My Servant and I

"Hey kid how are you?" A hoarse voice escaped from the phone's speakers.

"I'm doing good Dad...it's just I'm a bit nervous about the aptitude test since we've been told nothing about its procedure..." Andrey told his father his worries.

Initially, he was very confident about clearing the test but as the time for the test was getting closer and closer his nervousness was only taking a toll on him since he had no clue on what to prepare himself for.

"Just relax kid, don't fret so much over it because from what I've heard from the folks I know, this test is much easier than the one I had gone through back in the day, mine had the risk of injuring my body and they made us sign on few papers so that we would be solely responsible if something like that happened to us." Andrey's father said.

"Your tests were so severe?" Andrey asked as he was clearly not expecting that the aptitude test would prove to be dangerous.

"Yes, you've been taught about the red stones in your school by now, right?" Andrey's father asked.

"Mr Thomson told us about it a few weeks ago," Andrey answered.

"That makes things easier for me to explain," Andrey's father's hoarse voice sounded from the phone as he proceeded to tell Andrey about the time when he was taking the aptitude test.

"The aptitude test is conducted to check whether a person's body is compatible with the red energy contained in the red stones. If the body is not compatible with the stone then it means that the person has no hope for becoming a warrior." He said.

"How were you guys tested?" Andrey asked the question that mattered to him the most.

Hearing the excitement hidden in Andrey's voice his father replied "Don't get so hyped up Andrey, the method now is completely changed so it won't be of much help to you," after pouring cold water over Andrey's excitement he continued,

"We were made to hold onto a high-grade red stone to check our body's reaction to it,"

"High-grade red stone?" Andrey asked and his doubts were soon answered.

"Indeed, unlike low-grade ones whose energy needs to be consciously absorbed the high-grade red stone's energy is so concentrated that just by touching it you would be able to feel its energy entering your body,"

"I see," Andrey replied as his father continued,

"If within ten seconds of contact, your body shows no signs of discomfort then that means that your body is compatible with the red energy and you could become a warrior. It was a quite crude method and was very convenient for screening the potential warriors from the crowd of people."

"What had happened to those whose bodies were incompatible with the red energy?" Andrey asked.

"Them...the lucky ones bled one-third of their blood from their eyes, nose and mouth before being saved by the instructors while the less lucky ones suffered from organ failures and are still suffering from its consequences," Andrey's father said with a heavy tone in his voice.

"That's so messed up..." Andrey said.

"It indeed was, but it couldn't be helped as the dire situation in the frontlines called for it," Andrey's father said with a sigh as he continued, "Anyways, don't worry about these things. Just give the test with a light heart as there's no chance that you'll fail, Good night kid," 

"Good night Dad," Andrey replied as his father disconnected the call. Looking at the screen of his phone Andrey sighed. Even though his father told him to relax he just wasn't able to.

He spent the rest of the night on the CoNet learning about new things before finally retiring to bed. He wasn't worried about classes as the school decided to give them a day off tomorrow so that they could better prepare their mind for the aptitude test.

The next day passed like a flash for most of the students as most of them spent their time whining on the school forum about how little time they'd been given. It was their only solace to escape from the stress of the impending test which they had no clue about.

Andrey only glanced at the forums from time to time as he was instead using his nervousness to go through more information in the CoNet relating to the reapers, warriors and the history of humanity. He wasn't very studious but he felt that the only way to placate his nervousness was to do something productive. 

However, that too had a limit and he resorted to binge-watching a small anime series that Jacob recommended in the evening which he finished by late at night before calling it a day.

'I can't wait for the season 2 to come..." These were Andrey's last thoughts to himself as he entered the land of dreams. It seemed like watching anime did wonders for him as he was able to easily fall asleep.

...

Today was the day of the test,

After waking up at the correct time Andrey felt refreshed. Sitting up on his bed he turned towards the window and while facing the rays of the sun stretched both his hands which was accompanied by a long relaxing yawn.

"Let's get ready," 

Andrey busied himself with his usual morning chores which took him around thirty minutes and after finishing up his breakfast he left for school.

He could see a lot of students walking on the streets thanks to him being on time today which made a grin appear on his face. "Finally, I'm on time," He said to himself as he leisurely walked towards the school while blending in among the many students who were going the same way as him.

"Andrey!" A familiar voice called him from behind.

"Hey Lisa, you're quite early today," Andrey said in a smug manner thinking that she too woke up early because of the test today.

"I'm always this early unlike a certain someone," Lisa didn't hold back and directly removed that smugness from Andrey's face.

"Ouch, you didn't have to attack me like that you know...I was only greeting you," Andrey said to Lisa as the two of them matched their pace and were now walking beside each other.

To his words, Lisa just rolled her eyes and asked, "All ready for the test?" 

"What's there to be ready about? They haven't even told us about the way they are going to test our aptitude," Andrey grumbled.

"That's true, I have no idea about what's going to happen today," Lisa said as the two of them talked about some stuff from the school forums and finally reached school.

After waving hands at each other they walked towards their respective classrooms.

"I never expected that I would have the honour of seeing you in time my lord," Jacob bowed to Andrey in a well-practised manner as he saw Andrey's figure entering the room.

"It's nothing much," Andrey said in a noble manner as he took his seat and continued, "Massage my shoulders, manservant, I want to feel relaxed for the test,"

"Yes, my lord," Jacob said as he appeared behind Andrey and started massaging his back.

"You watched it didn't you," Jacob said with a pleased expression on his face as he continued to massage Andrey's traps.

"Indeed," Andrey replied with a smile while enjoying Jacob's massage.

"Hehe, I knew you would love it, my lord," Jacob chuckled.

"That's what I love about you, continue to serve your lord like this in the future," Andrey said.

"Aye Aye," Jacob grinned as he finally finished with the massage.

"Are the two of you crazy?" Jenny finally couldn't contain herself and asked them about their tomfoolery.

"You wouldn't get it," Andrey and Jacob replied at the same time making Jenny feel left out. Just when she was about to curse the two of them for it Alex's voice entered her ears.

"You don't know? They are acting like the characters from the newly popular anime called "My Servant and I" Alex chimed in.

"Oh anime, it makes sense now..." Jenny said losing interest in the topic the moment she heard the word 'anime'.

"You don't watch anime?" Alex asked in surprise but before she could reply Jacob replied on her behalf, "Nope, she's only into drama but that's not important...Alex why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Tell you w-what?" Alex backed away a bit after meeting Jacob's intense gaze.

Jacob didn't mind it and immediately grabbed Alex's hands taking him by surprise "That you're a man of culture as well," 

"A-ah that...you guys never asked," Realizing that there was nothing to worry Alex replied.

"My apologies for not asking, come, let's catch up together on all the anime you have watched," Jacob placed his hand over Alex's shoulder and brought him towards his seat where Andrey was already sitting.

The three of them then huddled together and started discussing anime leaving Jenny, who was sitting right in front of them, frustrated.

Jenny was finally freed from her misery when Miss Jane arrived and the three boys who were huddled behind her went back to their seats and quietened down.

Everyone looked towards Miss Jane with anticipation as they all were dying to know about the Aptitude test.