TAP... TAP... TAP... Each sound hit harder than the last, until Adam couldn't tell if it was her tapping or his own pulse.
Across the desk sat the principal of the 9th District "Fusers & Mages Academy." She couldn't have been much older than her mid-twenties - golden hair, immaculate suit, eyes like polished emeralds.
Everything about her screamed authority.
"Boy. You're telling me you awakened with two manifestations? Both fuser and mage?"
Her words weren't loud, but they landed like a slap of ice.
And now, she resumed tapping her finger against the surface of the wooden desk.
"Y-yes, Principal." The word scraped out of a throat gone dry.
The principal's cold and emotionless gaze didn't help at all in this situation.
"Told you it was a bad idea," Eve muttered. "But sure, honesty always works out great in interrogation rooms." Eve's -the bird- voice echoed in his mind, that self-righteous tone that made guilt bloom even when he knew he was right.
"Come on! What's the worst that could happen due to me being honest?" Adam really couldn't stand this annoying bird.
He'd ask his parents later. Right now, even thinking about what the bird claimed made his stomach twist.
But that was when he returned home...
And right now, he'd used the direct-disclosure system - faster, riskier, and now seemed like a mistake.
"Why even let students meet the principal directly?" Eve snapped.
"Faster processes - plus, free resources. Happy now?"
Angered but hopeful, with pleading eyes, Eve decided to try one last time to convince him, as the situation was still salvageable.
"Why can't you just lie low, like those novel's protagonists?"
"Haaaa... I already told you why..." he looked away, jaw tightening. "What use does hiding do when you can't use your powers in the open?"
"TSK..." Eve really wanted Adam to be like those protagonists, but alas, it wasn't meant to be sadly for her.
Therefore, against the bird's maybe better judgment, he still decided to go for it.
"Thank you for... distracting me a little bit." Saying his thanks, he refocused on the principal... now focusing her chillingly lethal gaze on him.
His shirt clung to his back. The room seemed to shrink to imprison him...
What he didn't know was that right now, on the other side of the desk, amidst the principal's flawless emotionless facade, her eyes widened in unease, even if for just a fraction of a second.
"Daphne. Check his records. Start from the medicals. Now." Gaze still locked on Adam, Irene -the principal- asked her assistant for more information about him.
She just hoped her fears wouldn't come true.
At the reception just outside the principal's office sat a woman who looked to be 20 years old.
Dressed in a black suit, with brown eyes and black hair styled similarly to the principal's.
She had already predicted such an outcome when the boy began speaking and had already readied those records on her computer.
"Already on it, boss."
Utterly dedicated to assisting Irene, Daphne continued with a steady tone.
"Just a moment... Found it!"
Irene already had a feeling about what it might be. "Heart transplant?"
Still skimming the information on her computer, Daphne continued.
"Yes," Daphne replied, still skimming the information. "When he was just a few days old."
At this, Irene's eyes widened slightly. She knew... the most common excuses those people used for these situations. 'Are... they involved?'
Already expecting such an answer, Irene fired off another question.
"What about healers?"
And it didn't take long for Daphne to find an answer.
"Yes... They couldn't intervene due to his body's state."
"So they had to use outdated methods like transplants to save him."
If they were really involved, Irene would have a hornet's nest to remove.
'Doesn't seem like it, his... "circumstances" don't match with their style.'
Before coming to conclusions, she still needed to ask another important question.
"Donor?" The single word came out too even, like a blade drawn slow.
Daphne, not skipping a beat was already ready to answer.
"His twin sister, she died a few hours before his heart failure and subsequent heart transplant."
The bits and pieces of information eased Irene's thoughts. 'At least it looks like he isn't even aware of any of it.'
Of course, her face remained emotionless like a slab of ice during this whole exchange, which didn't even take a couple of seconds to complete.
"As efficient as ever. Good job." As Irene praised her, Daphne couldn't help but let out a beaming smile at the praise.
She felt like a child being gifted candy for doing well in school.
Now, relieved from the unease the boy might be one of them, Irene's icy facade melted even if only so slightly, leaving space for a relaxed and satisfied smile directed at Adam.
Her soothingly chilly voice visibly easing his nerves.
"Congratulations Adam. It seems our 9th district has just acquired a new promising talent."
As the words left the principal's mouth, Adam let go of all the anxiety he didn't even know he was holding.
To be acknowledged as a talent by the principal was an incredible honour.
His heart now felt as light as a feather and was racing faster than he could comprehend.
Even though he was trying to hide it, a smile of clearly restrained excitement made its way onto his face.
Smiling relaxedly at Adam's excitement was Irene, not having finished what she had to say.
"Tomorrow morning at 9. Come to training room 0."
Training room 0, the name alone made his stomach twist - only the most talented got summoned.
For what? To be taught by her, of course! That was every first-year dream - And somehow it was now his turn.
At this convocation Adam just stared at her, caught between disbelief and awe.
"Go now. I still have other students to meet." Irene's voice snapped Adam out of his thoughts.
Faintly trembling from excitement, he scrambled to get up from the chair and go to the door.
"Y-yes, principal." He froze...
Just as he was about to open the door... A feeling, this time chilling to the bone, like being dropped in a frozen lake in winter.
"Don't tell a soul about this talent of yours. Not even your parents. Understood?"
The weight that each word carried made his skin crawl-
He didn't need to look up to know - this wasn't a warning. It was law.
Only one word could escape from Adam's lips... one of compliance.
"Y-yes." Now feeling like a million tiny icy needles were poking him at once, he quickly left the room.
"Daphne. I want a full background check on his family on my desk by this evening."
She was sure the boy didn't know anything... but families were a different matter altogether.
In situations like these, she couldn't leave any stone unturned.
Closing the door behind him, Adam felt like a bird being released from its cage for the first time.
He couldn't help but pray for the next poor soul that would meet the principal.
He was about to turn around and leave when he heard a voice calling out to him.
"Adam!"
Hearing someone calling him so abruptly, Adam jumped back like a startled cat before recognizing who it was.
"Damn, Mark! You scared the living hell out of me!"
Mark, now smiling in delight, was clearly happy to have pulled a fast one on his friend. "Well, must suck! Anyway, since you're here, I take it you have awakened something special?"
Now remembering the principal's last words he felt like something precious was taken away from him.
'Dammit, I really wanted to shove my talent in his face... wait, maybe I can still do something about it.' Uplifted from his heavy mood and with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, he retorted.
"Of course I did... And it's such a big thing that the principal has forbidden me from talking about it."
"Think it compares to what you awakened?"