Amity

Chapter 33: The Message From Headmaster Toney

Class was dismissed shortly after the disturbance, and Dré was the first to hop out of his chair. He sighed as he hurried out of the classroom. Sure, he'd wanted to leave a mark on the school, but leaving scorch marks on two tables and the ceiling, patches of ash on the floor, and a partially melted chair wasn't exactly what he wanted.

Dré felt a devilish glare hit him, making him stop on a dime. He looked to his left and saw a manic-looking man peering at him with piercing, dark brown eyes, holding a stack of papers under his arm and a roll of tape dangling from his wrist. His jet-black hair was spiked to the right, with a small section above his ear shaved. "Elevator's down," he said with a slight Korean accent.

"What happened?"

"Power surge. Take the stairs." He pointed to an opened door beside the elevator door before walking down the hall.

"Excuse me," Megumi said as she passed the silent man. "Rude. What's the matter?" she added as she turned to Dré.

"Who is that? He looked at me as if I had just slapped him in the face." Megumi only shrugged as they turned towards the staircases. "So, what do you have next-"

Dré was cut short by a man walking towards him, a man that looked too much like his father. It wasn't him, yet the man looked familiar. Too familiar. He almost mirrored Raheem, only he was slightly taller and more toned. His dreadlocks were silver, despite looking young, and his face was free of creases, yet the patch of hair on his chin gave him an aged aura about him. He wore a gray sleeveless shirt with a black mesh-like undershirt that hugged his biceps.

"Dré?" the man with the silver dreadlocks asked, looking stunned. A grin cracked across his face as he said, "I forgot that you got enrolled here. Man, you got big. You were only knee high the last time I saw you." He noticed Dré's confused face. "I guess you don't remember me, huh?"

"No. Sorry. Who are you?"

"Marcus?" They heard Bianka say from behind them. She gave a slight grin as she said, "What are you doing here?"

"Just sitting here talking to my little nephew," Marcus said, ruffling Dré's hair before gently pushing him to the stairs.

Nephew?! Dré glanced at his supposed uncle, shocked. He couldn't, for the life of him, remember the man he who called Dré his nephew.

"You're my uncle?" Dré questioned. They all stomped down the stairs, their heavy footsteps echoing through the narrow staircase.

"Yep. It's no wonder you don't remember me, little nephew," Marcus said as students walked parallel to them. "You were a baby last time I saw you. Now you're, what eighteen? Nineteen?"

"I'm seventeen, sir," he said, hugging the wall to let a group of people pass him.

"Eh, I was close." Marcus shrugged as they walked down the last flight of stairs into the foyer. "Anyway, I'm Raheem's little brother. I used to come babysit you, Isaiah, and Loyalty when y'all were younger. Isaiah used to be bad."

"He still is."

Marcus gave a hearty laugh. "Just like his old man. That doesn't surprise me one bit." He reached into a case attached to his pants, pulled out a small, purple cell phone, and waved it in front of Bianka. "You left this at home, by the way."

She sighed as she took it. "I swear I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached to me."

Not surprising considering you've already lost your mind. He glanced at Megumi; her expression told him that she was thinking the exact same thing.

The intoxicating smell of a cooked meat circulating through the foyer made his mouth water. "Smell good, don't it?" Marcus said, holding the door open for them. Dré started to rush inside but was frozen in place, a wave of fear filled his psyche.

On the other side of the cedar door stood Ichi. He looked surprised as he held his hand up to open the door. "Oh, Ke'Undré. Megumi," he chided, the foxlike smile creeping onto his face. "I trust that you two have been keeping yourselves out of trouble."

"Yes, sir," Megumi said, trying not to her tough façade.

"Good. I have a message you, Mister Wolf. It's from Headmaster Toney."

"A message? From daddy?" Megumi blurted out, looking as worried as Dré was. Mr. Kimachi did say that he wouldn't tell any of the other Masters about the two of them in the marketplace. Did he lie to them?

"Is that good or bad?" Dré asked, his voice wavering.

"Don't know. I haven't looked at it," he said as he pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket and handed it to him.

Dré hesitantly read it:

Ke'Undré Wolf,

Please come to my office after your classes are over. It's on the top floor of the Tower of Flames.

Headmaster Toney Gladestone

The short message terrified him. He had no idea why he was being summoned until he took a moment to think. Could it be because of when he used his fire in class? Did this mean he was getting expelled? "I don't think I have much of an appetite anymore."

Ichi chuckled. He turned his attention to Marcus, who stood rigid, holding the door open with his body. "I told you not to be so formal, Marcus. We aren't Journeymen anymore." With that, he limped away.

"What did it say?" Megumi asked, looking troubled. Dré remained silent as he scanned the note over and over.

"It's probably nothing to worry about," Marcus said, ruffling Dré's head. "You'll probably get to feeling better once you have some food in you."

"Mr. Toney said that he wants to see me in his office. I think it's about accidentally using fire in class-"

"Wait, hold up," Marcus interrupted. "You mean to tell me you were actually able to use your fire on the first day of class?"

"Not only that," Bianka said, "but it was blue. I was just as stunned as you when he did it."

"By the goddess. Glaucus's fire," Marcus breathed, looked at Dré the way a deer would look at oncoming headlights. Dré didn't think that it was a big deal, considering that the whole school was able to use it the day before.

He went inside the small rectangular room, where three tables loaded with food stood in the center. On the four corners of the tables were a stack of silver dinner plates with a small grate with napkin-wrapped silverware next to it. "I'm confused. Can't everyone use their powers anytime they want? I mean, we all did yesterday," he said, picking up a plate and silverware.

"I see you get your listening skills from your father," Bianka said as Megumi picked up a plate, who looked ravenous at the plates of food. "Dré, if you had been paying attention while I was explaining this, you'd understand that using your power before actually learning how is phenomenal. Not only that, but your fire is blue, something that we've only heard of in legends. If anything, Toney would call you to his office to congratulate you."

Dré could feel his heart swell as he loaded his plate with slices of roast beef, fluffy mashed potatoes with white gravy and an ear of corn. That was the first time in his life that he was getting praise from anyone other than his parents. The more that he thought about it, the better he felt about his meeting. "Hey, is that Kim?" Megumi asked, gesturing to the plump woman in a green tunic, eating by her lonesome. Two thick, blond braids flowed down the crown of her head. Turning to Dré, Megumi added, "Looks like she could use some company. You coming?"

"Yeah," Dré said with a curt nod, following her to the seats beside Kimmy.

With a smile, Kimmy said, "Oh. Hi, Megumi. Hi, Ke'Undré." Dré gave a smile of his own as he placed his plate down beside hers, however, not even her smile could take him from his thoughts. His mind was focused on one thing. Ke'Undré Wolf. Legend.