Traces Of Magic

~Chapter 10~

I wake up before the sun rises. It is silent as I walk across the floor to my dresser. Unsure of what to wear to my training with Derrick, I throw on one of my old P.E. outfits. The tank top goes halfway down my chest, and the shorts go halfway down my thighs, exposing a lot of my pale skin. I cross back over to my nightstand and grab my glasses.

I am hit with a headache as I put them on. I take them off and put my hand on my forehead. With them off, I notice that for the brief period of time I had them on, they made my vision fuzzy, which is weird because without them my vision is clear. It should be the other way around like it's been since 1st grade. I set my glasses back down and grab my phone instead.

I leave my room but come back in and grab my jacket off of the doorknob before heading downstairs. The house is quiet as I sneak into the kitchen. I grab a granola bar from the cupboard and scribble a note for my parents.

"With a friend. Should be back by dinner. ~Mandy."

With that, I grab my keys and leave. The outside world is very still. The only sound I can hear is my footsteps on the sidewalk. I look at the horizon and see the smallest pink stripe coming back the rising sun. Almost there, I stop and watch the sun start to make its way into the sky while I eat my granola bar. The sky turns from blue to pink, to red, to orange, and then finally to its normal light blue.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Derrick's voice startles me. He laughs as I jump slightly. "Oh my gosh Derrick! You scared me!" He looks down. "You just appeared out of nowhere! How long were you standing there?" He brushes his hair out of his eyes. "I've been here since you stopped. You stopped right in front of me." I blush slightly. He looks up at me. "So, are you ready for today?" I take a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be." He smiles. "Good. Let's get going then."
                                     ____________________

When we arrive back at the base, Sage and Jarron are both already up. Sage is in the back making coffee and Jarron is laying on the floor staring up at the ceiling. "Jarron, why are you laying on the floor?" Jarron sighs as Derrick questions him. "Sage put thorns in the couch again." Derrick looks over at me. "Sage also has the power to control plant growth."

Hearing her name, Sage turns around. "Yup. It's pretty cool." She shrugs her shoulders as she walks over to Derrick. As she crosses the room, a flower appears in her hair. "See? Pretty cool, right?" She smiles as she hands Derrick his cup of coffee. "Hey! Don't I get any?" Jarron gets up and puts his arm around her. She pushes his arm off with her free hand. "If you want coffee, make it yourself." She walks over and sits down in one of the chairs. "Why didn't you just sit in a chair instead of laying on the floor Jarron?" He looks over at me and sighs."I can't lay down in a chair, now can I Princess?"

I roll my eyes as he laughs and proceeds to lay back down on the floor. Derrick looks over at me. "Do you want some coffee Mandy?" I look back over at him and rub my arm. "Normally, I do have a cup..." "Here. Have mine." He takes his cup and puts it in my hand. "No. It's okay Derrick. You can have your..." "Trust me Mandy. I don't need it. I'm wide awake." To prove it, he goes and does a back flip over the couch. Sage applauds as Jarron rolls his eyes.

"I would clap, but my hands are kind of full." I smile and take a sip as he laughs and walks back over to me "So? How is it?" I give him a thumbs up with my free hand as I take a longer sip. "Another coffee brewed perfectly." Sage nods approvingly. I grab the cup with both hands. "Wait. You made this Sage?" She nods her head. "The coffee beans were grown right here."

"Miss Green Thumb has a huge garden that's growing who knows what." Jarron sits up and rolls his eyes. "Okay guys. I have made a schedule for today's training." Jarron gets up and stretches. "I want to have the training room first today. Someone doesn't know how to clean up after themselves. When I walked in, it was entering a jungle..."

Sage glares at Jarron. "Hey!" Sensing a fight brewing, Derrick stops them. "We're not going to be the ones training." They both look at Derrick. "Well then, who is?" Sage tilts her head in confusion. Jarron closes his eyes and shakes his head. " Don't tell me the princess is getting the room all to herself." Derrick sighs. "Not exactly Jarron. Yes, she will be in the training room, but she will be with one of us at all times."

Sage smiles from ear to ear as she floats above the floor. "Yay! I get to teach Mandy how to fly!" She moves her arms around her in a circle as flowers seem to explode from her fingertips. "Yay..." I giggle as Jarron brushes off the flowers that landed on his head and throws a fireball at them. There is a few crackles and pops as they burn and turn to ashes.

Sage watches with a look of horror on her face. "Jarron! How could you?" Jarron rolls his eyes as Sage pouts and crosses her arms angrily. "Please tell me I'm going last." Derrick pulls out a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolds it. "Actually Jarron, it looks like you're going first..."

"Great..." Jarron rolls his eyes. "...then it's your turn Sage..." Sage smiles and floats in the air again. Prepared this time, Jarron makes a fireball and aims it at her. "If you shoot flowers from your hands again Sage, then this is going straight to your freckled face." She pouts and descends back to the ground.

"Guys, come on. Behave yourselves. And then, I get the last training  period with Mandy." Jarron sighs. "Of course. You get the last period..." Derrick's face grows a light red. "Hey Jarron! You need to get rid of that attitude right now, or else you're going to have to deal with me." Jarron rolls his eyes at him. "Whatever. Come on Mandy. Let's go work on your powers."