Chronicles of the Elemental Guardians

Chapter One: Mike

I wake up on a misty Monday morning. Sunlight is streaming through a gap in my curtains. I groan and roll over to look at the clock. It is 6:30 AM. I groan again and cover my face with a pillow. Just then my mom, Ada, knocks on my bedroom door. "Mike? Mike it's time to wake up," she calls through the door. I sigh. "Do I have to?" I ask, my voice muffled by the pillow. I can hear the eye roll in her voice. "Yes, Mike. It's the first day of school, you don't want to be late." "Fiiiiiine," I say as I roll out of bed onto the floor. I lay there for a minute, soaking in the sunlight. Then I push myself up and start rummaging around my closet for clean clothes. I pull on my school fencing team shirt and a pair of jeans. I then pull my dad's old aviator jacket on and grab my backpack before opening my door and walking down the hall to the small kitchen. My mom is making breakfast. "Morning Mom," I say as I sit down at the table. "What's for breakfast?" My mom turns around with a plate of pancakes. "I made some blueberry pancakes for the first day of school," she says spiritedly. I grin. Blueberry pancakes are my favorite. I grab a fork and knife as I pour syrup on the pancakes. I cut the pancakes up and start to dig in. As I eat, there is a knock on the door. "Coming!" my mom calls as she wipes her hands then heads to the door. I lean over to look as she opens it, revealing a brown haired, green eyed girl I know very well. "Hi Lottie!" I call as I wave. She rolls her eyes at me and smiles at my mom. "Good morning Ada. How are you doing?" she asks. My mom smiles. She loves Charlotte. "I'm doing well. Would you like to come in?" Charlotte shakes her head. "No thank you," she says politely. "I was just seeing if Mike was ready to go." I scarf down the rest of my food and stand up. "Yeah I'm ready," I say as I scoop up my backpack and head towards the door. I hug my mom on the way out. "I'll see you later," I say to her. She waves. "Have a good first day," she calls as we walk down the hall towards the elevator. I press the button to call the elevator and we wait as the numbers slowly climb. "Are you excited for your first day?" I ask Lottie, who's real name is Charlotte. She nods excitedly. "I'm super excited. I can't wait for my art class. It will be so fun." I laugh at her enthusiasm. "I'm excited for Robotics and Fencing. Hopefully some of you freshmen will be decent at it," I joke. Lottie rolls her eyes and sticks out her tongue. Just then the elevator arrives with a ding. The doors slide open and we step inside. Lottie presses the ground floor button and we start to descend. I pull my schedule out of my backpack. "Do we have any classes together?" I ask as I run a finger down the paper. She pulls hers out and holds it up next to mine. "Looks like we have History together," she says. "That's good." I nod. As I tuck my schedule away, I ask "Do you have any after school activities?" She thinks for a minute. "I have book club," she responds. "That's it though." I laugh. "Classic Lottie," I say. She shoves me lightly. "What about you?" she asks. I bow with a flourish. "Team captain of the fencing team for the 3nd year in a row, at your service," I say. She laughs. "You ready to whip the newbies into shape?" she asks, jokingly. I nod. "I hope some of them have some skill already," I say, remembering last year. The kids last year were awful at fencing when I first arrived in 8th grade. As soon as I showed promise, the coach made me captain. A few months later, our school's team was known far and wide. Just then the elevator reaches the bottom and the doors slide open. We step out and walk through the lobby, waving at the building's superintendent. We push through the doors into crisp September air and start to walk down the road. As we walk, we see a few people we know. One of my friends from fencing, Jasper, walks over and throws an arm around my shoulders. "Morning Mike," he says. I nod back at him. "Morning Jasper," I say. "Ready to get your butt whipped in fencing this afternoon?" He laughs. "We'll see," he promises, then he walks away towards his truck. A few minutes later we round a corner and there is the school. Ravenmoor High School. Ravenmoor is a five-year school. Eighth grade to 12th grade. It's a headache sometimes. But it's really fun. As we pass through the gate, I turn to Charlotte. "I'll see you later?" I ask. She nods. "Of course." We both turn and head to our first period classes. My first three classes pass in a blur. Since it is the first day, we don't do very much. My fourth period Robotics class is more exciting. We are starting off by constructing the basics of our robot projects. "Can you hand me the needle nose pliers?" I ask the girl I'm working with. She grabs them and hands them to me. I slowly adjust the sensors of our robot. I grab one of the arms and start to attach it at the base of the arm. When I finish, I grab the controller and manipulate the levers. The arm jerks a bit but doesn't move. "What do you think is wrong?" I ask Brynn, my partner. She frowns at the robot. "Maybe the servo motors aren't strong enough?" she suggests. I swiftly disconnect the motors and examine them. "I think you might be right," I say. "Can you hand me a more powerful motor?" She rummages around in the box and hands me another motor. I attach the new motor to the arm and toggle the controller. This time, the arm moves properly. "Let's go," I exclaim as I attach the other arm. Then Brynn and I lift up the cover and spend the rest of class attaching the complicated piece. By the time we head to lunch, I'm starving. I get lunch from the counter then sit down at a table to wait for Charlotte. She shows up a few minutes later, followed by some girls who are poking at her and laughing. I can see Charlotte is close to tears. I stand up and walk around the table to stand next to her. "Is there a problem girls?" I ask in a calm voice. All the girls look away and blush. "N-no," one of them stammers. I nod. "That's what I thought. Now get going," I tell them. They all back up and quickly walk away. I turn to Charlotte. "Are you ok?" I ask in a concerned voice. She looks up at me with tears in eyes, "Do I look ok to you?" she says in a harsh tone. She pulls her jeans up to her knee to reveal a large scrape. "Does this look ok to you?!" she says, even harsher. My mouth drops open. I point to the girls that are still watching us from the corner of the cafeteria. "D-did they do this to you?" I say, my mouth still open wide. A tear drips down her face, "They shoved me onto the floor, and then laughed at me. Once I got up they followed me all the way here." Another tear drips slowly down her face. I close my mouth and look at her. "Don't worry..." I wipe the tear off her face. "I'll take care of them." She looks up at me. "Don't hurt them," she says. I glare in the direction of the girls. "No promises," I say in a dangerous voice. "Mike, you know that's not the right thing. I don't want you getting in trouble." I glare at them for a moment longer then look away. "Let's just eat so we can go to History," I say as I take a small bite. Charlotte looks at the plate of food in front of her. "I'm not that hungry. I don't feel like eating right now." I look at her. "You should eat. We still have a while left till school is over. And we have our after school stuff.""I can survive," she says. I shrug and take another bite. "Suit yourself," I say. I look up at her. "How were your classes?" I ask, trying to break the silence. She looks down, fidgeting with her hands. "They were fine I guess." I pick up on the tone of her voice. "What happened?" She continues to look down. "Nothing. Don't worry about it." I reach across the table and touch her hand. "Charlotte, what happened?" I ask. I only use her real name when it is serious. She looks up at me and pushes my hand away. "Don't worry about it!" she almost yells, looking at the girls again. I pull my hand back like I've been burned. "Geez, I'm sorry," I say as I go back to eating. She looks back at me. "Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled." I look up and grin charmingly at her. "Don't worry about it," I say. With any other girl, that would have caused them to nearly pass out. Lottie just rolls her eyes and goes back to fidgeting with her hands. "When will you learn that not every girl is in love with you?" she says, still looking down at her hands. I laugh. "When I find one who doesn't." She smiles up at me and gestures to herself. "Well you found one." I roll my eyes. "You don't count. We are basically family," I explain. She rolls her eyes back. "Well I'm guessing that there's at least one girl here who doesn't like you." I smile at her. "Well.." I look around. "I'm pretty sure every girl in this room likes me." She rolls her eyes again. "How do you know?" "Look." I say. She watches me. A group of girls walk by our table and I turn to look at them. They turn to look at me and I smile charmingly at them. "Hey girls." I say. They all look at each other and blush and then look back at me. "H-hey Mike." they all say at the same time. They quickly walk away chattering to themselves. I turn back around. Charlotte looks at me with a disgusted look on her face. "You're disgusting." She goes back to fidgeting with her hands. I laugh. "You made me do it," I remind her. She looks back up at me. "Nuh uh! I just said that not all the girls here are in love with you! And not all of them are!" I raise an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure about that?" I ask. "Yes!" I throw my hands up in the air. "You're not that cool!" I say teasingly. I pucker my lips. "I'm pretty sure any girl in here would want me," I tease back. She rolls her eyes. "Self-absorbed much?" I shake my head. "Nope, just stating facts," I reply. She smiles, trying to hide it. "Fake facts," she says. I laugh again as the bell rings. Charlotte sighs heavily. I stand up and toss my trash into the can. Then I offer a hand to Lottie. "Ready for History?" I ask. She takes my hand and stands up. "Not really but I don't really have a choice." We start to walk out of the cafeteria. "Ah don't worry, it'll be fun." I drop my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I heard from some of the juniors that the teacher is crazy. On Renaissance Day, he comes in a full costume and challenges people to duels. It's awesome." She looks at me. "But it's history. History is not awesome. I mean I may love reading but not about history." I laugh. "Oh Lottie, what am I going to do with you?" "You're going to stop calling me that first of all," she says, shoving me lightly. Ever since we were little, me and Charlotte have been best friends. When I was young I started calling her Lottie and she loved it. Now she hates it. She thinks it's dumb and embarrassing. "No can do. You're going to be Lottie for the rest of your life," I say with a little laugh. She rolls her eyes and shoves me again. By now we have reached the History classroom. I hold open the door. "After you," I say with a small bow. She rolls her eyes and walks through the door. I walk in after her and look around. There is a large map on one of the walls. Spread out on shelves and tables are tons of knives, swords, broken pottery shards, ax heads, arrow heads, anything history related you can think of. In the corner is a mannequin dressed in full medieval knight armor, holding a sword. "Woah," I breathe as I look around. Charlotte's eyes were fixed on the knives and swords. "Wow," she said. I grin. "Still think history is boring?" I ask as we walk to a pair of desks and sit down, dropping our backpacks next to us. She was still looking at the swords and knives. "Those look very sharp." I laugh. "Probably," I say. I am about to say more when the teacher walks in. Well, more correctly, limps in. The teacher is an old man with a grizzled beard. He has a large staff topped with a beautiful crystal. He has scars running down his face and the back of his hands. As soon as he walks in, everyone goes silent. The teacher surveys the room and his eyes land on me and Lottie. I get the distinct feeling he is reading my entire life. He then looks away and walks to his desk. "Good morning class," he says, his voice cracking the silence in the room. Charlotte leans over and whispers in my ear. "He looks like a wizard." I stifle a laugh. "Shh..." I whisper back. The teacher turns towards us. "Mr Tanaka and Miss Everhart, do you have something to share?" He asks. I shake my head. "No sir," I respond meekly. He nods. "I thought not," he says and turns back to the whiteboard and starts to write. He turns back around and points to the board. "My name is Professor Alistor," he says. "I am your teacher for the time being. Now please pull out a notebook and write down these notes." He starts to write on the board again. I look towards Lottie and whisper "What do you think he meant by 'the time being?'" She shrugs. "It sounds like he will leave eventually," she whispers back. Professor Alistor turns back around to face us. "Mr. Tanaka and Miss. Everhart that is the second time. Do I need to separate you two?" he asked. "No!" Charlotte says loudly and then quiets down. "No sir." He turns back around and continues to write. I turn back to the board and start to write down the notes. The notes are all about ancient myths about elemental powers. I raise my hand. "Sir?" I ask. Professor Alistor sighs and turns to me. "Yes?" he asks. I point to the board. "Why are we learning about myths in history class? Shouldn't we be studying history?" I ask. Alistor looks at me for a minute before answering. "These myths are more important than you realize, Michael Tanaka," he responds. My eyes widen. Not very many people know my full name. "I- uh- yes sir," I say. Charlotte looks at me, her eyes almost as wide as mine. I look at her and shrug slightly then continue to write. I don't let her see how rattled I am inside. She turns and also continues to write. Then the kid sitting behind me flicks my head. "Ooooo, Michael Tanaka." he says teasingly. I turn around to look at him. "Hey pal, I suggest you knock it off," I say. "Unless you want to end up with a black eye." Charlotte looks at me, her eyes wide. "Mike!" she hisses. I turn around and start to write harder. She continues to stare at me. I look at her. "What?" I whisper snap. "I've never seen you act like that before," she says, her eyes still wide. I turn back towards the board. In a shaking voice I say "Nobody has called me by my full name since my dad disappeared. It brings back memories." She turns back to writing. "I'm sorry," she says in a quiet voice. I sigh. "No, I'm sorry for getting angry," I say quietly. She doesn't answer and continues to write. Alistor turns around and claps his hands together. "Now, can anyone tell me the four main elements from these myths?" He asks. I raise my hand. "Yes, Mike?" He says. I put my hand down. "Fire, water, earth, and wind," I say. He nods. "These four elements controlled the most important parts of the universe." I look at Charlotte. She's not writing anymore and she's zoned out looking at her paper. I reach over and touch her hand. "You ok?" I ask quietly. She continues to stare at her paper and doesn't answer. I tap her again. "Hello? Earth to Lottie, anybody home?" I ask again. It looks like she's frozen, she doesn't move a muscle. I gently slap her face. "Lottie?" I ask, concern starting to slip into my voice. She flinches but continues to stare at her paper. I look at her paper then back at her. "What is going on?" I ask. She looks at me and then back at the paper but doesn't answer. "Lottie please answer me," I say, the concern plain in my voice. Then she just snaps out of it. Like nothing happened. "Hey Mike. What's up?" she says. My eyebrows shoot up. "What do you mean?" I ask. "You were just staring at your paper, completely frozen and unresponsive." She looks at me, confused. "What? No I wasn't." she says. Just then a shadow falls over our desk. "Mr Tanaka and Miss Everhart. What is so important that you keep interrupting my lesson?" Alistor asks coldly. I look up at him. "Nothing sir," I reply. He stares at me for a moment. "This is your last chance," he says and returns to the board. Charlotte looks back at the board, still with a confused look on her face. From then on, we work in silence for the rest of the class.

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