As we all were awake, we each ransaked the kitchen for something to eat. Eating breakfast, we were all pretty excited to get on the road for the tryouts. "We have to get to the train soon. Let's go." I said after checking the time on the wall. We cleaned up and were ready to leave the house. That was when the a group of older boys came in the door. Kyle smiled at him and said "Took you long enough! We're going to hang out in the park." His brother said "Yeah. We need to talk in a bit. When are you going to be back?" he asked. Kyle said "Maybe an hour. Why? Is it important? If I can do it quick I'll help." His brother looked at us and said "No... it's private. We will talk about it when you get back to the house." Kyle shrugged and left with us in tow. If he was lying to his brother and friends about it, there was probably a reason. Both Mike and Jack also seemed to catch on. We got to the train platform and waited for it to come. We had to take it to the station where we could transfer to the larger commuter rail. We all had made sure to purchase the tickets well beforehand. We just had to get there.
The trip was not that bad. We were in coach, but we were able to sit facing each other. It took a day to get to the city where the tryouts were being held. Sunday morning was when we got off the platform and went to the giant facility they had. We needed to sign in and get our badges. Once we had them, we were taken to a giant hall for an orientation. Because thousands of applicants came every year, this was only day 3 of 6 for the tryouts. They would be doing it next week as well. Desmond and Evan as well as several others would be going then. This was therefore the best time for us to go. The orientation lasted an hour. we were split up for a personal interview with members of admissions from the five schools. Because I was a Player, it played out like a multiple choice quiz. I could also see how they reacted to each answer after I gave it. Unsurprisingly, if I leaned into noble reasons for being a hero, my score went up. There were some trick questions in there but I got an overall 89% on the test. It was a good start to the tryouts.
Next was a demonstration of our powers. Each participant at this stage of the tryouts was given three 2-minute rounds to demonstrate both offensive and defensive capabilities. Since my power was blinking a few meters at a time, I was able to pretty much avoid most danger that I could see coming for me. I got knocked down when they snuck up on me or were too fast to counter. With the offensive rounds, I was allowed a weapon. I could choose any melee weapon. I chose two sickles. I could blink behind enemies and strike them. When they got wise to that, I shook up the pace and appeared at other angles. One thing I was proud of was when I threw a sickle at one of the opponents. They dodged it with a smirk only for me to catch it and throwing it at their back. It hit them and they staggered forward. I blinked behind them and knocked them from the knees to bring them to the floor. I put the blade to his neck as the round finished. I finished with a 76% on defense and a 97%. The next part was to measure teamwork. I could write someone's registration number. I had Jack, Kyle and Mike.
