QEA Admission Results and an Announcement

During a break from training, Sage's fingers danced over her old phone, unlocking it to dive into the world of Faceborn. Her inbox was a bustling marketplace of messages from various group chats. She navigated through the digital crowd, her attention drawn to a chat with her former 10th-grade classmates.

As she scrolled up, the unread chats unfolded before her like a story waiting to be discovered.

"Bro! The mango is on the other side!" Grace's words echoed at the background, catching Sage's attention. 

"Ack! Wait. There are a lot of large ants!" Clarke's response came from above the tree. He was slapping away the ants that climbed on his pants. 

Sage glanced up from her phone, her gaze landing on Grace and Clarke. They were engrossed in their mango hunt, their eyes fixed on the tree. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She pressed the home button on her phone, capturing the moment in her mind's eye before returning to the messages.

Aistine: "QEA have released admission results! I went there yesterday and saw it plastered on the bulletin board."

Kurt: "Who passed, tine?"

Aistine: "乁⁠(⁠ ⁠⁰͡⁠ ⁠Ĺ̯⁠ ⁠⁰͡⁠ ⁠)⁠ ⁠ㄏ I only looked at the STEM. I saw Karylle, Cris, Me, and Lexus names on the list."

Dee: "You're so bad, tine! You should have checked HUMSS too! ｡⁠:ﾟ⁠(⁠;⁠´⁠∩⁠`⁠;⁠)ﾟ⁠:⁠｡"

Sage made a mental note to visit QEA the next day.

Just then, a chubby three-year-old boy entered the preschool gate. His hands were tucked behind him, his eyes wide with the embarrassment of being in front of so many people. "Bro D-yan… Papa asked you to come."

After a while, Dylan returned, his face lit up with a grin. "Tournament is in one week!"

"Tournament? Nice!" Clarke's comment punctuated the air as he pulled at a mango.

"When is it, bro?" Sage asked Dylan, her phone momentarily forgotten.

Dylan settled on a log lying on the ground, filling them in on the details. "There's a Mayor's Cup WEKAF Tournament on May 30-31 at Jusdome—"

"YES! Home ground!" The words burst from them in unison.

Jusdome, a small sports arena capable of hosting national level closed-door tournaments like martial arts, basketball, tennis, volleyball, badminton, and other sports. Its proximity to their training ground, a mere 300 meters away, made it their home ground. They often went there for school mandatory activities, city-wide major events, and competitions.

Shina, the meek one, stood behind the crowd. "What's the requirement, Dylan?"

"Birth Certificate and filling up the registration form. We can send the copies for birth certificates during the competition," Dylan explained, pausing for a moment before asking, "Is everyone here joining?"

The club members, including Sage, nodded in agreement.

"Brix will surely join, I mean, we can announce it to our group chat later," Sage suggested, thinking of the absent club members.

After wrapping up the discussion, they resumed their training. This time, they sparred without armor. Their gear was unwashed and carried a distinct odor.

Their intense training and sparring sessions took a toll on their equipment. The sticks they had owned for months snapped in half. Their bodies bore the marks of their dedication - wounds and bruises.

"Ho… That was tiring," Lyka murmured, sinking onto the mat to catch her breath.

"This training session lasted quite a while longer than we used to. Ughh!" Grace fanned her face, trying to cool down.

"Master said we need to come here every day in preparation for the tournament. We need to build up our stamina," Clarke chimed in, adding, "We need to buy new sticks. These ones are brittle."

"Oh wait, speaking of buying. Thank you for the knives you gave us, Sage!" Lyka clapped, and the rest followed suit.

"Ey, stop. I'll get thick-skinned from that!" Sage giggled, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She wasn't used to being the center of attention. But she was glad to earn another 7,000 credits.

After a while, they cleaned up the training ground and headed home. Well, everyone except Sage.

Sage embarked on another grocery shopping trip, delivering the goods to her father's workplace.

"Did your mom ask you to bring those?" Father Everest asked as he opened the gates to let Sage in.

Sage shook her head. "I earned some money while I was out these few days. I hope you can eat your fill while working."

Father Everest was a security guard at a private company. He was the only one inside due to the nature of his work. He wasn't guarding people, but the electricity that powered the whole city. Moreover, it was only a small branch in the suburbs.

Father Everest enveloped Sage in a hug, swaying gently as he spoke his thoughts.

Sage stayed like the lifeless statue in her father's embrace. She wasn't used to being close with her family members. After a couple of minutes, Father Everest released Sage. "Did you eat snacks?"

"Yes. While I was out shopping," Sage replied, her gaze falling on her father's hunched back. "QEA results are also out. I plan to go there tomorrow."

"That's good! Do you want me to accompany you tomorrow?" Father Everest unpacked the groceries Sage had brought. His eyes lit up at the sight of sliced bread and natural black coffee. He filled a cup with hot water and stirred in the powdered coffee.

Sage settled into the office chair, leaning back. She closed her eyes and replied, "I'll take care of it, pa. I can ask the security guard for details when I get there."

"There's a folding bed here, Sage. You can use it to sleep."

"This is good enough, pa. I will be leaving in half an hour." Sage drifted off to sleep almost instantly.

An alarm jolted Sage awake. She quickly silenced her phone, squinting at the time with half-closed eyes. "Pa, I will be leaving soon."

She received no answer. Rubbing her eyes, she noticed a cat curled up on her lap. She gently set it down and left the office.

Father Everest was busy checking the status of the electricity.

"Pa, what would you do if you stopped working as a security guard?" Sage asked out of the blue.

"You're awake." He closed the metal door of the storage and walked towards Sage. "Maybe in the military," he answered.

"Are you tired of working here, pa?"

"I enjoy working here."

But Sage noticed that his eyes didn't smile. She remembered her father complaining in the past about being tired. When her sister started working, he tried doing what he wanted, but it seemed that the expenses in their house never decreased. So, he continued to work hard until his last breath.

"If I can give you the chance to do what you want, pa, will you take it?"

Father Everest pondered the question but left Sage without an answer.

Disappointment crept into Sage's heart, causing her to purse her lips. "We have a tournament coming soon, pa."

"Good luck with your tournament."

"Thank you, pa." Sage rummaged through her bag for some cash. "Pa, I want to give this to you as your personal allowance. Mama didn't give you that much again, no?"

"How about you?" Father Everest looked at the money with worry. He knew that Sage spent a lot.

"Trust me, pa. I have more than you can imagine." She placed the money in his open palm.

"I'll go home, pa. See you at home."

Sage left her father's workplace and headed to her Champ, which was parked not far from the workplace. The presence of several police officers around the checkpoint made her feel secure about leaving her vehicle outside.

She started the engine and drove off to her mother's house.

6 AM, Quantum Excellence Academy

"Good Morning, Miss. May I know your purpose for visiting here?" The lady guard asked from the other side of the gate.

"I want to check the QEA admission results," Sage replied.

"Alright. Write your name in the logbook." The lady guard unlocked the gate and let Sage in. She guided Sage to the logbook area and watched as she filled in her details.

Sage bowed slightly and said, "Thank you."

The Senior High School buildings were a considerable distance from the gate, nestled at the other end of the 5,000 sqm campus.

Sage paused outside the faculty office. The names of the successful applicants were displayed on the bulletin board.

She quickly snapped a photograph of the ABM Track Passers List, making sure to spot her name on the list before swiftly exiting the school.

"Hey, guys. Sorry for the wait." Sage slid into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"No worries, Sage. We're thankful enough that you offered us a ride," Lyka replied.