Crackerjack II

Chpt. 7: Hooray, Research.

^Drea (rhymes with stray)

Kristen woke early the next morning, her eyes burning from all the reading. She got lost a few more times on the way to training, but she still made it in time. The girls were just beginning to settle down.

"Alright, everyone." Sylvia clapped her hands. "Today is the last day that we will be practicing on our own. Tomorrow, the boys will be joining us."

The announcement brought rolls of whispers, but Kristen felt sick to her stomach. What if they were all younger than her, too? What if she embarrassed herself? She got flustered around boys in general, how much more if they were better dragon riders?

Kristen sneaked in a little late the next day. Her heart pounded at the sight of full bleachers. The girls giggled in clusters amongst the boys. Kristen sat on the very edge, trying not to let her imagination get away from her.

Besides, even though there were a lot of younger boys here, there was also a good number of guys her age. A relief, to be sure.

"Alright, alright, settle down. To all you boys who don't know, I am Sylvia. To all you girls who don't know, this is Spencer. We'll be working together to make sure that all of you get a strong bond as quickly as possible."

When Sylvia emphasized "together," Spencer smirked.

"He's the hands-on trainer. I'll be taking over all the other aspects."

"Basically, she's boring, I'm fun."

There were a few laughs, but Sylvia ignored both. "I know you're all excited to start working with your rides."

There was enthusiastic murmuring.

"However," Sylvia said over the noise, "we're going to put that off until you're better prepared."

Groaning.

"Bo-ring," Spencer sang.

Sylvia glared. "I want to make sure you know all the points and dangers about your ride before you're actually with them."

Everyone else might be disappointed, but Kristen was relieved.

"Today we're heading to the library–"

"So bring caffeine," Spencer finished.

Sylvia rolled her eyes but waved to the group. "Let's go."

Drea looked up at their entrance. She smiled at Kristen. Sylvia explained what they were doing, and Drea nodded. The library was soon dotted with dragon riders deep in pages. The few that knew exactly what kind of ride they'd bonded with could get right into it. Everyone else had to dig.

"There can't be much worse than research," Kristen heard someone mutter.

She'd been through a few books already and had crossed off a few of the more general classes. But those were only the skim of the milk. She had a whole gallon left. She sighed and rested her head on the thick pages.

"Getting bit overwhelmed?"

Kristen rolled her head to the side. Drea smiled and offered a steaming cup. Kristen accepted with a smile.

"There's so much. It's a never-endin' checklist."

Drea laughed. "It is a life-long process." She slid in beside Kristen. "I'm sure when you start training with your dragon things'll get easier."

Kristen blew out a breath. "Maybe," she muttered.

Drea pointed to the book she was invested in. "How far along are you?"

"Well, I started at the beginnin' of the timeline, but I had t' switch t' the species and stuff f'r class." Kristen drummed her fingers. "Did you know when the very first dragon-rider pair bonded, they knocked each other out?"

Drea's eyes twinkled. "I sure did. Did you know that they were actually trying to kill each other? The dragon touched the rider via trying to eat him."

"Huh. I didn't read that."

Drea laughed. "I have a slight advantage over you."

Kristen cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"I'm a crackerjack," Drea explained. "I'm not super powerful. I'm just here because I'm the ideal librarian."

Kristen raised her eyebrows.

Drea was thoughtful for a moment. "It's kinda like a dragon rider's bond. I'm like the dragon, and the books are like the riders, only it's all of them at once. I know everything in every book in this building."

Kristen stared. "You're jokin'."

Drea laughed.

"You mean that everythin' in here is crammed into that brain?"

"You surprised?"

Kristen hesitated. "No, it's just that you don't, I mean, I wouldn't have thought that...It's just a crazy ability."

Drea sipped her drink. "It's a responsibility." She rose. "I'd better let you get back to it before Sylvia comes over and yells at us."

"Drea?"

She glanced over her shoulder.

Kristen smiled. "I think your gift is incredibly powerful."

Drea gave a puzzled smile and a wave before she disappeared in the shelves.

~

Sylvia made her way through the library. She asked a couple of questions of the students and listened patiently as they explained. When they finished, she dismissed them. At least, that's what it looked like to Kristen.

Sylvia finally approached her when everyone else in the class was gone. She sighed and plopped down next to Kristen. "So. How're you doing over here?"

Kristen shrugged, suddenly shy.

Sylvia tapped the desk. "You know, it's okay that you're older than these kids. I'm gonna guess you didn't grow up around dragon round-ups?"

Kristen shook her head, just the name making her sick.

Sylvia waved to the door. "Most of them are from the slums. They're passed by dragons and other creatures pretty much everyday." She smiled. "Don't worry 'bout it. Thanks for working so hard," she added. "Tomorrow, just a heads up, I won't be there. You'll be doing something different with Spencer."

She stood. "You can go now, if you want." She gestured to Kristen's book. "There won't be a test on that or anything. I'm just trying to help you guys."

Kristen waved but didn't get up. Despite the encouragement, she still felt behind. Besides, she had more on the line than the others. She couldn't allow her dragon riding to expose her ability. And if reading these books gave her even a slightly better chance at keeping it hidden, well, then break out the tea, this was going to take a while.

Studying, am I right? But speaking of books, just wanted to remind y'all this book is a series. Hope y'all will look forward to the next ones!
~J.