Chapter Text
That night our bags were finally there. I got my 3ds, with an SD card still in it, and my gameboy. I was way too exhausted to figure out if they cleared the sd card or to play video games. I got in the room and the girl from earlier turned the lights off. Her and Andromeda immediately opened their computers. I got my blanket and pillow and immediately went to sleep. Who knows when they’d wake us up.
5am. They woke us up at 5am. 12 hours of sleep for me, sure. But everyone else was dead tired.
They brought us out to the yard to the side of the building. Made us do annoying gym class style warm ups.
Push-ups, high knees, those weird side step things, and about 50 other things. A solid 2 hour long work out. Just that, for 2 hours. I was still wiped.
7am.
They told us to meet back in the center room at 7:30. I was still eating the breakfast they gave us at 7:20 with Andromeda and Kane, plus Kane’s friend Sam. Andromeda didn’t seem to like him all that much though.
Once they left, it was already almost 7:30. Andromeda whispered something after Sam and Kane left, but I didn’t hear it. You’d be surprised to learn she was the one who had hearing loss. She was born deaf in her right ear. Also has something to do with the eye color thing. She’s mentioned it to me before… waardenburg syndrome. That’s why she has different colored eyes. More notably the hearing loss though.
Her left eye looks more green than blue today. Not that I was staring or anything.
7:30 hit, everyone piled out. Some forgot and ran at the last second. The announcer man stood in the center of the room again.
“Your first real test starts in 10 minutes. Gather your computers and meet outside the main doors. Directions will be given then. See you all there.” The room got loud again.
“Daphne, I’ll just go get them. You stay here.” Andi whispered to me. Nice of her to do that. She’s really nice.
Sam and Kane sit down next to me. Sam basically overlapping Kane. taking up the entire couch next to the one i’m sitting on by themselves, because of the fact Sam was just- casually on top of him.
That’s probably why Andromeda doesn’t like them. Maybe Sam’s actually really bad for him or something? I don’t know. They look… happy.
Andromeda brings back my computer. We all gather outside. News drones and people sit barely beyond us. The same man stands at the door, all of us gathered around him.
“To become a pilot, you must acknowledge the public. You have to know who you are, and what you’re doing, of course. But you also have to seem like a unique person who is also all of those things. You’re not just smart or strong. You’re a public figure. Get ready for your interviews. Reminder- this is live.”
Almost immediately, a woman pulls me aside. I have to be unique. It sounds unique. Smart, athletic, perfect. Most importantly- confident. Most of those things- I am not. Smart? sure. Athletic? I wouldn’t say that. I’m…. active?
The woman pulls me in front of a blue screen and a camera, and has me sit down on a chair.
“Hello! To my understanding you scored within the top three of the current contenders for new pilots! I’d like to ask you a few simple questions.”
“Alright. Let’s get into it!” I respond in a fake, too high voice. Surprised I didn’t crack my voice. It hurts and I sound dumb, and too quiet. weak. I fix my voice.
“What’s your name?” The woman asks
“Daphne Easton.”
“Daphne? That’s a nice name! How did you pass your first trial?”
“The trial was stopping a falling plane after the pilots had, well, become unable to pilot it. Had to stop it from diving down into the open ocean. I had help though.”
“Oh, and who helped you?”
“Kane Karimi and Andromeda Karimi the most. After that Eric Davison gave me a few pointers.”
“So I assume you led them?”
“Oh, no, Andromeda led it fully. I co-piloted. Me and Kane got there first, Andromeda yelled orders. I’m just good at knowing what orders mean. Knowing how to follow them out, and correctly.”
“Oh that’s great too, Daphne!” she stopped for a second, probably to think, before asking me a new question.
“So, Daphne Easton right?”
“Yes?” I questioned.
“How did you know this is what you wanted to do? With your life, and all. Despite the risks.”
“I just always knew, I guess. My entire life I idolized every member of the first unit. Especially Crimson and Lily. They’re my idols. Mech piloting was always such an important thing to me. It’s my entire life, and it always has been. My mother took notice and started putting me in specialized private schools. Then in high school, piloting schools. I graduated early. I put all my entire life into this. It’s simply my calling. And I’ll do anything to achieve it.”
“You’re very determined in this, Daphne. That’s it for the interview. Have a good one!”
The camera-man motions for me to walk off. I walk back to our group. Andi and Kane finish their interviews. Andi looks mad at Kane. I think that’s been our default emotion she’s had at him since we got here. I see them fighting, while they walk towards me. I hope they don’t do that thing they always do. They always fight about something important and then make me the deciding point. It always feels like I don’t know who’s side to take. Andi’s my best friend, sure, but sometimes she messes up. Most of the time I’m too scared to regret it. Most of the time I don’t make a decision.
“Daphne- tell Kane rooming with his stupid boyfriend is a horrible idea. They’re in a room, basically alone considering his other roommate sleeps on the couch so she can watch TV, tell him he’s gonna get in trouble.”
“Daphne- tell Andromeda she’s wrong and I can handle myself. We aren’t doing anything. None of the adults have noticed. There’s no cams. It’s whatever. Nobody knows shit, they won’t know shit.” He put extra emphasis on “Andromeda”, trying to make her sound stupid. I sat there just, tired.
I just talked to the news. In front of probably a bajillion people. Probably the original first unit. Crimson could’ve just seen me on TV. That’s insane.
“I’m overwhelmed. Give me a minute.” I answered, firmly.
“We don’t have a minute we-” Daphne started, interrupted by an adult tapping her shoulder.
“You and the other boy on that plane have done so well! We want to group interview you all! How does that sound?”
“Great!” Kane said, in a fake voice, like the one you give your mom after she makes bad meatloaf.
The news lady ushers us over to a blue screen, with 4 chairs in a half circle around a set of 3 cameras on either side of us.
“You all seem to compliment each other well! Especially through the first round! Do you think you’ll stick together the next few rounds?”
Eric spoke first.
“Well, I didn’t honestly take part in it as much as they did. I tried to contribute as much as I could, but these three got themselves figured out. I don’t quite think I’m important enough for them to bring me onto a team yet. They’re all extremely competent as a team together. I was just the slight corrections guy. If I was ever allowed a chance to really truly help any of them out, I'd be honored.”
Wow. That’s a lot.
“If you ever want to, you can. If we have the opportunity to invite you on a team, I think most of us would appreciate you on our team. Right?” Andromeda said.
“Yeah. Good idea. Get a group started up first. With people we know.” Kane added, staring at Andromeda with a look I couldn’t decipher. There was a bit of passive aggressiveness to his tone, though.
“Thanks. I really need strong contenders like you guys in there. Your work was almost completely without flaw. You guys know what you’re doing.”
“Thanks!” I threw in, wanting not to sound like I didn’t want to include him.
I am so bad at talking to people. It probably sounded like I only wanted to take a compliment from this.
The newslady spoke up again.
“What’s the strategy for this all then? I assume you all have a strategy.” She said, putting weird emphasis on assume, pronouncing it more like “assoomhe” with a hissing sound on the S.
“Well, it wouldn’t be much of a strategy if we told you.” Kane replied, with a bit of a smirk that was clearly trying to make himself into a character.
That’s how most of the previous pilots got to their positions socially. Making themselves into a character. You can’t just be really smart and good at piloting mechs, you have to be popular. You’re a celebrity now. There's fan cams. Fan edits with editing skills you wouldn’t expect for teenagers making them.
You have to make a character for yourself. He kinda reminds me of Danny from the original team. The smug, overconfident Co-Support.
The team formations work in a set of 9.
Leader- 1.
Co-Support- 2.
General Team- 4.
Back-Ups- 2.
More back ups could technically be called upon. If needed. They’d pick the rankings of previous people from the test.
As a person coming up on the test I should establish myself now. What am I if I’m boiled down to my traits?
Not Crimson certainly. Not Danny. If there’s someone I could relate to it’d be Lily. I’m the shy, background character who happens to be co-support, who’s smart. A team player. Compassionate. If I can establish myself as friends with Kane early, I can put myself into a position people associate with co-support. That’d put Andromeda as Crimson probably. The intelligent, smart, confident and badass leader.
She embodies all of that. So let's hope we can get ourselves up to that. Standardize ourselves and put ourselves into the empty box everyone is waiting for a second giant mech wielding unit to fill.
“He’s right. Confident as ever. He knows what he’s doing. I’m sure people will build dream teams early. I think the next test might be team based. Maybe it’s like that. We’ll keep our strategy out of the public eye for now. Just know all of us- Andromeda, Kane, and uh, Daphne was it?” He finished, looking at me, in which I shook my head yes at him, before continuing.
“All of us have got this. Trust it. And although Daphne might not have spoken a lot, she's great. You should really see how fast she sprung to action.” He finished there.
“I was really wondering about that. Daphne, are you aware I interviewed the original set of children in their first round?”
“Really?”
“Yep. And you remind me of someone. You remind me a whole lot of Lily.”
“Lily is one of my greatest idols. I’m glad someone would even associate me with her name.”
“I have a feeling about you, Daphne. You’re gonna be great one day.”
I choked a little bit, before swallowing heavily.
The original first interviewer of Lily Payne is telling me I'm just like her. I can be like her, I can be the near highest up on the best of the best.
Or she just clocked me and I’m screwed. Either way it’s fine. Hopefully the audience just makes the connection of shy girl co-support. That’s all I want them to connect.
“Well, back on track, my final question is- considering there’s only 20 people left in the running, and let’s say I have a little knowledge on the future events for all of this- who would you choose on your team in the next coming round?”
“Well, I believe there’s a simple answer to that question.” Kane answers first, again.
“Oh, is there really?” The newswoman asks, matching his confident tone.
“Yep. Sam Bernard is obviously first on my list. I knew him before, after all.”
Andromeda sighs dramatically, before speaking up.
“He’s also higher on our list. That and Maria Abbadelli, Hunter Payne, and everyone else in the current top 9.”
“Why only the top 9?” the interviewer asks.
This time, I speak up.
“Andromeda probably has someone specific she wants on our team. Assuming the teams are split 50/50, that is.”
“Virginia Antoine.” Andromeda says, confident as ever, as if casting some kind of spell at the interviewer, and looking at Kane and giving him a smug look.
“Why her?” Kane asks, his dumb new fake sincerity voice for TV coming off. I feel like him and Andi rehearsed all of this or something. Maybe Kane is just a bad actor.
“Well, think about the dream team for the future. Crimson started in the very last place. Maybe Virginia will pull out the same way.”
“That’s a great way to think about it!” the interviewer says, taking a deep breath, “Leave those below you open to a new opportunity! Way to think of others!” She pauses for a second, leaving an awkward silence.
“Well! I assume you all should be off then! Go see the rest of your competitors! Have a good one!”
We all stand up and wave her off, Kane walking over to Sam. To Andromeda’s dismay. I’d assume. She stomps back inside in annoyance. I follow her.
We sat down on the side couch. Kane and Sam are nowhere to be found.
“I swear to god if they miss the board because they’re too busy in their room I'm going to kill them both.”
“Andi.”
“Yeah?”
“They don’t seem unhappy or anything. Why are you so annoyed?” I wouldn’t expect that out of Andromeda to be mean or anything.
“They’re just annoying. They’re gonna get caught and thrown out of the whole thing.”
I stay silent. I don’t wanna say anything. About Crimson and Lily. They pretty publicly had something on. Nobody cared. So did Zoey and Danny. Nobody cared about any of that.
I don’t get why Andromeda’s so annoyed.
People circle around the center of the room and I feel stuck. I hate disagreeing with Andromeda. I always feel like I just have to apologise. I hate feeling like this. Feeling almost nauseous. Getting a sickly feeling when I disagree with anyone. I don’t feel like I should be allowed to say anything when people say things like that. Like calling someone out for something shitty is a moral issue on my part.
The leaderboard adjusts.
1st: Kane Karimi
2nd: Andromeda Karimi
3rd: Daphne Easton
4th: Eric Davison
5th: Sam Bernard
6th: Maria Abbadeli
7th: Hunter Payne
8th: Julia Rodriguez
9th: Austin Rita
10th: Virginia Antoine
11th: Shelby Dione
12th: Felix Kelly
13th: Kim London
14th: Fiona Sullivan
15th: Shayla Lowell
16th: Chris Reed
Guess Andromeda made a good point on speaking out about Virginia Antoine. She must have gotten a pretty solid look on her solo interview. Andromeda also did pretty well on the interview portion. Me and Eric didn’t move, so that’s a good sign.
Most retreat to their rooms. Me and Andromeda’s roommate walks up and sits down next to me. Andromeda sitting on the opposite side of me.
“You two want me on your, uh, team still?” She says, with a surprisingly country accent despite her popular girl exterior. She was wearing a pink top with spaghetti straps, frills on the top, and mid rise jeans. She had bright blue eyes, not as bright as Andromeda’s, which complimented her dark brown hair which went halfway down her back.
“Me and Andromeda?”
“Yeah! You mentioned my name in your interview?”
“You’re Virginia Antoine?”
“I sure am!”
“Then yeah.” Andromeda says, moving her head to the side to talk to her, looking past me. “I know potential when I see it.”
“You guys are so nice. Wanna go watch our interviews?” Virginia says.
“Sure. I wanna see what shooted you up 10 places.” Andromeda finishes, moving to the left, to where Kane and Sam are watching their interviews, a bit less touchy than usual.
“Hey, Daph, wanna come?” Virginia asks shyly, looking back at me and stopping after she had already gone to leave. I hate the nickname Daph. I feel like a member of the fucking Mystery Gang, but specifically I feel like the movie version where they’re high the whole time. Because just like weed, that name makes me feel weird. Not that I've tried weed.
I stand up and follow her. “Yep, sure.” I say. I probably sounded really monotone. Watching myself on TV that at least a million people probably just saw is actually horrifying. Kane pulls up the videos on Youtube. There's already fan edits showing us. One is of me. They’ve already created an idea of us in their minds. Perfect celebrities, perfectly filling up spots in the people’s hearts already.
I’ve got this. Establishing the shy girl act is exactly what I need to do from here on out. Strong, Smart, rebranded into Agile and Nerdy.
I’ve got this competition in the bag.