Chosen: The Path of Heroes

Two

Fundamentals of Chemistry. Zuri's first class. He zipped through the door and took the first desk he saw, first row and third back. Moments after he sat, the second bell trilled through the halls, announcing that anyone not inside a classroom at that time was officially late.

Zuri got his chemistry book from his pack, as well as a notebook and pen. Only a couple of students paid attention to him, certainly wondering what such a young-looking guy was doing there. Most students were on their phones or tablets. Zuri faced forward.

A man in a fitting dark green sweater, jeans, and sneakers finally stood from where he leaned on his desk. He didn't look older than twenty-five. He smiled and adjusted his glasses, eyes sweeping over the students.

"Good morning, everyone...or maybe that remains to be seen." The teacher chuckled. "Honestly, this is too early for me, and I'd rather be back home chillin' in my pajamas on my PlayStation."

This made everyone stir with a bit of laughter. Something to break the ice.

"My name is Mr. Scholl, but you can call me Tom. Makes me feel younger." He smiled again and the class chuckled, Zuri included. Mr. Scholl went around the desk to the white board. He picked up a green marker and wrote his name and email address on the board, then turned to the class. "I suggest you all take note. If you ever miss class or need help or have a question about the course syllabus, you should contact me."

While everyone copied the information, Mr. Scholl wrote a short chemical equation in the center of the wall-to-wall board: H2O2. He faced the class.

"Can anyone tell me what this is?"

The students watched him silently, some of them squinting thoughtfully at the equation.

"Anyone?"

Zuri slowly raised his hand, and Mr. Scholl nodded to him with a smile. "Yes?"

"That's the chemical equation for hydrogen peroxide. It contains two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms. Hydrogen peroxide solutions decompose into water and oxygen gas over time."

Mr. Scholl's grin broadened.

"That's absolutely spot-on. I see someone's been keeping his brain occupied over summer vacation and not just vegging out on video games." He lifted a brow and looked at the other students. "You all should take cues from this guy. What's your name?"

"Zuri."

"Well, Zuri, you certainly seem to know your chemistry."

Zuri smiled lightly.

Mr. Scholl picked up a sheet of paper and a pen, then went over to the first desk in Zuri's row.

"For those who don't know or who are new to the school, this is an attendance sheet. All teachers pass these around every day to keep track of who's coming and who's not. Everyone registered to this class will be on this list and should sign by their name only. If you are caught signing for another student, it's an automatic suspension. If your name is not on this list but you registered for this class, let me know immediately, and we'll get it straightened out. We'll probably spend most of the hour getting settled in here. I'll pass out the syllabus after we've gotten the attendance sheet out of the way, then we'll go around the room and have everyone introduce themselves. I know it might seem elementary, but it's a good way for me to learn who everyone is."

He returned to his desk, readying materials and sheets of paper.

When the list reached Zuri, he scrolled down, found his name, and signed beside it with his own pen. He passed the sheet back and set his pen to the desk.

The room shuffled lightly with activity while the list gradually made its way around.

Zuri sighed and looked across the room to the far left. Windows ran down the entire wall, giving an ample view of the clean courtyard connecting the four main buildings of the school. Benches and tables spotted the lush yard, as did a few trees and various plants, trashcans. It was quite tranquil. Zuri imagined students and teachers alike enjoyed going out to the courtyard for lunch. He knew he would certainly eat out there on the nice days. At the back of the room a wide doorway led to the science lab. Once Mr. Scholl got into his curriculum, the class would certainly be spending most of the time there.

A soft clatter came.

Zuri's eyes rounded from the windows and saw that his pen had rolled from the desk, resting along the wall to his right. The boy smirked and adjusted so he could stretch for it. The desks were the kind with the tabletop connected to a chair, and you had to sit or exit from the left.

He supposed he could've gotten up and walked to the front of the room, then back down the aisle on the right, but he was sure he could reach it. He stretched, further and further, until the tabletop dug into his side. His fingers were still several inches from touching the pen.

Come on, come on. Almost...got it. Come on, you stupid pen, move!

The writing tool quivered, rolled gently towards Zuri, then flew into his reaching hand, and his wiggling fingers closed around it.

Zuri's eyes widened. He blinked at the pen, staring at it as if it were a piece of strange alien technology. He wasn't sure what the heck happened there. Maybe it was a trick of his mind. Maybe...

Then something else occurred. Did anyone else see how the pen magically leaped into his grip?

Zuri slowly moved back into his seat and looked around. The student behind him texted away on her phone, and the one ahead of him didn't appear to notice either. No one did. Zuri didn't know why he was relieved no one saw, only that he just was.

The 13-year-old expected his first day in high school to be pretty much what it had been...up until the pen. And he would mull over it for the rest of the day. Zuri didn't know it yet, but in a short while, the path of his life would take some interesting turns.