Red say tensely, with his foot shaking nervously because his heel was of the ground. The desk in which Red sat pressed firmly against his rotund frame (which made him more ashamed and nervous). The aptitude exams began at 9 o'clock; it was 8:55. Red was examining (for perhaps the hundredth time) the qualities of his pencil when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Although it was a sweet, gentle touch, Ethelred wheeled suddenly, taking his inquisitor by surprise
"Red," came the quiet voice of Barley, one of the mares in Red's class, "do you have an extra calculator?" Red smiled nervously and fumbled about in his bookbag. Barley was a sweet mare, one of the few girls that Red respected. He eventually found his backup calculator and handed it to Barley, who smiled, thanked Red, and went back to her seat. When she did that, Red flushed. He liked Barley. But she was hot and nice; she probably has guys crawling all over her. Why would she want a useless, technocratic fatass like him, who barely fit in his seat. Red tried to recall who Barley's boyfriend was at that moment: was it Thunder? Grasshopper? He was pretty sure she had broken up with both of them. He couldn't remember.
Suddenly, the exam instructor called the class to order, and the test began. The formal logic and metaphysics questions of the exam felt like a breeze to Red, who was now full of energy after his interaction with Barley. The essays he wrote, he felt, were masterworks of the subject. And the logic questions seemed easier than normal. Eventually, the proctor called for styli to be set down, but not after Red had finished and checked everything.
Then came the physical examination. Red dreaded the physical examination. In practices, he had finished at the 25th percentile in agility, 30th in speed, 20th in stamina, and 80th in strength. He wasn't the slowest on the field, but he was close, and he could feel his jiggling thighs and belly with every step. It was embarrassing for him. And of course, the run came before the power lifting, so Red's legs ached, and he was or of breath by the time power lifting came around.
He did as well as he could have under the circumstances, but he still underperformed compared to good practices. But having bathed and changed quickly, Red began his trudge home before he felt the same touch he had earlier on his shoulder.
"Red," came Barley's voice, "I just wanted to return the Calculator from earlier, thanks for letting me borrow it." Red struggled not to sound like he was still breathing hard before he answered, "No problem." But his breath still sounded a tad forced. Barley heard it and chuckled, "I'm still getting used to the running too, Red; don't beat yourself up over it." Red's ears went back, embarrassed to have been flustered by someone he liked so much.
"Well, this thing doesn't help," he laughed, jokingly proding his stomach, whose love handles and front were clear through his tunic. Barley smiled, "I don't know, you're pretty strong, and the belly makes you seem soft and huggable. It keeps you humble and approachable. It's cute." Red now blushed and snorted quietly, "Oh. Do you wanna go get lunch together sometime?" Red murmured, expecting something to happen. Barley laughed heartily, "Maybe sometime, but as of now, I'm going to the countryside with Wavewalker." Wavewalker! Red thought, that's who Barley's boyfriend was! "Ah, wonderful!" Red replied, "Well, have fun, I'll see you around."
And with that, the two went their separate ways. Red, now that he has recovered his breath, was now hungry and thirsty. Walking back to his dwelling, he thought very little about the exam he had just taken and almost entirely about the girl he had just talked to. Red mused eagerly to himself about what he would say to Barley when mentorship resumed the next day.
When he arrived, Red's mother instantly peppered him with questions about the exam, most of which Red couldn't answer, or didn't want to, so he tried to dodge them, to little avail. Reds father sat quietly and listened to what his son said, not saying much. Red ate his grits with gusto, using ample butter (there was no taboo on drinking breast milk after one had been weaned in Houyhnhnm society, it provided mares a supplemental income), eating two big bowls before his father raised an eyebrow, signaling an end to Red's meal. Reds father sighed, looking at the sad sack of lard his first son was.
Eventually, Red...
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