In a classroom...

"Anyma..." A voice called once. 

"Anyma..." The voice called a second time.

"ANYMA!" A loud bang followed the final call. The girl's eyelids flung open as she jumped in her chair. The loud noise rang in her ears as she took hold of her lesson book, hiding her still-sleepy face behind its white pages. The teacher-a tall woman with white, pale skin- rolled her eyes as she walked past the girl. " As I was saying..."

The girl sighed in relief, silently deposing her textbook on the cracked desk, her head diving after it. The teacher continued her lecture, then suddenly stopped and called out the girl. Anyma's heart skipped a beat. Her name resonated in the room, and she could feel many pairs of eyes on her. Mocking, spiteful, indifferent, there were all of sorts.

She walked as calmly as she could. Under her black blouse, she was shaking uncontrollably. A few more steps, and she stood in front of the class, just beside the teacher. "We will be using her blood to demonstrate how mana flows."

One student lifted her hand, "Then why use someone with no magic?" 

Anyma lowered her head, her short, spiky, blond hair falling over her eyes at the word magicless. A painful thorn that will never go away. 

"That is the point," the teacher answered, her long, obsidian hair swaying in her back as her hand landed on the girl's head. "Blood without magic behaves differently from one filled with magic."

 The teacher then pricked her finger with a needle before pricking Anyma. The red droplets fell into translucent recipients. "At first, there are no differences, which is perfectly normal." The teacher explained. "But, as you know, the difference does not reside in the appearance but in its content."

"Observe closely." On her pricked finger, the teacher formed a rainbow-colored droplet. "When mana enters in contact with an object filled with mana..." The rainbow droplet fell on the blood she carefully placed in the recipient, splattering without mixing with her blood. "It repels it. Of course, only if the mana contained in the object is equal or about equal to the mana entering into contact with it."

"As you know, the different blood types affect mana differently. Let's take a case where someone has a positive blood type. Can someone tell me what would happen?" The teacher waited, but no one raised their hand to answer. She sighed, shaking her head, "You know this knowledge is useful in a battle. Besides, no one knows who or how many people will be chosen in this year's selection."

One student raised their hands. She had medium-long, light-pink hair. Her pupils were an icy blue. She wore a black coat over her uniform. She stood up and answered, "In this case, the positive blood and the extern mana would repel each other." 

"Good, Bianca." The teacher commanded. "What if the blood type is negative?"

"We have two situations here: First, the blood would be absorbed if the mana attacking it is potent. Secondly, nothing would happen."

The teacher nodded and waved her hand to the girl, indicating her to sit. "You got the first one right. The second case is not entirely wrong, but let me correct it. In that case, if the mana is larger than the amount of blood, it will absorb it. And if the mana is lower, the two will remain in suspension, no repel or mix."

"There is a third case, which is why I called this sleepy head here." The teacher added, tilting her head toward the slightly tanned girl. "She has something known as empty blood type. I will drop another bead of mana. I want all of you to write how you will understand." 

The teacher formed another rainbow-colored droplet and let it fall, this time on Anyma's blood. Upon touching, the shiny bead dissolved into the blood. "Class dismissed." The teacher announced right after. "Miss Anyma, I will have a word with you later."

***
A few hours later, after the course. Anyma walked back to her apartment with a plastic bag in her hand. A few people were walking alongside her. They were part of the small percentage of people unable to fly. Or they wanted to enjoy a walk.

Anyma was a peculiar and unlucky case. Out of the billions of women on the planet, she alone did not have mana, meaning magic was not an option for her. The people of her town were kind enough to her, but this only applied to adults. Kids and teenagers were not so kind. 

Anyma was 'the black sheep' sticking out like a sore thumb. She was always alone, and nobody would approach her. As a child, nobody approached her. And if not for her teacher, she would have been alone till her death.

"Oh, I forgot the bandages." She said to herself, palming her face. "Gotta hope the pharmacy isn't closed!" 

***
Two hours later, she arrived in front of the building where she lived. The gray, almost crumbling walls always comforted her. She pushed the door and slid in. "Hey there, youngling." The concierge, a fifty-year-old lady, greeted the girl.

"Hey, ma'am." Anyma greeted back in a tired tone. "How was your today?"

The concierge, who sat behind her desk, waved her hand. "Same as usual; boringly calm. How about yours?"

"Same as always, too noisy."

The old lady giggled, "Well, the ceremony is later this week. Maybe you'll get lucky!"

"Right, the ceremony." Anyma giggled as well. "Honestly, I have no faith I'll be selected."

"Don't be pessimistic before the results." The old lady added, trying to cheer the girl up.

"Heh, alright." Anyma giggled again. "Is Chiyo here?"

The concierge nodded, "She just arrived. Should be under the shower."

The girl nodded and went up the stairs.