Steel Waste

"Hey Afton, think you'll pass first time?" Melissa asks as Afton reads a pre-war book detailing how to manage agriculture.

His feet are kicked up onto the desk as his chair leans backwards, lowering the book slightly he gives the girl a blank look, "I will."​ ​

The cute blonde-haired ten-year-old pouts at him, "How are you so sure? It's impossible for a bookworm like you to pass the physical."

"And an air-headed girl like you won't pass the theoretical." he replies with a shrug, he'd never displayed his physical talents to anyone apart from Veronica and Christine before, and due to the fact he was almost always engrossed in learning something, people regarded him as a bookworm or nerd.

"I'll have you know my mom says I'm really smart!"

"Even if you were a simpleton she'd say you'd be the next Einstein... I'm not being mean but that's what parents do." he says, returning his attention back to his book.

Melissa walks up and pushes his book down again, "Just because your smarter than me doesn't mean I'm dumb, and don't call me Einstein again or I'll tell on you." she threatens.

...

"Don't call you Einstein?" he asks in confusion.

She nods, "I don't know what it is but if it came from you then it must be mean!"

...

Afton facepalm while tossing his book onto the table, deciding to leave before he loses more brain cells talking to this girl, they were technically friends but due to the disparity in their intelligence, he felt more like an uncle than anything else.

As much as he made fun of her, she wasn't stupid... Maybe slightly below average? Hopefully, she'd start properly studying instead of whatever else she was doing in her free time.

As he was walking towards the door he was stopped by his other friend, Miles Stanton.

"Er, hey Afton, could you maybe... Help me study? I've been doing my best but I don't think I'll be ready in time." he says with a hopeful expression.

"No." he replies bluntly, he had more important things to do than tutor children.

Miles's enthusiasm seemed to quickly dissipate as he gets rejects, looking down at the floor solemnly as if his only lifeline had been cut. "Ah, sorry for asking I guess..." he says and turns to walk away as Melissa smirks at him.

...

Afton sighs, "You probably won't pass this year, but don't worry about it, most don't until their third try. Just study as much as you can and if you fail then so be it, just know that it isn't the end of the world if you do." he explains before leaving, not being there to notice Miles slumped shoulders loosening slightly.

Only after leaving the room did he realise he'd left his book in there... He wasn't willing to do the walk of shame after leaving so succinctly so he'd have to come by and collect it later.

He started walking back to his room and happen to pass by the medbay as he did so, usually, it'd be empty as they had such a large advantage with Power armour, energy weaponry, and training that it was almost impossible to be injured. But lately, it seemed to be different.

There were a few people being treated for gunshot, and knife wounds. These had been the scouts that'd been silently surveying the region to reports back on the happenings of the Mojave. Fortunately, no one had been killed yet, but gangs, tribes, and other savages seemed to be getting more proactive.

Traps were laid in unexpected places and random ambushes were set for the Brotherhood Scouts, clearly the savages knew their territory better than the Brotherhood did, and they were hunting down scouting parties not just belonging to them, but to the NCR and other tribes.

Afton, aswell as everyone else had no idea about what would be causing this sudden increase in activity. He'd asked his father about it but he just shrugged, not having anymore information than Afton himself had been able to glean.

Due to the attacks on their members the Scout parties had been replaced by proper patrols fitted with Power armour. They lacked numbers so taking risks with each other's lives would be incredibly stupid.

Shaking his head he passed by the medbay, he'd learned the basics in first aid as required of all initiates, but he was nowhere near being able to assist in complicated injuries like bullet wounds. He hoped to learn more in future just in case he finds himself riddled with bullets and nowhere near a doctor.

A week passes and its almost time for the Initiate test, Afton, Miles, Melissa, and a large group of children that he'd not bothered to learn the names of were all standing in the hallway. The first phase of the test would basically work like how a regular school would, you'd be brought into a room and given an hour to complete the written test.

Once that was over they'd be whisked outside onto the surface where an obstacle course had been set up specifically for them. They'd not need to worry about their safety as many patrols of Knights and Paladins had been tasked with keeping them safe, it wouldn't do for the younger generation to be torn to pieces by a Deathclaw after all.

Last but not least was the supplemental test, that would be where you could choose to take a test on more advanced subjects. Doing so didn't achieve anything aside from displaying your talent and potentially being apprenticed like how Veronica had been... Though, she also had some extraneous reasons for being apprenticed so perhaps she wasn't the best person to follow