Blergh
Nox puked his guts out the moment Astra finally stopped running.
He had been dragged across the city at the speed of sound, so his reaction was understandable.
After a while, he stood up straight, wiped his mouth and glared at Astra who was innocently looking back at him, as if she wasn’t the cause of his current predicament.
"What?" She asked, feigning ignorance, "you looked like you wanted to leave that plaza fast."
"Not...like... this," Nox let out hoarsely, still trying to catch his breath and properly orient himself.
She chuckled and patted his back hard enough to nearly knock him forward again. "You’ll get used to it. Consider it your pre-academy training, besides, I wasn’t even going that fast."
Before Nox had the chance to say anything, Astra interrupted, "anyway, we’re here."
Nox finally turned around and was face with a scene that caused his jaw to drop.
Before him was a golden gate so high that seeing the top was almost impossible. It even seemed to merge with the barrier covering Solara Prime.
Just a bit lower, where the eye could see, was the metallic logo of a half-sun crest, its lower arc hidden behind three rising rays.
A symbol Nox clearly recognized.... Who wouldn’t? After all, it was the symbol of the famous Solar Academy.
Just beyond the gates, he spotted multiple massive glass structures, connected by what seemed like bridges of glass.
The artificial sun’s ray reflected off the glass structures, making the scene look.... breathtaking.
It all felt like a dream, one where he’d soon wake up from and find out that he was still trapped in that rubble and his brain was just looking for a way to escape his impending death.
"Come on," Astra’s voice snapped him out of those thoughts, motioning him forward. "Admissions is this way."
Nox looked at her before looking back at himself and Astra immediately realized what he was thinking.
"Right, your clothes."
They hadn’t gotten the chance to buy new ones at the plaza since that’s when he started getting the feeling of being watched and in turn, the panic attack.
"Well... it’s not that bad."
Yes it was, he might as well be wearing just his boxers than the burnt mess hanging off him.
"Fine fine, we’ll get him some new clothes," Astra grumbled, "no need to exaggerate that much."
Who was she talking to?
Nox had no idea, but at least he’d get to change clothes before walking into the academy in such embarrassing condition.
She took out the glass like device again tapped a few times on it before putting it back and waited.
A few minutes later, a drone approached them, scanning Astra for a second before dropping a small black capsule into her open palm. The drone gave a short beep, then flew back toward the academy’s airspace, disappearing among the countless others.
Astra turned the capsule over once in her hand before tossing it to Nox. "Here, it’s the standard initiate uniform. Medium size."
He caught it awkwardly, a bit confused at the smooth surface. "How do I—"
"Press the middle."
The capsule let out a hiss and unfolded kind of like a flower did, revealing neatly folded clothes inside.
There was a gray-and-gold jacket with the Solar Academy’s emblem on the chest, black combat-grade pants, and boots that looked both light and durable.
The fabric looked a whole lot expensive than anything he had ever laid his hands on, back in the slums.
"This is mine?" Nox asked.
"Only temporarily," Astra answered, "if you fail your entrance evaluation, I’m taking it back and selling it."
He frowned. "You’re joking, right?"
"Let’s hope you never find out," she said with a grin before pointing behind a pillar at the academy’s gate, "there should be a washroom where you can change there."
Nodding,Nox headed behind the pillar, leaving Astra waiting close to the gate.
***
A few minutes later, he stepped out, his previous jacket and faded clothes discarded as he now had on the uniform given to him.
The uniform fit better than she’d expected. The gray-and-gold jacket hugged his frame neatly. His black hair was still a bit messy, but somehow... it worked.
"Huh," Astra said finally. "Not bad, not bad at all, you almost don’t look like a kid from the slums anymore."
"Y’know," he started, tugging awkwardly at the jacket’s collar. "You could just say I look good, you know."
"I could," she said, her grin getting a bit wider, "but I’d rather not lie."
Before Nox had the chance to think of a rebuttal, Astra was already approaching the gate, "now come on, she’d have already heard that I’m here so, she’ll be expecting me."
"Who?" He asked.
"You’ll find out soon enough," she replied, taking her ID out and placing it against a golden panel by the gate.
The panel scanned the badge, releasing a soft chime before the massive gates split open with a low hum.
Light poured through the opening as the gate fully parted, revealing the Solar Academy in all its glory.
If the view from before was breath taking, then this was a whole different world. Nox was presented the full view of the buildings and the activities going on in the Academy’s premise.
Inside, students dressed in different colored uniforms walked about, either in groups or alone.
Each had a unique air to them, one that was hardly seen in the slums. They really did stand out from the rest, whether in looks or the aura they emitted.
With one glance, you’d immediately realized that they were elites, their lives were worlds apart from what Nox or anyone from zone 9 could ever dream of reaching.
The two slowly walked in and for the second time today, a group of unpleasant gazes fell on Nox.
It was almost like they could detect someone that didn’t belong and their eyes would automatically lock on him.
He really did hate it.
"Welcome to Solar Academy," Astra said pulling him out of his thoughts, yet again . "The pride of Aureum, and the place where you’ll either become something great... or get crushed trying."