The moment Beatrice opened the box of jade slips and thin manuals, the mood changed.
The kids who had been smiling just a second ago all turned quiet.
Some even took a small step back.
Beatrice noticed it at once and frowned.
"What's wrong?"
No one answered.
The older kids lowered their heads. Even the little ones hugged their food and toys tighter.
Beatrice looked at the manuals in her hand, then at their faces.
"These are for you," she said. "Why are you looking like that?"
The silence dragged on for a few more seconds.
Then one of the older boys finally spoke.
"Brother Ballen got sent out last month."
Beatrice froze.
"What?"
The boy clenched his fists.
"He train as hard as he can, he barely sleeping, but He failed the yearly test," he said. "They sent him to an E-grade planet."
Some of the smaller kids lowered their heads even more.
One little girl who had just received a doll hugged it to her chest and bit her lip.
They don't see the point for practicing at all.
