Code of the Dragon

Chapter 1: Summoning the Dragon

Emmy stared at the front of the classroom. She drummed her fingers on the desk. This was her last period of the day. She could feel her heart fluttering in her chest. Just twelve more minutes, she told herself. As soon as the bell rings just, head to the car. It only takes fifteen minutes to get home, no worries.
Emmy took a deep breath. Her heart had slowed, she had managed to calm herself down. She looked at the clock for about the fiftieth time. It read 2:50 PM, just ten more minutes.

Emmy just hoped that she wouldn't run into traffic, it was unlikely but still possible. She absolutely needed to be on schedule.

The teacher at the front of the eighth grade ELA classroom was droning on, and on, and on about the difference between colons and semicolons.

Clock check- 2:53, just seven more minutes. She looked up at the front of the class again. The teacher was telling everyone to write down in their planners that unfinished classwork was now homework. Emmy had finished, however. She had a reason too, after all, she had something important after school that might take a while. No time for homework.

Emmy sighed and looked at what she had wrote on her palm. The writing was now very, very faint, from washing her hands, but still legible.

"3:27," Emmy whispered to herself. She had twenty-seven minutes to get home after school got out, before the moon rose.

She hated doing this, but it was her turn. She had promised Nerissa she would, and Nerissa would kill her if she didn't. Not literally, of course, for they were best friends.

I really don't want to do this, Emmy thought , but she had waited too long already. This was her last chance.

RIIINNNGG!

Emmy slid out of her seat, stuffed her things in her backpack, and shot out the door.

Her backpack bounced against her back and her feet pounded on the pavement, as she sprinted towards the parking lot, and the car. Emmy spotted the car and slowed to a walk, just in time so that her Mother wouldn't see her running.

She hated having to hide this from her Mother. It's not that she was ashamed, Emmy and Nerissa were happy with themselves, it's just that others wouldn't understand. Emmy thought back to the terrifying moment when she was at Nerissa's house. When Nerissa's little sister almost walked in on them. Luckily, Emmy had shut the door before Nerissa's sister could even whip her head around.

And besides, it's not like they asked for it. They had just woken up one day and it was there, so they found a way to channel it, and stuck with it.

Emmy stopped at her car, opened the door and hopped in, said a quick hello to her Mother, leaned back, and hoped that the car ride home would be swift.

...

Emmy set the bowl of water down in front of her lawn. She waited. The moon would rise any minute.

Nerissa had already questioned her about why she had waited so long to do this earlier in the day. Emmy knew it had to be done by the first waxing half moon of the month, but it was just such a burden to do, so she kept putting it off.

She knew in her heart Nerissa understood.

Emmy's phone buzzed. She looked down and pressed the STOP button on the alarm. It was time. She looked down at the ground and double checked that she had everything.

Emmy sighed in spite of herself and said the familiar words.

"Ilargia lehen izpiek ura hau harrapatzeko bezala, eta magia egiten du topo odol gorria, utzi elementu hau arrunta magia ontzi bat bihurtu da," she said as she took out the swiss army knife that she had cleaned earlier that day.