The massive gates creaked slightly as the guards began to pull it open. An excited buzz reverberated throughout the crowd.
"There are eight appraisal stations inside, so we will be admitting you sixteen at a time. Our staff members will inform you when it's your time to enter. Further instructions will be given to you by your station master - however, if you do not manage to pass the appraisals, you are free to leave at any time.
Now… all the best, and we hope to see you join us in Alcaster Academy. Onwards and upwards."
"Onwards and upwards," chanted the staff in unison. Nero recognised it as the school motto, and a shiver ran down his back as the gates grinded to a halt: it was finally open. This was it. This was really happening.
"Don't just stand there!" hissed Senna, nudging Nero in the waist and making him squirm. "Get in line!"
The few seconds of wonder were costly: by the time they managed to worm back into the queue, dozens of people had already cut in front of them.
"Ugh. At this rate, it'll be an hour before we make it in," complained Ophelia.
"Patience is a virtue, gorgeous," came a voice from behind them. Nero turned to see a tall, rather good looking guy smiling at Ophelia. He had jet black hair, a strong jaw, and narrow eyes that were running all over Ophelia. He also had ears that stuck out quite a bit from beneath his cap. "The name's Greyson. Greyson Darc."
Senna seemed to take offence at the guy's condescending tone, and was about to retort when Nero caught her attention with a light tap on her arm.
"Let her handle it."
Instead of shaking Greyson's outstretched hand, Ophelia simply gave him a nondescript nod and the hand sign for 'OK', not even bothering to turn all the way to look at him. As expected, Greyson's face flushed an angry red.
"You should look at people when they're talking to you," he snapped.
"Has anyone passed the appraisals yet?" Ophelia asked Nero, completely ignoring Greyson. "Can you tell?"
"I can't see from here," replied Nero. "But Senna says that those who pass will have to wait inside, so I guess anyone who walks out is disqualified?"
Out the corner of his eye, Nero could see Greyson fuming, and hid a grin.
"You there - is she your friend?" Greyson barked to Nero. "Did she forget her listening aid or something?"
"Get a hint, dude," Senna said loudly. "They're a couple. Stop trying to hit on her."
Nero and Ophelia both blushed slightly, but remained silent. Greyson chortled.
"Yeah, right. No way either of you babes are this guy's girlfriend."
It wasn't the first time that someone had said this about Nero, but it always stung a little. He was far from being unattractive - in fact, he was rather pleased with the way he looked. Nero was slender with decent muscle, and blessed with his mother's expressional brown eyes. The only thing he didn't really like was the occasional white hair that sprung up amidst the rest of the bronze.
That being said, it wasn't really fair to judge Ophelia's appearance by the same standards as a regular person. She was so attractive that many girls back in school refused to hang out with her out of sheer intimidation, and all the guys wanted to be friends with Nero just to try and get closer to her. In a way, Nero was grateful that Senna didn't seem to share the same jealous streak that the other girls did; Ophelia had startlingly few genuine friends.
"So… what did you want, Goson?" asked Ophelia flippantly.
"It's Greyson. Nothing, I just wanted to be friends, maybe get to know you a bit more."
"Right," said Nero, "We'll get back to you after our conversation, so be patient, okay? Patience is a virtue."
Ophelia laughed and gave Nero a high five, then the two of them turned back to face the front.
"You think you're so funny, huh?" snarled Greyson, directing his remark at Nero. "You'd better watch your back."
"Not if you're gonna be standing there."
This was common too, and a big part of why Nero got jumped so often. He had his own prideful streak, and would never back down no matter how stacked the odds were against him. People took this as a challenge, and believed that by showing how 'vastly superior' they were to Nero, Ophelia would think better of them.
Greyson smirked. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"