Elemental Roommates

Chapter 9 Come With Me?

"Clear your mind, Jay," Lloyd spoke quietly. Jay breathed in deeply. He took one last look at the area around him. Lloyd had told him to meet up in the forest for their practice time. They sat in the middle of a grassy field. The afternoon breeze blew through Jay's ginger hair. He stood three feet away from his teacher before shutting his eyes to focus. Silence consumed the two. The lightning master's mind whirled with thoughts. He tried to dial it down, but the awkward quiet time was gnawing at him. The chatter box hated when there was no talking. Even when he falls asleep at night, he would be listening to one of his favorite YouTubers playing videogames. Jay then pondered on that thought.

What if the lack of silence in my life is because I always had parents who worked night and day on machines and noisy power tools. On top of that, they'd wouldn't stop talking, even over the radio they'd constantly bla--

BAM!

Jay fell on his back with a loud thud. The ginger looked up to see Lloyd towering over him.

"What was that about!?" Jay spat in anger.

"Element of Surprise..." he answered. Before Jay had time to even process his words, Lloyd charged towards him. The lightning master jumped up quickly and dashed away.

"What kind of training is this!?" Jay exclaimed as he ran around the meadow.

"The element of lightning is quick, powerful, and decisive. There's no time to overthink." Lloyd jumped up into the trees once Jay ran out of the meadow.

"Okay! So, tell me again why you're trying to hurt me!?" Jay shouted as he sprinted through the forest, huffing already from the sudden exercise.

"Lightning doesn't take a second to plan out every little detail of where it's going to hit," Lloyd explained while he hopped from tree to tree. Jay searched the leaves above him for any sign of the teen. "It finds the closest source of attraction and STRIKES!"

BAM!

Lloyd jumped down from the tree and tackled Jay to the ground. The two tumbled in the dirt before sprawling out onto the forest floor. Jay's took in a few winded breaths while Lloyd stood up again.

"We gotta get you out of your head and stop thinking too much."

"That's... e-easy enough... I... I spend little time alone with... my... thoughts! Ugh! I seriously need to exercise more!" Jay complained in agony. He was sweating bullets already.

"That would be ideal, but I saw how you were when we stood there. You've spent so little time for yourself that I think you don't take a moment to process anything. If you wanna have a clear mind when you're using lightning, then you have to first face your demons," Lloyd admitted, bending down to Jay's level.

"Sooo... you're saying that I shouldn't think when using my powers, but I should first get all my thinking and processing out of the way, so I can have a clear mind to not think..."

"Exactly."

"And, what demons are you talking about... exactly?"

"I don't know, I'm not your brain," Lloyd replied before standing up straight and strolling over to a tree. Jay groaned. He let his head fall back on the ground. The student stared up at the blue sky above him."Listen, I know you hate staying quiet for too long. I could see you obviously are avoiding things that you don't want to face. I'd suggest talking it out with someone." Jay dwelled on his teacher's words. There wasn't anything specific he could think of that was bothering him, besides the obvious secret from Nya, but he couldn't tell anyone that! Jay sat up from the grassy floor.

"Uh, there's nothing really I can think of that's bothering me," he lied with a weak smile. Lloyd stared at him for a second and shrugged.

"Then, I suggest taking some time for yourself. Let your mind wander. Don't be afraid of taking quiet time for yourself," he admitted. The teen then held his hand out to Jay. The ginger accepted and was helped off the ground.