Sunday couldn't come quickly enough.
Time has an annoying habit of slowing to a crawl whenever you're anticipating a big event - like a birthday party, for example, or the day of a wedding proposal.
For Nero, the four days that existed between the day of Professor Vamoden's arrival and Sunday lasted a week long. Each. When he wasn't packing, he was hunched up over his computer, trying to find out as much as he could about the appraisal tests.
His biggest worry was confirmed - the appraisals were indeed an innate aptitude test. There was next to no information on the judging criteria apart from random speculation, so he tried his best to quash the rising dread in his heart.
The Katoris were planning on taking a week-long vacation in Meridian Primus. In the event that Nero and Ophelia passed the appraisals, they would be notified on the day itself, giving them plenty of time to get their schoolbooks.
If they didn't pass… well, Meridian Primus was still a splendid place to kick back and relax. They'd have plenty of time to get over their grief and reapply for Pentheholm University.
Clothes, wallet, passport… everything was stuffed neatly into his luggage, but Nero couldn't help but feel a nagging sense of unease. Was there anything he had forgotten to pack?
He turned to a small picture frame on his bedside table: in it was a picture of his parents, with his mother holding a baby Nero in her arms.
"Did I forget to pack anything, Mom?"
The picture frame stayed silent, and Nero sighed. No matter how many years it was, he couldn't help but miss the life he could've had.
"Nero!" called out a voice from the front door. "Are you awake?"
"Coming!"
Nero shoved his phone charger into his bag and grabbed his luggage, grunting as he lifted it past the sidewalk curb. Ophelia, dressed in a simple white t-shirt and jeans, greeted him with a huge smile.
"Morning!"
"Hey. Could you give me a hand?"
"Yeah - get on that side. Throw on three: One… Two… Oof. There we go."
Ophelia slammed the lid on the boot, causing the whole car to shudder and drawing a disdainful frown from Mr Katori.
"Were you excited?" asked Ophelia, climbing into the backseat. "I could hardly sleep last night."
"Yeah, me too," said Nero. "Did you manage to find out anything about the appraisals? Anything that could give us an advantage?"
"Nothing concrete. Meridian Primus is really secretive about esper research, but I found a research paper from a laboratory in one of the Western countries, which looked into the brains of 220 espers versus non-espers. There was no conclusive difference - on a physical level, at least. During esper activity, several parts of the brain lit up; with the highlights being on the parietal lobe and the cerebrum. This made the researchers think that esper activity is subconsciously calculated, instead of merely 'wishing' for something to happen."
"So what you're saying is that we should think of math problems during the appraisal?"
"I don't know. Couldn't hurt to try."
"I wish you kids could speak plain english once in a while," complained Mrs Katori. "I was trying to follow your conversation, but you lost me at the 'conclusive difference' part."
"Sorry, Mom," said Ophelia sheepishly. "It's not important. What's important is that we prepare for every scenario possible."
"I have to say - if we get in, I'm not looking forward to classes at all," said Nero. "The only interactions we've had with espers are bullies. Students who were exposed to espers growing up would have a huge advantage over us."
"But they don't have your brains," countered Mr Katori. "I've never seen two teenagers who knew enough to bargain with a professor before, much less the principal of Alcaster Academy."
"Logical thinking doesn't really help much with education," admitted Ophelia. "If Alcaster is anything like other schools, they'll probably prefer people who can memorise and regurgitate knowledge - and Nero's terrible at memorising stuff. He also took a gap year, so his brain's rusty."
"Don't remind me."
"Why not? You'll probably forget about it anyway."
Nero elbowed Ophelia in the rib, and she squirmed away, laughing. "Don't worry so much; it's not like I'll let you fail if you're struggling."
"Can you kids look for a restaurant in Meridian Primus?" interjected Mrs Katori. "We'll be in the city at dinnertime, and there's only rest stops along the way. Find something nice."
"I heard the Northern cuisine in Meridian Primus is pretty good," said Mr Katori casually. At his suggestion, his wife wrinkled her nose.
"Horace, you know how much I hate shellfish."
"But if the shellfish in Meridian Primus is the best in the region, it'll be a waste to not visit."
The conversation quickly tapered off into the health benefits of Northern cuisine versus alternative dining options. As Nero listened to an argument against vegetarian food, his mind slowly drifted off to school.
Alcaster Academy! Truth be told, he did sometimes daydream about being able to do magic. Wouldn't it be cool if he could control the elements, like the heroes in action movies? Or even fly?
Nero had breezed through school thanks to a combination of natural talent and thirst for knowledge. For most of his life, school wasn't something he worried about - until now.
In general, wealthy children were often enrolled into Alcaster Academy as early as twelve years old. The likelihood of becoming an actual esper at that age was minuscule, akin to the chances of being struck by lightning. Nevertheless, that didn't stop multitudes of rich people demanding a re-evaluation.
This meant that those who could afford the education at a young age had likely been practising a long time. Just catching up with them would take a ton of practice and hard work. It would almost be easier to race a fish in the water - at least he had knowledge on how to swim.
Admittedly, Nero hadn't read up a lot on the creation of espers themselves; their existence alone spawned so many conspiracies, it wasn't even worth looking into. Nero couldn't fathom being able to use esper abilities; would the unused parts of his brain suddenly be unlocked? Would it take a conscious effort to access his esper powers? Or would it be more subconscious in nature, like balancing on a wire?
"Nero, why don't you decide?" interrupted Mrs Verace, drawing Nero out of his stupor. "Where do you want to eat?"