(Outdated) The King of Elements (part 2)

Chapter 37

Dre woke with a start at Ian's yelling as he pounded on the door, along with Blitz's barking. "Get up, you nerd! You got school!"

Dre groggily grabbed the alarm clock on his headrest. Six forty-five? "What are you doing waking me up so early?" he called.

Ian opened the door, leaning on the door post. He wore his white, number 51 Prescott Curley Wolves jersey and a pair of baggy blue jeans. "You're using my car today, so I'm going to over some ground rules. One: No smoking in my car."

"But I don't even-"

"Two: No kissing or 'touching' in my car. Three: I'd better not see so much as a dent on my car."

"Alright, alright. Sheesh." Dre swung his legs off of his bed in a huff before he got dressed and grabbed Ian's keys from the headrest. It wasn't like Dre was new at driving or anything. He'd learned how to drive from his mother last year, and she had told him that he was better than Ian when he first got started. He was only afraid to take his driving exam because of the fear that Ian instilled in his mind. After he completed the written section of the driving test, he'd told Dre that a sheriff would be the instructor, and if he failed the sheriff would arrest him. He sighed as he zipped up the side of his boots, not sure why he let such a blatant lie shake him.

After he fed Blitz a "just for the heck of it" doggie treat and he brushed his teeth, he headed out of the house and pulled the hood of his jacket over his head to shield him from the sudden gust of cold wind. It was no doubt that autumn was just around the corner, but he was also sure that with Arkansas's finicky weather, he'd have to abandon the jacket in the afternoon. He woozily walked down the steps and unlocked Ian's car before cranking it. Loud music blared from the speakers, almost forcing Dre's heart up to his throat. He mentally cursed at Ian's volume preference, as well as his ringing ears, as he shut the music off and drove out of their driveway.

It was odd being able to drive. His foot was so unaccustomed to pushing the gas or brake, and occasionally he'd push the brake too hard, almost thrusting his head into the steering wheel. Still, he was so tired that he'd completely forgotten why Ian let him use the car in the first place. He was just glad that Thanksgiving break was coming in two weeks, if he'd remember what the date was.

Date? Date! He was so stunned by his realization that he zoomed past a stop sign. Suddenly he was glad that Ian woke him up so early, because he'd left the clothes he was going to wear to the date at home. He pulled into a random driveway and looked behind him to reverse and head back home, until he saw a wine-red collar shirt folded onto a pair of black jeans in the back seat. He sighed before giving a small smile. "It's a good thing that my bro knows me so well," he said to himself.

~~~~~~~~

"Oh, this sucks," Megumi said, looking at a sheet of paper. She as well as Kim, Michael, and Keiko sat in the cafeteria. The scent of buttered waffles was enticing to her, yet Megumi's intuition told her that that would be bad for her health. She pouted as she glared at the large, red "D-" on her math test. "My mom is gonna totally murder me," she sighed before crumpling up the paper.

"What is it?" Michael asked, looking up from his leather bound book.

"I got a D on my math test. I don't get how, either. I spent all of fifteen minutes studying on it."

"Maybe that's the problem," Keiko stated after taking a drink from her carton of grape juice.

"I know, but I can't help it. Any time I start studying, my ADD starts to kick it. I start wondering about the quadratic formula, and then it gets me thinking about quad bikes, which gets me thinking of motorcycles. Then I'd want to search for some, which gets me thinking of videos, and then-"

"Okay, okay. We get the point," Michael sighed. "If you want my advice, you should get someone who's good at math to help you study."

"Are you good at it?" she asked hopefully.

"Correction; you should ask someone who's good at it that's not me."

Her shoulders slumped as she turned to Keiko. "Are you any good at it?" she asked, discouraged. She gave a wide grin as she shook her head.

"I'm pretty good at it," Kim chimed in. "If you want, I can ask my parents if you can come over tomorrow."

"You'd do that?" Megumi asked, starry-eyed.

"Of course. That's what friends are for."

"What did I miss?" Dre asked, placing a plastic tray down on the table with a clatter.

"The usual," Michael stated as he buried his nose back in his book.

"Is there something on your mind?" Keiko asked, her large, honey-yellow eyes staring up at him.

Dre arched his eyebrows. "How did you know that?" He was only answered by Keiko's grin. "Are we still on for the lunch today?" he asked Kim. She blushed, but gave a small grin as she nodded. "Awesome. Ian's letting me use the car today, so can go to any place that you want to go."

"Which is why an I.Q. test should be given before you're able to get your license," Michael said.

Dre frowned as he looked at him. "Just so you know, I don't have my license. I just have my permit."

"Wow. Such a ladies man," he said, sounding legitimately surprised before his deadpan expression returned as quickly as he finished speaking.

Dre scowled at him, but Kim cut his reply off, hesitantly saying, "I-I don't mind it. There's a place that my mother used to eat at occasionally in town. Have you heard of Momma's Diner?"

Keiko's eyes widened, her mouth in the shape of a little o. "I've heard of that place."

"You have?"

"Nope."

The group gave a dumbfounded stare at Keiko, who took a big chomp from a waffle. Dre shook his head as he turned back to Kim. "I've heard of it. My mom used to work there whenever I was a kid."

"Great," Kim said with a smile.

Dre, however, looked more uneasy than usual. "There was also something that happened last night." His voice had hardened, and he looked more serious at the rest of the group. "Hiro began training me in my dreams."

Michael lowered his book, perplexed. "Hiro? You mean the last King of Elements? How long has this been going on?"

"Ever since the Emblem of Valor tournament. He'd occasionally show up in my dreams to speak with me, but last night was the first time that I could conjure the Suscéptor. Not only that, but I was also able to conjure a shield. It looked like it was made of the same material as the Suscéptor."

"I see." Megumi looked over to Michael. "Do you know anything about this?"

"Why would you expect me to know about this? I'm Human, remember?"

"Yeah, but you seem to be the Holy Messiah, Mr. I-Know-Everything-About-Nothing." Michael glared at Dre, who only shrugged and smiled before he took a bite from his waffle.