Ethan Ashmark's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Ethan walked into the registrar's office three weeks before applications opened, ready to ask about entrance requirements. He needed to know exactly what the Academy wanted so he could give it to them. The clerk barely looked up before pulling a file with his name already written across the top. He froze. The clerk flipped it open and turned it toward him without a word. Inside was an intake form dated two months ago, complete with a tuition schedule and payment plan. His name was spelled correctly. His birth date was right. At the bottom of the page, someone had written "sponsored" in neat script beside an ornate red ledger entry marked "paid in full." Ethan's hands went cold. He had never filled out this form. He had never asked anyone for help. Someone had decided he was going to the Academy before he'd even decided to apply, and now he owed them something he couldn't name.