Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

"Next stop, Northern Seventh District, Payin City." Inside the swaying carriage, Hexia and Clara watched the lights streaking by outside, followed by the sound of steel gears clashing under their feet. About half a minute later, accompanied by a familiar screeching of brakes, the underground train came to a stop at the platform. Steam dispersed, the doors slid open, and one by one, passengers walked out, stepping onto the iron floor painted with red rust-proof paint, heading towards the dimly lit exit. Listening to the sound of water flowing through the pipes overhead and the occasional roar from a large machinery factory in the distance, both quickly found that familiar sensation from their past. To outsiders, it may look like a complicated and tangled web of pathways and staircases, but they moved through them with ease, quickly finding the direction to their home. "Suddenly realized there's a benefit to being underground," Clara said as she stepped on the steel stairs, something occurring to her. "What benefit?" Hexia asked from behind. "It's not too cold, it's quite warm underground, and the temperature is relatively even throughout the year," Clara advanced a few quick steps and easily leaped up, then landed steadily on the middle platform. "Northern cities above ground are awful in winter; you have to change into all different kinds of warm clothes before going out," she continued, and then the two approached an elevator. The conversation dwindled because the elevator was quite crowded. Most were people returning from other places; the industrial elevator, which could hold over forty individuals without feeling cramped, had plenty of space as it was designed to transport or elevate tanks. Compared with the bustling South First District, buildings in Payin City always gave off a sense of industry and steel. The local residents mostly worked in the factories, some just getting off their shift, taking the elevator down to the residential levels. "How did you do on the exam?" A father and son stood together inside the elevator; the child appeared to be of middle school age. "Not bad, an average of 50 points in each subject," the boy replied with confidence. "Hmph, what's the use of just talking about elective courses? What about the main subjects?" The father, with stubble on his face, smacked the back of his son's head. "Literature 102, Mathematics 97, Aijieka Theory... Aijieka Theory 80," the boy's voice involuntarily quieted when it came to this subject. With a full score of 150 for the three main subjects and 80 for the other five elective subjects, totaling 850 points, such grades made the boy stand out in Payin City. He was probably within the top 10% of his grade, which was why he was quite confident. "The most critical subject is the one you fell short on...," the father wanted to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to scold his son. After all, he was just an ordinary worker; his child's results were already pretty good. "Which Academy are you planning to apply to next year?" the father inquired again. "Just the Delong Academy in Northern Seventh District. They mainly train large machinery mechanics; my cousin said this job pays well." The son shared with his father the times during the holidays when his cousin took him to the big city in Northern First District. His cousin worked in a construction company and often interacted with maintenance mechanics. "That's not bad, Delong Academy, huh? Research it well when we get home; you only have half a year left, don't falter when it counts." After that, the father shared some of his past experiences and wisdom, hoping his son could avoid making the same mistakes. Although Hexia and Clara were quite far from the father and son, the elevator was quite silent at that moment, so their conversation could be heard by most people inside. Occasionally, someone would kindly give the kid advice on interviewing techniques for school applications. "Time really flies," Hexia and Clara whispered to each other. "Yeah, back then we were also..." Clara nodded, then something came to mind. "Delong Academy ranks 39th in Northern Seventh District, which is quite good. I remember Hex... Sia applied to Irene Academy, ranked 21st, right?" Clara's voice changed when she mentioned the girl's name, turning it into Sia, as Hexia's name had become too well-known. "Everyone thought you were a shoo-in because, with your grades, you could actually apply to a top-ten Academy," Clara recounted the situation at that time. "Back then, I wanted to play it safe, and besides, there were not many medical-related Academies in Northern Seventh District. Irene Academy was the best there, otherwise, I had to go to Academies in other districts." Generally, northern cities were industrial, and the leading Academies were mostly related to industry. "What about you, Clara? You always kept quiet about which Academy you applied to," the girl asked curiously. "Ah... ha... ha, well..." Clara seemed to evade the question. "Alright, it's in the past now, so I can talk about it." "I applied to the famous Muse Academy in South First District, which specializes in training idols and stars," Clara said with some regret. "I remember that Academy has very high requirements. Aside from the six major Academies, it's in that level," Hexia reminisced a bit. "Although there aren't strict limitations on theoretical grades, they have quite a few requirements regarding a student's appearance, physique, musical foundation, talents, personality, and language expression," she added. "Yeah, but I was brave back then and went for it," Clara mocked her own dream-chasing mindset at that time. "And then I got a harsh reality check there." "Every girl I saw applying was beautiful, many arrived in luxury cars, some were even already famous child stars. They had many additional skills. Standing there, I felt just like an ugly duckling." "Later, knowing full well I wouldn't pass, I treated it like a sightseeing trip and spent a few days playing in South First District. I even thought about getting a signed photo of Prin Coco from an older student I knew from the internet."