Crackerjack II

Chpt. 6: Jitters

^Sylvia

William brought her to the other side of the school from the med tent. It was closer to her hut. He stopped in front of a large building with wide doors.

"Here we are."

Kristen stared up and grinned, feeling her heart beating with excitement.

"So, I guess I won't be seeing much of you anymore, then."

Kristen tore her gaze from the building. "What do you mean?"

William gestured to the building. "Well, I mean, you're gonna be training. Doesn't leave much time for cleaning out stalls."

Kristen frowned. "I can make it work."

He laughed. "You say that now, but once you're going through a daily four-hour session, plus studying, you'll see things my way."

Kristen's brow furrowed. "Am I really gonna have four hours of trainin'?"

William cocked his head. "If it means you can control your ability, won't it be worth it?"

She shuffled her feet and stared at the ground. "I guess."

He shrugged and gave a slightly droopier smile as he waved. "Good luck."

Kristen found her way to her hut from there, going extra slow so she could remember the way. She wasn't going to be late to her first day of training. When she got back, Josephine was still gone. Sometimes, Kristen forgot she even had a roommate. She was hardly ever there and even then rarely spoke.

Kristen stayed up so late that night, worrying about training, that she heard Josephine come in. She could hardly believe that it was possible to sleep, but eventually, she did drift off.

She woke to the door shutting behind Josephine. She sprinted to the training area. She got lost once or twice, but she quickly backtracked and made it on time, early even.

Suddenly, Kristen wasn't so sure about excitement. Now, she was just nervous. The others were all girls. They were gathered on the stands, chattering excitedly. Kristen shyly scooted into the furthest seat. None of the girls took any notice of her.

She watched with anxiousness. None of them looked older than her. Her heart sank. She hoped this was a beginner's class. She could take them being younger than her, but if they were experts, she didn't think she'd be able to stand it.

A woman came in from the side, and a hush fell on the group. Kristen stared at the woman striding confidently to the center. White hair fell long over her shoulders as she put her hands on her hips and surveyed the group. Her dark skin was smooth and beautiful, and Kristen couldn't take her eyes off her. She commanded attention.

"Listen up. You're all relatively new to being dragon riders. I'm here to teach you, not your dragons. Dragons are incredibly intelligent creatures, and these lessons are for your benefit, not theirs."

She paused. "I'm only going to say this once, so you'd better remember it. You're not learning this stuff to control your dragon. They cannot be controlled. You are being trained to work with them. You have to prove to your dragon that you're worthy of a bond with them."

The girls were silent.

"Good. My name is Sylvia. It'll take a while for me to learn all your names, so try and be patient when I call you Gail instead of Abbie."

There was a round of relaxed laughter, and Sylvia smiled. "Today, we're just here for you guys to get used to this place and where everything is. I'll give you the tour."