The Elementalists

Chapter 2

Jason's photo on the side---------->

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Chapter 2

Watching the taxi driver was really quite amusing for Heath. With his head twitching in a strange manner, and his hand constantly floating to his seemingly itchy left shoulder, he took a left turn on the road onto the off-ramp. It led to a dusty trail that wound in-between the clumps of trees in the forest ahead.

"So how is this school anyway?" Heath questioned, finally deciding he should break the silence. It was at least half an hour's drive, and he knew he couldn't survive if he had to stay quiet the whole way.

"Haven' the foggiest," the driver replied hazily. "Don' really drive round these parts."

Hmm, Heath thought with a raised eyebrow. Not a chatty guy, apparently. He nodded at the driver, and glanced outside. The scenery was beautiful, the trees and natural feel being a change from his usual suburban life.

He looked back to the front seat with cautious eyes. The man still had his eyes on the road. Heath hesitantly reached into his pocket and pulled out his lighter, hoping the driver wouldn't see him.

"There's a NO SMOKING sign righ' in front of you-"

"It's not for smoking," Heath sighed, mentally slapping himself for trying to escape the inevitable. He stared with a mystified expression at the object in his hand. "I just like the flame. And relax, I am not a pyromaniac."

The driver had his beady eyes glued on Heath in the rear view mirror. But after a few moments, he just shook his head and returned his focus onto the road. Heath resigned himself to repeatedly switching the lighter on and off, casually running a finger through the flame.

*

Jason stepped out of the taxi onto the ground. He found it strange that that was what they called this unusual, black vehicle. Back home, a taxi was long, and had at least fourteen seats. But in any case, he turned around and marveled at the sheer enormity of the ivy-strewn buildings, and the vast fields surrounding them.

A loud car horn sounded. Snapping out of his reverie, Jason turned around and mumbled his thanks to the driver as he grabbed his suitcase and duffel bag. The taxi drove away, leaving him on the banks of Dollanshire College.

Jason grabbed one of the four water bottles he had bought as he walked towards the large gate. He'd always had an unnatural thirst for water. When he was younger, he figured it was because of all the sports he did. His primary school coach always joked that Jason's thirst and excellent swimming was due to him being part fish.

He popped the cap of the bottle and drank thirstily, pausing only for short breaths. Someone suddenly bumped roughly past him, causing him to splash the water onto his jacket.

"Watch it, moron!" he spluttered, throwing the bottle furiously at the ground.

The stranger turned around, and his eyes went wide as he saw Jason. "Sorry about that," he said with a lopsided grin, scratching his brown hair. "You need some help?"

"No," Jason mumbled, removing his jacket so the water would drip off. He was beginning to find this stranger's voice irritating.

"Hey, you're new too," he exclaimed, looking down and noticing Jason's bags. "And you have a strange accent! I'm Heath Ramsey, by the way. Where're you from?"

He glanced up with narrowed eyes. "Jason Grey... South Africa."

Heath grinned. "Don't worry, I won't do the super-American thing where I assume you're living with lions and tigers in the jungle," he chuckled, unfazed by Jason's lack of amusement. "So are you here on scholarship too?"