Extra Curriculars: Operation Maximum Potential

Aesandoral had done it! She had aced the test.

Well, not aced it, but she passed with better marks than any other test she had ever taken. She was positively vibrating as she pulled the paper from her pack and slammed it on the table before Ishara.

“What, what!” She cried out and pointed to the red number at the top of the sheet. “Eighty-One!”

“Wow, Aes, that’s so amazing!” He congratulated her with a twinkle of pride in his eye.

Thuh-thump! Thuh-thump! Thuh-thump! Thuh-thump!

Aesandoral felt her cheeks flush as she bashfully looked away from him.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without your help. I owe you big time! Those, whatcha-ma-calls-its were really helpful. What did you call them?”

“A mnemonic device? I’m glad they helped. The rest was just basic arithmetic.”

She smiled as the words once again went over her head. That was when she noticed she had zoned out and was looking directly at Ishara’s eyes. She stared into them deeply before becoming flushed again and averting her gaze.

Not wanting to be awkward, the first place Aesandoral looked was out the window of the café where she and Ishara sat. Beyond was another sunny day across the School of Natural Cycles.

With a soft sigh, she enjoyed the light filtering through the dense canopy that covered the overgrown campus structures. A sight that reminded her of being home.

That was when her attention was grabbed by people milling around a roped-off section. Currently, outside this particular café was an archery competition being hosted by a few of the experiential learning students.

She watched as, one after another, upperclassmen missed their stationary targets. The embarrassing sight caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end, something that she desperately tried to shake off.

Aesandoral knew she could make those shots. But then that would mean she would have to try. And if she tried, she would have no choice but to—

“Aes,” Ishara raised his voice and snapped his fingers before Aesandoral’s face. “Hey, Aes? You okay? You blue-screened.”

“I what?” She was always so confused by the strange things he said. “Sorry, I was just lost in thought.”

Ishara turned around and looked out the window for a moment before glancing back with a devilish grin.

“Oh, what a coincidence, an archery contest.” Ishara’s cute smile sent her heart racing yet again as she tried to find somewhere else to look as he continued. “Hey, Aes, you should join.”

“What? No, I couldn’t. I’m sure it’s already closed.”

“I bet it goes on all afternoon,” Ishara stopped and took a quick sip of his drink. “I would assume.”

“Well, you know,” Aesandoral tried to change the subject. “I did really well on my test!”

He smiled and nodded, dropping the subject as they spent the better part of the early afternoon enjoying coffee and pastries. Repeatedly, Ishara praised Aesandoral for her hard work and commended her for the passing grades. He went so far as to touch her hand and say he was proud of how far she had come in such a short time.

“You can apply that same logic to anything.” He spoke up during one of the lulls in conversation.

“Excuse me?”

“Pushing yourself past your limits, breaking out of your box, never giving up on being the best you can be. You know, all that alpha crap, or whatever. Trust me, you don’t want to get to be thirty-five and look back wishing you had actually applied yourself.”

“You’re so weird.” Aesandoral giggled as she looked out the window once more.

She had never stopped watching the competition, and there were still no archers that she felt capable of challenging her skill.

“Archery.” Ishara placed his drink down, and the clink of porcelain echoed through the currently quiet café. “Take archery. I’ve seen you hit bullseye after bullseye in our school grounds grind. But I watched you practicing last week. You actively missed every chance to hit a bullseye when others were watching. Why?”

“I just,” She looked down at the quiver of arrows on her hip. “I just don’t want that pressure of being number one. I haven’t wanted it for a long time.”

“But look at how happy you were with your good grades. Imagine how amazing you’d feel to be recognized for what you’re, like, super good at.”

Aesandoral glanced away from Ishara once more, this time watching a student with good form step up. She held her breath as he drew his bow and released. Nearly a bullseye. A second arrow slinked in beside the first. A near miss. He nocked a final arrow and breathed. The final shot flew and hit its mark, dead center of the target.

Looking down, Aesandoral gripped the fabric of her pants. She grumbled, trying to calm herself from the sudden and overwhelming urge to rush out and outcompete that challenger. Ishara’s praise was doing something to her, and she didn’t know what to do about it.

Eventually, looking up, the first thing she saw was the mischievous look on Ishara’s face.

“Go on, show that guy up.” He egged her on. “Consider it your payback to me for helping with the test.”

Aesandoral experienced a weird sensation as her entire body began to vibrate excitedly. She felt like she wanted to puke but also run in the same instant. Her heart raced, pounding against her chest.

And then, as quickly as the energy overwhelmed her, it fled, and her body entered a state of calm. She knew what she wanted to do.

“Iz,” Aesandoral asked. “W-Will you cheer me on?”

But before she could even finish, he had already stood to his feet and begun gathering his things. She gave a big smile, gathering her equipment and stepping out into dappled light. Without hesitation, Aesandoral walked over to the signup booth and, after a brief interaction, approached the challenger square.

Something she hadn’t realized from her previous vantage point was that the roped-off section was actually a magical impeder. The sixty-foot distance of the target was, in fact, six hundred feet and just at the edge of her functional range.

She felt her heart begin to race as doubt set in. Looking down at her bow, she debated what she wanted to do. It was an easy out. But then she glanced over her shoulder to see Ishara. He stood just a few feet away, where he watched excitedly. And, as they locked eyes, he presented two thumbs up before shouting words of encouragement.

Heh, he’s so cute. She thought with a bashful smile.

Aesandoral turned to face her target. There was no longer any doubt, so she began immediately with zero hesitation.

One, two, three.

The arrows flew from her bow down range in rapid succession. She didn’t even bother waiting for them to reach the target before turning around and looking at her supportive companion.

Sticking out her tongue, she held out a V sign with her fingers as the judges revealed her score.

“Three bullseyes. We have a winner!”

“As if there was any doubt.” She giggled, slipping the bow over her shoulder.