Fantasy

Chapter IV

     The rest of the bus ride, we kinda just sat there. Then again, it was only a five minute ride. We could've walked. Anyway, we all stepped off the bus into the warm summer air.

     Ok, so I need you to remember a time you went to a park. Or anywhere outdoors. It was nice, and pleasant, not too much commotion. It was just you, maybe a handful of people, and nature. A picture perfect day.

     The Grove was nothing like that.

     See, there were all kinds of creatures. Everywhere. Things straight out of books like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. It was beyond calm. The scary part was everyone else acted like it was normal. The teacher, Dr. Borben, walked right to the middle of the large field and everybody just followed. Nope, they didn't even acknowledge the fairies flying past them, or the centaurs running around. Meanwhile, crossing the 50 feet it took to get where Mr. Borben was made me jump about 15 times. I swear, I if Caspian hadn't let me grip his arm to death, I would never have even got off the bus. Well, he didn't actually let me, I kind of just did when a centaur ran right in front of us.

     This was driving me insane. Trust me, by now, it all had to be real. But if it was, that means, everything I've ever read, watched, even dreamed about, was all real. If Caspian was telling the truth earlier, I had to protect it. Are you kidding me? Well, clearly everyone wasn't kidding me. I doubt I'd ever be used to this stuff.

     Anyway, we all crowded around Mr. Borben who patiently watched the skies. As if mythical dragons would just... oh wait, nevermind, they did. You could see them flying across the skies, bright blurs of colors weaving their way through each other and landing softly on the ground. It would've have made an awesome spectacle if I hadn't nearly fainted. They landed so close to us, you could feel their warm breath on your face. Yup, definitely real.

     By the time most of them had landed, Mr. Borben finally began to speak. No one moved.

     "You will be given 1 potato chip to feed to the dragon of your choice. It takes great skill to get close to them, and even more to feed them. I will evaluate your level a skill during the next hour and rank you accordingly. You have one hour." 

     As he handed out potato chips to everyone, I was still trying to digest it all. Dragons eat potato chips? He wants us to feed them? What if they burn me? What if I die?! My god, it's real. Why do I keep thinking that? Of course it's real!

     Caspian handed me a potato chip and warned me, "Look, if you don't focus, I can't keep helping you out like this. Make eye contact with the dragon and start edging your way closer. Slowly."

     Well that was encouraging. I took the potato chip in my hand, and though I was tempted to eat it, I walked toward the nearest dragon. It was a deep midnight blue, with bright green eyes that looked like a barcode rolled up into a circle. I edged towards it.

      The dragon immidiately turned his head and took one step towards me. Squeezing my eyes closed I waited for the fire. After a minute or two, I felt nothing and opened my eyes again. It was just staring at me. I looked right into its eyes and took 3 steps closer. Nothing. I was already to its snout. Nothing. I reached out my hand with the potato chip in it right in front of the dragons mouth. Turning my head, and squeezing my eyes shut, I waiting for some form of pain. 

     Instead I felt wet sandpaper. I looked over at the dragon and it had liked my palm clean. Wiping my wet hand on my jeans, I stared at the dragon. That was a lot simpler than I thought it would be, I thought to myself.

     Taking a few steps away from the dragon, I looked around at the rest of my classmates. They were all stilling walking towards their dragon, no where near feeding it the potato chip. Despite my rational mind, I felt a sort of ego boost. Maybe I was good at this whole magic thing. Turning back towards the dragon, I walked towards it, normal speed. Nothing. I think it blinked. I was at it's snout again, and saw it's gorgeous eyes. Assuming it was a boy, he looked me right in the eyes. I reached out my hand and laid it on his snout. It was smooth, but scaly. Nothing. I just started to pet him, and after two minutes, he just laid his large body on the ground and closed his eyes. I started to get really comfortable with this.