The Elementals (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 15

"Okay, now concentrate. Breathe in and out. Imagine a snowflake on your hand. Visualise all the details. Just remember to relax." Ms Kelly instructed us.

I took in a deep breath, my eyebrows furrowed as I focused. Letting out a breath, I felt something in me relax slightly. Opening my eyes a crack, I saw a snowflake dancing gently over my palm. Eyes open wide, I beamed in delight and pride. I did it! The snowflake, with a little whoosh, disappeared quickly.  The corners of my lips turned down a little.

"Don't worry," I looked up to see Ms Kelly smiling encouragingly at me. "It gets easier with time, almost like second nature." I nodded and she moved on to help a struggling student.

"Well," Rachel's snowflake disappeared as well. She looked at me. "That was fun."

"Now class," Ms Kelly returned to the front of the class. "We'll be moving on to our next segment. Which is hand-to-hand combat."

Groans echoed throughout the room. I started panicking a little. They wanted me, Allison Lovett, to fight? There was a higher chance of me being struck by lightning.

"And there will be a little twist. All of you will be grouped up randomly, no matter your ability levels or Elements."

Ah crap.

"During lunch, the groupings will be announced. Head over to the noticeboard to find out which group you'll be in."

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"No way, none of you are in the same group as me!" I groaned in frustration.

"Yeah, same." Maddie sighed.

Rachel nodded in agreement while Aurelia just shrugged indifferently. Well, we know who will ace this segment.

"Come on, lunch is almost over. We'd better get back." Maddie grabbed my arm.

"I don't wanna meet new people, it's...scary." I shuddered.

"It won't be that bad," Rachel tried to reassure me.

"Fingers crossed it isn't." I muttered.

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"Group 7, please take a seat." A woman with short hair adressed us.

Everyone sat down quietly, looking up at her. Apparently I wasn't the only one who didn't know anyone.

"Right, my name is Ms Taylor. I'll be your combat coach and teacher for this segment. Let's get started, shall we?"

Our first lesson was knife throwing. Ms Taylor explained the basics to us, like how to hold the knife properly and how to throw it. Stances, positions, aim, things like that.

"Now, there are 10 stations, each station has a pile of 10 knives. Try to hit the board. It's okay if it doesn't stick, just try to hit it."

I went up tentatively to a station and with shaking hands, picked up a knife. Trying to copy Ms Taylor's method, I launched the knife. It flew foward a short distance before clattering to the floor.

I gritted my teeth. Picking up another knife, I tried again with the same result.

I threw another 2 more knives before deciding to give up. Suddenly, I got this feeling that someone was watching me. Turning my head, I was met with a pair of big hazel eyes.

The girl next to me was watching me. My gaze drifted to her dartboard. All the knives were stuck there, but none hitting the bull's eye, even though they were all close.

"Maybe you should try the position again. Take it slowly, one step at a time." The girl advised me in a soft and gentle voice.

I looked over at her a while before deciding to heed her advice. Slowly, I did what Ms Thompson did. The knife went further and made impact with the edge of the board before sliding down.

The girl walked over, pulling her fiery red hair back into a ponytail. "Try relaxing. Loosen your muscles a little."

I closed my eyes and listened to my heartbeat slowing down. My muscles relaxed. I didn't even realise they were so taut.

Opening my eyes, I saw the red headed girl smiling encouragingly at me. "Go on, try again."

Flinging the knife foward, it landed in the dartboard with a thump. It was lodged in the outer ring but I was happy enough to actually hit the board. And furthermore, it stuck.

"Whoa, thanks so much."

"It's no problem." She looked down, faint pink colouring her cheeks.

"I'm Allison Lovett." I offered my hand.

She shook it. "Lilith Roberts. And don't stress about the knife throwing, you'll get used to it after a while. After all, practise makes perfect."

I nodded and continued trying. All the knives starting hitting the board and stayed. When I finished, pure satisfaction filled my veins, making me feel alive.

I turned to see Lilith nodding and smiling in approval. "Told you that you'd get it sooner or later."