I woke up the next morning to the blaring sound of an alarm. I reached up to stifle a yawn, wincing when my hand hit the still bruised split in my lip. It wasn't until I sat up that the full aftereffects of last night's party fiasco hit me, causing me to groan and place my pounding head into my hands.
"I figured bad-ass Blair could hold her alcohol." Camden smirked as I glared up at her.
"Yeah, I can, just not when I wake up at five in the goddamn morning on a Saturday." I said, lacing my words with a questioning tone.
"I thought we got to sleep in on weekends?" I stood getting dressed
"Yeah, I don't know whats up with this either. The older students seem pretty excited though, half of them are already at the dinning hall." At this I looked around and quickly realized that the majority of the students in the dorm were just confused first years like us.
"Come on, we're gonna be late, maybe they might have a nice greasy hamburger, dripping in saturated fat and marinated in more alcohol." Camden said, smirking as I choked back a gag. I got up and followed her out of the dorm room and through the hallways, watching the rest of the first years from the other houses filing out of their dorms grumbling obscenity and rubbing tired eyes. I lost Camden in the crowd, but wasn't surprised to see a miserable looking Hallie, and smug looking Shelby waiting outside my dorm room for me.
"What are you so smiley about?" I asked Shelby, wincing when a kid nearby yelled something.
"It's just nice to see that I was once again right. I mean, I told you both to slow it down last night. Especially you Hallie, you know your parents don't let you drink, you're not nearly as used to it as Blair." She chastised, smirking at our looks of annoyance.
"Yeah whatever, let's just get to the meeting, I wanna spend my weekend sleeping." Hallie muttered, leading the way to the dinning hall. Once inside we all took a seat at one of the long tables, making sure to sit near the front and next to each other. I picked up a cup of pumpkin juice, grimacing at the dark liquid before setting it down and reaching for some water. Headmaster Gilligan approached the podium that sat by the teachers table with an amused smile.
"I've been asked," He said with a clear of his throat. "By Sargent Boggs to remind everyone that parties and alcohol, are forbidden, as is a number of other things, for a full list please look on Sargent Boggs' door." The old headmaster said with a wink, causing the students to laugh. "Now comes a time that many of the older students have looked forward to. I now address the first years." A mummer of confusion broke out as the first years debated on what he was talking about. Headmaster Gilligan waited for the noise to die down before continuing. "This much like the sorting is a forbidden topic for students outside of the school. Winfield Academy is a prestigious school, and as such we can't let just anyone in." More murmurers broke out around the room and Hallie turned wide eyes to us.
"What is he trying to say?" She asked in shock. Shelby shook her head in confusion and I just met her gaze with equally wide eyes.
"In the next few months you will be put through vigorous testing. We will test your mentality, intelligence, physical strength, and emotional strength. At the end of this year, if you have not passed the testing, you will be permanently discharged from Winfield Academy." His words instantly awoke the half asleep first years, and a cry of outrage rose from the student body.
"That's not fair! We've already missed the age restriction for Salem academy! This is the only other school!" A boy yelled in aggravation. The amusement instantly snapped from Gilligan's eyes.
"You chose this school. We distinctly told you in your letter that this school harbored risks and that not everyone would make it to the end." The boy stood up in anger.
"This is bullshit! When I decided to go to this school I didn't know we would get kicked out for not being good enough!" He looked like he was going to continue arguing but before he could Gilligan roared out.
"ENOUGH!" The headmaster yelled. "You are all acting like brats! This school is about training you for war, and whether you see it or not a war is coming. Now if you're so worried about failing these tests then I suggest that you study your ass' off. Now there is a list outside the dinning hall that will tell you which teacher is your mentor and what time to have training. I want the rest of this meal to be in total silence! Good day." He snapped before leaving the podium and sitting back down. Shelby and Hallie met my eyes, a look of nervousness and anger behind them.