Ethereal

Chapter 10

"Okay, partner up!" Our PE teacher Mrs Butler called out as we entered the sports hall. The tennis racket in my hand felt light and worn out, though I knew from experience that no matter how much it was falling apart, it would still hurt to be hit with. 

Not that I'd ever been hit myself, I was used to people staying right out of my way so thankfully I'd never quite been in range, however my general clumsiness did mean I'd managed to injure a few other students throughout my time at school. They were lucky I wasn't very strong.  

Still, I gripped it warily, trying my best to keep out of anyones way as they all scrambled to find a partner for todays lesson. 

Standing still amongst the madness, I figured I'd wait for everyone to find a partner and whoever was left would be stuck with me - an unfortunate result of being clumsy meant that I was not particularly gifted when it came to sports. 

"Hey, Emilia!" I looked up to see Charlie heading my way sporting a grin on his face. For a moment I was unsure that he was talking to me, after all, that was the first and only time he had ever gotten my name right. 

"Um, hey." I greeted him, surprised. 

"I was just wondering if you wanted to-"

"Emilia!" Another voice called, cutting into whatever he was going to say. 

Turning around to face the newcomer, I was relieved to see that it was just Noah, who held an identical racket in his hand, and though I figured he had probably never played tennis before, somehow he already appeared totally confident. 

"You'll show us how to play, right?" He asked, smiling at me. I felt my stomach do a backflip as I caught that dimple on his left cheek. Jasmine and Travis must be in this class too.

"Of course." I smiled back, knowing that I'd only have to tell them the bare minimum, of course they were going to be good at playing tennis, in the same way that they are good at everything. 

I turned back to face Charlie, having almost forgotten for a second that he was there. "Sorry, what was it you were saying?" 

Charlie almost looked forlorn, his eyes glancing between myself and Noah. "Never mind." He stated, a sharp edge to his voice. "I'll catch you later." 

I frowned as he turned his back and walked away, what had caused his sudden change in mood? 

"Come on." Noah said, placing a gentle hand against my back and pushing me forwards slightly. I saw Jasmine and Travis stood at one of the courts on the far end of the sports hall, and headed in their direction. I noticed that Noah's hand lingered for a moment before he retracted it, sending an odd and unwelcome chill across my skin at its absence. 

As we reached them, Noah and I headed around the other side of the net. I took my position on the left side, and Noah mirrored where I stood on the right. Following our lead, Jasmine and Travis did the same across from us. Travis was opposite me, though I noticed that his attention was diverted. 

Following his gaze, I noticed Charlie on the court next to us, swinging his racket around, though his lips were pressed tightly together as though he was annoyed about something. 

It would give us a good opportunity to observe him, if he was the one, would he perhaps have some kind of enhanced physical ability? Maybe not, but it's something to look for, at least. 

"Okay, Jasmine you have the ball so you serve. Just throw it up and hit it across the net." I instructed, watching as the tossed the tennis ball in her hand up and down a couple of times. 

Once she got a feel for it, she threw it a little higher and this time swung her racket around to meet it. 

I managed to leap out of the way in time as the ball whizzed past my head at a terrifying speed before hitting the stack of nets behind myself and Noah.