The piercingly sharp slap echoed all throughout the gymnasium, drawing the attention of nearly every participant not under examination.
"It was only on the forehead, geez. It's not like I really did anything to you," his curly blond hair perfectly highlighted the glowing, bright red handprint that now found itself tightly clinging to his freckle filled cheek. His faded green eyes perfectly matched his annoying impish smile.
The tears forming in the corners of her eyes served well to help cool down her burning hot face. She pouted in silence. The boy's audacity had rendered her speechless.
"Well, thanks for the loaner, but I've gotta run." A mischievous wink accompanied his victorious smirk. She was too dazed to stop him before he could run off, disappearing back into the crowd.
She looked to the nearest examinators, hoping to find some comfort or support. The unfazed looks they wore quickly told her all she needed to know. This was not an uncommon occurrence here; she would have to punish the culprit at her own discrepancy.
After a few moments of silence, she managed to regain her composure. 'At the very least he could have apologized.' Her face grew warmer the more she thought of it. "Focus," she silently whispered to herself. 'Now is not the time for distractions.' She stole glances at the crowd of people around her, at least two hundred, but how many would qualify for the training program? It was time to perform, and she was determined.
"For starters, I want you to burn that piece of paper for me. Simple, no? Even a pre-schooler could do it." The man in front of her dressed in the tightest red bodysuit she had ever seen, stood with a clipboard, pen and tower shield in hand.
"Just burn it?" she sheepishly smiled at him.
"Well. there are points for style, but power and speed are your focusses here."
"Burn...Okay-" she lifted her hand in the direction of the narrow hallway, grasping the image of a tiny spark in her mind and - "[flicker],[ignite]..." a small flame burst into existence at the bottom corner of the page, barely visible from where they were standing 20 meters away. "[expand] and [devour]!" The flame near-instantly grew four times the size of the scrap of paper, reducing it to ashes near-instantly. "Now for a bit of pazass!' She squealed as she dramatically flung her hands outwards, the brilliant flames changing colors as it burst into dozens upon dozens of butterfly-like sparks. They pilled out of the narrow corridor in a stream of burning beauty, lighting up the area and dissipating as they did. A moment later, the light and heat were gone, leaving nothing but the slender girl with long cherry blonde hair there with outstretched arms.