he will try to comfort me through his words.

"No kick us anytime you want. We'll forgive you after. Just don't do it really hard, if you kick us, we will act as if we're dying, it will give you time to attack us" Ry on the other hand, looks like a simple quiet boy. He does not have a cold aura, in fact, he has a warm aura around him. When he talks, it's either you'll laugh or you'll hate him. But in rare circumstances, you'll feel comfortable but most of the time awkward. U suddenly remembered the last time U met him. I hope he did not tell anyone about my upcoming birthday. And I don't know if he was bluffing but his words made all of us laugh. Sounds like a cheat code to me.

"Yeah! That's better! Don't kick us hard and then leave the acting to us. I really hope we all pass!" Aes added. Aes, without thinking twice is an all-smile boy. The one that always makes the group laugh. And I agree, I hope we all pass.

"We should act better than last time we did, we lost 2 of our training mates the last time. Soren has keen eyes, he can easily spot it when we are only acting. So, do your best. You can't really rely on our acting since we suck at it. Only do it when you really need it, got it?" Gio is the type who is not quiet but is not talkative either, he's somewhere in between. He can be serious and playful at times but most of the time he's just observant like Chylus. But if I heard it right, they have done this before and what's shocking is that they got caught and list 2 trainees. Who could that be? Gio never mentioned it before. I should remind myself to ask about it, later.

"I hope you aren't planning to do the same trick as last time" Soren and Caligo arrived, they are now carrying a hard folder, more like a clipboard with papers clipped on it and a pen.

"Everyone, sit down" we complied. "Before I announce today's duelers, let me first announce the rules to avoid cheating techniques like last time" I looked at everyone, I expected them to look at each other too but all of their gazes were glued to Soren.

"First of all, cheating is strictly prohibited. If you're caught cheating, punishment will vary depending on the level of your cheating technique. You aren't limited with your choice of strategy during the duel. You can attack as much as you can but make sure both of you are still breathing after the fight. And if you have questions regarding our grading system, feel free to approach us but make sure you can stand through your claim. That's it!" Soren explained everything with a firm voice, for a moment I felt that he could see through us. My heart beat faster, I never planned to cheat and I did not take their words about kicking them on their private part, seriously. I won't cheat but I felt like I did when I heard Soren's firm voice. He roamed his gaze and I avoided it when our stares were about to meet. I did not have any courage to stare back, I don't know why.

"Now, I'll announce who will be taking today's exam and who you'll be up against. But before that let me first announce today's exemption. Ry?" everyone looked at Ry, while Ry looked like he did not know how he should respond. Looks like he's the one resting for today. Gio, Chylus, and Aes, one of them will be my opponent for today. I just want to pass, even if I don't win as long as I pass, I'm fine with it. I hope that even if I lose, they won't give me a really low grade.

"You will not take the exam today. The rest of you should get ready. The first duel will be between Mady and Aes followed by Chylus and Gio. It's 30 minutes after hour 8. I'll spare you 30 minutes to warm up. We'll be back at hour 9"