The Lost Element

Chapter 13

The rest of the first semester seem to fly by. She kept herself busy with studying, meditating and practicing with electricity. By the end of the semester, she was able to hold the current for as long as she pleased, she could summon impact bolts like Illya did on their tour and all kinds of cool tricks. She was also taught how to absorb the impact from an energy source, how to strike someone properly using lightning, and how to store energy using precious metals and stones. 

She was so preoccupied with everything she was learning that she never paid any mind to anything else, or so she told Kiara when Kiara interrogated her about Ember. The truth was, even if she did have a keen eye for him, they were in a comfortable place right now and she didn't want anything to happen to risk that. 

Before Ardiel knew it, she had her first semester exams pop up. It was the morning of exam day, but she wasn't too concerned as she'd always been able to nail exams. After getting out of bed, brushing her teeth and doing her usual morning routine, she wished the best of luck to Kiara before going to her first exam for Entry to Interpersonal Social Skills. She felt confident she would do well, she had gotten good marks on most of her tests throughout the semester and if she ever faltered in an area, Mr. Wisenton made sure his students kept pace. 

She left that class feeling good and ready to nail the rest of her exams. The exam for World Cultures and Religions was a breeze, as she was very interested in the course. Her favourite religion she learned about at this point was Buddhism. She liked the idea that Buddha was not a god, but just a man who reached enlightenment, just as any person could. The exam was fairly standard and covered all the topics she had learned since September. Looking outside of the windows, which were framed with earth and had crystal clear glass panes, she couldn't believe it was already December.

There was snow on the ground, not as much as the rest of Nunavut, but in order to create a normalized atmosphere the teachers and staff made sure the school went through the seasons like anywhere else in Canada. It can't be sunny all the time in the North. 

Once she was finished with her second exam she was allowed to leave. Daydreaming about what Christmas would be like, she nearly walked straight into Illya.

"Hi Ms. Moken!"

"Hello Ardiel, how go the exams?" She asked.

"Good so far, I have a great feeling about them." Ardiel replied.

"Well hopefully you can say the same at the end of the day." Illya added.

"I will, I can feel it." Ardiel spoke with confidence. "Oh, I also have a question."

"Go ahead."

"After our first semester, what hall do we go to? I want to learn air in the Clouds." 

"Well, assuming you pass your exam, you'll have the chance to apply for which area you want. If you score higher on your exam, you'll have a higher chance of getting the one you want. Better do well, Ardiel."

"Right, because I needed another reason to nail this." Ardiel smiled. "Anyway, I gotta go meet my friends. See you around Ill- ahem- Ms. Moken."

"Take care, Ardiel."

Ardiel nodded and turned to leave. She could feel Illya's gaze watching her carefully. She thought to herself...

*She really cares about me. I wish I met her earlier.*

She spent most of her lunch talking with Ember and Kiara about how their exams went. They both felt as good as Ardiel did, but Ember was anxious about his fire element exam.

"I just can't seem to focus long enough. The longest I've been able to hold a flame is 30 seconds, and that's the bare minimum to pass the exam." The worry in his voice was audible.