The sun was already up and the birds in the town was making loud songs like they were too happy for no reason. The streets was filled with people walking and cleaning and talking about only one thing. The exam. It was almost here. The big one. The one that every student waits for since they was kids. The day when they get to show their powers and be chosen by a Captain. Or, if they are super powerful, they can choose the Captain they want instead. Everyone was nervous and everyone was excited. But Coker, he was feeling like he want to disappear into the ground and sleep there for maybe ten years. He walk slowly through the crowd, holding his small bag with nothing really inside. Just some bread Lira gave him and a piece of chalk he sometimes use to write on wall when he's bored. People was staring at him like always. Some was whispering again. "That's the boy without magic," one man said and laughed. A lady beside him said, "How will he even take exam? They should just send him to farm or guard post." Coker pretend not to hear them but his ears was hot and he feel weird inside his chest. He pass by a group of students from his class. One of them made a fireball in his hand and said, "Watch this, I can make it float now." Another girl showed a small wind magic that made her hair float up. Everyone clap and smile. Coker kept walking. When he got near the training ground, he saw Lira standing there waiting for him. She always do that. Every morning. Even when it rains. Lira smiled when she saw him and waved big like her arm was going to fall off. Coker walked faster. When he reach her, she said, "I knew you'd come here even if you pretend you don't care." He gave her a small smile and look at the training field. "Everyone's getting better," he said, "I'm still the same. Useless." Lira hit him lightly with her book. "You're not useless. You just haven't start yet. Maybe your magic is slow to wake up. Maybe it's special. You ever think of that?" He look at her and wanted to believe. Just a little. "Even if I had magic, it would probably be the magic of sleeping," he joke. She laugh and push him. "That's not even a real magic," she said, "But you'd still make it cool somehow." They sit together and watched the others train. Kaien showed up not long after, throwing fireballs in the air and making loud noises like a dragon. "Get ready to lose tomorrow," he shouted at the students. Then he saw Coker and his smile changed. "Ohhh look, the powerless boy came to watch real magic again. Maybe you'll get a new job after the exam. Maybe as a broom boy." Some students laugh but Lira stood up. "Leave him alone," she said. Kaien rolled his eyes. "Why do you always protect him? He doesn't even have magic. He's a waste of space." But Lira didn't say anything more. She just held Coker's arm and walked away with him. Coker didn't say thank you. He was too used to being saved. Too tired of it. When he got home, the house was empty like always. His brother Reko was training with the wind Captain these days. Their parents room still had their things. He didn't enter there anymore. He sat on his small bed and looked at the wall. His shadow was there on the ground, still and quiet. He remember what happened in the demon land. That huge black thing. The shadow with red eyes. The way it entered his own shadow. It felt like a dream but also like it really happened. He had fainted and woke up later in his own bed. He didn't tell anyone. Not even Lira. What if they didn't believe him? What if they think he was crazy? Or worse, what if the shadow is still inside him right now? He didn't feel different. Not yet. He got up and went outside. The streets was decorated with flags. The Exam Flags. Bright colors for each type of magic. Red for fire. Blue for water. White for wind. Brown for earth. Yellow for light. People was selling food and wearing magic-themed clothes. Children played by shooting small magic sparks in the air. But Coker just walk through them like a ghost. He saw Kaien again showing off in front of girls. Some kids was saying who they want to choose if they get power. "I want the fire Captain," one boy said, "He can burn a whole mountain." Another girl said, "The light Captain is cooler. He's fast and shiny." Coker never got to choose. Everyone already decided he would fail. But deep inside, he felt like something was changing. Something inside his shadow. That night, he couldn't sleep. He sat by the window and looked at the moon. He felt cold even with his blanket. The shadow on his wall looked longer than before. Like it was breathing. But when he blinked, it was normal again. "What are you?" he whispered to it. It didn't answer. But somewhere deep inside, it was listening.
