"All right then," says heavy metal looking dude. "My name is Jack, and my team and I would like to welcome you all to the compound!"

We all answer respectfully, and I sneak a glance at the board to find that the boy speaking to us now is the leader of the highest-ranking team in the compound, "Team A" as it says on the board. They must be really good then, I wonder what their Gifts are.

"So, Alexa has already told you that our teams are usually made up of people with complementary Gifts, the variation gives us more of an advantage during missions. In a way we balance each other out, our Gifts set us apart. Now, as for what our Gifts are, well that is for us to know and for you to find out. If any of you think they have a special enough Gift to join us, we might consider choosing you to be a part of our team, just please don't waste our time. Being the best requires a lot of time that we simply do not have."

He finishes with a flourish, smiling when a round of applause follows. He seems pretty confident, or maybe full of himself is a better way to put it, he seems to know for sure that people will want to join him and his friends. I bet being the team with the best rank also gives them plenty of brownie points with the new trainees. Jack steps back and lets the next captain introduce her team, a group of all Physical Gifts, but all a different type. Strength, stealth, and elasticity; the latter demonstrating by making his arm elongate and twist in a very unnatural angle. Again, we applaud once she finishes her speech, thanking her when she wishes us all good luck in our first year. She has a nice smile, I like her, at least more than Jack. He had been staring off into the distance throughout her whole monologue, even chatting with his team once in a while, completely tuning her out. Rude.

The teams present themselves in order. Best on the board to worst, so I know that Mara will be the second to last to speak out of the nine teams. When her turn finally arrives I clap harder than everyone else, drawing her attention. She smiles in our direction, and I feel the sides of my lips lifting on their own accord. I'm pretty sure I know who's team I want to be on. If they will take me that is. Out of all the Gifts that have been presented, with the exception of team A, who deemed themselves too good to share that information with us, I thought that Mara's team was the most unique. Maybe she will use that to her advantage.

"Hi guys, my name is Mara, and I wanted to start by thanking you all for your patience thus far. I know that listening to all of us go on and on about ourselves might be a bit boring, but I promise you it is important."

That earns her a few chuckles and I smile at her attempt to lighten the mood. It's true that I was getting a bit tired, but more than anything I just wished they had given us some chairs. My legs were tired from standing for so long. It was like I was being poked by a thousand tiny needles. Cassie was also fidgeting next to me, shifting her weight from one leg to another.

"As you can see, all of our teams are very special, but I like to think that we stand out from the rest."

She lifts her arm in our general direction, face focused as she closes her eyes and listens. Then suddenly out of nowhere, music starts to pour into the room, a K-Pop song I have already heard a thousand times. Some girls start squealing, they must be fans or something.

"It looks like Alexa is listening to some tunes while she waits for us to finish. I didn't know she liked this song!"

She starts bobbing her head, earning more laughs, and for some reason a sense of pride surges through my chest. She is definitely being the most entertaining out of all the captains.

The music stops, and a high pitched whistle follows. I cover my ears, the shrill noise bringing tears to my eyes.

"Oh! My bad!" Mara exclaims, but the look in her eyes tells me she meant to do that. Why she would do it, I have no clue, until I see the people around me staring at her in shock. But not just shock, respect. Nice move Mara.

She takes a step back and Jayson comes to the front of the matt. He scans the crowd, eyes landing on Cassie and me, a smile that has me worried stretching across his face.

"This may feel a bit strange," he calls, before my feet stop touching the floor. I hear Cassie startle next to me, a fast intake of breath keeping her from cursing out loud. I feel weightless. I look around the room, my new perspective letting me see everyone's faces with perfect clarity. They stare at us with their mouths hanging open, some smile as we float up to the ceiling. My hair is also flying in every which direction, due to the sudden lack of gravity, and Cassie's jacket is trying to float over her head. I laugh at her wide eyes, and she glares at me. I shut up as soon as we get lowered to the floor, stomach feeling as if it's going to crawl out of my throat. One person whistles at his display, making Jayson laugh.

"Thanks," he says. The other teams smile, except for Jack, who rolls his eyes. Jeez, what was with this guy. But before anyone can applaud, Kalen takes his place in all his blazing glory.

Literally.

Fire licks up his frame, enveloping him in bright red and orange flames. Some people step back, obviously intimidated by the sudden display of power. I've never seen anyone look so... dangerous. He just calmly looks at the group of trainees, eyes seemingly glowing behind the curtain of fire. He puts himself out, patting down his hair, a thin layer of smoke coming off his bodysuit, which I hadn't noticed until now. It's red, like his fire, hugging his figure like a glove, and I have to look away when my eyes start to roam without my permission. I bet the suit helps him control his Gift, it wouldn't be the first time somebody used something like that. He stays serious, even when the room erupts into applause, emotionless as he steps back behind Mara.

"So as you can see," she says "We are a bit different. But we don't choose according to how powerful you are, anyone is welcome to join, as long as you work hard and prove your worth. Because trust me, having no team around here means having nothing."

I feel like she looks at me when she says that last part, hidden meaning behind her words. I didn't know we could ask questions during the speeches, but a hand goes up to my left, so apparently, we could.

"Yes?" Asks Jayson, letting Mara take a rest from all the talking.

"If your Gifts are so special, then why is your rank so low?"

Stunned silence follows.

Tell me they did not just ask that. Of all the rude, disrespectful...

Jayson laughs, startling me out of my dark thoughts.

"I have been asking myself that since day one so, if you find the answer please do share."

Atta Jayson. Good for you!

"It's probably because they are so strange that no one can train them."

Everyone whips their attention to Jack, who stands with his hands crossed in front of himself, a smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. I feel the urge to punch the guy in the nose. Even Cassie looks ready to go up there and kick some butt.

"Give it a rest Jack, you just can't stand the fact that we are just as good as you are, if not better, and that one day that place on the board, the one you love so much, will be ours."

Jack narrows his eyes at Kalen, who stands impassively in front of his friends. I applaud his bravery, it's hard to stand up to a bully, I speak from experience. Jack just rolls his eyes, going back to whispering with his team, sending a few nasty glances in Kalen's direction, who doesn't seem to care in the slightest. When he looks my way, I throw him a double thumbs-up, and I see the ghost of a smile spread across his face before it goes back to his stony mask. The last group presents itself, but I don't think most of us are paying attention, still thinking about the outburst between Mara and Jack's team. There must be some sort of rivalry that we aren't aware of.

As the last group finishes up Alexa walks back into the room, waiting with the rest of us while the teams finish and say their farewells, wishing us all luck and escaping out the door. I don't even try to ignore how Kalen follows Jack out of the room, but I do ignore the grunt I hear once the door closes behind them. Hopefully Kalen won't get in trouble for that.

"Now that you had a chance to see what waits for you once you start your training, we can begin classification. I will call your names in twos if you are called please step on to the matt. If you aren't, you can watch the duel and wait your turn, no one leaves the room until everyone is done here."

She starts with the first pair, calling them onto the mat, and Cass and I pick a spot close by to watch the match.

"The goal of the duel is simple," says Alexa, once both trainees have shaken hands and the rest of us are seated and paying attention.

"You have to get your opponent out of this circle." She gestures towards the white circle in the middle of the mat.

"This is just for us to see how far ahead you have gotten with controlling your Gift, there will be no special treatment if you win, nor will you be punished if you lose. And I beg of you, don't aim to injure, just push your opponent out of the circle."

The fact that she has to say that makes me a bit nervous. What's happened other years that they require her to warn us about injuries?

"Of course if someone does end up getting injured we do have a fully functional medical bay that is always operational," she sighs "just please don't let it come to that." She waves her hands at the two trainees now facing each other and steps off the mat.

She sits in a chair she's placed for herself right next to the mat, TekPad ready to take notes...or videos... I'm not sure how she plans on classifying us, but I don't think about it further because Mark, the first boy Alexa called up, just pushed Sean, his opponent, and sent him flying off the mat. That only took about two seconds and it was already over. I swallow, suddenly nervous.

Well, I guess Marks Gift is strength. He rushes to help Sean; who is rubbing his back and looking a bit stunned, apologizing.

"I still can't control it very well," he mumbles, but Sean just smiles and congratulates him on his win.

"That's quite a Gift, I wish I could have seen it in action. But I was busy flying through the air."

Mark rubs his head sheepishly, smiling when Sean throws an arm over his shoulder.

"I know whose team I want to be on," says the latter, walking away with his new friend, talking excitedly about the duel.

"Mr. O'Connell," calls Alexa, stopping the boys in their tracks, getting Sean's attention.

"Because I was not able to see your ability, would you be kind enough to demonstrate for me."

He nods, and the next thing I know he's gone, reappearing at the other end of the room, and coming back to a full stop in front of Alexa in a blur of color. So, enhanced speed, nice!

Alexa just nods, as if he hadn't just run a full lap around the room in two seconds flat, writing something down on her TekPad, and calling out the next pair of names.

"Man, the people here are no joke," whispers Cassie, watching as a girl with retractable claws tries to swipe at her partner.

"I know!" I exclaim "Isn't it great?"

She laughs at my enthusiasm, but she becomes serious when she looks back at the duel.

"Bri, how do you plan on demonstrating your Gift? I thought you said you had to keep it a secret."

That I do.

"Yeah, I'm still working on that. But don't worry!" I say, when she lifts one eyebrow and presses her mouth into a thin line, unimpressed.

"I will come up with something."

"Well you better think fast, because only a few of us are left. I really hope we don't have to fight each other," she groans at the idea.

Neither do I, and it's not just because of the fact that Cassie would wipe the floor with me. I don't want to have to fight against my best friend. Although maybe it would be better if we dueled, then she might go easy on me. No one else here will.

Turns out there was no need to worry, because Cassie's name is called next, along with Sandra's, the nice girl we met before.

I watch as Cass takes out her doll, getting ready to work her magic, but before she can a giant gust of wind blows it out of her hand. My eyes widen. Another elemental? Wind is not as unusual as fire, like Kalen, but it's impressive, nonetheless. How did she know to go for the doll? I guess it's just an obvious target, and it was a good guess too, because Cassie is defenseless without it. She can do nothing to prevent the next gust of wind that nearly pushes her out of the white circle, but she manages to use all her weight and roll onto the floor, staying inside the lines. When Sandra stops to catch her breath, Cassie grabs the hair tie she had been using and holds it tightly between her hands.

Nice thinking.

Sandra's eyebrows disappear into her hairline when she finds herself unable to move, fighting against a force she can't see. Cassie throws the scrunchie off the mat, and though Sandra manages to fight it for a minute, she ends up following, catching herself before she falls on top of a group of trainees watching the duel.

That was the longest duel so far, and I hear a few people applaud. Alexa is smiling and writing something down.

"Thank you, girls. Cassandra, congratulations,"

Cassie's face scrunches up at the use of her full name, and I giggle. Her mom is the only one who ever calls her Cassandra, and only when she's really mad. Like that time Cassie decided she wanted to give herself bangs.

"Next up, Juan Cuevas and Brianna Acero."

I practically jump out of my skin when I hear my name being called, and I look up to find Alexa staring straight at me. I swallow, and yet it feels like I'm downing a mouthful of sand.

There is no backing out now.