The Realm Protectors

Chapter 9 - Avani

I change back into my regular clothes after Physical Geokinesis in the locker room with the other girls in my class. Gemma has a light sheen of sweat on her face, and Vermont just looks a little tired. Meanwhile, I'm panting like I just sprinted the mile. Using your powers for an hour is tougher than it looks.

"Do you wanna go to the Avenue for snacks, Avani?" Gemma asks.

"I wish I could Gem, but I have to go see Professor Grantwood about something." I reply. "I'll meet you at the room later, okay?" Gemma nods sadly and follows Vermont out.

I try to wipe the sweat off my face before remembering that everyone else is coming from their physical kinesis classes as well. I head back out into the main lobby of Earth Facility. There are bottles of water in a cooler by the front door, so I grab one as I walk out.

There's a lot of students on their way back to the dorms, so I decide to take the skyway into the Plaza instead. There's two older students waiting in the loading bay, so I watch them as they stand on a green circle on the floor and lean back as the seat swings around the mechanism and underneath them. When they're lifted out into the air, I step onto the green circle and watch the next seat swing around behind me. When it gets right behind me, I lean back and sit down, pulling the safety bar down over my lap.

The winter chill stings my face as I'm lifted up into the air, the seat gliding along the cables above me. The skyway offers a perfect view of the campus, with students going to and from the Plaza and their Campuses. I start to descend towards a round building next to the auditorium. All the eight skyway cables descend into the building, opening up into the Plaza. The students in front of me hop off their seat and run along an arrow on the floor into the open space in the middle of the building before walking out one of the doors. I try to mimic them, hopping off when I'm close enough to the ground and then jogging out of the way.

It only takes me a few more minutes to walk over to the teacher's offices, and I see Lyra and Carter waiting by the elevator. I wave and jog over to them, the elevator opening as soon as I get there. We all get in and Carter presses the button for the top floor. Carter's wearing another sweater vest today, making him look like a teenager in an old man's clothes.

"What?" He asks when he catches me staring.

"Nothing," I shrug. "Just wondering why you wear old man clothes."

Carter huffs a little but relaxes when Lyra giggles breathily.

"He likes the style of the olden days." She says in that odd, light way of hers. "Back when things were more simple."

"Plus, they're warm and comfy. What else could you need?" He says. The elevator dings and the doors slide open. Professor Grantwood's office waits for us, a small group of people crowded around her desk.

"Why does her office take up a whole floor?" I ask Carter. He shrugs.

"Rumor has it she hosts High Arch meetings here when she can't get to Arch Hall." He replies. "They have teacher meetings here too, so you need a large room."

Professor Grantwood sees us standing by the elevator and waves us over. There's a large ring of chairs in front of her desk, many more than we need to seat the eight of us. Nile and Enya are seated already, and engaged in a conversation with the other seven people in the chairs. Professor Grantwood motions to the seats, so we sit down next to Nile and Enya. Ciana, Faris, and Nikolina arrive a few minutes later, and Professor Grantwood settles into her chair.

"Students, I'd like you to meet the High Arches of the Elemental Realm." She says. Ciana chokes on a gasp and turns it into a cough as the seven adults chuckle. Only four of them have the distinguishable Realm Protector tattoos, not counting Professor Grantwood.