Chapter 23 Common Sense

“You think you’re tough! Better than us! Don’t you?” Sierra said with anger.

“I'm just built different,” Aria just told the truth, though no one understood the irony in her words.

Before Sierra could fire back, the classroom door swung open with a sudden bang. Everyone jumped, expecting the instructor, but it was just another student, a young guy with messy hair, and a maintenance jumpsuit still hanging off one shoulder as he walked in.

"Yo! Hey everyone, sorry I’m late. I overslept, hard night. Hope I made it in before our ‘spartan instructor’ shows up, heh!" he joked, tossing his bag down onto a table.

Sierra caught off guard and visibly annoyed, released her grip on Aria’s arm with a huff.

 “Tsk! Just a sewer rat! Don’t scare us like that!” she sneered, glaring at the young man.

He threw his hands up in defense, laughing.

 "Hey, hey! I’m not in the sewer; I’m in maintenance. Big difference,” he said jokingly.

 “And even if I were, at least it’s a job that needs doing! Imagine the Beehive without maintenance - we’d all be drowning in trash and broken systems in, what, two days?”

Sierra rolled her eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Don’t go getting a big head about it, Jacob,” she muttered, dismissively waving a hand. But as she turned back to her seat, she gave a swift kick to the wimp’s chair, sending him wobbling again before she sauntered off to rejoin her friends, shooting another cold glance and a growl at Aria.

Aria watched her go, unbothered, as she crossed her arms and glanced at the young maintenance worker who looked familiar. 

As soon as Jacob settled into his seat, the door opened, and every student instinctively snapped to attention, the room falling silent as if someone had flipped a switch. Instructor West walked in, his stern gaze sweeping the classroom. The students, even the rowdy ones, stood up in respect and offered a sharp salute.

“At ease,” he said, nodding toward them as they lowered their arms and took their seats in silence. Sierra sat a little straighter, her previous confrontation with Aria seemingly forgotten - or at least buried for the moment. 

“Today, we have a new addition. Liana Hale,” he announced, gesturing to Aria.

 “Transferred here from America. One of the survivors of the recent attack.”

Aria felt eyes on her as she rose to stand. She forced a calm expression and introduced herself in a steady voice, “Liana Hale. I am aiming to become a tank mech pilot. I’m grateful for the chance to start over here. That would be all.” She nodded and took her seat. The room whispered with intrigue and surprise but none dared to raise a voice while West was present.

West’s gaze shifted to the students around the room, taking silent note of those absent. 

“Since some of our fellow cadets have decided they don’t need to show up today, we’re going to start with a surprise test.” 

Groans rippled through the class, but West’s stare silenced them. 

“You can thank for this test to those who did not show up. But this mock test won’t count toward your final grade,” he explained.

 “I want to see how well you’re absorbing the material. And don’t think this is a free pass - if the results disappoint me, even if one of you fails to get a minimal score, you’re all running fifty laps around the academy. Full sprint.”

A collective intake of breath filled the room and everyone's eyes turned to wimp, shooting daggers at him. West turned to Aria.

 “Miss Hale, apologies for dropping this on you before you’ve even had a chance to open a tablet on your desk. It’s just a benchmark test; do what you can. No pressure on this one.” 

Aria gave a slight shrug, her tone casual, “No problem, Instructor West. I'll give you full score.” 

She didn’t mean to come off cocky, but her words had that effect on the room anyway.

 “These tests are easy. I don’t need extra prep to handle them. It’s basically just common sense.”

A ripple of reactions spread across the classroom. The sharp-eyed, more academic-minded students turned their attention fully to her, eyeglasses cocked. A few of them whispered to each other, eyeing her skeptically. The thought that she dismissing the test - the one the Academy itself had labeled as notoriously difficult? And worse, was she implying that the Spartan Instructor’s test didn’t warrant any extra effort?

Sierra, still simmering from their earlier run-in, smirked and shot a glance at her friends. One of them muttered, “Does she actually think she’s that good, or is she just blowing smoke?”

Meanwhile, a handful of others, those with quiet respect for Instructor West’s tough reputation, were genuinely shocked. No one had ever spoken so openly, let alone so casually, to him. And here was the new girl, fresh from America and supposedly a refugee, acting like she knew the guy.

Instructor West, though he kept his expression neutral, let his gaze linger on Aria for a beat longer. He simply nodded, holding back a small smile that was nearly undetectable.

 “Common sense, huh? Then, I look forward to seeing if your common sense matches what’s on the test, Miss Hale.” His voice held just the slightest challenge.

Instructor West turned sharply, voice booming as he faced the class. 

"Tablets on and begin! You've got thirty minutes to answer one hundred questions, so no wasting time!" His eyes swept over the students as they scrambled to start.

"And remember," he added, with a pointed glance, “if even one of you fails to get a score of thirty-five, that's fifty laps around the Academy grounds. Full sprint. So make every answer count!”

As the countdown on the tablets ticked down, some students gulped nervously, fingers flying over the screens as they tried to answer as many questions as possible before time ran out. Aria, however, had a different approach. She leaned back in her chair, wearing a calm expression.

Taking her time, she scanned through each question, but it wasn’t a matter of difficulty. In truth, she was bored. The questions, while they covered a range of topics she was familiar with, felt like mere warm-ups compared to the situations she had faced in her past. She let her gaze wander, glancing around the classroom.

First, she looked down at the floor as she noticed a small piece of paper crumpled near Jacob’s foot. Then, she turned her attention to the windows, pressing her finger thoughtfully against her lips as if she were pondering the meaning of life outside. Finally, her gaze drifted to the ceiling, lost in her thoughts.

With a slight smile, she tapped her final answer into the tablet and hit the “Finish Test” icon. Just as she did, she caught Jacob's eye. He was also looking around the room in concentration as if searching for the same thing.

Meanwhile, the smart student group was a picture of panic. They exchanged frantic glances and muttered under their breaths as the minutes slipped away. Despite their efforts, the tension in their shoulders suggested they were struggling with at least a few of the questions.

As the timer ticked down to its last seconds, the group of top performers hurriedly tapped their screens, signaling that they had finished. Their expressions indicated that they had missed something important.

The moment the timer buzzed, Instructor West’s voice echoed through the room. 

“Time’s up! Put your tablets down and await further instructions!”