30 minutes before Leonard and others finished the test.
Zeus: "Welcome, everyone, to your first entrance ceremony! You should be proud; you are the few who had the potential of passing a difficult exam."
Ash, Elizabeth, Nick, Tracey, Erica stood at attention.
Ash, Elizabeth, Nick, Tracey, Erica: "Yessir!"
Zeus continued.
Zeus: "You are the first students of your class who will specialize in field tasks and research. You will no longer attend normal school for the next three years; this institution will be your only home."
Leonard sat in the cafeteria, anxiety etched on his face.
Kevin, mouth stuffed with food, concern creased his brow.
Kevin: "Hey, man, you look terrible. Eat something; this food is great."
Leonard shook his head.
Leonard: "I'm not feeling hungry right now."
Sam nudged him.
Sam: "You're going to need the strength. Besides, if Kevin is stuffing his face, it means the test wasn't that bad."
Leonard hesitated.
Leonard: "Sure."
Sam whispered.
Sam: "Oh boy."
Meanwhile, examiners Frederick and Chris, with his intense grey eyes and lean athletic build, reviewed the results. Chris' confident posture and subtle forward lean indicated his engagement.
Frederick: "Mmmm"
Chris' deep voice inquired.
Chris: "What is it?"
Frederick: "Sorry to do this, but do you think I can leave the rest of this to you?"
Chris' analytical gaze narrowed.
Chris: "You want to examine the next test?"
Frederick: (with a stoic stare) "Yes."
Elizabeth called Leonard, and he put the phone on speaker.
Elizabeth: "Heyya!"
Trio: "Yoo."
Elizabeth: "Soooo...how'd it go?"
Sam with a confident grin etched on his face
Sam: "Awesome."
Kevin still stuffing his face with food
Kevin: "What he said."
Elizabeth: "That's great to hear. Also, I just wanted to let you guys know I'll be watching you during your 2nd exam."
Leonard's anxiety spiked.
Leonard: "Whaaat?"
Elizabeth: "Yup...it's a field task, and cameras were installed on the entire field."
Sam whistled.
Sam: "That's crazy."
Elizabeth: "Anyway, good luck, you three."
The call ended.
Leonard with both hands holding his head and sweat dripping down.
Leonard: "This day just keeps getting worse."
In the monitor room, Erica asked.
Erica: "Who are those guys you just spoke to?"
Elizabeth: "They're my friends."
Tracey smiled.
Tracey: "I think I heard 3 voices, so I wish the best for the 3 of them."
Nick nodded.
Nick: "Same here...it would be depressing having just 5 students in one class."
Ash grunted.
Ash: "Hmph"
Elizabeth smiled.
Elizabeth: "Thanks so much, you guys...alright, you 3, you got your entire future classmates behind you, so do your best."
Zeus smiled, listening to their conversation.
Another examiner walked in.
As Zeus turned around...
Zeus: "Brother!"
Chris' brow furrowed.
Chris: "I told you not to call me that while we're here on the premises."
Zeus teased.
Zeus: "Oh, come on; nothing's gonna change the fact that you're one of my lil bros."
Chris sighed.
Chris: "Zeus."
Zeus's expression turned serious.
Zeus: "Hold on, why are you...?"
Chris explained.
Chris: "About that...he wanted to be the examiner of the 2nd test."
Zeus's eyes widened.
Zeus: "What?! Why?"
Chris shrugged.
Chris: "No idea."
Zeus's gaze turned thoughtful.
Zeus: "Sweety."
Elizabeth looked puzzled.
Elizabeth: "Huh?"
Zeus's expression turned stern.
Zeus: "Seems like your friends are going to have an even tougher exam."
The door to the field opened; the trio and 15 other candidates stepped forward.
Zeus addressed them.
Zeus: "Alright. The 2nd exam will commence, and I will be monitoring this exam from where I am."
Candidates murmured excitement.
Zeus outlined the objective.
Zeus: "Your goal is to get through the greenhouse and try to prevent as many candidates as you can from getting through and make it to your examiner under 1 hour."
The trio stood ready; Leonard swallowed heavily, anxiety gripping him.
Chris, with his analytical gaze, observed the candidates.
Frederick waited, arms folded, at the other side of the greenhouse.
The bell rang.
Zeus: "Begin!"
Candidates dashed off.
To be continued...