Ritutandra arched one of her eyebrows and chuckled, "Dang! It feels so good to do nothing! I see why she insists on being lazy. Let's see what kind of plans the Commoners came up with."
Zeal, secret organisation, nurtured young talents in various fields to become the crème de la crème. The chiefs of the organisation personally chose its members, Zelons. Anyone outside of it was called a Commoner. Ketu was a school run by Zeal, mainly to train and filter talents.
It was the dream school for everyone because it provided education in every possible field of study – sports, research, healthcare, theatre, painting, sculpting; the list is vast. Naturally, the admission requirements were extremely high, but anyone, regardless of their socio-economic status, could apply. Innate talent, potential, and the will to work hard were the sole keys to getting in there. Most importantly, the education was absolutely free of cost. Be it study materials or any other equipment, everything was provided by the institution itself.
Unlike other schools, division of class and section did not depend on students' age in Ketu. Rather, students were judged by their level of skill in different subjects. By this rule, a fourteen year old and twenty-one year old could be in the same class if they had the same level of skill. There was also the option of completing the course early or later. Students could advance to higher classes ahead of time by passing certain tests. Likewise, they could also choose to complete the session at a pace suitable to them. Different sections taught lessons at different rates. So, for classes one to twelve, there were five sections each.
There, the students did not need to study in college separately because their education was completed in class twelve. Thus, when ordinary people had to wait four extra years after class twelve to complete their education, the students of Ketu were already done with it.
Every school in the country held special biannual examinations where the questions were set according to Ketu's standards. It was another way to provide an opportunity for students to get into Ketu, besides direct application. The greater the number of students a school could send there, the more reputable it became. The name Ketu was a symbol of status in and of itself. If anyone could claim to be its student, then that garnered a different level of respect.
After seeing Bikram's message, she called someone.
The call was picked up and a cold voice sounded from the other end, "Hm?"
Ritutandra said in a cheerful voice, "Diiiidi."
"Hm?"
To outsiders, it might sound the same, but Ritutandra could recognise immense indulgence in her voice.
"Didi, when will it be over?" Ritu said.
She slid down on the bed and propped one leg over the other.
"Before the exams begin," Olivia replied.
"Oh. Will anyone know?"
"No." came the reply.
"Mm. I want to go home." Ritutandra said, in a cute voice.
If her juniors saw her like this they would have had a heart attack. The vice-captain of Ketu was actually like this in private? Usually no, but she was speaking to was her dearest elder sister, after all. How could she not act cute? After chatting about this and that, the call finally ended. She stared at the ceiling contemplating whether to change back to her guise or sleep like this.
"Nope. I'm lazy."
Saying that she flipped on her belly, hugged her bolster and closed her eyes.
Inside Ankita's room, a girl was sitting at the study table, holding a smart pen in her left hand and a phone in her right hand. She seemed to be talking to someone. Her black eyes contained a hint of gentleness, and the corners of her lips were slightly curled up. After the call was over, she placed the phone aside, and the gentleness disappeared. Although her expressionless face and soulless eyes did not show it, her mood actually improved after the call.
The figure looked like Ankita but the aura was completely different. She gave off a distant feeling, like an invisible shield was built between her and the outside world. Her presence could be summed up in two words – cold and detached. The exact opposite of Ankita's friendly, welcoming personality. She was busy doing homework. After being done with it, she pressed something on her watch and a yellow translucent screen appeared, displaying the details of Ankita Dey. She scrolled through it and reached a part where it was written Academics. It showed the character's academic skills.
Olivia went through the details of Ankita's score potential in different subjects, and closed the screen. Then, she skimmed through the homework and changed several correct answers to wrong besides making a few deliberate mistakes here and there.
She checked the answers once more to make sure everything matched with Ankita's academic ability, and turned off the Board. While climbing onto the bed, her eyes fell on the ivory box Koushik left for her or rather Ankita. Stretching her hand out, she grabbed it between two fingers and brought it closer. The chocolates looked appetizing and the faint sweet aroma was also beckoning her to have a taste. The moment she put a piece in her mouth, a faint gleam flickered in her eyes. But it went away just as quickly. She kept the box away and went to sleep.