Instead of the harsh sunlight waking me in the morning, it was a hard pounding at my door. I groan in my sleep before finally rising. It's still dark out and I wonder to myself who would be knocking at my door this early. I shuffle over to the door and swing it open. There stands a worker in uniform. The name tag reads Nemol. I don't even get a word in before he hands me a piece of paper. I stare at the big font lettering that says, MAIA- WATER DIVISION- B2L3R7.
"You are Maia from the Water division?" the worker asks me. I can tell he has said the same sentence hundreds, if not thousands, of times before. It's as if he is already anticipating my answer. As if he has never gotten a schedule wrong.
"Yes," I answer.
"You are to report to your first class six days from now when the sun rises. If you are not present by the time the sun has fully crested the east moutain, you will be late and subject for extra work duties. Is this understood?"
I only nod this time. Something about this man irks me. He looks at me like I'm just another number. I'm just another being. I'm one in a million, but that doesn't mean anything to him. It suddenly makes me mad that he looks at me this way. I don't understand the emotion, but I let it come anyways. I can feel my fist, the one not holding my schedule, clenching. I want to slam the door in this man's face. I silently wish I could, but such disrespect is not tolerated, during Training especially. All people younger than 17 are to be respectful to anyone older than them by more than a year. It is our custom, but at this moment, I wish it wasn't so.
"Have a good day," the worker replies. He turns to leave and I, as best as I can to mask it, slam the door. The sound reverberates through the room and I fell a sense of satisfaction. I don't hear my mother yelling at me for causing waves to roll through the living room when I swish through my seaweed door to hard. Slamming the door with no repercussions is a good feeling. My independence and responsibility for myself is slowly becoming apparent. I'm starting to enjoy Training, in some aspects.
Since the sun still hasn't risen yet, I go back to my bed in hopes of falling asleep once more. I lay there for a good while, but sleep will not return. My mind doesn't allow it to. My feet feel anxious and I decide to go for a walk. I throw on some new clothes and my shoes. The hallways are nearly deserted when I exit my room. I don't hear anyone about either. I can hear various sounds coming from different rooms, but I don't stop to pause. I can only think about getting out of the barrack. This is exactly what I do.
It's dark outside. I can't see well when I push through the door to the outside, but my eyes adjust with some clarity. I feel my feet pulling me in a direction and I follow it. I just look at the ground and don't bother to see where I'm going. Some part of me says this isn't wise. I may run into something or someone. I grimace at the thought of running into the Fire boy yesterday, but I immediately push it out of my mind. I don't need these polluting thoughts to start out my morning. I kick a rock and watch it bounce along the ground. When I don't hear it's clacking against the ground anymore and my feet tell me to stop, I finally look up. What awaits me is a beautiful sight.
The sun is just peaking over the east mountain, right behind my division. It's rays are throwing shadows and light all over the land. I watch as it starts to illuminate Moteria with it's vividness. My lake is the first to catch the light. The water sends sparkles my way and I feel a pang of homesickness. By now, my family will be starting to rise. Little Bee will make breakfast while my mother and father tidy the house. I would normally help with breakfast, but today little Bee is all by herself. I silently say good morning to them before turning away.
Wind is the next land I survey. It's cities look like glass with it's transparency. Wind people prefer to live above the ground, but there are the few that live on the ground. I can see the small city in the grassy landscape from here, shining in the morning light. I look above my head and I see small Wind people flying around in the Sky City. They look like small flies from here, but up there, it's immense. Sky City is one of the most beautiful cities, and the largest, we have. There is none other like it. Since the only substance up there is clouds and air, the Wind people literally live on clouds. Of course, that's only for their foundation. Clouds are very wet. No one would like living like that, unless you're from my division. They have normal houses, but they don't have roads. They can fly, why would they need them?
