Manifest War: The Weapons Within

Later that day at LaVeda University, the midterm results were finally posted in the Grand Hall of the main building. All of the first year students stood by in great anticipation, waiting patiently for the hologram screens to display their scores and ranks.

“Now remember, these rankings are an accumulation of your individual skill, teamwork, and use of abilities in a team based environment. Your written exams also play a small part in the results, so keep that in mind." Lady Ravala said loudly, making sure everyone understood the scoring criteria.

"These rankings will also be your starting point for the remainder of the year. Your performance on future exams and combat exercises will either increase or decrease your rank, so be sure to maintain a high standard, otherwise you’ll be left behind by your peers.”

Moments later, Core Energy entered the room and multiple screens came into view on the massive lobby walls. Numbers and names began populating the holographic displays, filling up with a rapid pace. The first screen revealed the top ten rankings, showing a picture of the person associated with the rank as well. Carmen, Elise, and Mariah walked up and paid close attention as it listed names one by one.

The top ten rankings went as follows:

Bridgette Vandel

Cassidy Trello

Linus Monroe

Caleb Ravenfell

Sebastian Woods

Lara Blaze

Mariah Dale

Damien Pierce

Keith Aspen

Rashon Kino

“Congrats, Mariah! You got in the top ten!!” Said a nearby Wyvern student with great excitement, pointing out the fact that she was the only first year Wyvern student to accomplish this feat. Her accomplishment gave their class some representation amongst nine other Phoenix class students.

As other Wyvern students surrounded Mariah and cheered her on, Elise saw her name pop up at rank twelve. However, with each passing name, she began to look confused by the rankings and wondered why Carmen hadn’t been listed. They moved over to the third screen and she continued to look for her name, until it finally popped up.

Rank number 30, Carmen Belouis

“No way! How did you get rank thirty!?" Elise asked with a surprised expression, not understanding how that happened.

Carmen stood there with a blank stare, stunned by the instructor's assessment of her performance. Bridgette walked over and saw Carmen’s low rank, causing her to burst out in laughter. She howled as though she had just heard the funniest joke of all time.

“Thirtieth!? You couldn’t even hit the top ten, let alone number one like you said! Oh my stomach, this is tooo funny! Such a joke you are!” Bridgette said with continued laughter, mocking Carmen with every word. As other students noticed the commotion, chatter began to fill the air around them.

“Oof, she barely got rank thirty?! So much for my bet.” , “Wow, so bad. I thought she would be top five at least.” , “ Aren’t the Belouis supposed to be crazy strong? How did she rank so low?” , “Heh, maybe Wyvern is too hard for her. Griffon Class might be more her speed.”

Many students continued to whisper and murmur about Carmen’s disappointing results, gossiping about her failure to meet expectations. The harsh comments, along with her many midterm blunders, began stewing in Carmen’s mind.

'Ever since I've attended this stupid school it's been nothing but losses and failures. Why is it always me? Why can't I just be like everyone else?! I'm so sick of this!'

At this point, Carmen couldn’t take it anymore as her thoughts began to boil over in rapid fashion. She quickly sprinted out of the room with tears flowing heavily from her eyes.

"Carmen wait!" Elise yelled out with a concerned tone. Before she could pursue Carmen, other students crowded the area to see their test results, completely blocking her path.

As Carmen made her escape, Caleb saw her on his way to the Grand Hall. His heart fluttered once he saw her silver hair, prompting him to speed up his approach. He couldn't wait to talk to her now that the exam was over.

“Hey Carme-” He said but stopped once she sprinted past him, not even acknowledging his presence. Caleb stood there with a perplexed expression, wondering why she had completely ignored him. He eventually took off running after her, but once he rounded the corner, Carmen was nowhere to be seen.

'Where did you go, Carmen?'

He continued to sprint down the halls, searching for Carmen in every location he could think of. However, with each place he checked, she continued to elude him.

After many minutes of running, Carmen found herself at an empty courtyard on the opposite side of the University. She sat on a bench with her head buried in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. All the pain she had been holding in for months finally sprung forth and that overwhelming sense of failure cascaded like a tsunami. She cried for a while longer until she heard a somewhat familiar voice speaking softly to her.

“Um, are you okay? Can I do anything for you?” The girl asked warmly.

Carmen slowly looked up and saw Cassidy standing there with great concern on her face. Carmen wiped her eyes and shook her head, not saying a single word.

“Do you mind if I sit?”

Cassidy sent Carmen a kind smile as she brushed her curly hair to the side, revealing the gills on her neck. Carmen shook her head again, prompting Cassidy to take a seat next to her. They sat there in silence until Cassidy finally spoke up.

“Things haven’t been going your way lately, huh?” She asked softly, her voice so gentle and warm. Carmen didn’t respond as she continued to stare at the ground with a dejected glare.

“Yeah, I know the feeling… Trust me.”

Cassidy sighed and looked up at the large rotunda at the center of the courtyard. Things remained quiet for a moment, until Carmen’s groggy voice cut through the silence.

When she spoke, Caleb caught a glimpse of her silver hair as he walked past the door. Before he entered the room, he noticed that she was talking to someone. He opted to hide around the corner and listened in on their conversation, focusing his senses the best he could.

“You know the feeling? How? Ever since I’ve come to LaVeda, I've been nothing but a joke. All I ever do here is lose and humiliate myself. Mariah, loss. Bridgette, loss. Rosemarie, loss. Olivia, loss. Below average test scores, ranked thirty on the midterm, and the list goes on and on.” Carmen said, her voice shaky with irritation.

“Everyone expects so much from me just because of my family name and I… I just can’t live up to those expectations. I try so hard but it’s never good enough for anyone. Why must they keep comparing me to my sisters? I’m not them! So no, I don’t think you could possibly know the feeling.”

Carmen's tone was incredibly cold as she sent a glare towards Cassidy, not believing this Siestian girl for one second. Cassidy sat there quietly, pondering over Carmen’s rather direct response.

“Well... I’ve kind of been dealing with similar things since I was young. While you have high expectations from outsiders, I have that from my family on the inside. If everything isn’t near perfect, I’m to be disciplined. I need to be the smartest, the strongest, and most talented in all aspects, otherwise I won’t be worthy of succeeding the Ocean Goddess once her tenure is up.” Cassidy replied, giving some insight on her life as Lovell’s protege.

“Honestly, I’m even terrified to tell them that I got rank two instead of one. It’s that serious for my family. So yeah, I do know the feeling. You and I are more similar than you think.”

Once Carmen heard this, her coldness slowly subsided as she continued to stare at the floor. The two remained quiet until Carmen slightly snickered.

“Coming from prestigious families really is the worst…” She said with a sigh, now relaxing her tense posture on the bench.

“Yup, but what can you do? My father always says that if you feel like you’re not enough, you just have to push and work until you are enough. Eventually, people will see your greatness.”

Cassidy smiled as she reached over, wiping the runny makeup off of Carmen’s face. Carmen smiled for the first time and nodded, now feeling a bit better.

“Oh and by the way, the four classes are holding a party to celebrate the end of midterms. You should come.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I think I want to be alone tonight.”

Carmen stood from the bench and slightly sulked, prompting Cassidy to stand and place her hand on Carmen's shoulder.

“Alright, well if you need anything just ask. Get some rest and I’ll catch you later, okay?”

Cassidy smiled once again and made her way to the entrance, waving in the process. Carmen waved back and walked in the opposite direction, exiting the courtyard with her head still down. Caleb got to his feet and looked around the corner, now seeing that the courtyard was empty.

“I had no idea that’s what she was dealing with. Gah, my father would be so disappointed in my ignorance! I’ve gotta do something.” He muttered with an annoyed cadence. He wanted to give Carmen the happiness she deserved, but his lack of awareness was proving to be quite the obstacle. Caleb rushed out of the room and started formulating a plan in his head. Once he made it to the exit, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

'Ah, wait... She said she wanted to be alone. Maybe I should just give her some space for now...'

Caleb sighed as he looked towards the setting sun, wondering if he was making the right choice or not. He eventually collected himself and walked in the opposite direction, biding his time until their next encounter.