Chronicles of the Elemental Guardians

Chapter Two: Charlotte

After History, I try to talk to Mike but he seems distracted. He just says "I'll see you at practice." We have an after school tradition where I go to book club then watch the end of his fencing practice. I nod and start to head to my 6th period class. 6th period passes quickly. It feels like seconds. I was to busy thinking about History class to listen to what the teacher was saying. What was Mike talking about how I was "frozen and unresponsive"? I don't remember any of that. The bell rings and I gather up my stuff and head out the door. Kids run down the hall, trying to get out of school as fast as they can. I saw the girls that were annoying me earlier as I was walking down the hall on my way to my book club in room 1013. I stay as far away from them as possible but then they spot me and head in my direction. I try my best to ignore them but they corner me in a corner of the hallway. "Oh look, it's Mike's girlfriend," one says. I don't look at them. "I'm not his girlfriend." I say under my breath. "Oh really? Hmmm, well you like talking to him enough to stop history a million times," another says, who was in our history class. They all laugh and start walking toward me more. Just then a voice comes from behind them. "Now now ladies, let's give the girl some space," the voice says. They all turn and look at him and then rush away in a hurry. The voice turns out to belong to Jayden Smith, a sophomore that's in Mike's fencing team. I've always liked Jayden, he was very nice, and super cute. He walked toward me and smiled. "Hello there. You're Charlotte right? Mike's friend?" he asked. I blushed, "Y-yeah. That's me.""Sorry about those girls. Where are you heading too?" he said as we started to walk down the hallway. "The book club in 1013. Then fencing practice to watch Mike. I only get to watch the end though," I answer. He smiles at me, "I'm headed to fencing now." I smile back at him. Jayden's smile can make anyone smile. "Maybe I'll see you later?" I ask. He takes my hand and kisses the top of it and winks. "See you later darlin'," he said as he walked away and out the building. I stood there for a while. Jayden Smith, the nicest, cutest kid in school just called me darlin'. After a minute I snapped out of it and continued walking to room 1013. Once I got there, there were about 20 people there already, including my friend Rose. Me and Rose weren't close friends but we would talk to each other once in a while. I went and took a seat by her. About 35 minutes later it was almost time to leave. We didn't really do anything fun, just went over the books we were going to read. I've already read most of them but it'll still be fun. Me and Rose just said "Hi" to each other in the beginning of class but didn't speak the rest of the time. 5 minutes later the teacher said that book club was over and I walked out of the classroom faster than ever before. I couldn't wait to see Jayden again. I rushed to the fencing arena to find the fencing team there. I waved to Mike, who just gave a little wave and then went back to talking to the team. Jayden was there too and he gave me a wave too. I smiled and went and sat on the bleachers, watching. Mike is busy organizing the last of the newbies into pairs. He then stands in front of Jasper and pulls his helmet down. "On my mark," he calls. "And... GO!" They all start to go through the basic steps of fencing. After a few minutes, he calls for everyone to stop. He pulls his helmet off. "Great job everyone. You can all go sit down. Me and Jasper are going to show you how a professional match would go," he says as he walks to the center of the room. Mike has always been the best at fencing, and has told me all about it. I probably know enough about it to play. But I'm not a sports person. As Mike and Jasper take their positions in the center of the stadium, I see a flash of motion out of the corner of my eye. I turn and see Professor Alistor sitting in the stands, watching Mike. 'That's odd,' I think. But I dismiss it and turn back to the floor of the stadium. Mike and Jasper bow to each other then pull their helmets on. Then they start to fight, swinging so fast their swords are just blurs of silver. I am always amazed by the speed at which they fight. Just then Mike and Jasper lock blades. They struggle for a minute. Then Mike pushes Jasper back with the sword and the next second, he is behind Jasper with his sword next to his neck. My eyes widen. "What on earth?" I say aloud. The whole team starts to clap. Mike shakes his head and looks around. He then lowers his sword. "Good job, Jasper," he says to his second in command. I stand up and start to clamber down the bleachers. As I do, I notice that Professor Alistor is still sitting there, looking thoughtful. I reach the edge of the ring as Mike dismisses the team. I wait until he comes over. "What was that?" I ask in amazement. He frowns. "What was what?" He sounds genuinely confused. I stare at him. "One second you were in front of Jasper then next second you were behind him," I say. He frowns harder. "What?" he says finally. I was about to say something but I was interrupted by Jayden coming over. "Hey Charlotte," he says as he smiles at me. "How was book club?" he asks. I smile at him, forgetting all about what happened just a second ago. "It was fine. You did great out there." I responded. His smile widens. "Thanks darlin'," he says. I blush and look at his face. He has the prettiest eyes, and the most amazing smile. I totally forget that Mike is standing right next to me. Mike steps forward. "Um, what is going on here?" he asks. I blush even harder. "I- uh- nothing," I stammer quickly. "We should get going, Mike." Just then I hear a cough behind me. "Mr Tanaka and Miss Everhart, would you please come to my office," says Professor Alistor. We both turn to look at him. "Are we in trouble sir?" I ask him. He shakes his head. "I simply wish to speak to you and Mr Tanaka," he says as he turns to the door. "Be at my office in 5 minutes," he says over his shoulder. Mike turns to me. "What is that about?" he asks. I shrug. "Let's go find out," I respond as Mike climbs over the wall of the ring and grabs his backpack. We both start to walk out of the stadium. "Bye Jayden!" I call to him. He waves. After we exit the stadium, I turn to Mike. "Can you tell me how you did that?" I ask him. He looks at me sideways. "Did what?" he asks back. My mouth drops. "How you moved so fast that I couldn't see you move?" I ask indignantly. He frowns again. "What are you talking about?" he asks, his face full of confusion. I stare at him for a long moment as we walk towards the Administration Building. As we enter the building I say, "When you were fighting Jasper, you were in front of him. Then you pushed him back with your blade and suddenly you were behind him with your sword at his neck. How did you do that?" He somehow looks even more confused. "I didn't do anything," he says slowly. "Is there something wrong with you Mike? How do you not remember?" I ask, still staring at him. His eyebrows draw together. "Listen, I don't know what you think you saw, but I didn't do anything. I just stepped behind him. That is it," he says as he turns and starts to march up the stairs. I stay quiet and follow him quickly up the stairs. We reach a door that reads "Alistor Moon." Mike reaches out and knocks briskly on the door. Almost immediately, we hear Professor Alistor. "Come in," he calls. Mike opens the door and steps inside. I follow him without a word. Professor Alistor is sitting behind his desk, reading a letter. Every other surface in the room is covered with strange artifacts, ancient weapons, or old papyrus maps. He looks up as we walk in. "Please, have a seat," he says, gesturing at two chairs in front of his desk. I look at Mike then sit in one of the chairs. He sits in the other one. After a moment of silence, I work up the courage to ask a question. "Sir, why are we here?" I ask. Professor Alistor considers my question. "I have been watching the two of you today," he begins. "You two both have special qualities that would make you perfect for a different school. I brought you here so I could give you recommendation letters to give to your parents. If they agree, you will immediately transfer to this new school." We both stare at him. "What?" Mike finally says. "You mean... just leave? And give up everything we have worked so hard to get?" Alistor nods. "Yes," he says simply. I stare at Alistor in shock and disbelief. "What is this new school," I ask, careful to keep my voice blank. "It is a school for those who have special... qualities," he explains. "At this school, you will be taught how to use these special qualities. I can not explain more until you accept the recommendation." He pulls out two folded letters. "Take these home and read them with your parents. I await your answers tomorrow," he says as he stands up. "That will be all."" I hesitate before standing up. Just the thought made me feel sick. Moving schools? Maybe it's for the better. I mean Mike will be with me so it won't be too bad. Mike stands up suddenly, grabs his backpack and the letter then walks briskly out of the room. I stand up and grab my backpack and then take the letter. "Thank you," I said to Alistor as I walked out of the room quickly. I walk after Mike and call his name. "Mike! Wait up!" He stops at the top of the stairs but doesn't answer. I catch up to him and turn toward him. "Why did you leave so suddenly?" I asked. He stares down the stairs for a moment before answering. "I don't know," he starts. "I don't want to leave Ravenmoor, but... I feel like my mom will want me to. I don't want to give up everything I have here." I look at him with sad eyes. "Maybe it's for the best. Maybe all we need is a fresh start," I say. Mike looks at her with somewhat angry eyes. "Maybe I don't want a fresh start," he says. "I'm happy here. I have everything I could ever ask for. Friends, sports, family. If I leave... it means no more of that." For some reason what he said made me mad. "Well maybe I want a fresh start! You do have everything. Fame and popularity! You've never been bullied! You don't know what it's like to be an outcast!" I almost yell. "If you leave you will be missed! If I leave no one will even notice! So maybe you can stay here and keep your amazing life! I'm going! I can't stay here!" I realize what I have just said. Mike stares at me for a minute. Then he looks away and starts to walk down the stairs. I watch him and then sit on the floor and start to cry. 'Why did I say that? I'm so freaking stupid'. I sat on the floor for a minute before I heard a voice above me. "Darlin' whats wrong?" he asks. I look up, it's Jayden. I stand up quickly and wipe my tears. "O-oh nothing. I'm fine." I say. To my surprise he takes me in his arms and hugs me tightly. I freeze, I can't move. He lets go of me after a minute and takes my hand and pulls me down the stairs. "Come on, let's go find something to make you feel better." he says. We walked down the stairs and out of the building. As soon as we exit the building I asked, "Why are you still here? I thought you were going to leave after practice." He smiles at me, "I was waiting for you by the gate. When you didn't show up I came to find you.""Oh," I say. "Have you seen Mike by chance?" I ask. He shakes his head. "No, sorry." I frown. He holds my hand tighter. Jayden lives in one of the houses by my apartment so we walk to our houses. We don't really talk that much but he held my hand the whole time. Once we get to my apartment I say, "Ok, this is where we say goodbye." I smile and looked at him. "Goodbye Darlin'," he says and then he kisses me on the forehead and walks off. I turn around and walk into the building and to the elevator. I press the up button and wait. The elevator door opens and I walked in. I turned around and pressed the button to go up to Mike's floor. The doors close and the elevator goes up. Once I reach his floor I step out and almost run to his door. I knock on the door quickly. After a few seconds the door opens to reveal Ada. "Hey Charlotte," she says quietly. "What can I do for you?""Hey Ada, is Mike here?" I ask. Ada hesitates. "Yes," she says slowly. "But... he's kind of... preoccupied at the moment." From the apartment comes a noise I recognize well. It is the noise of Mike slamming his fists into the punching bag he has hung up in his room. I peek into the apartment and then look at Ada. "I'm sorry," I say as I push past her and walk quickly into Mike's room. I reach his room and see him punching his punching bag. I lean against the door frame. "Anger issues much?" Mike whirls around, breathing heavily. "What are you doing here?" He asks, not unkindly, just bluntly. "Checking on you. What's wrong? You only really use that when something is wrong." I say at I gesture to the punching bag. Mike turns away. "Just blowing off steam," he says quietly. He slams his fist into the bag hard enough to shake the support in the roof. He points to his desk where the letter sits open. "Have you read it yet?" He asks. I take my backpack off and take the letter out. "No, I haven't yet," I respond, "Have you?" He nods. "Apparently, this school is for kids all over the world who have 'special qualities'." He puts air quotes around the last words. "What do you mean 'special qualities'?" I ask. He turns back around and starts to unwrap the tape around his hands. "I have no clue," he says. "That's all it says in the letter. The only other things that came with it are a permission slip and a packing list.""That's weird," I say while walking over to take a seat on his bed. "Well......are you going to go?" Mike sighs. He tosses the tape into a trash can and flops down onto the bed. "I don't know," he admits. "I don't want to leave, but I feel like... I dunno. I feel like I could do more if I go to this new school." He sits up. "My mom said it is up to me to decide," he says. "What about you?" "Well, I haven't talked to my parents yet but I really want to go," I say as I lay down. "I want to escape this place, this life. I just want to.....go. I want to leave. Because I know there is nothing for me here." He looks over at me. "What about your family?" He asks. "You would just leave them?" I roll over so I'm not facing him. "My family won't really care. It's better if I leave anyways. I need to give my parents some space t-they...... they aren't doing too well." I say, quieting down on that last part. "Are they still fighting?" Mike asks softly. I nod my head and turn more away. "Mike... I don't know what to do. I just wish we were a happy family. I don't want it to be this way," I say, trying to hold back tears. "Hey." Mike wraps his arms around me, not in a romantic way, but more like a brother. "It'll be ok," he soothes. "No matter what happens, it will be ok." I stay silent for a minute before saying, "But what if it won't be ok? What if it doesn't end up well and our whole family gets split up. What if........" I trail off. I don't know what to say after that. "If that happens, me and Ada will be here for you," he says. I don't say anything. We just sit in silence for a while. After a little bit I push his arms off and stand up. "I probably need to go. I don't want to, but my mom might be wondering where I am. And I need to check on her." I pick up my backpack and then turn back toward him. "I'll see you later I guess." Then I turn and walk out of his room and quickly out of the apartment. I wasn't actually going home. I was going to go to a tree that I like to hang out in when I'm sad. It's by a hiking trail by my house. I walk quickly to the elevator and press the down button. As soon as it opens I walk in and press the button for the bottom floor. It seems like I was in the elevator forever. The elevator door opens and I rush out of the apartment building as quickly as possible. As soon as I'm out I slow down to a walking pace and start walking down the trail. It takes about 15 minutes to walk to the tree so while I'm walking I take out a book that I've been reading and start to read it. I've read this book before, but it's one of my favorites. The walk feels faster than usual but maybe it's because I was distracted. Once I get to the tree I put my book back in my backpack and set my backpack down. The tree is very easy to climb and I've been climbing on it since I was little. I climb up to my usual sitting spot and sit there, listening to the birds and the wind, the peacefulness. It's nice being alone for once. It's nice just having time to yourself. My thoughts kept going on how nice things were out here until I slowly fell asleep. My peaceful slumber is interrupted by a voice. "What are you doing up there?" the voice asks. I wake up with a start and almost fall out of the tree. "Woah!" I yell. Then I look down to see Professor Alistor standing there, looking up at me. I look at him confused. "Oh, hi. What are you doing here?" I ask while climbing out of the tree. He gestures around. "Going for a walk," he says. "Why are you here?" I landed on the ground heavily. "Oh um... just chilling I guess. Thinking about.......things." He looks at me for a moment. "Have you made your decision about the new school yet?" he asks. I hesitate before answering. "Well um... I really want to go but I haven't talked to my parents about it yet," I tell him. He considers this. "What about Mr Tanaka? Has he decided?" he asks. I look away. "Well Mike.... he's.... he's a little hesitant about it," I say. "I'm trying to convince him to come, I really am but Mike can be a little...... stubborn." Alistor shakes his head. "Just like his father," he grumbles under his breath. I look at him quickly. "What did you say?" I ask. Alistor looks up sharply. "What?" he asks. "I didn't say anything.""Uh huh. Well anyways, I was wondering...what did the letter mean by saying 'kids with special qualities'?" I ask him. He frowns at me for a long moment, thinking. "I can't tell you much," he says finally. "But I can tell you this. It is a school for those who are... different from normal people. Some might even say it's for special people. I have been watching you and Mr Tanaka for quite some time and I have never seen more suitable candidates. You should seize this opportunity." I look at him confused. "You have been.... watching us?" I ask slowly. Alistor nods. "For about... oh, 2 or 3 years or so," he replies. "You two have shown more promise than any of my previous pupils." My eyes widen. "2 or 3 years?! What the heck!" I say loudly. "That's really weird." He shrugs. "My fellow professors have been watching candidates for centuries. Why would we change our ways now?" he shoots back at me. "I- uh- what the....." I say, not really comprehending what's happening. "You- uh.... What is this school really about? I want to know. Because it sure doesn't sound like a normal school." He shakes his head adamantly. "If I told you the truth now, you would never believe me and you would not accept the invitation. But I can tell you this. Invitations to the school are very, very rare. You two would be the 3rd and 4th chosen in the past 10 years. Do not waste your opportunity." He turns and starts to walk away. I don't say anything and I just watch him walk off. I stood there for about 5 minutes thinking about everything he just said. Then I turn around and climb back up the tree. I lay there looking up at the sky. The sun is setting now and it's getting dark. "I should probably get back home," I say quietly to myself. But after a minute I was fast asleep. 

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