Jim Armstrong and the Goblet's Curse

Chapter 5: Is Making Knives Fly Safe?

   So, apparently, that weird landscape-hallway-thing was all a simulation. A very scary, very real simulation. It definitely wasn't my idea of a first class at a new school. On the bright side, I wasn't all cut up and bruised, only a bit achy.

And, Noah was acting a little strangely around me now. I didn't really know what triggered his behavior, but I did see him and Cecily talking in low tones about something when we were transitioning between classes. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I did see both Noah and Cecily look back at me multiple times.

As you can probably tell, I don't have many friends.

In fact, my only friend at the moment was Noah, and thank god for him. If he wasn't there, I would've been completely clueless. For one, I had no idea how to fire and arrow, what a Sphalnir is, or how to tie a handcuff knot, all of which I had to do today. Some classes were okay, but others? Total disasters. Survival Skills and Monster Studies were okay, but Archery and Power Control (apparently Guardians have powers? I love how Noah just forgot to mention this super important part of my life to me!) were nightmares. I could barely even hold the bow and arrow correctly, so "summoning" powers at will was like reading Harry Potter and not ending up loving it: basically impossible. (Oh, and on another note, if you haven't read Harry Potter yet, I don't know what to tell you my friend. You just need to get up and join the world, then come back to the above comment and give it a slow clap because of the amount of accuracy contained in those words.)

Even though I couldn't "summon" powers on will, other people could. Apparently almost all Guardians had Vlakir, which is basically levitating powers, or telekinesis. They usually came in first, but I was showing no signs of having them yet. To be completely honest, it was kind of dangerous if you didn't know how to fully use them. Heck, it was dangerous even if you did know how to use them. Lots of things were flying around the room, hitting things, knocking them over, giving people minor concussions, but no biggie.

Not to mention the random bursts of fire that sometimes went through the room.

Or the random people suddenly materializing out of the wall after camouflaging.

Or the waves rippling over the floor, knocking people of their feet when they least expected it.

Yeah, not dangerous at all.

It was finally the end of the day, and Noah and I headed down to the Dinery where the meals were eaten. The Dinery was as big as the Swordfighting Arena, except this time there were tables and fancy decorations in it. The Dinery was already filled with students, picking and choosing from the food served in front of them. To my horror, Noah was heading towards a table that Cecily was sitting at.

"Wait, why are we going over there?" I asked, panicking.

"Because Cecy and I are friends."

"Yeah, but Cecily and I are not friends. Besides, she probably hates me."

"Come on, don't be ridiculous."

"I landed her with dish duty."

"You know, hate is a strong word. Maybe more, like... dislike?"

"Again, I landed her with dish duty."

"It'll be fine," Noah said, and kept walking before I could continue my protests. Noah sank on to the bench next to her and I sat beside Noah, not wanting to get to get too close to Cecily in fear of getting my throat cut out.

Noah had the decency not to eat anything, seeing as we would be the ones to clean it all up. But everyone else? They ate mounds of food in front of them without hesitation. I tried not to think about how long I was going to be washing dishes tonight with a highly deadly girl. Cecily didn't talk to me at all, and I was glad for the excuse to not talk to her. Noah tried unsuccessfully to make small talk between up, but both Cecily and I remained silent for the course of dinner.