Gift Academy (Book One in the Gifted Series)

Chapter Five

Fay

After lunch, I head down to History of Gift Academy class with Flora. We both have Mr. Hernandez again, who I have to say is my favorite teacher. He's awesome, funny, and he's cheerful, bubbly, and outgoing.

Flora and I make our way down to room 178 and enter it, almost immediately being welcomed with a warm smile from Mr. Hernandez. I smile back at him and Flora and I take a seat at the front of the room, right next to each other. Some people give us odd glances, seeing that we're identical, but thankfully none of them seem to be judging. Hopefully.

"Alright, kids. Today we're going to be learning about the one and only. The Extraordinarily Gifted," Mr. Hernandez announces. I'm curious and confused as I hear some gasps around the room. I glance at Flora and she looks as confused as I feel. Who are the Extraordinarily Gifted?

"Some of you know who these people are, some of you don't. Let me show you." Mr. Hernandez walks to the light switch by the door and turns the lights off. Then he goes to the white board and pulls down the projector screen. He turns the projector on and walks to his computer on his desk, pulling up an image of a black-bricked, castle-shaped school. I immediately recognize it as Gift Academy.

"We are all Gifted. We were all born with control over one specific element. This, as you know, is your academy," Mr. Hernandez points to the academy on the screen. "This- " he pulls up another picture of a place that looks creepily a lot like Gift Academy. It's made out of bricks and is castle-shaped, but it's red instead of black, with a glass double doors and dark brown outlines for the windows.

I suck in a breath, ready for what comes next.

"This is 'Extra Academy'. This is where the Extraordinarily Gifted, or as we call them, the Extras, go to practice their powers. The difference between us and the Extras are that we have control over one specific element. The Extras have control over two," Mr. Hernandez explains. I hear a few more gasps from different people in the classroom, a mixture of shock, surprise, and even a little envy curling through the room and hanging in the air like a sick, contagious bat.

"Now, that might not seem bad. It might seem as if Extra Academy is allies with Gift Academy. But we're not. We've been at war with the Extras for years, each of us fighting over who gets this spot to put their academy, since this is the place where our Gifts began. The Extras may have more powers than us, but we had many, many more people than them. We won the war and they had to move the location of their academy. They are now hidden in a secret spot a few hours from here," Mr. Hernandez teaches all of us, looking around the room to see the students' reactions.

"But, that's all over now. The tension and rivalry may not have stopped between the two academies, but the fighting and wars are over," Mr. Hernandez adds in. There's a moment of relief in the room until a girl in the back of the room shakily raises her hand. Mr. Hernandez calls on her, and she asks the question we've all been wondering.

"If the Extras start to become more populated, will they try to take over Gift Academy for themselves?" The girl asks, and I can tell she's trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.

Mr. Hernandez sighs. "Hopefully not, Natalie. But if they do, we will be ready," Mr. Hernandez answers. "Now everybody, take out your books and flip to page 190, where you will learn more about the Extras and Extra Academy."

Mr. Hernandez walks over to the light switch and turns the lights back on. He turns the projector off and goes to work on his computer. I unzip my backpack and pull of the book 'History of Gift Academy' and flip to page 190. I start to read about the Extras and Extra Academy. I find out so many things that terrifies me. I read about the war between us and the Extras, called the 'Secret War'. I find out that most of the time, there was a spy inside of Gift Academy, an Extra who was figured out soon enough. They didn't know who it was, but the staff tricked them and told lies to all the students about their battle plans, so the spy could report the wrong thing to Extra Academy. That's part of how we were able to win the war.

I don't think I can read any further until the bell rings, signaling the end of this class. I breathe a sigh of relief and slam my book shut, gaining a few glances in my direction, but I ignore them. I place my book into my backpack and zip it up, grabbing my schedule. One more class and I'm done for the day.

I read over the next class in my head. Gift Wielding in the gym. I bite my lip to try to hide a smile forming on my face. I've been looking forward to this class the whole day, hoping I can see some Gifts being used. I can't wait to see what Gift I'm going to get.

I rush out of History of Gift Academy and walk down the hall to the gym, Flora beside me. Soon enough we catch up with Austin and Gina, who also have this class with us.

We enter the huge gymnasium and I look around at all the Gifted, who all look excited yet nervous at the same time to use their Gift, most likely for the first or second time.

Austin and Gina join the group of Gifted who already have their Gifts. Flora and I were told to sit by and watch what we're going to be doing when we get our Gifts next week. The Gifted are ordered to practice summoning by the teacher, Mrs. Oster. She seems very tough, and not someone you want to mess with.

I watch in amazement as Austin summons two balls of fire, one in each hand, without even trying. He must've had his Gift for a while and practiced a lot. Gina has a bit more trouble, but very soon she summons a burst of wind, and a second one so big and powerful that most of the students' trip and fall and Austin's fireballs are whipped away in the wind. Flora and I laugh as Gina blushes and tries to apologize to everyone at the same time, but they're just laughing as well.

I'm kind of disappointed when the final bell rings, signaling that this class is over. Flora, Austin, and I laugh at Gina, who almost had her shirt catch on fire. We walk up the stairs to our dorms, which are not far apart, surprisingly, and I unlock my dorm room and walk in, a huge smile plastered on my face.

"Looks like someone had a good day," I hear Veronica say from the couch. She's on her phone and it looks like she's texting someone.

"Amazing day," I correct her, still grinning widely. I head to the bathroom, a little skip in my step. I brush my teeth in the bathroom and change into a pair of comfy of pink and white pajamas. I walk to my room, deciding to finish the small amount of homework I was assigned today, my mind recalling all of the great things that have happened today.

Until my mind races back to History of Gift Academy class, and the thought of us at war with the Extras flooding my mind. I decide not to go back there and pretend I'm perfectly fine. I don't like lying, and I can't even dream of lying to Veronica.

So, I sit on my bed, doing my homework until it's time to go to sleep.