The Weaponsmaster

Chapter 3

Drea woke up that morning and began that day as usual. She slowly descended the stairs by herself and walked quietly to the kitchen. Jackie hadn’t been around that morning, but Drea really didn’t blame her after yesterday.

She stopped right outside the entrance, hearing conversation drift out towards her. She could hear her mother, father, and sister talking about her, but she really didn’t care for what they were saying. She knew what it’d be about, so she walked in anyway. As soon as she stepped in, it got so quiet that the only sound was the ruffling of their father’s newspaper. She stood there for a second, staring at everyone in turn as they stared at her.  

            It remained quiet as Drea got her breakfast. She set her bag down on the chair and stood to eat her bagel. It was all incredibly awkward as she pretended not to notice everyone stealing looks at her. Every time she looked back at them they’d look around the room to make it seem as though it wasn’t too obvious. She rolled her eyes with a hint of a smile. It was actually kind of funny.

Drea looked at her phone. It was time to leave. She grabbed her bag and headed for the door, looking back without emotion to wait for Jackie. Jackie was still looking a little down, but she didn’t say anything. She only got up, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door. They left quietly. Drea could tell from Jackie’s aura that she was still unhappy about their argument yesterday and the way it all turned out, but she was trying really hard not to show it. Jackie looked up to Drea, so it was hard for her to feel like she’d disappointed her.

            The silence was penetrating and loud as they walked to school. Drea was pretty lost in thought, oblivious to Jackie walking next to her. She was anxious about starting this training; it just couldn’t leave her mind. She didn’t even know when she’d see him or what they’d be doing.

It was strange though how lately she’d even been able to feel other people’s auras with more clarity, especially since he’d arrived. She was able to know where everyone was without getting overwhelmed, and she was still able to recognize who they were. The intentions of people became clear to her as she found the ability to look even deeper into people’s minds. It was as if she’d closed her eyes, but could still see everyone and everything clearly.

Over the years she’d gotten stronger, but just a few days earlier she could only move her mind into only one other person to feel their energy and hear their thoughts. Now she felt this amazing feeling of being inside of everyone’s heads all at once. She’d somehow found the focus to recognize specific thoughts without getting overwhelmed. It was like having eyes and ears everywhere, on everyone, like being omnipresent.

She wondered how this training could teach her more. She was already pretty adept in using her mind, but if that was all she could do, how important could she really be?

            As the two of them approached the main gate and entered the school, Jackie stammered, “Um Drea, about yesterday…”

            “It’s fine Jackie,” said Drea looking down at Jackie with a small smile and kindness in her eyes. “I’ll fix everything today.” She walked off towards the right where the high school was. It took a second, but then Jackie realized what she’d said.

            “Drea!” she yelled, “What did you mean?”

            “Don’t worry about it,” Drea yelled back, waving her hand in the air at her sister who still stood there looking worriedly at her as Jenny and Keisha approached her.

            Drea walked on towards her homeroom, looking around to see if the boy was near. He’d said that he would show up, but he failed to mention when. It was too bad he didn’t even tell her his name.