Trash: Chapter 149 Failing The Unwinnable Interview (Patreon)

Chapter 149

Failing The Unwinnable Interview

The only condolence I get from taking my first step outside of the University admissions’ grounds is that I know I am free. Even the scent of fresh horse dung from the nearby stables somehow felt freeing after such an intense interview session.

The moment my foot touched dirt, the slightly numbing sensation of the earth being constrained under my feet is gone, and I can finally feel the world around me again. Sensations of feet walking and vibrating on the ground instantly fill my mind. There are the long, elegant feet and strides of Luna, the equally elegant, but a bit more fluid with a side-to-side stride of Lucia. The way Junior all but slaps his feet violently against the ground as if the ground stole money from him, while cursing him out. The seemingly mocking steps of Mr. Zabal, our guide, who looks especially pleased by the way I clearly failed our interview.

Then finally, the odd reverse step being made by Lelia, our newest probationary team member, Lelia who has the lightest natural step of anyone. Now that I have time to fully take in Lelia, a self-proclaimed supply clerk, actually that is not entirely true. She claimed her real role would be as my GSD, though she said she would be a supply clerk if that was what was needed, then she would do more as time went on. Finally having a chance to have my newest Skill, Earth Resonation* dissect Lelia’s movements, I realize that even the way she walks is odd. Most people walk heel to toe, which in Junior’s case causes the giant earth slapping effect due to how violently he brings his feet straight down in an effort to have his toes touch the ground. By contrast Lelia has what could best be described as a toe-to-heel movement, stretching her foot forward and then having the initial impact on her toes first, that then rocks back towards her heel. Never actually resting on her heel while in motion, if walking she just goes to her metatarsal heads. That spot on her foot where her toes connect to the long metatarsals of the foot. Odd how my past life knowledge as a nurse pays off in the most minimal of ways here, not helping me solve anything, but helping me to describe where and how Lelia’s movements are different from other people. Even the sounds that everyone makes are easier to distinguish by their stepping patterns.

Junior is the loudest, partly due to his slapping like step, but also due to the way he doesn’t quite raise his feet high enough to make a graceful step. Next would be Mr. “Glad We Failed” Zabal who looks particularly pleased with how badly our interview process went. Then Lucia being the middle of us, followed by Luna, and then last would-be Lelia. Just thinking about the names, I wonder how so many people with ‘L’ names came into my life and became part of my team. Is it a sign? But before I could get too lost in that thought, Junior is the first of my team to finally break the unnerving silence that they all had fallen under since we entered the admissions building.

“Ahh, finally!” Junior exclaims.

“I know,” Lucia replies in affirmation, also breaking her apparent vow of silence. As they speak, I just see Mr. Zabal chuckle at the apparent upset state that they are all exuding.

“Wait, what?” I asked my eloquent way of trying to understand why my team suddenly feels relieved at our leaving the admissions building.

“We had an unbreakable team quest put on us, where if we would lose one credit per word spoken,” Junior replies, only causing even more questions from his answer.

“Wait, you had a team quest?” I ask.

“Yes, the Teammates Should Be Seen But Not Heard, quest. No reward, other than giving you apparent full marks for having a silent team. But there was a pool of credits that was blinking and all but daring us to speak,” Lucia responds giving a better picture of why they were all quiet. I assumed there was some reason why they were all quiet, though hearing about these credits, I was a bit curious. Realizing I still had a source of information available to me, I turned to Mr. Zabal and asked.

“Question, what are these credits?” The entire team asks.

Mr. Zabal hearing my question pauses and then just smiles before giving me the lightest non-answer answer ever.

“Credits are something that only the commers of this very University, need to deal with and are therefore outside my care,” Mr. Zabal offers before walking away towards what appears to be the stables area. A place instantly recognizable by the apparent smell alone, as horses just go anywhere at any time. “Now, if you all will excuse me, I have actual important people to talk to.”

With that, Mr. Zabal turned and was seemingly glad to be done with us. I don’t know if he had a quest, or if we were allowed to somehow rate and review Mr. Zabal’s actions, but I would definitely give him a one-star review for his efforts if at all possible.

“What a jerk,” Lucia spoke up, being the most vocal of the fighting element of my team. Luna and Lelia both nodded in agreement, apparently letting silence be their weapon of choice. However, I do have to give Junior credit, for he was already angry at the way Mr. Zabal had been treating me earlier, but seeing his apparent dismissal, I could see Junior square up his shoulders, walk forward and then let his crow mouth fly.

“Yeah, well I hope you remain happy, when you get shit faced!” Junior yelled. As he spoke, I could see a violent purple bolt of energy fly from Junior’s lips and slam into Mr. Zabl. Hearing the seemingly nonsensical comment, as I’m pretty sure that getting shit faced is just as much of a euphemism here for getting drunk as it was in my past life, Mr. Zabal smiles back mockingly, before giving a wave over his shoulder, never watching where he was going. This is important, as again horses go anywhere, at any time. Meaning if they were used to pull around a carriage on the road, they would defecate right there on the street, which is how Mr. Zabal first lost his balance by stepping down into a pile of still wet stool. The sudden loss of friction caused Mr. Zabal’s foot to slide forward, causing him to quickly turn and look where he was going, but physics were already in play, as Mr. Zabal spun forward, lost his footing and ultimately ended up face planting on the ground. His fall was almost caught by his hands, but not before his head happened to be cushioned by yet another slightly moist sample of manure.

Silence.

For a moment, we all just stopped and stared at the student who wasn’t looking at where they were going and fell on the road and ended up face-planting into a giant pile of manure. There is a pause as I wonder if he is okay and about to tend to him, but I already see the green light of healing magic erupt from within him and concentrate on his knees and hands, healing any minor damage that he might have suffered from the fall. Realizing that he is safe, well safe enough to apply self-healing practices, I relax a bit and still feel the need to ask, “are you okay?”

Mr. Zabal just stares at us for a moment, but then gets up, a wad of dirt stuck to his face as he shook his hands, trying to free his hands of the horse generated substance. I almost offered to use my Trash Skill on him, to clean him, and help make this somewhat less embarrassing for him. But he just got up, dusted himself off a bit, before quickly turning and heading into what I guess is the nearest restroom area. Seeing his departure, I almost smile, but stop myself.

Once he leaves, the rest of us just look at each other first, then we stop to look at Junior who is still breathing heavily, panting in the way a school kid who finally stood up to the school bully would in the playground. Taking three deep breaths to help calm himself, Junior finally pauses as he feels the pressure of all of our gazes upon him.

“What?” Junior asks, feeling somewhat flustered by the sudden attention.

“That was the coolest thing I have ever seen,” Lucia responds.

“Yes, you just happily jinx cursed him,” Lelia chimed in.

“I’d dare say that was, almost better than your lemon custard,” I add, trying to give the best compliment I can think of at the moment.

Junior who had been basking in the praise, suddenly pauses and just stares at me for a moment, “I thought you didn’t like the way I make the custards?”

Hearing his comment, I pause and try to defuse the situation as much as possible, “I mean, you are no your dad, but you’ve got a chance to be good.”

I reply only to realize that I need something to make this suddenly less awkward, which fortunately is the moment our systems all update with the details of whether we were accepted as a team or not.

Catarine Bloom’s Team Page: (Updated)

Current Team Status: Captain/Healer

Team members:

Attack Members (2/4): Luna Paraisthisi, Lucia Brack

Auxiliary Members (2/2): Junior Acevedo, Lelia Volica* (Probationary)

Current Obligations:

               Pass your Initial Team Interview to establish team cohesion. Status: (Probationary)

Seeing the message, I feel we got what was meant to be a fail, but somehow just got put into a status that means we have more time to actually fail. I look at the message, the same one that apparently everyone receives, but Lucia is the first to put all our thoughts into words.

“What does probationary status even mean?”

***

(Matriarch Florence Livanathan)

Watching the team of eclectic team members leave the room, Matriarch Florence Livanathan paused as she watched the other healers deliberate.

“That team is destined for failure,” Phoebe Amador, the second-in-command of the Healer’s school began. As she spoke, clear disdain could be seen rolling of her as she acted like she had been physically accosted by the student’s combative demeanor.

“I agree, it is clear that the leader doesn’t expect her team to be able to carry the weight, thus why she is multi-tasking,” Christine Convictus, the third-in-command added.

One by one, each of the others gave similar opinions.

“She is far too headstrong.”

“Not a good fit.”

“We should break the team apart and team her up with candidates that truly deserve to be placed with a healer of her potential.”

There it was, the comment that Florence had both expected and instantly knew she would regret hearing. It was the comment of someone who knew that while Unity University claimed to be independent, that independence only went so far as the pocketbook did. Then once that pocketbook ran out of money, that is when they always had to go back to dad, asking for more support and resources. While the others suggested breaking apart the team, it didn’t mean that the contracts would be voided. In fact, it is often far more beneficial for people to be split away from their original healer, and forced to get a class that fits their own personality, versus what is needed for a particular team, at one particular moment in time. Often kids had no clue what they were going to be good at, or better what it was that they truly wanted to do for the rest of their lives.

While it was clear from all the tests, and Class readouts that Catarine herself was a once in a generational talent. That just meant that she needed to be coddled even more, to help her truly reach her potential. A potential that Madame Bloom had once again found in the middle of nowhere. As she mused to herself, the others all deliberated and voted.

“How do we vote for Catarine Bloom being admitted as a healing team leader?” Phoebe asked.

“Approved,” the other three rang out in unison.

“How do we vote for Catarine Bloom’s team to be dissolved and replaced by better candidates?” Phoebe asked the next agenda item.

“Approved,” the other three once again rang out in unison. Seeing that it had gone too far, Florence just shook her head, and finally spoke the first word since this interview process began.

“Disapprove!”

Silence, as everyone stopped to turn to Florence, the department head, and therefor the only one who truly needed to vote in such a matter. Seeing the gazes of every other lead healer facing her, Florence was suddenly reminded of a moment a few dozen years ago now, where she had the same exact look as Phoebe now wore, while she looked on at General Anastasia Bloom, who had used her position to counter the unanimous vote of others. Seeing the disapproving gazes of everyone else upon her, she now felt that she could understand exactly what Anastasia felt all those many nights ago.

“Care to explain your vote?” Phoebe asked, though her ask was more of a commandment at this point.

“Yes, she is—” Florence began, and with each word, she could feel her vice like hold over the flow of the admissions for Unity University slipping through her fingers. Still, she felt this was the one chance to make things right with her former mentor, even if it is done well after the fact.