A couple of weeks after the testing in Thornfield, word finally came. The provincial academy in the main town of Thornfield Province posted the acceptance list on the big notice board outside the town hall. It was not the full Valdris Academy in the capital, just the intermediate branch that trained promising commoners and lower nobles for a few years before anyone with real talent might get recommended onward. Still, it was a big deal around here. A scholarship spot meant free room, basic meals, and actual lessons in Aether control, combat basics, and practical trades.
Dad drove the old wagon into town so we could all check it together. Mom packed some bread and cheese like it was a day out. Mira rode with us, fidgeting the whole way and chattering about how her dad had been bragging to travelers at the inn.
I sat in the back, staring at the passing fields and trying to keep my nerves steady. Average. Stay average. That was still the goal. Aldric rode up front with Dad, leg bouncing like he could will his name onto the list through sheer stubbornness.
When we got there, a decent crowd had already gathered around the board. Kids our age pushed forward with their families, some cheering, others walking away with slumped shoulders. The list was written in neat black ink on heavy paper, divided into full scholarship, intermediate scholarship, and waitlist.
Mira spotted her name first. She let out a sharp laugh and grabbed my arm. "Intermediate scholarship! Holy shit, I made it! They actually took me!"
She was grinning ear to ear, cheeks flushed. I smiled back, genuine this time. "Nice work. You always were better at focusing than half the kids around here."
Aldric pushed through the crowd next. I watched his face as he scanned the paper. His shoulders straightened when he found it. "Intermediate scholarship," he said, voice calm but with that undercurrent of triumph. He turned to us, eyes bright. "Same as Mira. Looks like we are both heading in."
Dad clapped him on the back hard enough to make him stumble a step. "Proud of you, son. That fire of yours finally paid off a little."
Mom hugged him, then looked at me expectantly. "Eren?"
I stepped up and ran my eyes down the columns. No Voss in the full spots. No Voss in intermediate. My name was not even on the waitlist. Just... nothing. Exactly what I had aimed for with that deliberately flat reading at the crystal.
I shrugged and stepped back. "Not on there. Guess I stay home and help with the harvest like always."
Mira's smile faltered. "What? But your reading was solid average. They take plenty of average ones for the support tracks."
"Apparently not this round," I said, keeping my tone light. "It is fine. Really. The farm needs hands, and I like the work."
Aldric gave me a long look, the kind that said he knew exactly why my name was missing. He did not call me out in front of everyone, but the frustration was there, tight around his mouth.
While we were still standing there, Kael walked up from the other side of the square. He had come alone, no family with him. His face was set in that quiet, determined way I had seen at the testing. He scanned the list once, twice, then stood there for a long moment.
Mira noticed him and waved him over. "Kael! Did you check yet?"
He nodded slowly. "No scholarship. Not even waitlist. Same weak reading as before."
Aldric shifted closer, trying to sound supportive. "Tough break. But like I said at the test, a low start does not mean the end. You have that look about you. Bet you find a way."
Kael did not smile, but he did not look broken either. He just stared at the board like it was a problem to solve. "I am not giving up. The provincial academy still needs workers. Groundskeepers, kitchen help, janitors for the dorms and training halls. I asked around after the test. They always need extra hands, especially before the new term starts. If I volunteer and do a good job, maybe they let me sit in on some basic lessons. Or at least stay close enough to keep training on my own."
Mira blinked. "You would really clean floors and scrub pots just to be near the classes?"
Kael shrugged, simple and straightforward. "If that is what it takes. I am not waiting around for someone to hand me a chance. I will make one."
There was no big dramatic speech. No swelling music in the background. Just a farm kid who had been laughed at and decided to keep moving anyway. I felt that weird mix of respect and exhaustion again. This was the guy the plot had picked. The hollow core that would suck in everything and spit out something terrifying later. And here he was, volunteering to be the academy janitor like it was the most practical thing in the world.
Aldric nodded, a little too eagerly. "Smart. Real smart. You keep at it and who knows? Paths cross in places like that."
I stayed quiet. Part of me wanted to warn Kael that pushing too hard could drag him into worse shit than weak Aether readings. But that would mean stepping out of the background, so I kept my mouth shut and kicked at a loose stone on the ground.
Dad cleared his throat. "Well, Aldric, sounds like you and Mira have some packing to do. The wagon can take you over when it is time. Eren, you and I will keep the farm running. Extra work, but we have managed worse."
Mom fussed over Aldric a bit more, already worrying about him being away from home. Mira was buzzing with nervous energy, talking about what classes might be like and whether she would room with other girls.
As we started heading back toward the wagon, Aldric fell into step beside me for a moment.
"You could have made it if you tried," he muttered under his breath. "Even a little push and you would be on that list with us."
I kept my voice low. "That is the point. I do not want to be on it. You go chase whatever you think is waiting there. Just do not come crying to me when the plot starts chewing people up."
He shook his head, disappointed but not surprised anymore. "One day you will regret playing it this safe."
"Maybe. Or maybe I will be the only one still alive and boring at forty."
Kael had drifted off to talk to one of the academy staff near the side entrance, probably signing up for that janitor work right then and there. Mira waved goodbye to him with a promise to see him at the academy soon.
The ride home was quieter than the ride there. Aldric stared out at the fields with that hungry look, already planning his next moves. Mira chattered a little but eventually settled down, maybe sensing the tension between us twins.
I leaned back against the side of the wagon and watched the sky.
Another crack in the quiet life. Aldric and Mira heading off to the academy. Kael sweeping floors and refusing to stay down. Me staying home to split wood and mend fences like always.
It should have felt like victory. Safe. Invisible. Background noise.
Instead it felt like the story was starting to pull anyway, slow and steady, whether I liked it or not.
I closed my eyes and tried not to think about how long I could keep dodging it.