Hi guys I'm back with a new chapter! Like always I do not own Marvel I only own my OC's. If I did own marvel none of my babies would be dead. I'm still crying over that. Anyways enjoy the new chapter.
It was quiet and very peaceful in my room this morning as the sunlight beamed into my room. I was lying in my bed, and it was around 7:00 am so I was in no rush to get up and start the day anytime soon. It was the day after I had accepted Fury's job offer to join S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Academy. I still can't believe all of that happened yesterday. Just a week ago, I had no job, no money, and I was homeless, but now I have everything I could ever need even a debit card. Well, that's if I pass the exam that will determine if I can join the Academy or not. If I don't pass, everything will be taken away again.
I heard a knock on my door alerting me that someone was here. If I'm not mistaken Clint did tell me he would be coming over today, but I thought he meant later on in the day. Oh well, it's not like I was sleeping anyhow. As I got up from bed, I took a good look around my room. It was a nice room even if the walls were bare of any decorations, like the rest of my apartment. The only furniture I have in my room is my full-size mattress and my rickety dresser that held all of my clothes. Everything inside of the apartment is from my old one in Houston. I was told that S.H.I.E.L.D. confiscated everything when I went to prison, but since I'm free again, they gave me all of my belongings back.
I left my room and made my way past the living room to the front door. As I open the door, I was a bit shocked to find a woman with a smirk dancing on her lips instead of Clint. I did not expect to find Miss Madelyn Edward standing outside of my door this early in the morning. She was wearing a light blue shirt, with white pants, and some heels. I, on the other hand, felt underdressed in my own home because of her. I was wearing a maroon shirt, with black leggings, and polka dot socks. I currently do not own any pj's so I thought this would be a good substitute for now. Apparently not since Miss USA decided to drop by and lower my self-esteem a couple of notches. Look I know she's an assistant SO to Clint, but I'm not supposed to start training until tomorrow. What the hell people. Can't they let me have one day off?
"Hello, Miss Edwards." I say politely, "Can I help you with something?"
"At least you remember my name this time." Edwards said as her smirk grew, "Actually, I'm here for you."
"Really? I thought today was my day off to get settled in."
"It is don't worry. Do you mind if I come in." Well yeah, I mind, but I'm not going to say that out loud. Mostly because I'm curious as to why she's here bothering me so early in the morning. I move out the way, and she walks past me into my living room. She looks around for a quick second to observe her surroundings before settling down in my beat-up old brown sofa. I took the blue recliner that was the opposite of her. The only thing separating us now is a wobbly gray coffee table.
"So you're here because…" I start saying trying to get this over with not bothering being polite.
"I'm here to check up on you actually. You're new to this area so I thought it would be a good idea to see how you're doing and make sure that everything is okay." I would have rolled my eyes at her if it wasn't for the fact that she seemed completely sincere about it. Even her smirk disappeared from her face.
"Well," I start out with, "I'm fine, actually. I just woke up 5 minutes before you arrived. Haven't really done much per se." That does remind me I need to check my belongings and figure out what I need to buy. I still have the essentials like a bed and wardrobe along with my kitchen supplies. What I'm curious about is my clothes, by that, I mean how much do I have and does it still fit. If not well I've been given an allowance to go buy some clothes. I also need food, bathroom essentials, school materials, etc. It's going to be a long day, that's for sure.
"Do you need any help?" Edwards asked me, "I don't mind lending a hand."
"Actually Clint said he was going to stop by later today and help me out, but thank you for the offer," I said quickly and politely.
"Well, that's good." She stated quietly, "Well, I also wanted to let you know about a few other things before I leave here today."
"Um okay."
"As you already know, I'm going to assist agent Barton as your supervising officer, which means we'll be spending quite a bit of time together." She starts out with. Honestly, it seems a bit bothersome to have two SO's, but I guess I don't really have a choice. "That reminds me you'll need my number in case of emergencies or schedule changes."
I see here reaching into her pocket and pulling out a card with what I'm assuming has her contact information. I took it from her, and I was right because it had her number and email. There was only one problem that I could see.
"How am I going to contact you if I don't have a phone or a laptop?" She gave me a blank look when I said that as if she wasn't expecting it. "What?"
"Nothing, I'm sure you'll receive one soon enough. It's important that you have a phone that way we can contact you in case some sort of emergency arises. In the meantime, the next thing I wanted to speak to you about is what you can and can't say to those around you."
"I know I'm not dumb." I say a little irritated that she thought I would shoot my mouth with the next person I see on the street, "Nothing leaves S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Actually even in S.H.I.E.L.D., you have to stay quiet."
"What do you mean?" I ask her a bit confused about this new piece of information.
"If everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. knew everything that everyone else knew, then that would be a liability. Our enemies would know our secret in a matter of seconds if they managed to capture just one agent, so to avoid this, we only share information with others if they need to know about it. That means they have to have clearance or else they can't have anything. You understand, right?"
"Yeah, that makes sense. We can't just let the bad guys have all the info. Is there anything else you need to tell me or was that it?" I just wanted to get rid of this woman as soon as possible. If I hadn't been paying attention, I might have missed it because for a brief second I notice that Ewards had hesitated before shaking her head.
"No, for now, I believe that was everything." She said standing up. I stood up and walked her to the door. "Well, it was nice speaking to you again."
"Yeah, you too," I said hesitantly before waving goodbye and closing the door behind her. That was weird and kind of awkward, but at least she's gone now. I didn't really expect her to come and pay me a visit, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Oh well, enough of that I better go get a shower and get some breakfast before Clint arrives.
I walk back into my bedroom and grab some of my old clothes to try them on only to find out half of them are ruined. Ten of my good shirts and two pairs of my pants were destroyed by what I assume were moths. I hate my life so much right now because all that was left was my old work clothes. It's not like I had a lot of clothes, to begin with, my family was poor, so having nice possessions were hard to come by. I would have to buy some new clothes eventually, but for now, it's back to my original choices. I took all of the clothes I could salvage and put them in the hamper to wash later tonight once I got some detergent. The rest of my clothes I threw away as I started to fix some breakfast up for myself. Nothing special since I don't have a lot of ingredients, to begin with. It was just some bread with butter on it.
Once I was done with my breakfast, I went back into my bedroom to get a shower. I finally had a bathroom inside of my room instead of out in the hallway, and I think that is just the coolest thing. I mean sure in the helicarrier I had a bathroom inside of my room, but that was different. Once I got my clothes ready, I start to undress. I was right about to take off my leggings when I hear another knock on the door, and I let out an audible groan. I put my shirt and bra back on before stomping to the front door.
"What!" I yelled as I practically fling the door wide open and scaring the crap out of poor Clint, "Opps, I'm so sorry Clint, I didn't mean to yell at you. By the way, what's in the bag?" I could see in his left hand, two bags and one just so happened to be Burger King.
"Kid, I told you I was coming over today." Clint told me while giving me a look for yelling at him, "I got us some breakfast since I knew you don't have a lot of food. The other bag has some clothes since I know you're lacking in that department too."
"Wow, you're a lifesaver. Plus you're right about my wardrobe because most of my old clothes are moth-eaten. I just checked." I explain to Clint as I led him into my small kitchen. In there I had a small brown table with mismatched chairs all around. Both of us took our seats on either side of the table.
"You wanna tell me why you yelled as soon as you opened the door to me." I winced when Clint asked me because, in all honesty, I didn't mean to yell at the poor dude. Especially when he was nice enough to buy me food and bring me some new clothes.
"Well to explain that I have to mention something else that happened earlier so just bear with me okay…" Clint raised one eyebrow at me, but he didn't say anything in return. Assuming that meant I could go ahead with my story, I began speaking once again. "You see, an hour or so ago Edward's showed up."
"She did?" Clint asked, "It's not really like her to do that sort of thing."
"She claimed that the only reason she came was to check up on me, but I don't know. She could have been trying to get on my good side or something."
"I doubt it kid, Edward's isn't the type of person to do that. She's not a kiss-up, and she could care less about most people. She's clever enough to make it seem like she cares without getting some brown on her nose if you know what I mean."
"Then, why come here."
"Like she said, probably to check up on you, she must be taking the job more seriously than I first thought. Actually, now that I think about it she was really excited when I told her you were coming to S.H.I.E.L.D. she even volunteered to be my assistant, and she usually doesn't do stuff like that.
"What does she do?" I have to admit I was intrigued by this mysterious woman. She was very strange, and I couldn't help but want some more information on her.
"Can't say kid sorry. You don't have clearance, and I don't think she'll appreciate you knowing her business."
"Fine, I'll leave it alone… for now, that is." Clint gave me a look for that, but I kept my attention on my food. It was french toast with hash browns and some orange juice. What a blessing this man has been in my life. I love french toast. "As for the reason I yelled at you, I thought you were another agent here to annoy me on my day off."
Clint merely shook his head at me and left it at that as we continued to eat. He knows me better than most people, so he wasn't surprised by my explanation. I'm not exactly a people person or what you term as a social butterfly. First off I hate butterflies, and the only reason I wear the broch my sister gave me is because she loved it. I, on the other hand, am more like a wallflower. Honestly, if I could choose to stay indoors instead of going outside, I probably would.
"So do you know what we need to buy?" Clint asked me once we finished eating and pulling me out of my train of thoughts.
"Yeah some groceries, bathroom stuff, detergent, paper napkins, cleaning products, and some more deodorant and toothpaste. I'm running low on those last two things. Oh, I can finally get some perfume again. I haven't had perfume since before I went to prison." I replied as I snatched the last hash brown from the bag and popped it into my mouth.
"Nothing else?"
"Nope."
"You sure?"
"Yup."
"Your hopeless, aren't you?"
"And that was uncalled for… what the heck?" here I was enjoying a really good breakfast, and he just ruins it. "How am I hopeless?"
"Your furniture is practically falling apart, and most of your clothes are ruined. How are you not hopeless? It's not like we haven't given you any money to buy some new things."
"I don't see what that has to do with me being hopeless," I stated because to me everything was perfectly fine. I now have a home to live in, clean water, a bed, some clothes, and money to buy some essentials. What more could I need? I even say this out loud a moment later to Clint, and he still doesn't seem convinced.
"I always thought that the reason you didn't buy any nice things was the fact that you didn't have a lot of money."
"And you would be correct in assuming that. I only bought things that were cheap and rarely did I ever find something nice. My nice shirts consist of normal v-necks in different colors." I told Clint frankly, "I'm not ashamed by this. I had to do that to provide for my family. Even if it meant we didn't have nice things because, in the end, we had what we needed even if it's not exactly what we may have wanted. I was easier on my sisters' case but other than that I'm a real penny pincher. That meant I had more money for emergencies, and repairs, or paying people off to leave us alone."
"I forgot about that." Clint admitted quietly, "You guys lived by yourselves for a long time. No one took care of you, and people often tried to take advantage of you until you guys found dirt on them. You and Christopher we're always working odd jobs, and since you were so young and without a permit or a parent's permission, they docked your pay. There was nothing you could ever do about that."
"Exactly, so as you can see I'm not too fond of wasting all of my money." I said before adding, "Especially when it can be taken away in a drop of a hat."
"We won't leave you homeless kid-"
"I'm not going into foster care," I sang.
"Fine, but we would have worked something out," Clint assured me. I merely rolled my eyes and got up to go take a shower, picking up the new set of clothes with me. I called over my shoulder to Clint, telling him that I would be right back after I took a shower and change clothes.
As soon as I got into my room, I got a fresh pair of underwear, socks, and a bra. Afterward, I went straight into the bathroom and stripped down, throwing my dirty laundry on top of the toilet. My new clothes were on the countertop waiting for me when I'm done. I got in the shower and did my normal routine. Brush my teeth as I washed my hair, and after that, I scrub the rest of my body. No matter what situation I was in, it was important to me to have good hygiene. I can't stand it when people smell bad, and I know some just can't help it, and that's okay. If it's because of a profession or something happened and you couldn't help it, that's okay. What I hate is the fact that some people refuse to play with water. I mean, it's not hard.
Once I was done, I took my towel and quickly dried off and proceeded to get dressed. After I finished putting my new clothes on, I looked in the mirror, and I have to admit I did like the outfit that Clint got me. It was a black short sleeve Adidas shirt and white jeans that had holes in them where my knees are. Pity I don't own Adidas shoes to go with the outfit but oh well. Leaving my hair to the usual mess that it's always in I leave the bathroom. There's no point in trying to fix it at this point. I mean if I'm destined to look like Mufasa for the rest of my life due to my terribly puffy hair so be it.
Before going into my living room, I head to the nightstand beside my bed and grab the new wallet that Clint gave me yesterday. It has a temporary picture ID that I have no clue where they got from, some cash, and a debit card. It was still unbelievable that I had this much money in my wallet. I better get going I told Clint I wouldn't take long to get ready.
"Kid, are you done? You're taking forever!" I hear Clint whining from the living room. I roll my eyes before responding.
"It's barely been thirty minutes Clint, and you're already whining and complaining. Can your gender not complain about a woman getting ready for five minutes! Goodness Gracious!" I yelled as I stomped out of the room.
The rest of the day was spent buying groceries, exercise clothes (Clint said I needed them), running shoes, some new converse, some shirts and pants (Clint insisted), actual pajamas, house essentials, school supplies, and finally my first phone and a laptop. I got the Samsung Galaxy S II, and I love it so much. I've never had a phone before, so it was kind of exciting, and I sound really stupid right now, but it's okay because no one can hear my thoughts, so I'm safe. Although I have to admit it has been a very long day, but I did have a nice time. Clint and I were bickering through the majority of it, so there was plenty of laughs. Sadly early tomorrow morning he had to leave D.C. He told me he would call to check in every so often and I was free to call or text him in case of anything. Also, I had Miss Edwards as a contact in my phone just in case I needed anything.
Tomorrow will be my first day of tutoring, and I hope it goes well. If it doesn't, I will not be surprised in the least given my track record. Apparently, life truly hates me.
The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I had the best day ever. My tutor is amazing! He's extremely informative and kind. He was very understanding about my current situation, and he was willing to help me out in any way that he could. My skills training was even better. I learned so many cool things, and it was all so easy to accomplish. For a second, I thought getting into school would be difficult, instead, it seems way too easy. I never thought I would have such a nice first day, yet here I am in bed content with the world for once.
Here I am in bed contemplating murder for the past five minutes since I got home. Sure the heat doesn't bother me, but I prefer cloudy days instead, and although the birds were more like a nuisance than actual musical talent I let that go too. What I didn't appreciate was being called a moron five times in a row by my tutor. Instead of teaching me anything, he first gave me a pop quiz. Fine I guess he wanted to see where I am in my education, not a problem. After that, he grades my quiz and starts yelling at me. I understand that I never finished High School, but that doesn't mean he gets to yell at me. He then gave me four different books and told me that I was to read each book from chapter 1-10 by tomorrow. I also have to take notes and write a two page summary for each chapter. He further said that tomorrow when he gives me my first quiz that if I didn't improve, I should just give up and stand at some random street corner for the rest of my life. Apparently, that will be the only use I could ever be to this world. It took everything within me to not stick something sharp up his as-
Anyways, that was only my tutoring session, next was my skills training, and that was equally horrific. I wasn't flexible enough, or I was too stiff. Either I was focusing too hard on the subject, or I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing. It was a complete mess, and at this point, I'm surprised I didn't murder someone today. I even got insulted again! It wasn't even creative, it was just the same insult as before. The fact that both of these men told me I should quit right now and go work a corner is just infuriating. If you're going to insult me, then at least put some thought into it don't just waste my time.
Not to mention I now have to take extra classes...fun. This includes yoga, pilates, swimming (because flying through water doesn't count), and running at least two miles a day for the next week. I just want to ask the world why I'm being punished and if there was any other way I can atone for my sins instead of this crap.
Here's to crying myself to sleep for the next four years of school. Oh yeah if I'm doing all of this crazy stuff, then I better make it into the Academy with flying colors, or else Imma lose it. Not only am I going to make it in the academy but I'll pass it with 100's all around. I have no choice but to pass because today was the first time in history that I was able to drink a Starbucks caramel frappuccino. I can't go back to my old life now and be denied this sugary caffeinated drinks or else I might just become a villain to drink more of it.
I hear a ring sound off by my ear, and I let out a scream that sounded like a mix between a dying cat and a walrus. As I shot into the air, I looked back to see what was making that noise only to realize it was my phone. I forgot I had one now. As I lowered myself back down to my bed, I reached for the phone looking at the caller ID. I wasn't too surprised to find Clint calling me.
"Hello," I answer the phone on the last ring.
"How?"
"I'm sorry?" I start out with, "What do you mean how?"
"It's only been one day, and I've already got phone calls and emails about how bad of a student you are. Kid, you're not even in the academy yet, and people are complaining!" Clint yells at me through the phone "I thought I told you to keep that smart mouth of yours on check for at least a week."
"Clint I-"
"Why is your tutor telling me that you should quit?"
"Are you gonna let me talk at any point of this conversation or what?" there was a pause over the line before I heard a quite yes.
"I have no idea what you're talking about Clint… for the most part, I don't. I know I'm not as patient and quiet as I use to be back when we first met, but I promise you I did not start shooting my mouth." I explain to him, "Now about me quitting that is my tutor's idea. He claims I'm a moron and the best thing to do is to go find a street corner to stand on."
"So you didn't shoot your mouth?"
"Maybe once… at the end."
"That's what I thought." Clint responded, "Now, what did you say?"
"Well, he kind of set the joke up for me." I paused, waiting to hear if Clint had anything to say before I continued. Apparently, he didn't so I went on ahead and said, "Well at the end of class he grabbed a ruler out of nowhere, and he said at the end of the ruler there was a moron-"
"Let me guess you said which end?" Clint guessed with an unimpressed tone of voice.
"Nope."
"No? What did you say then?"
"Well if you stay quiet for more than five seconds maybe I'll tell you." I replied, "I acted amazed that he found the ruler and that I was so happy for him. I said that was great because this whole time I thought his ruler was stuck up his butt. Then I asked him if that's not what's up there then what the hell decided to die there and make him angry. I also asked him if it was the same thing that is making his breath smell that bad."
There was a long stretch of silence on the line before I heard Clint trying to hold back his laughter. Well, that's good at least I'm not in too much trouble. If I can make him laugh then I know I can get out of this mess without him getting angry with me.
"That was actually a pretty good one kid," Clint finally said.
"So you're not mad?"
"Eh, I can't really get mad at you he had it coming. But I think that joke went to waste on him. He only gave you a weak insult, and you actually had one that was a bit unexpected."
"So what's the verdict?"
"I'll let it slide for now but don't make a habit of mouthing off. That goes into the reports, and it makes it that much harder to get accepted into the academy."
"Okay fine I promise from here on out I will grin and bear it. Now, If you'll excuse me, I have a mountain of homework to do, and I have to wake up really early tomorrow morning. Bye."
It was 7:00 pm and I was exhausted from today's events, but I also knew my teacher doesn't care about that as he still expects all of the assignments to be done by tomorrow morning. If I want to get done at a reasonable time I better get started. I can already tell that I won't be getting much sleep tonight.
Today was the day that I will be taking the exam that will determine whether or not I would be joining the Academy of Operations. I was extremely nervous at the moment. I've been studying non-stop for this exam so I wouldn't end up failing. The problem is that I'm a terrible test taker. I know the material by heart, but if you put an exam right in front of me, I'll have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I just freeze and lose concentration, or I do the complete opposite and focus too hard when the question is so easy. Man, I hope I can pass this exam.
I was currently walking towards my usual classroom 135, and my heart was beating a mile a minute. If I don't calm down now, I'm positive I'll fail this test. My future was riding on this exam, and I can't afford to fail it. The exam itself has three parts to it, and those three had subcategories of their own. The first part of the exam dealt with basic knowledge like math and English. The next part of the exam questions you on how you would approach certain situations, and the subcategory for that is making a step by step plan detailing how you would go about it. Finally, the last one is the skills assessment. You have to do a series of skills perfectly within a certain time frame, or you automatically fail. Yeah, I'm going to fail.
When I walk into room 135, I noticed a room filled with students that I've never seen before in my life. They were all dressed in office attire clothing while I was standing at the doorway in sweatpants and a black t-shirt on. I don't know why I chose today to leave my sunglasses at home.
Acting as if everything was fine I walk towards the only empty seat in the middle of the classroom, placing my backpack right beside me on the ground. As I get ready for the exam, I could practically feel everyone's eyes on me. Some I have to say were more discreet about it than others, because some just didn't care and they chose to stare at me outright. Especially the person sitting in front of me. He sat there facing me with his mouth wide open as if I was merely a creature from myths and not an actual person. Finally, I had enough, and I began snapping my fingers in front of his face trying to get his attention. It took a minute, but he finally realized what I was trying to do.
"Yeah, hi hello, yes." He stuttered.
"Just wanted to let you know that your mouth was hanging open." I whispered to him as gently as I could, "Actually, you're still gaping at me."
"Sorry, but can I ask you a question?" He asked as he tried to hide the excitement in his voice.
"Sure."
"Are you Star Ray from the Avengers?" I gave him a small smile, and in my normal voice, I replied with a yes. All of a sudden the whole classroom erupted into whispers. I wasn't too surprised by their reactions to my presence here. I mean, how many "superheroes" do you know sitting in your classroom getting ready to take a test. It's not a common sight, and it would do me no good to be rude about it either. Sure I didn't like the staring, but it's to be expected. It's like being in line with a celebrity, of course, you're going to stare at them. You only see them in movies, or interviews not standing right in front of you. I'm just glad no one is freaking out right now because I'm not too sure how I'm supposed to handle that.
Finally, we heard a slamming sound at the front of the room. At the front of the class stood a middle-aged white woman with wrinkles around her eyes, and a permanent frown on her face. She wore a white button-up shirt with black pants and a black jacket. Her hair was put up in a tight bun, and she wore glasses that reminded me of a librarian. The only makeup she had on was a bright red lipstick. She stood behind the teachers desk with our exams piled high in front of here. She looked around the room before saying, "Quiet down this is an exam, not a social gathering to gossip about the latest events in your sad little lives."
She moved to stand in front of the desk before she started speaking again in a harsh tone. "Today you will be taking the exam which will determine if you qualify to enter the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy of Operations. This exam has three parts with subcategories in each of them. Approximately 2 hours is allotted for the first two exam segments and 45 minutes are given for the skills portion otherwise known as the hands-on portion of the exam. For the skills test, you will all be individually called out of this room to perform any set of skills we ask you to do. You will go in order by your last names, and given that there are 50 of you in here today it will take some time. There are 9 other proctors here today that will assist me so 10 of you will be called on at a time. After each part or phase of the exam, once everyone is done, you will be given a five-minute break, and when you finish with your skills test you may leave. Your 5-minute breaks should be used carefully since there are no bathroom or snack breaks during the exam. If you leave during the exam, you automatically fail, and there are no do-overs."
"You are allowed to have one #2 pencil and a water bottle without any wrapping on it. If I see anyone cheating, talking, eating, or rummaging through their bags I assure you they will be thrown out in seconds with no chance of setting their eyes on the Academy. Do I make myself clear?" She asked, and everyone in the room gave a yes ma'am in return. "Good, now I will warn you that this test is designed to wheedle out the weak from the strong. You must score with a minimum of 85 on the first two segments and a 100 on the final segment to enter the academy. If you score with even one point lower than what I just said, that means you still failed. Goodbye, go home, and don't come back. We do not have the time to coddle every failure that walks in through those doors. Let's begin."
The next couple of hours were hell for me. Between everyone staring at me during break time and this stupid exam, I was fed up. I thought the stares would stop the moment the exam started, but they only intensified. I also heard some of them talking about me a few times. A few of them were saying that it wasn't fair that I was here and others were wondering if I would even pass the exam at all. They kept mentioning how embarrassing it would be if I failed or how I'm cheating because I'm a superhero, so of course, I'll pass regardless if I get a good grade or not. No one attempted to speak to me since this morning, either they were too nervous or too upset to come near me. I didn't mind of course because it gave me more time to focus on my exam.
Speaking about the exam three people were kicked out, and one just got up and left, it was crazy! Ten minutes into the test and this kid gets up and leaves the classroom with his stuff. The Proctor doesn't even blink an eye as she collects his exam papers. Then the next two people got thrown out at the 30 min mark for cheating and the last one… well, I have no clue what happened to her, but she was sent out of the classroom in tears. I mean it was bad, just terrible. Although I was only slightly better than them.
I started getting so nervous during the exam by the end of the first segment, I nearly tore my hair off. Oddly enough during the second portion of the exam that dealt with scenarios, I was a bit calmer. I guess because I already had my fair share of traumatic events that I knew exactly what to do in some situations, or I at least knew what type of mind frame I needed to be in to make plans. I was actually the first one finished with that part of the exam, and I felt reasonably confident about it.
Now, however, I was about ready to call it quits. It was finally my turn for the skills portion of the exam, and I had the same proctor from my first exam. I was escorted into a room that reminded me of the Hunger Games, where the tributes went to show off their skills to the game makers. I was only instructed to stand there until my proctor indicated that I could start. I'm not sure when that will happen considering she hasn't looked up from her clipboard once since I arrived, but I guess I can't complain. Even if it was increasing my anxiety…
"Alright, Miss Rodriguez." She said, finally looking up at me, "I am aware of your current situation, but do not think for even one second that it will somehow give you an automatic pass on the exams. I don't care that you have battled an alien invasion, stopped a bomb, or some mutated freak. I have little care that you are an Avenger or the youngest one at that. If anything that means you have no room for mistakes and you should be better than everyone else here. If you aren't, then I will be deeply disappointed."
"Then you do care," I stated calmly. I don't know what possessed me to antagonize this woman, but I need to stop before she fails me.
"Excuse me?" she inquired, and I must really want a death sentence because I didn't even hesitate to speak up again.
"You said and I quote 'do not care that you have battled an alien invasion, stopped a bomb, or some mutated freak. I have little care that you are an Avenger or the youngest one at that.' but one second later you put even more pressure on me because I am an Avenger and I did all of those things. In the end, you do care about it." I explained.
"Are you talking back to me, Miss Rodriguez?"
"Yes… I kind of have to since you wanted me to elaborate on what I meant earlier." I responded, "Am I being a bit of a smart mouth? Maybe but that wasn't my intention."
"Then what was your intention?"
"To make sure you treat me the exact same way you treat anyone else." I clarify before I continue, "I'm no different from any other person here today. I might pass, I might not. I'm trying to get into school and make something of myself with the little preparation I gave myself. I'm not here to be treated above or below the people. I'm on the same level they're at."
There was a moment of silence as the woman in front of me scrutinized me before she made a note on her clipboard. Crap I just failed didn't I? Clint is going to get mad at me…. I promised to behave too. I never used to be this brave before I don't know what's wrong with me. At least I'm keeping the panic off of my face, so that's a plus I think.
It has been one week since the exams, and I'm finally getting the results today. I've been going crazy ever since I took the exam. The only good thing is that Clint still doesn't know about my little outburst, but he'll find out soon enough once he figures out that I failed. I hope I pass this stupid exam.
It was around 3 in the afternoon, so that meant the mailman has most likely passed through. I decide it's time to face the moment of truth as I get ready to leave my apartment. I have a P.O. box instead of a normal mailbox since I live in an apartment complex and not a house. Although it has been a dream of mine to have a mailbox of my own one day. I know it's a stupid dream, but I just like the thought that maybe one day I'll have one too.
I finally arrived at the local post office, and I went straight to my P.O. box. I open it up, and I see a large envelope inside. I grab it without even opening it, lock the box, and start my treck back home. It doesn't take long, and soon I'm back at my apartment. I walk inside and go straight into my room to sit down on my bed. I hold the letter in my lap as if that would make the whole situation better, but in reality, it's doing the exact opposite.
"Whatever…" I open the envelope, and I pull out a huge stack of papers. Ignoring the front page which told me nothing important I turn to the second page…. I dump the stack of papers on the bed and I pull out my phone. I click a name and put it up to my ear and wait.
"Hey kid, what's up."
"I passed!"
Hey guys, I hope y'all liked the new chapter. I wanted to give all of you a sneak peak into my next chapter and whats to follow. Clint, Natasha, and maybe Steve will appear in the next chapter. Also the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will make an appearance in at least one chapter. That's it for now bye guys!