The next morning, Jamie and Lucy slept. Knock! Knock! They heard a banging on the door. It was then that Lucy with her partially closed eyes looked at her phone. It was only 5:30 AM.
"Get up you bums, we'll need to hit the road early," Shaun yelled before barging in. He was already dressed with a big grin on his face.
Lucy: "You do know that all registration begins at nine, right? Besides there is a thing called online registration so there isn't any need to physically line up," She stated while once more wrapping up in her sheet.
Shaun: "How can their best candidate merely send some online application. They have to see me in the flesh. Then there would be no means any one of those schools would refuse me access."
Knowing Shaun, Lucy saw right through his antics: "You just want to tell them in person about your heroic deed, huh?"
Shaun: "Lucy, don't be preposterous. Why would I do such a thing? Would it help my chances? Perhaps. But so would this handsome face, but you don't see me flaunting it, do you? I've always been humble, you know that's one of my finer traits. A hero doesn't think of what others can do for him, but the benefits that he offers to the general public. He is a symbol for truth, justice, and honor".
Jamie: "What question was that?" He yawned while asking. Shaun grinned when his brother inquired. "Question 7.A What defines a hero? Did I nail it?"
Jamie: "I would delve into the latter parts. Speak of all your voluntary involvement in Frankfield with the old and sickly. Plus your time spent helping a local struggling business after school. That should give a nice foundation for the rest".
Lucy rolls eyes: "Yeah, he was the ideal citizen within Frankfield, he was a man of the people", She stated in a sarcastic tone. Shaun shamelessly chuckled, replying, "Awww, thank you, Lucy, you're so kind".
____________________
As usual, Shaun got his way with the two. Though the old doctor had already recommended an academy (Clortho), still he hoped to try his luck at the best of the best, Lakeview Super Academy. At the very least to see how much work he needed to put in to transfer if possible in the following years. When they arrived they saw a huge building on a property of what could be no less than 6000 acres.
"Damn! This is a city unto itself." Shaun exclaimed when he saw the building, it was way bigger than what was seen on the internet. In the sky, he saw a man in all white robes flying towards the school.
"What an awesome power, that must be one of the professors. They're usually in white", He pointed at the man excitedly when informing Lucy and Jamie. After years of research on the academy, how could he not know all there was to know about his dream school? He could perhaps give a grand tour all by himself blindfolded without missing a beat. Lucy was the only one who matched his excitement when she saw the man flying through the air. It was one thing to see it on tv, but in person, it was truly surreal.
As for Jamie he simply smiled, while Spek on his shoulder looked away as though it was unimpressed. Perhaps it was because this to him was no different from a man seeing a cattle grazing, nothing special. Everything seen of the academy hinted at world-class, as its facilities seemed top-notch. Shaun took a deep breath taking it all in. This felt right, this is where he deserved to be. He then made his way through the front door but before it even closed he was ushered out.
"Well, that was rude! She could have at the very least looked at the paper and given me a chance to plead my case for acceptance", He sighed dejectedly as the security pointed for him to leave. The moment he went in and the lady saw the color of his paper she pointed to the exit.
Lucy with her hands crossed rolled her eyes saying, "Are you convinced now?" He was lucky they didn't throw him out on his backside for even the mere thought. Shaun could only look enviously at the building before dejectedly walking in front of the two. Seeing his reaction to her teasing Lucy wanted to stretch her arms out to apologize but Jamie prevented her.
Jamie: "He needs to understand rejection, it's a part of growing up. Now let's see if the other academies are interested in our little hero", He smiled, easing Lucy's concerns as they caught up to Shaun who had already arrived next to the blue Jeep.
____________________
The city of Lake View had many academies below Super Academy (LSA). Though they weren't held at the same status, they did have ambitions of growing in stature and outgrowing their parent school. Therefore they too had held certain standards in order to cultivate this thirst for grandeur. So unless someone was talented and barely missed the mark of LSA, there were still stringent requirements set for new recruits.
This was the start of a long and dreary day for Shaun. His next stop was the second most sought-after academy, whose name said it all about their ambition, Uprising Academy. They too took one look at the brown paper and simply pointed to the exit. Obviously, they were no LSA, but with ambition such as theirs accepting anyone below a yellow test was laughable.
Then there was the third known as Harford, named after their founder, the third headmaster of LSA. It came as no surprise that they too rejected Shaun the moment he showed them the brown slip.
"Ok.., fine I get it, it's time to face reality, Clortho it is", He remarked when his tenth choice, New Hope hinted at merely placing him on a provisional waiting list due to his late application. That list was for one more year, that would not do. Since the old doc recommended Clotho, he would waste no more time on this farce.
Lucy: "I'm sure it won't be that bad in comparison. Look, it says here that Clortho is ranked 14th out of the sixteen registered institutions within Lakeview City. That must mean something", Lucy sought to cheer him up by showing him an article she found on the internet.
Shaun rolled his eyes and responded, "Read the next line" Hearing his word Lucy continued to read aloud, "This position is shared with Balfour and Droman as the bottom three.., oh!" She halted awkwardly.
Shaun - "Yeah, oh!" He uttered but knew Lucy meant well so found a means to lift himself, "Hey, at least I'll have a few stories to tell when they ask what struggles I faced to be the greatest, one day, right?"
He looked at the two while grappling at straws. Jamie as usual rubbed his head and lifted his spirit, "I have a feeling that all those who rejected you, will be clambering at your feet in the near future". With his words, Shaun visibly became even more inspired. He knew Jamie was only telling him what he wanted to hear, but still, it did feel good to hear it.