Element Academy

Testing Day...Page

Page wakes up to the sounds of others shifting around her. Someone shakes her shoulder.

“Wake up already, we are being tested first this morning.” Someone hissed frantically.

Page shoots up into sitting position, “WHAT!?!” Crystal nods, looking a bit pale.

The paper door slides open and Sonya walks in in her dark blue attire, “Let’s go ladies, today’s the day!”

“Why do we only get one day to prepare?” One girl complains.

“Why are you so perky this early?” Page mutters. The sun is barely shining into the square window at the top of the far wall. Sonya just claps her hands together and calls the girls to follow her towards the testing room. With each step, excitement swells within Page that she can hardly stand it. She turns to say something to Crystal, but she looks so horrified.

“Are you ok Crystal?” Page whispers. Crystal shakes her head, too terrified to speak. “Hey, you were able to move the water yesterday. I know you can do it again.”

“But what if I can’t?” Crystal whispers. Sorrow and terror shine in her eyes. Page looks down sheepishly. She knows she will pass by the end of the second practice round, Page had the technique down and that technique is what the exam is going to be.

Sonya stops in front of a wooden door with intricate designs on it. Sonya calls Talula forth and she confidently walks into the room. Anxiety crawls its way into Page’s head and it seems like ages while Talula is there. Suddenly, the door opens and Talula is beaming from ear to ear.

“Guess who is now an official member of the water tribe?!” she asks with happiness. Sonya calls Page forth, Crystal gives her a thumbs up of encouragement, and after a deep breath Page walks forth into the dark room.

The room is completely dark. When the door closes behind her, dozens of candles lining the room immediately ignite with dark blue flames causing Page to jump. The blue color reveals ancient looking stones that make up the entire room. Sitting in cascaded shadows are the four women from the day before. There are no compasses in front of them today only what looks like narrow pieces of paper.

One of the women motion towards a pattern carved into the floor. Circular inscriptions line the center of the room. Page walks into the center behind an empty ceramic bowl. Depressions in the stone create a pattern that she can’t make out lined with symbols she doesn’t understand.

As instructed she pours her water into the bowl. As best as she can she performs the technique that Sonya taught them; raising the water up and out of the bowl and back down into the bowl. She looks up at the women beaming with pride at her success of completely the move, but they are not looking at her. They are picking up a small shape and pushing it down onto the paper, was it a stamp? Then they pass it down to the woman at the end who looks at them all. She rises and with a clear voice welcomes her to the water tribe.

Page is so excited that she is jumping with excitement when she leaves the room. If it didn’t fascinate her so much she wouldn’t have noticed that the moment she crossed the doorway the candles extinguish.

“I made it!” she announces triumphantly. Crystal runs up to her and gives her a congratulatory hug and high five. Then Sonya announces it is Crystal’s turn. She turns ghostly white and without saying another word or even looking at Page briskly walks into the room.

After what seems like a decade worth of waiting, Crystal walks out with a dazed and confused look on her face.

“Well? What happened?!” Page and the other girls demand.

“I-I-I made it.” She manages out. The girls all congratulate her, they are now three-for-three. Only Page seems to notice the strange look on Crystal’s face. What happened in there?

Who knows what happened?!...Merry Christmas everyone!