Alex's hair was not long, just enough to cover his eyes when he inclined his head forward. With his head lowered after drinking some water, as if tired or in thought, he pondered about what he just saw.
***
***
In the bleachers, exposed to the elements that could only feel comfortable to people of their level, Lucas was conversing with Christina, his partner of the day.
Pointing at the ones sitting on the lower levels, he explained:
"Those are the students that have yet to reach level two. Most are new students. They are here to observe and learn from the ones ahead of them."
Looking at the dark sea of heads below, Christina recognized that there must be thousands of people, many times the number of people in the arena.
She knew the academy had been recruiting every year, but she never took the time to think about the size the student body had reached.
