The Girl with an Owl

Chapter 27

"We will point you in the direction of your tests so that all of you can do different kinds of tests at the same time. Always try to focus on your own given tests and not on your neighbors' tests because that will most definitely lead to failure." Adahy said before they started.

In the next moment, all the different things Ajana didn't get the chance to see clearly as well as the glowing orbs which were finally released from their containers were overcrowding the huge space that was the training area.
Once released, the glowing orbs started levitating in place, and they seemed like the only things that didn't move in the huge training room.

There was such a bustle in the room that she couldn't really figure out how anyone knew what they were doing since to her untrained eye it just looked like one huge mess.
The strange objects were flying around, the unusual creatures were either flying, walking, running, skipping or even slithering around and it was on overload for all of her senses.
She knew that what was happening was very important, but she wasn't able to truly wrap her head around it as there were too many strange sounds and smells most of which she couldn't identify.

Not knowing what else to do, she tried to focus on the two beings she knew and understood, Bluebells and Wallace since they were her safe harbor.
Focusing on them did help her a bit but still, she felt like there was a huge python wrapping itself around her body and squeezing tightly leaving no room for anything as mundane as breathing.

She was unsure of what she was afraid of more, to be the exception to the rule, for her powers to stay hidden, or for her to turn up to be some kind of prodigy magical child like it usually happened in the movies she had been watching from an early age.
Neither sounded so good to hear, so she wished really hard to just be mediocre, it felt like the safest option at that moment.
Lost in her thoughts as she was, it took her a few seconds to realize the teacher was talking to her.

"Ajana, is it?" Adahy asked looking at a piece of paper in his head.
Having lost her speaking ability after being addressed by the magical teacher, she just nodded her head in confirmation.
"Your first test for today will be the telek orbs," Adahy said.
Upon seeing her confused and scared expression he decided that it would be better for the little terrified human to clarify.

Most beings in Mag weren't particularly fond of humans, but Adahy rather enjoyed their company.
No matter how much he tried, he could never fully comprehend them, they were and still are a mystery to him, a mystery he craved to solve.
That is the reason many of his colleagues thought that he had a soft spot for humans, which was partly true.

"Those orbs over there," he said pointing at the levitating orbs "are telek orbs. Their job is to test your telekinetic powers.
All you need to do is approach them and follow your instincts."
Not fully understanding the explanation she was given Ajana approached the orbs.

At first, she tried to imagine the orbs moving since that was how she thought telekinesis worked, you imagined them doing what you wanted them to do, and they did it with no difficulties. That was not what happened.
Although Ajana had a long staring contest with the orbs and tried to imagine moving them left and right or even up and down they didn't move at all.
Lost for ideas she tried imitating what she saw in a TV show while she was back home.
That is to say, she moved her hand in one swift motion in the direction she wanted to move the orb. Of course, that didn't help.

The only thing that action did was cause a lot of loud laughter from the upper level of the training room.
One laughter she recognized as Orla's, and she couldn't help but wonder why that girl hated her so much.
What also didn't help her concentrate was the fact that Bluebells was being chased around the room by a huge flame of fire, and he had to fly up and down and twirl and jump to avoid being burned.
She thought his test, whatever it might be, was too dangerous, and she couldn't understand how the teachers could be so cruel.

What didn't even occur to her was that those flames weren't real, they were just made to look realistic for training purposes.
Not knowing that she couldn't help but cast glances in Bluebells direction in turn not focusing enough on the task at hand.
The strange thing was that she wasn't only worried for her friend, but also for all the other students who did anything that looked even remotely dangerous and that was almost everything.

After some time had passed and Ajana kept looking around the room instead of trying to focus her telekinetic powers, if she had any, Adahy approached her and told her it was time for the next test.
What she managed to note while she was moving from her first test to her second one was that no test was the same.
They were in the same field but were performed in strikingly different ways.
The test Ajana had just unsuccessfully finished seemed to change the moment she left its proximity. Instead of staying still, the orbs were moving around the small area marked with a huge circle haphazardly and the goal seemed to be to stop them and bend them all to one's will.
To Ajana's chagrin, the warlock boy who took the test after she did, he didn't seem to have any trouble controlling the pesky orbs.

Trying to wipe away those negative thoughts, Ajana straightened her back and with firm determination entered the square that was marked in chalk for her next test.
It was much larger than the space she had for the previous test and much more crowded.
If she focused her eyes on only her area, she would think she was in someone's overcrowded living room.
There were so many things lying around in that area that it was a challenge to focus on only one thing.

A huge sofa was the first thing she managed to register but on it, there were more things than she could acknowledge.
Of course, there were many cushions on the sofa, but also a lot of toys of different shapes and sizes, candies, candy wrappers, and even some books, pens, pencils and so on.
It reminded Ajana of one of those hidden object games she had played back at home where there would be a picture of a place and you were asked to find specific objects in all that mess.

"For this test, you will have to find this red spark," Adahy said as he opened his hand to release the most beautiful red spark in the shape of a snowflake" while blindfolded.
At first, she thought he was joking, but when he came next to her and took away her sight by simply touching her temple, she knew he was serious.
"This test is about testing your premonition skills. You need to see in your mind's eye where the sparkle will go." Adahy said.
Once more, Ajana just nodded to show she understood.

Trying to rely on her inner sight she did her best to focus on finding that beautiful spark, but her mind kept drifting to the creatures who seemed to struggle, who were in pain.
Even though she couldn't see them, she could feel their struggle and that was far too distracting.
"How am I supposed to focus on one small lively spark when there are so many unique sparks struggling in this very room?" She thought.
Still, she didn't want to give up, so she slowly started moving around the 'living room' trying to feel her way with her hands, not with her third eye, or anything similar.
When she tripped on the rocking horse that was in the middle of the room and fell, Adahy came to her and helping her back on her feet returned her sight.

The first thing she did upon getting her sight back was to check on each and every creature in the room and only then did she feel more at ease.
She sighed in relief as she followed her teacher to the flying check area.

In that one, the main goal was for you to fly from one point to the next while avoiding obstacles.
The only thing Ajana could do was levitate in place. However, she was thrilled by that because it meant that she truly did belong in the magical school, she had magic.
There were a few more tests that she failed by being too distracted with trying to help others or just thinking about others and that made her extremely sad.
She hoped with all her heart that she would exceed at least in one area.

Suddenly a big gong was heard out of nowhere and Ajana new without having to be told that the tests were over and that she was what she feared the most, undetermined.

As they started getting ready to leave the training area one fairy girl from the upper level tripped on her long dress and before she had the chance to even open her wings she fell down on the first floor screaming in pain and fear.
Everyone on the first floor was frozen in shock until one lonely figure ran towards the fallen fairy, Ajana.