"You have got to be joking."
Those were the first words I heard when I walked into Team Four's assigned strategy room, and they came from a tall girl with silver hair pulled back in an elaborate braid. She was staring at me with the expression someone might wear if they'd just stepped in something unpleasant.
"Kiela, maybe we should at least introduce ourselves before we start complaining," said a boy with dark brown skin and sharp features, though he didn't sound particularly enthusiastic about the suggestion.
"Why bother with introductions, Roran?" Kiela shot back, crossing her arms. "We all saw the roster. We all know what we're dealing with here."
I closed the door behind me and tried to keep my face neutral. "Nice to meet you too."
"A one-star commoner," said the third person in the room, a girl with auburn hair and green eyes that were currently looking me up and down. "I'm Nomari Frank, and I'm genuinely confused about how you made it past Round One. No offense."
