* Extra Curriculars: Operation Maximum Potential

*

Aesandoral was thrilled to have completed her examination and succeeded in what she thought was impossible. After all, she had officially aced her test. Well, not aced it, but passed with better marks than any other test she had ever taken. That fact alone was enough to cause her to vibrate excitedly as she withdrew the parchment from her pack and slammed it on the table before Ishara.

“Look! Look!” She cried out and pointed to the red number at the top of the sheet. “Sixty-seven! I passed!”

“Wow, Aes, that’s so amazing!” He congratulated her with a twinkle of pride in his eye. “I mean, Dee’s do get degrees here. So, you go, girl.”

Aesandoral felt her cheeks flush as she bashfully looked away from him. Her heart began to race the moment she saw the happiness in his gaze. She knew his joy was because of the passing marks, which meant they could adventure together, but deep down, she hoped it was more. While Rionriv presented herself as disinterested towards him, and Sharzin was secretive about her thoughts, even she knew that both harboured at least some interest in their new companion. But in her heart, Aesandoral knew what she felt for Ishara was more than just interest. After all, she had felt it the moment she saw him.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without your help." She whispered, speaking shyly into her shoulder. "I owe you big time. Between this fidgety doohickey and the whatcha-ma-calls-its, I felt like I could focus on the test. What did you call those word things again?”

“The mnemonic device? I’m glad they both aided you, but don't sell yourself short. You did it all on your own! The tricks just helped you get the rest of the way.”

She smiled as the strange word went over her head yet again. That was when she noticed she had zoned out and was now looking directly at Ishara’s eyes. Deeply staring into them, she quickly became flushed with embarrassment once more and averted her gaze.

Not wanting to be awkward, Aesandoral suddenly looked out the café window at the relatively unfamiliar Al'Magi campus. Ishara had chosen to meet her at a small, nondescript shop that was far from their usual Mimic Café stop. Beyond the glass of this coffee house was a beautifully sunny day that spread across the campus dedicated to the College of Natural Cycles.

With a soft sigh, she allowed her emotions to settle as she enjoyed the light that filtered through the dense canopy shading the cobblestone streets. The dappled afternoon glow that bathed the overgrown academic structures reminded her of being home. A thought that brought her a rush of differing feelings.

That was when her attention was grabbed by people milling around a roped-off section of the nearby courtyard. Currently, outside this particular café, an archery competition was underway, being hosted by a few of the experiential learning students. She had noticed them when she entered, catching sight of the sign that claimed they were searching for the best marksmen or women, at Al’Magi, a challenge that secretly intrigued her.

If only someone were good enough for me to be second behind them. She thought to herself. But no one has even been close! I mean, come on!

She watched as one after another, the upperclassmen missed their stationary targets. Frustration grew with every new challenger. The embarrassing sight caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end as she desperately tried to shake the feeling off with each flick of the fidget toy in her hand.

Aesandoral knew she could easily make those shots. But then that would mean she would have to be first. After all, none of the front-runners made her feel that competing for second would be worth it. And the last thing she wanted was to be first.

“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 his delightful grin.

“Oh, what a coincidence, an archery contest.” Ishara continued, his cute smile sending her heart racing yet again. “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!”

“Yes, you did! And honestly, Aes, I don’t think that it’s your fault that you struggle with learning. I think you just suffer with the ye olde A-D-H-D.”

“What’s that? Is it serious?!”

“No. No. But it does make concentrating hard. I’ve just noticed that when you’re focused, you can practically feel a creature watching you from metres away. But when you’re distracted, someone could be right in front of your face, and they’re invisible.”

“I’m sorry.” Her mood quickly dropped as she began to feel bad for being distracted.

“Aes,” Ishara spoke up, reaching over and taking her hand. “It’s okay. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

Aesandoral’s heart raced at his warm touch. She focused on his hand and then looked at his face. Staring into his focused eyes, she watched as a smile crossed the boy's lips.

“Iz—“

“Aes, would you be open to trying something?”

“I—I, uh, sure!” She stammered nervously. “Anything for you!”

“I want you to try taking these,” He continued, reaching into his bag and withdrawing a small brown glass bottle. “Just one a day with your breakfast, okay?”

“What are they?”

Aesandoral took the bottle and inspected the exterior closely. Uncorking the top, she dropped a small pill, no bigger than her pinky nail, into her hand. She took it in her grip, pinching it between her fingers and pulling it up to inspect the smooth, white exterior.

“Subtracterall.” He replied. “It was a product of the famous herbalist Ottovaughn over three thousand years ago in the City-state of Westerriton. Phyllis was his patron, and she kept some to replicate one day. I convinced Phyllis part with a bottomless supply for you.”

“You bought me…a gift?” She gasped. “That’s so sweet!”

“Yeah, my pleasure.” He continued and pointed at it. “So just one a day. Why don’t you take one now and get it started…”

Without hesitation, she obeyed, taking the pill with ease. And though she didn’t feel anything right away, she trusted Ishara’s judgement completely. He smiled in response and, pleased with her, he dropped the topic of discussion as they went on to spend the better part of the early afternoon enjoying coffee, pastries and their company.

As they talked again about how well she had done on her tests, Aesandoral slowly felt as her body began to feel unusual. She could only assume it was the magical pill taking effect, as the external distractions that would once have caught her attention suddenly began to disappear. They were not fully out of her field of vision, but they no longer seemed as important. With a focused feeling, like when she looked down the range from her bow, she felt as though she could give her full attention to Ishara.

And with that, she engaged in conversation fully. Admiring his full cheeks, staring at his lips, and enjoying the way the edges of his beautiful eyes creased when he smiled pleasantly. Her heart fluttered excitedly every minute his voice met her ears until eventually, the conversation began to slow. 

“You can apply that same logic to anything.” He spoke up at that point

“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 wasn't distracted but, instead, embarrassed by how much she enjoyed looking at him. That, and Aesandoral had never stopped watching the competition as they talked. Unfortunately, there had yet to be any 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 just last week, I watched you practicing. You actively missed every chance to hit a bullseye when others were watching. Why? Your mom's not here. She's not going to see.”

“I just,” She looked down at the quiver of arrows on her hip. “I just, you know, like being second. I haven’t wanted the pressure of being first 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. It was nearly a bullseye, causing her heart to skip a beat. A second arrow slinked in beside the first in another near miss. The boy, the best of the day, nocked a final arrow and breathed. The last shot flew and hit its mark, dead centre of the target.

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

I... She struggled to find the words. I want to show Iz that I can be—I CAN be number one. B-But would he like that? Would it make him proud of me?

Eventually, looking up, the first thing she saw was Ishara’s beautiful eyes staring at her. Then she saw the smile that caused her heart to race. He had noticed her. The troubled, nervous look that she wore.

“Go," He egged her on gently. "Show that guy up. 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 and run in the same instant. Her heart raced, pounding against her chest. If she had the courage, she would have kissed Ishara, but instead, she did the next best thing. Aesandoral would actually apply herself.

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

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

But before she could finish, he had stood and begun gathering his things. With that, she gave him the biggest smile she had shown in a long while as she gathered her equipment and stepped 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 had actually been set up as a magical impeder. What had looked to be a sixty-foot distance to the target was, in fact, six hundred feet and just at the edge of her functional range.

Aesandoral 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 to say she hadn't anticipated the challenge. She could miss her target by enough to come in second, like she always did.

But then, as she debated this and prepared to give in to her intrusive thoughts, she glanced over her shoulder to see Ishara. He stood just a few feet away, watching her excitedly. His eyes were beaming with joy and pride. And as their gazes locked, he gave her two playful thumbs up.

"Whoo, you go, Aes!" He cheered her on. "You're number one! Show me—no, show everyone—why you're number one!"

Heh, he’s so cute. She thought with a big smile and began to calm her racing heart. If I can't do this for me, then I'll do this for him.

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

One, two, three. She thought as the arrows flew from her bow down range in rapid succession. 

Aesandoral didn’t even bother waiting for them to reach the target before turning to look 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." One of the judges shouted in surprise. "W-We have a winner!”

“As if there was any doubt,” She giggled, slipping the bow over her shoulder. "Because I'm number one!"