Chapter 2

2.

“Keep hitting! Don't forget to dodge his hits.” Mimi reminded me.

The troll I was fighting took a whack on my head, causing me to stumble and fall on the hard ground. I grunted and tried to swing my legs around to knock him off his feet. My attempt failed, so I stood back up and tackled him.

His strength exceeded mine, but I didn't let that hinder my chances of killing him. Well, I wouldn't call it “killing”; he wasn't even real.

I managed to sit on top of him and hold my weight against him. He struggled beneath me, nearly knocking me off of him. I reached in my bag for my knife and forced it into his chest. The body dissolved beneath me. I sighed a relief, bracing myself for Mimi's critical comments.

“Good.” she simply stated.

“What? No 'there were so many chances to knock him out' or 'you didn't give all of your strength in the fight'?”

“Good.” she repeated, and left in the house.

This was my seventh day of training, and I was proud of my progress. Each day Mimi makes me fight a troll, and I'm happy with the results. Of course, I return to my dorm room with many scrapes and bruises, but I always manage to destroy my opponent.

I walked away from her house and went back to my building.

As I was unlocking the door to my dorm, I felt the knob turn.

“Hey!” Zoey greeted me, looking relieved, “I was starting to get worried because you �" oh, my God! Your head!”

I felt at my scalp, getting blood on my fingers.

“Oh, yeah. Tough training today, I guess.”

Zoey helped me inside and sat me on the couch while she went into the kitchen to receive a first aid kit.

“It's no big deal, Zo.” I told her.

“No big deal? You look like you have a concussion!” Zoey was always very motherly and took even a tiny scrape as a deep wound.

“Seriously, all I want to do is take a shower and go to bed.”

Zoey, being the impatient person she is, started to treat my wound. I thanked her when she finished and headed towards our bathroom.

I turned the the shower on and stripped my clothing. I really needed a nice hot shower after a long day of battling.

I hopped in the shower and relaxed my tensed muscles.

Unlike ordinary Kalectians who were training how to use their powers, I was training for battle. I didn't know when I would get my power, so I needed to be prepared without it. I sort of envied my fellow classmates who weren't receiving near as much work as I was. Everyday was something different: trolls, goblins, ogres, nymphs �" anything Mimi felt like torturing me with.

I exited the steamy shower, slapped my clothes on, and crawled into bed. I was so tired that I quickly drifted off into a deep sleep.

I was alone and cold.

I looked around, searching for a sign telling me where I was. I chilly breeze whipped me in the face, causing me to shiver. I knew I was in danger.

I grabbed my knife and got into my fighting position, searching for movement.

“You silly girl.” I heard a bone-chilling voice whisper.

“Who's there?” I called out to the empty forest. No answer. I saw a dark, shadowy figure leap into the black sky and disappear.

I gulped and braced myself for the attack I was about to withhold.

My eyes flew open and I sat up in bed. Just a dream. I reminded myself.

I turned to my bedside table and checked my clock. 5:00. I wasn't tired, so I decided to go ahead and get up. I made tea, grabbed a scarffin, and sat in front of our tiny television. It had been forever since I got to sit down and enjoy some TV.

I mindlessly flipped through the channels while biting into my scarffin. I used to hate scarffins. They were a bread-like substance that contained spices found in the forest.

I was sure it wouldn't be long until Zoey woke up; she was such an early bird for everything and it took her forever to do her hair and makeup. My hair was naturally wavy, so I only straightened or curled it every once in a while. I usually never wore makeup because I honestly didn't think I really needed it. I was gifted with good skin by my mother.

I heard a yawn come from Zoey's bed.

“Good morning.” I greeted her.

“You're up? It's six o'clock!”

“Yeah, I had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep.” I informed her. Zoey left to the bathroom to get ready. I began to feel bored from the TV, so I decided to take a walk.

Grabbing my bag, I walked out the door.

I was in a cheerful mood and it was a very pleasant morning. The aroma of roses filled the air, and the dew still settled on blades of grass. While I was admiring the day, I heard a frighting voice.

“Emmaline.” the voice whispered. I stopped abruptly, looking around. My instincts told me to keep walking, so I did. I tried to remain calm.

“Emmaline.” it repeated. I started to walk a little more briskly.

“Emmaline...Emma.” The voice started to increase in volume. I had no weapons, so I was defenseless to this strange voice. As it got louder, I walked faster. I eventually started running until I bumped into a hard surface.

“Ouch, d****t, where are you �" Emma?”

I looked up to see Sam McGrey staring at me, confused. He offered me a hand to help me up.

“Sam? What are you doing out here?” Sam was my friend that I met while I was a Rookie.

“I was just...wait, what are you doing out here running?”

“I... It was nothing. Just getting fresh air.” I said. Sam looked at me, not believing my words. He paused for a moment, thinking.

“Well, I was about to go back to my dorm and get some breakfast. Do you want to come?”

I nodded and followed him into his building.

We entered his room, and I sat down on the couch while he made food.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“No, I just ate.”

He brought his tray of food and sat next to me on the couch.

“So, it looks like training went rough yesterday, eh?” he said, nodding to the gash in my head.

“Yeah... How's your training going?” I asked, although I honestly wouldn't consider it training. He shrugged. “Good, I guess... Fire grouping gets kind of boring if you ask me. I mean, learning it. I just want to go out and fight, you know?”

“Yeah. I have to do that everyday.” I sighed.

“Man, I'm kind of jealous of you, honestly.”

“Don't be. It's horrible.”

“Well, at least you'll be a good fighter when we graduate.” He winked at me.

“So, what exactly were you doing?” I asked, referring to the coincidence outside.

He hesitated before answering. “I... I was getting tea leaves.” I nodded and said nothing, causing an awkward silence between us.

I stood up. “I think I better go. I don't want Mimi to scold me for being late.”

“Alright, well, bye, Emma.” Sam said with a smile. I smiled back and left.

“Are we going to get started, or what?” I impatiently asked Mimi. She remained silent, sipping her suspicious mystery hot drink.

“We'll start after your lunch break. I have something planned for you.” she finally spoke.

I watched the clock in the house, waiting to hear the bell.

“So, how was your day?” Mimi asked me. I raised an eyebrow, confused.

“What did you say?”

“How was your day?”

“Um...good? Why are you asking me this?” I asked. She ignored my question. The lunch bell rang, so I left with a goodbye.

Lunch was normal as always. The food was disgusting, but it was nice to have a chat with some friends.

Zoey was complaining about how she thought it wasn't fair how I got to learn so much about fighting, and all the other's classes composed of textbooks and essays.

“What do you guys even do?” I asked.

“Basically, we just learn about our power and where it came from.” said Sam.

“It's not even fair. I hate Level One. I hear Level Two is where the real stuff happens.” Zoey whined.

“You know, Zoey, I could just teach you stuff.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, if you really want to have some techniques I could show you some.”

“That would be great! Thanks, Em.”

Lunch ended quickly, so I headed back to Mimi's house.

I found Mimi outside talking to someone I was unfamiliar with. As I drew closer, I noticed his incredibly hot looks. He had blonde hair that swept to the side and silverish-white eyes, showing me he was an air user. His tan skin made me look like a wood elf. He was wearing a white shirt with a gray blazer and khaki tight pants. He looked at me, noticing my staring, and smiled, showing two sets of brilliant white teeth. I blushed and turned to Mimi.

“Emma, this is Kyle. Kyle, Emma.” Mimi told me.

“Hi, Emma.” Kyle said. His voice sounded like a chorus of bells.

“Uh, hi.” I sheepishly said.

“Kyle will be joining you in your training.” Mimi informed me.

“What? Why?” I asked, confused.

Kyle looked at Mimi for a sign of what to say. Mimi said nothing.

“I...” he started before Mimi looked at him, showing him not to answer.

“Okay, whatever,” I said, “I'm going to get some water.” I walked in the house and grabbed a cup to fill up with water. Mimi always told me I was welcome to eat or drink whatever she had in the house, not that I wanted to. She had strange foods like mushberry muffins and seaplant stew. I only went to get water to hear if they whispered about me. I knew something was wrong.

“What am I supposed to say? She obviously knows something's up.” Kyle said before being shushed by Mimi.

“I know you're listening, babe.” she called to me.

I sighed and left the house.

“I'm calling training off for the day. You may go back to your dorm.” Mimi said.

“What? You told me you had something planned!”

“I changed my mind.” She smiled and gestured for me to leave. I rolled my eyes and left. The class usually ended around nine o'clock. Judging by the sky, I guessed it was around seven. It wouldn't hurt to go to bed early.

I woke up abruptly to the feeling of cool, bony fingers cover my mouth.