Chapter 12

CARINA'S POV

Hundreds of students shared across One hundred and ten halls now whittled down to 100 names on a chalkboard wall, the cries of agony that filled the hall around me muffled only by my steel focus as my eyes darted over those 100 names again and again and again, reading over and over and over again but the chalk marks stayed the same

"Congratulations" a hand lands on my shoulder as Felicia leans whispering in my ear, it takes me a while to register what she had said still frozen in place

"You see it too?" I speak for the first time my voice breathy as if I just ran a marathon

"Sure do, right there, number 86," she says pointing a perfectly manicured nail at the chalkboard wall

No matter how many times my eyes went over it it stayed the same, right there in flaking white was the name 'Carina Leblanc', That's me, I passed!

I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I wanted to jump up and down, fling my arms around Felicia and bounce around the hall but I didn't, I stopped myself not out of fear of losing composure and appearing uncouth to these highborn but out of fear of what the failing students would do if they witnessed such a display

Many of them were collapsed in heaps crying their eyes out, In the far corner I saw the girl who sat beside me crying into a woman's chest while another woman patted her shoulder in a fruitless attempt at consoling her, the tears pouring down her face a bright shade of blue were endless, others stood trained in their spot going over the names again and again their eyes tracing the board repeatedly as if the words would morph around to reveal the names they so desperately seek, they'd stand till their bodies could no longer hold them and their knees gave out beneath dropping them to the floor their heads hanging low in disbelief as if their entire life was over

While a large number were angry, their nostrils flared, their eyes narrowed, their lips tucked, their fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly, I swear I could see steam coming off a fair number of them, their guardians were equally as hysterical screaming at the teachers who supervised

"This is outrageous..." I hear a familiar nasally screech "....you can't possibly allow this!..." she yells harassing the poor supervisor and stabbing him in the chest with her gloved finger, her face a bright red and I swear, I swear I could see fangs poking out of her mouth every time she parted her lips "...do you seriously expect me to believe these results? Do you know who I am?..." she continues assaulting the teacher who meets her aggression with silence, folding his hands in front of him silently staring her down, his face the poster of impassiveness which seems to insult her more than any retort ever could

She doubles back as if his cold stare reminded her where exactly she was standing, she takes a step back awkwardly clearing her throat and smoothing her jet black hair back down into its flat bob, looking into the crowd her bright red eyes land on me and every ounce of calm was thrown out the window as a glint of anger erupts inside her, turning her entire body around she goes back to yelling at the supervisor but this time throwing an accusing finger at me cutting straight through the crowd "These results can't be real because how was SHE able to pass?! How could you pass her knowing exactly what her aunt did?!! That criminal!! How could you allow another Leblanc to set foot in this school?!"

What the bloody Hell did Felicia do?! the moment she pointed at me the entire hall turned to me, every student, teacher, and guardian all rested their eyes on me, some curious, some amused, but most of them vicious, as if they all agreed with her as if all the emotions running rampant in their bodies were finally given an easy target, I caught the eyes of one of my spectators and they growled at me.

Growled!

I instinctively huddled closer to Felicia who stood her ground entirely unfazed by the new wave of animosity, in fact, she looked fairly amused, a cold smile curled its way to her lips followed by a small chuckle paired with a snap of her fingers "I remember you..." Felicia says pointing at the woman on stage "..... did we go to the same theatre school?"

If the woman was upset before right now she was raving mad

"I'VE NEVER..."

"What is happening here?" The elderly man from before appeared out of thin at the far end of the stage, his presence was enough to make the air shift, the crowd that was once feral and out for blood fell silent, their heads cast down, some out of respect but most out of shame

"Professor, I was,... I was just....."

"You were just What, Madam?" the lady on stage who was ready to lead a rebellion mere seconds ago now stood on shaky legs fumbling over her words her mouth gaping open and shut like a goldfish "..Were you perhaps, questioning the academic integrity of the Margovich School?" he asked her, a bushy white eyebrow arched in contempt

"No, I would never, it's just..." she points to me again and the kind professor stops her with a single hand he raised

"Please Madam, this display is embarrassing, whatever the actions of Miss Leblanc in the past may be, they in no way shape, or form affect the eligibility of her niece"

"But sir, how can she get in when my son..."

"Your son what?..... if we are to go by pedigree Would you dare compare yourself to the ranks of Genevieve Leblanc?.." at his words her face paled, honestly speaking I didn't think she could get any whiter "...Remove yourself from the premise, all of you" he deadpanned, his tone was harsh and his voice cold, the warm welcoming atmosphere he created during his opening speech now felt like a distant memory

He called no names yet all of us knew exactly who he was talking to, the woman on stage went mute, her body trembled yet slowly one step at a time she shuffled back one foot after the other, the people around us followed her lead forming lines leading out the now various open doors, their feet scraped as despair hung thick in the air

"That's a little harsh", I whispered to Felicia who replied with

"Harsh of who exactly?" she asked truly unsure who I was talking about, I gave her a pointed look

"You can't be serious, Harsh of the professor, he basically just kicked them all out!"

"This was a nicer dismissal than my opening ceremony I'll tell you that much, the professor is losing his edge,"

I refused to believe any of that to be true of anyone who looked that kind, "Is he always like this?!"

"Only to students who aren't of the Margovich School, if the person who caused a ruckus on stage wasn't an alumnus they probably would have lost their heads...." so Felicia did know who that woman was, but wait what does she mean by students who aren't of the Margovich School?, before the question could leave my mouth she answered ".... Margovich doesn't allow second chances, you only get one chance to apply, if you don't make it you're just another failure as far as the good Professor is concerned"

I had many things I wanted to say, many questions I wanted to ask, out of all of them the one I asked was "How were the final 100 chosen?"

"If I were to take a fair guess I'd say the top scorer from each hall was taken and the top 100 were filtered out, or I could be wrong and they just used a cut-off mark system"

Fair enough, I'd be lying if I said the knowledge that I came 86 out of a selection of thousands didn't boost my confidence just a little, It was like those grueling months of studying none stop were being acknowledged

Be it curiosity or just my competitive spirit, I turned my gaze back to the board moving my eyes to the name at the very top and reading it over and over again till it imprinted in my mind

"Dorothea Kouris" I tested the name on my tongue wondering what kind of monster they were to top an exam like that

As the last of the defeated filter out the doors they slam shut, their echoes ringing through the almost empty hall

"Congratulations!!" the Professor claps his hands once again, his voice bouncing off the walls, his eyes holding that playful glint once again

Felicia was right, in this man's eyes there were two kinds of people, the ones that get into the Margovich School and the ones that don't, Heaven only knows what view he might have of humans or worse, Familia....I am proud to both welcome you once again and congratulate you for getting this far, your results were remarkable as to be expected of a Margovich witch, and your second exam will commence immediately....", I was most nervous about the second exam, Felicia said it changes every time and could range between rock paper scissors to straight genocide, ".... Place your hands to your chests.." he instructs and we do, I place my hand to my chest and find pinned to my jacket a silver brooch with a large blue gem on it "...Your Practical exam will be a Battle Royale"