After Mister Mob had announced the rankings, Astra and Iggy were escorted by the academy’s staff to a waiting area off to the side. The boy was still quite dizzy from all the excitement that just occurred. The way the crowd roared and thundered, how bright the lights above rained down on him as if the stars themselves were celebrating his triumph… it was such a strange feeling, foreign, and yet also surged in his heart a thrill unlike any of his previous adventures. Here before all these people, Astra truly shone bright.

  He wasn’t the only one, of course. Nine other new students claimed the rankings ahead of his humble tenth place. His mischievous friend, Iggy, took the ninth spot thanks to her bombastic wheelchair—as for the others Astra had yet to meet most of them, save for a few familiar faces he had encountered during some of the trials. The goat-like girl with wild frizzy hair and crazy eyes from the Ruins of Lockjaw was here, and so too was the coral-dressed miss who summoned bubbles of water against the lava of Mount Pariah. Astra even saw the Scorpio boy lurking in a shaded spot of the stadium, out of sight.

  Sadly he didn’t see his Taurus friend, Bova, amongst the rankings. Neither was the blonde-haired boy who, although not entirely confirmed, Astra recognized as the one who saved him back during the Constellar Rain. He was likely first place, and yet not a trace of him could be spotted amongst the small gathering—it was odd. Maybe he didn’t like being in public.

  Beside his savior, there were all kinds of interestingly dressed people. Astra wanted to introduce himself since they’d soon become his fellow classmates, but unfortunately most didn’t seem to be in the mood for conversation. They kept to themselves and stared with cautious glares at anyone who tried to approach. The only casual one amongst them was a certain girl with fluffy pink hair and an elegant, albeit snooty, air. That girl locked eyes with Astra, and she excitedly jumped up, waving, before daintily running over and smothering the boy in a big hug.

  “Oh! Dearest Astra! It is so very good to see you again,” she said as he succumbed to his new, wooly environment. “Of course being the perceptive little lady that my esteemed father often so compliments, I never had a doubt that my first and bestest friend would pass, but how delightful that you should join me in the illustriously fabled ‘top ten’. If only my butlers and maids were here! They would set for us a charming little teatime picnic to celebrate.”

  Astra giggled and patted Colette’s head, which she reacted by leaning in closer with an adorable smile. “I’m glad to see you too, Colette! It was a bit lonely at the beginning since I couldn’t find you, but I knew we’d see each other again at the finish line, so I did my best and stayed strong just like my dad and mom would. I even made a new friend!”

  Astra broke away from her and then rushed to a reluctant Iggy’s side, who had been watching the two interact with an oddly blank expression, as if her mind was struggling to comprehend how a rural countryboy and an esteemed princess could possibly know each other, much less be friends.

  The boy rolled Iggy over while she was still frozen and introduced her with a confident ‘Tadah!’. Colette seemed a bit shy at first, but eventually she gathered the courage to step up and then grace the wheel-bound girl with a polite curtsy. “How do you do? Please forgive me if my dress is ruffled. My esteemed father would always say, a lady is only as proper as her appearance, but dear me all those peculiar trials certainly left little opportunity to groom my wool! Ah, where are my manners? My name is Lamboclette Woolington S. Ariestocrat, or just ‘Colette’ to my friends, and any friend of Astra is mine as well. Of course only if you accept! Consent is quite important, or so my maids would claim.”

  Iggy stared perplexed at Colette for a long while. Then she slowly turned toward Astra, besetting him with an accusatory glare.

  “You said you were a farm boy, dude!” she said, leering. “How the heck are you acquainted with one of the bourgeois of all folks?”

  Colette tilted her head, confused. “You must be confused. I am not a bourgeois, but rather a royal la magnifique. My esteemed father says our estate’s wealth is worth more than the middle class will ever see in their lifetime. Of course I mean no insult to the hardworking misters and misses, for it is very respectable that they should labor so intensely for the sake of amassing, though improbable and very much unlikely, riches capable of changing their mundane reality.”

  Iggy recoiled in horror, her hands extending in an effort to block her view of the intensely noble Colette. “Holy crud, I heard like three different insults hidden in there and I don’t think you even realize it. How the heck do you get away with saying that stuff with such a cute face?”

  Colette blushed and hid her cheeks in her hair, oblivious of the freckled-faced girl’s subtle jab. “Oh dear, that is quite the bold language for our first meeting, calling me… me… cute. But I’ve been told such is common in the speakings of the gentry, and as such it would be most improper of me not to return the compliment! New dear friend, you are most charming.”

  “What—huh? I… that’s not… ugh, I give up. Fine. I guess you don’t seem that bad, even if you are one of those spoiled princesses.”

  “Quite true, for I am a princess and was quite doted on by my lovely butlers and maids, but such is why I now embark on a journey away from their fussy hands, that these new and wonderful experiences will help me graduate from a little lady to a respected little lady.”

  “That’s great and all, but maybe you should tone down the… bougie talk a bit.”

  Colette gracefully raised her hand and covered her mouth, giggling. “It is a work in progress, my new friend. I am not so ignorant as to believe the refined articulation of Ariandale’s ariestocracy to be appropriate for a life at the academy. You, however, speak the brutish tongue so effortlessly fluent! Might I perhaps accost you for a future study session on a later date? Of course I would much love Astra to attend as well. Together, we will sip on sugar drinks and eat pastries by the hillside.”

  Iggy crossed her arms and pondered deep in thought. On one hand, her distaste for the noble class appeared quite ingrained in her morals, but when met with so pure and innocent a girl as Colette—spoiled though she might be—one couldn’t help but find their defenses slowly crumbling.

  “Well, I guess I can make an exception,” Iggy declared, reaching to Colette for a firm handshake. “From now on, you’ll be minion number two!”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “I have never heard of a ‘minion’ before. Whatever is that?”

  Astra spoke up, eager to demonstrate his new knowledge. “It’s, um, like a friend!”

  “A friend? How delightful!”

  Iggy bid her new minion a sly, wicked grin. “You could say that. I’m Iggy, your boss and teacher. Don’t you worry your pretty little head, babe, cause with me by your side I’ll make sure to iron out all that pesky noble-talk in no time!”

  “Hehe, I very much look forward to it, Miss Iggy… Iggy… hm, oh dear. Now that is quite odd. Why does your name stoke a sense of familiarity in me?”

  Colette tapped her feet, absentmindedly twirling in place while diving into her memories, until eventually her eyes lighted up and she began to blurt, “Ah yes, I remember now! My tutors once said that as the princess of Ariandale, it is very much a necessity to know the royals la magnifique of other countries, and as such I spent many an evening under the moonlight studying their names.”

  A dark look soon flashed across Iggy’s face, and she sat straight up, her body leaned forward in a hostile gesture. “What are you getting at?” she asked, voice laced in poison.

  Colette was surprised by her sudden aggression and meekly stumbled back. Astra had to step in between the two and mediate, calming them down, but even after getting Iggy to relent she still seemed a bit guarded.

  “O-oh, I do apologize if I caused offense,” Colette muttered with a pout. “It is just peculiar, your name, for in my study books I recall a Sagittarian girl with a very similar one. But there was never any mention of her being physically crippled—in fact there was scarce information to be gleaned at all! Only that she had ginger hair, and that she was born the daughter of Avalon Co.’s president. Rather than Iggy I believe it was closer to Ish—”

  Iggy propelled her wheelchair forth and slapped her hand right over poor Colette’s lips. “SHHH!” the girl shouted. “Listen here babe, whatever you think you know… you don’t, got that? I’m not that douchebag’s daughter, and I never will be. My real dad’s just a regular ol’ engineer and I’m just a regular girl. Understand?”

  Colette timidly nodded.

  “Good. Then that’s that.”

  Iggy pried her hand off and then rolled away, sulking by herself near the stadium’s corner. The mood was awkward to say the least. Astra had hoped that the two would get along, for who didn’t want their friends to be, well, friends with each other? Unfortunately their first meeting went as bad as it likely could, and even the mild-mannered Colette expressed a clear devastation, hiding her face in her fluffy hair.

  The boy didn’t give up though. The two of them were actually doing quite well at the beginning; it was just the mention of Iggy’s past that caused their relationship to sour. As long as they gave each other a second chance, then maybe it wasn’t too late to make amends.

  With a resolute pump of his fist, Astra strolled over to where Iggy was now brooding. She didn’t feel like looking at him, but nonetheless the boy waited until finally she turned around, irritated, and stared him hard in the eye.

  “What—what?” she said bitterly. “Come on, Astra. Shouldn’t you be on my side? You’re my minion. My number one! I thought after everything we’d been through, you’d at least have my back rather than that stuck-up little princess.”

  Despite her pleas, Astra remained neutral and tried to soothe Iggy to the best of his abilities. “Now I ain’t gonna pry about stuff you don’t wanna talk about. My dad would always say that everyone has a few secrets, and sometimes it’s better to let things be. But Colette doesn’t know that yet. You saw her, didn’t you? She was very sweet and welcoming, and just wanted to be friends with you. She didn’t mean any harm, Iggy, and I think you know that too. Otherwise you would’ve already kicked her butt.”

  The freckle-faced girl grimaced, but didn’t try to refute Astra’s claim. He was getting to her; all the boy needed was one last push.

  Astra crouched down onto his knees, and then he looked up at Iggy with big, pleading eyes. “Please?” he said. “She’s your, um, minion too, and as the big boss don’t you want to make up with her?”

  Iggy stayed quiet for a long time. She tapped her fingers against her wheelchair’s railing and alternated between all kinds of conflicting expressions. Then, after heaving a great hefty sigh, she wheeled around and slowly rolled back to where a disheartened Colette had curled herself up into a wool ball.

  “So, uh, long time no see,” Iggy muttered, nervously rubbing her neck. “Listen, I might’ve been a bit harsh. Sorry about that. I’m not really used to talking with dainty kids like you, and honestly was I even that bad? Sure, I might’ve been kind of loud, but—”

  Astra gave her a disproving glare.

  “—but I guess I should get to the point. Okay, oof. I can do this. It’s simple, real easy and everything. Just have to say it all at once.”

  Iggy gritted her teeth hard, resisting the urge to run away, and then she apologized. “Sorry. I’m… sorry for yelling at you. I don’t like talking about stuff back home, so when you mentioned it I just shut down and lashed out. That was pretty dumb of me. So, I’m sorry, and I hope you’re still willing to be my minion. Only if you’re okay with it, of course.”

  Colette didn’t respond at first, her body hidden under her giant poofy hair, but after a moment of rustling her cheeks poked out, and she stared bashfully at the repentant Iggy.

  “No, no, please do not shoulder all the burden alone, for it is my fault as well and these ever-so glib lips,” she said. “It is a most egregious habit of mine, not ‘reading the room’ or so my tutors would call it. Just because I am in the midst of learning does not excuse any slights I unintentionally spout, so I must return your apology with one of my own. Do forgive me, dear Iggy, and should it be no trouble I hope to become great friends with you, as well as this supposed ‘minion’ you speak of.”

  The two of them shared a laugh, surprised by how simple it was to reconcile. In the end all they needed to do was talk and properly communicate. Astra was truly happy for them, and soon brought the two in for a warm hug, grinning all the while with all his love.

  Sometimes even the closest of people got into fights, like his momma and paw despite how hopelessly in love with each other they were. It was natural. What was important though when conflicts inevitably arrived was speaking honestly about one’s feelings, and being willing to listen. Some folks were just too darn stubborn for their own good; Astra would know! He came from the nation of bulls, after all, but that’s precisely why he knew exactly how to handle these types of situations.

  All’s well that ends well, and thus was it officially formed: a happy party of three. Astra, Iggy, and Colette playfully talked amongst themselves as the timer counting down the exam’s end ever gradually shortened.

  The remaining applicants, though now unable to enter within the top ten, nonetheless pushed on and did their best to cross the finish line. They were all exceedingly rich anyway so it wasn’t as if they needed the scholarship. More important in their minds was the prestige and reputation of becoming an official student of Excelsior Academy.

  Eventually, and with an energetic flare, Mister Mob whipped out his best announcer voice and counted the last few seconds marking the end of the obstacle course, as well as the entrance exam.

  “All together now, folks! THREE… TWO… ONE… and, finished! The academy’s test is NOW OVER! Congratulations to all the talented and lucky kiddos who’ve made it this far! Out of the tens of thousands who came here this day, seeking honor, glory, and the bragging rights of entering the best school in all the cosmos, only eight thousand managed to succeed. Give them a rousing round of applause, everyone! Bravo, children. Bravo!”