2 weeks later, Caramel was outside, waiting for the school carriage to come pick her up. She was finally ready to go to BPA, and the Ninja Twins were sending her off, even though Negakid complained thoroughly about being dragged out of bed so early.

"Be careful when you walk outside and off-campus," Ninjakid nagged Caramel as she was slipping her backpack on her shoulders.

"Yes, Ninjakid," Caramel said dismissively, zipping up her roller bag.

"And don't talk to any strangers unless they talk to you first!" Ninjakid added. "And if they ask you to go somewhere alone with them, ignore them and walk away!"

"YES, Ninjakid," Caramel repeated, a little annoyed now.

"And remember to wash behind your ears!" Ninjakid added yet again.

"Ninjakid, I'm not a filly anymore!" Caramel laughed, standing up straight. "I'll be okay, really."

"You'd better not drop out, you hear?" Negakid grumbled. "We got 80k hanging on this, and we expect you to pay us back in full. If you don't get that job, I'll walk to the city and MAKE you, capiche?"

Caramel only smiled at Nega's seemingly threatening warning. It was just their way of saying they hoped she succeeded and how they believed in her. "Thanks, Negakid," she said, giving them a hug. Negakid snorted with annoyance, but hugged back nonetheless.

Just then, the carriage drew up, drawn by two lovely black horses. Caramel gave one last look at her guardians, then climbed aboard, setting her luggage beside her. "I'll write to you guys!" she promised.

"Once a week. Send pictures," Ninjakid demanded.

"Oh, fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine,"

Th carriage pulled off, and Caramel stuck her head out the window, waving goodbye to the Ninja Twins until they were tiny dots in the horizon. Sitting back in her seat, she took out a pamphlet that had come with the envelope Yogi had given her two weeks back. She opened it up and read all about the classes and the campus. Before long, she found herself deeply immersed in the world of BPS. She was nervous about what was to come, no doubt, but also excited, ready to start fresh. It was the beginning of something amazing.

***

3 days later, the carriage dropped Caramel off at the front gate of Black Plasma Academy. She had dressed into her uniform beforehand, and was now dressed in a black skirt with a gray collared shirt that had the BPS logo on it, along with a blue coat and white knee socks that had black Mary Jane shoes to go with them. Not the most stylish outfit, but better than nothing.

When she first entered the entrance courtyard, she saw no one. Confused, she walked farther in. Unexpectedly, she ran headfirst into some sort of invisible force. "OW! What the--?"

Caramel took a second look. There was some sort of bubble covering the school. As she thought about how she was going to get in, a small window in the force field opened up and a scanner-like device popped out, scanning her.

With that, a second dispenser popped out of another window, offering Caramel a card with all of her personal information on it. "This must be my student ID," she thought, taking the card. As she did, a card-shaped slot appeared.

Caramel obeyed, and all the slots were absorbed back into the force field. Then, a human-shaped arch opened up in front of her. Assuming she was finally allowed to pass through, Caramel walked into the dome.

Inside, she saw all of the other students. The girls were dressed up in the same uniform. The boys were dressed in a similar one, except they wore black dress pants and shoes, and wore white ties, in contrast to the girls' white collar ribbon. The professors were at the front of the large crowd.

Caramel looked for Yogibo, and sure enough, she was there, standing next to a boy with black hair and deep blue eyes. "He almost looks my age..." Caramel thought with awe.

"Welcome to Black Plasma Academy," another professor with brown hair and eyes spoke up. "I am Pixel Awesome, and I'm one of the professors lucky enough to be teaching you! As you know, a majority of the Obsidian Patron Guild teaches the school. However, you'd be surprised to hear that many of us are your age, showing that BPS has no limits when it comes to creativity! In a few months, one of the BPS workers themselves will show up and select a lucky few for internship at the BPS office!"

Many students whooped and cheered when they heard about the internship. Caramel, however, was surprised to hear the news before. The professors were their age? Maybe there was a chance for her to get a good spot after all.

"Furthermore," Awesome continued. "The freshmen students will be required to pass an entrance exam before entering the school and beginning classes."

"When do they start?" asked a student from the back. Awesome turned to face the speaker, a crafty smile on his face.

"Now!" he shouted, suddenly disappearing from sight, along with the other professors and older students, leaving the freshmen alone in the dome. Caramel was alarmed and confused. What was going on?

"In order to begin animating adventures," Awesome's voice boomed from an unknown source. "You must know how to get through the said situation yourself. And since the possibilities are endless, so is the challenge you may face in order to get in the school today!"

Caramel was frozen with fear and shock. She was more unprepared for the exam than she thought!

The dome flickered, changing shape and scene as the other freshmen watched, some with fear, some with excitement, some with no expression at all. Caramel privately prayed it would be something easy, like a puzzle.

However, her prayer was not enough, as a huge giant formed. It looked like a Steve, but the pants were pulled too high up, and the eyes were far apart. It looked almost...derpy.

"Scatter!" screamed one of the freshmen students. Caramel was in no place to argue at first, and quickly tried to get clear of the rampaging derp-giant, but several other students shoved and jostled her, each one only concerned about saving themselves. Finally, one student whacked her head with a flailing hand, knocking her off her feet.

"Ghhhhh..." Caramel struggled to remain conscious. He tried to get to her feet, but then heard a shout of pain. She couldn't help but look back to see who had done so. To her horror, she saw a boy about her age with black hair and brown eyes, his leg stuck underneath a broken log. The giant, though with no ill intention, was stomping his way and was sure to crush him!

Caramel thought fast. There was no way she would be able to lift that huge log, even if she managed to get to him in time. She needed another way. She made some quick mental calculations: surely the school wouldn't toss freshmen, even freshmen taking an entrance exam, into such a dangerous situation. Perhaps the whole thing was a simulation?

She looked upwards, and saw a small 3D projector fastened to an invisible ceiling. That was it! If she destroyed the projector, the derp giant would be gone. Gathering her courage, Caramel ran for a huge rock embedded in the map. Using both her arms and all her upper body strength, she lifted it into the air, swung it around, and threw it caber-toss style with all her might at the ceiling projector.

In a wobbly arc, the rock flew high up at such a speed, it knocked the projector clean off, dissolving the derp before it could step on the young man. He uncovered his eyes timidly, only to see the monster above was gone. He then dropped his arms completely, turning to stare at his rescuer, who scratched her head nervously, unsure of what to say. "I, uh...you're welcome?"

"Hey!" one of the freshmen students shouted from safe behind a hedge. "That girl over there just knocked out the simulation!"

"Uh...yes, I did," Caramel admitted, hoping she didn't look like too much of a big shot. Still, it was nice to get some praise outside of the Ninja Twins for once.

"You moron!" snapped the same student, stomping out of the hedge to confront her. "How are we supposed to pass now?! We'd like to get into the academy too, Miss Selfish!"

"Me? Selfish? What about the rest of you?! That guy needed help, and you just left him!" Caramel countered, suddenly made angry by this unexpected accusation.

"Well, I don't see you walking over to help him NOW!" the student shot back, pointing at the log were he was stuck, where a bunch of kids were helping him out of the log now. Caramel could not have picked the time to argue worse.

A bunch of other kids came over to Caramel to shout at her too. She had NOT made the best first impression, and that was really weighing down on her confidence.

"What's your problem?!"

"How are we supposed to administer now?!"

"You jerk! You don't deserve to go to BPA!"

"They ought to kick you out now!"

"What's all this commotion?!" demanded Awesome, stamping outside of a spectator's box. He didn't look pleased at all.

"I--" Caramel started, but a crowd of other freshmen interrupted her, complaining to the professor and pelting her with accusations.

"What is WITH you guys?!" snapped the boy from earlier, the only one in her defense. "She was just trying to help me! A lot more help than YOU guys were, she was!"

"She ruined our entrance exam!"

"SILENCE!" barked Awesome, quieting the freshmen in an instant. "Don't worry about the entrance exam. We'll just fix the projector and make another simulation for you to pass. Miss Charlatte, if you would come with me?"

Caramel ducked her head and gulped, but followed the professor. Was that really it? At the cost of one person, was she really going to lose her place in the school, as well as her chances at the job at BPS?