Bumpy plane rides would normally put a damper on a teenage boy's mood. But not today.
I'm on my way to Domino City, where the exams to enter Duel Academy are to be held. After my Dad passed away, he left me two things: A plane ticket to Domino City, and a deck of Duel Monster Cards. I've been specifically instructed not to look through the deck, and I obey. It's foolish, seeing that I should be planning strategies with my new deck, but I wouldn't go against my father's will.
“Do you need anything?” a flight attendant asks.
“No, I'm fine,” I reply. She sees the duel disk on my arm, and laughs.
“You're on your way to Duel Academy's exams, aren't you?” she asks.
“Huh?” I moan. “Oh, yes I am.”
“Mind if I see your deck?” she asks. I nod, handing her the stack of cards. She flips through it, nodding as she examines the cards. Her eyes widen, and she folds the deck back into a neat pile.
“I've never even looked at the deck, personally,” I explain. “My Dad passed away last week, and his last gift to me was that deck and a plane ticket to Domino City.”
She giggles a little bit. “I know why Jesse asked you not to look at the cards.”
“But—”
She walks away before I can ask how she knows my Father's name.
I doze off for the rest of the flight. When I step onto the hot cement of Domino City, I realize how different this place is from up North. The buildings are tall and made of glass, rather than low to the ground and wooden. Certainly more luxurious that I'm used to.
I walk through the streets of Domino City, duel disk still on my arm. The rustle and bustle of this city is almost as much as I can stand: people on cell phones, running into me, swearing every time someone touches them. Lovely.
I arrive at the testing area, where I find two women wearing dark blue jackets sitting behind a desk. They flip through papers, quickly signing each one to get to the next document as fast as possible. One lifts her head to look at me, resting her hand as she pulls out a blank document.
“Name, please?” she asks.
“Jason Anderson,” I report.
“Deck please.” I hand her my deck, and she checks for any forbidden cards. She examines the cards, and gasps slightly. “Hey, look at this!”
The other woman looks through the cards as well, and her eyes widen. “How did you...?”
“Do you think he's...?”
“He must be! His last name is the same and everything!”
One of the women clears her throat professionally. “Well, Mr. Anderson, your number is 26. Good luck!”
I enter the dome, and see the most beautiful sight a duelist could see: namely, duels everywhere around me. I see Insect monsters, Beast monsters, Machine monsters, and even Thunder monsters on all sides, and I'm more eager than ever to see what's in my deck.
“Number 24, Adam Princeton!” the loudspeaker blares. A duelist with coal black hair steps into a ring, and begins a duel. I sit in the stadium seats, enjoying some of the duels. When Number 25 is announced, a small girl with dark blue hair sits down.
“You tested yet?” she asks.
“No, not yet,” I say. “But I'm next.”
“What's in your deck?” she asks.
“Don't know,” I reply. Before she can ask, Number 26 is called to the arena. “I guess we're both about to find out.”