Chapter 23 (redone)

“The Office” is a spacious, well-lit, clean room located squarely in the center of the School. It’s just what it sounds like; the Principle’s office. Of course we should have a Principle—since this is a School, after all—but no one ever talks about him. Or her. Whichever.

Once we are admitted, Istalcia goes to sit behind a large semicircular desk with Lorik, Mrs. Jameson, and a dozen others. All present are Head Instructors for their Power or Class, except for Astulad. They are the highest-ranking Instructors in the entire School.

Some of the Instructors don’t teach Light, or Fire, or Water, either because they just don’t want to, or because they themselves don’t possess Powers. They come to the School with siblings or parents, sometimes significant others. We refer to the Powerless people as “regulars” or “normals.”

They teach other classes, such as gym, battle practice, and so on.

My Teammates all line up in front of the desk, Kyle grasping the ends of my fingers slightly. He feels my nervousness. I take my usual place at the end of the line, since I’m still the newest.

A petite woman is seated in the middle of the desk. I figure that she’s the lady in charge. She just looks like a leader; her presence feels like one. Once we were all lined up, she greets us. “Welcome, Team 009. Congratulations on your recent promotion. You have done well among the students, and are being rewarded accordingly. ”

Wynn steps forward and bows solemnly. “Thank you, Your Honor. We pledge to show ourselves worthy of this privilege.” he says respectfully

“Your Honor” smiles wide and makes an odd gesture with her hands. Wynn slightly relaxes his formal manner. He turns and nods at us. Everyone bows, and I’m just a second late. “Your Honor” notices; I can see it in her eyes. But she doesn’t mind at all. I realize my palms are sweating nervously while everyone else goes off to talk to people they know.

I relax a little as Lorik walks up to me and inclines his head slightly. For him, that’s the same as an enthusiastic greeting. Off to my right, Aiyamar squeaks and tackle-hugs Sana, the Head Light Instructor. Sana, a slight woman with beautiful dark skin and wise brown eyes, shows a little less emotion. Just a little.

“Your Honor” walks up behind Lorik and waves to me from behind his back. My Instructor notices me looking off behind him and steps out of the way, obviously not surprised that she snuck up on him. “Your Honor” extends her hand to me, a wide smile on her face. I hesitate because of my own sweaty hands, and shake it formally. Lorik shakes his head in amusement when I start hyperventilating as if she’s a movie star or something. She practically is! The Principle of the School for Inborns? But she looks so young…maybe she has anti-aging powers.

She laughs for no apparent reason. “Aw, relax, Krystal,” she says in a light Texas accent.

Texas?

“That’s right. Texas. And my name isn’t ‘Your Honor’. It’s Kelsey.”

“O-oh,” I stutter. So eloquent, I know. “It’s nice to meet you then, ma’am.” I want to, but it’s probably not polite to ask what her Power is. I can feel her in my mind, so it must be Energy.

“Lovely to meet you, darlin’.”

“So, um…are you the uh, Principal here?” I ask in an effort to be polite. I have never been very good at talking to adults. I glance pleadingly at Lorik, begging that he save me. All he does is nod at Kelsey. I will never understand you adolescents. I assure you, she does not bite.

“Yes, you could call me that,” Kelsey laughs. Then more seriously, “Please make yourself comfortable. I can’t stand it when people are all stiff with me even after I signal the end of formality.”

With that, a warm, fuzzy feeling invades my consciousness. She’s definitely an Energy Manipulator; only they can let you feel their essence. I call it their “ness”. Kelsey-ness feels comfortable, trustworthy, and friendly. It’s not something people can face. I think I like her.

Istalcia waves me over to a table with her and Ikah. I didn’t know that she was Ikah’s Instructor. I thought that First Faction Instructors taught only Kyle, Wynn, and me out of the members of my Team.

For lunch we have Subway sandwiches and a few snack foods from Earth. Subway? In outer space? I question Istalcia without speaking. She giggles through a bite of her sandwich and answers me as if I should know the answer. Those portals are good for a lot of things.

Right. Should have thought about that.

“Of course you would forget, Kryssi,” Kyle butts in before he wolfs down a sandwich.. He has a knack for that. Both.

When we’ve finished eating, Kelsey introduces me to the other people present. There is Rona, Head Shadow Instructor.

Rona is very much like Wynn, her apprentice; quiet, clothed in a mottled cloak over simple pants and shirt, and eyes that make you feel like they could see into your soul. But, there’s something about her that makes her seem…more approachable thank Wynn.

There is also Redoran, the Head Fire Instructor. Somehow, I think I could have guessed her IP without her telling me; right before I am introduced to her, I glimpse her toasting a marshmallow on the end of a toothpick by blowing on it.

“That was so. Cool,” I blurt after we shake hands. Aiyamar rolls her eyes and waves her hand over her marshmallow. When she removes it, the marshmallow is perfectly toasted, an even shade of brown delicately covering the squishy blob. I’ve never actually understood Aiyamar’s power. She’s a Light Manipulator, but I think she can control heat as well. If she got evaluated right now, and found that she has two Powers, she’d be moved to the First Faction immediately, which means that she would be moved to another Team and another Instructor. It’s not uncommon. Something about the way the Inborn Power gene mutates after a while. There are several students who have more than one Power, but they’re all in the First Faction.

Aiyamar tosses her hair, radiant in the attention. “It’s simple,” she explains. “All I did was concentrate my light until it was hot enough to roast it.” That doesn’t sound like it would fly with the evaluators. I can see Astulad looking at his little sister. I can’t tell what he’s thinking without violating his privacy. Still, the look he gives her is definitely more than a cursory glance.

“I’m sure you could figure out how to use your own Power to accomplish the same thing,” Istalcia comments, bringing me away from my speculations.

I laugh, a little embarrassed that I haven’t tried it before. I toast my marshmallows easily. All I have to do is let my Energy build up into fire.

“That was easy,” I say.

For the rest of the lunch period, students and Instructors alike attempt to come up with the most innovative way to use their Power to toast a marshmallow.

Even Istalcia, a Water Manipulator, manages to toast a marshmallow. She caused water from her glass to swirls around a marshmallow so quickly that it made friction with the air and set the marshmallow on fire. She won the contest by majority vote.

Only Ikah sits out, dripping slightly and sulking at the rest of us. Her whole aura is disturbingly dark today, and her Energy waves disrupt the joyful mood. The only ones that can feel it are me, Kyle, Lorik, and Kelsey. The other three don’t seem to mind, so I try to ignore her. Still, I feel like every time I turn around, she’s staring at me. Naturally, I brush it off as paranoia from lack of sleep.